-Down to Earth The most controversial aspect of the food security law is the restructuring of the public distribution system to cover an unprecedented 67 per cent of the population, most of them in the poorer states. LATHA JISHNU, JYOTIKA SOOD and SUCHITRA M explain why there are winners and losers in the new dispensation and how states with better PDS will have to find huge resources to keep their numbers...
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Activists meet PM to protest against RTI amendments -Himanshi Dhawan
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With the Right to Information (RTI) act slated for consideration in the Parliament this week concerned activists including Aruna Roy met PM Manmohan Singh to press for the deeper examination of the bill. The activists under the aegis of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) including Anjali Bharadwaj and Nikhil Dey also submitted one lakh signatures to a petition seeking deferring the amendments. The...
More »Food scheme kicks off today in Delhi
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Undeterred by the tumult surrounding the food security bill and the fear of opposition parties stalling it in Parliament, Congress president Sonia Gandhi is ready to launch the Flagship Food Security Programme at a mega public function in Talkatora Stadium on Tuesday. The Delhi government views this is an opportunity to kick off its poll campaign centred on the aam admi. The launch, which coincides with...
More »Big ‘no’ to cash transfers under Food Bill -Gargi Parsai
-The Hindu While the UPA is showcasing cash transfers as a key initiative and has even made a provision for it in the National Food Security Bill (NFSB), there is a strong resistance to it. Major Opposition parties are moving amendments against cash transfers, food coupons and cash allowances in lieu of food even as the law is to come up for approval. So far, Delhi and Bihar are keen on providing cash...
More »In Gujarat, the PDS is exclusionary & leaky-Rukmini S
-The Hindu Many States have been improving their Public Distribution System over the last five years On Tuesday, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh criticising the National Food Security Bill (NFSB) for not being expansive enough. What Mr. Modi omitted to mention is that the same complaint could be made of the existing Public Distribution System (PDS) in his own state. The most significant difference between the PDS...
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