CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat has demanded that in view of the crisis in Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant following the Tsunami, the government of India should review the decision to set up nuclear power plants in our country. In this context, Karat has made it clear that the proposed nuclear power plant in West Bengal's Haripur should also be subjected to similar review. Talking to reporters in the party's state headquarters,...

When a farmer named Praveen Gawankar and two neighbors began a protest four years ago against a proposed nuclear power plant here in this coastal town, they were against it mainly for not-in-my-backyard reasons. They stood to lose mango orchards, Cashew trees and rice fields, as the government forcibly acquired 2,300 acres to build six nuclear reactors — the biggest nuclear power plant ever proposed anywhere. But now, as a nuclear...

Raising their voice against the Delhi Government’s plans to introduce Cash in lieu of ration residents and volunteers working on the public distribution system came together on Thursday and released a survey from the slums of Delhi showing that 99% of the respondents don’t want Cash transfers. The survey conducted across a sample of 593 ration card holders in 14 slum areas shows that 99% of the people living in these...

Ahead of a crucial meeting, on the coming Monday, of a group of ministers to finalise the Food Security Bill, a consensus is emerging on a dual system of subsidy. This is that families below the poverty line (BPL) be given food subsidy through direct Cash transfer. And, those above the poverty line (APL) be distributed foodgrains at a level equal to the minimum support price (MSP) offered to farmers, which...

India is growing more wheat than it ever was. While other leading wheat producing countries like China and US are witnessing a decline in output, the country has stood as an exception with an estimated record production of 84.27 million tonnes of the staple foodgrain this year. Russia, Canada and Australia, too, are witnessing a downturn. “India is gaining internationally in the wheat production,” S S Singh, Project Director of Directorate of Wheat...