The wheel has turned a full circle. India, which was synonymous with hunger and malnutrition in the West, is now being called upon to export from its pile of food grain to ease the shortfall in overseas markets. French Food, Agriculture & Fisheries Minister Bruno Le Maire broached the issue during a meeting with KV Thomas, India's minister of state for food and agriculture, last week. The issue is expected to be...

Basmati paddy prices are expected to touch their highest level of Rs 3,400 per quintal during the forthcoming harvesting season, says a research report. The prices of traditional Basmati paddy are in the range of Rs 2,650—3,350 per quintal this month, and are expected to be Rs 2,500—3,200 per quintal in November. In December, however, they will go up to Rs 2,700—3,400 per quintal, depending on the varieties, the report said. The forecast...

Global steel giants ArcelorMittal (MT) and Posco are leading $80 billion in planned spending in India, an investment that would vault the country ahead of Japan as the second-biggest steelmaker. There's one hurdle: India's farmers and their water supply. The farmers refuse to move from irrigated land in three states that hold more than half of India's reserves of iron ore, a key material used in the making of steel....

The mountainous state-owned food stocks lying in the open and rotting in the rain are in stark conflict with a failing public distribution system , hunger, malnutrition and high food prices. The poor management of food stocks provoked the Supreme Court to transgress into executive domain when, on August 12, the court made certain directions like limiting procurement to covered warehousing capacity and distributing the rotting foodgrains free of cost...

The department of food and public distribution has rejected both proposals of the National Advisory Council (NAC) to provide food security, saying the government risked running up against supply constraints and taking on an unsustainable fiscal burden. The rejection by the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution means that both NAC, headed by Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, and the government will have to go back to the drawing board...