Exaggeration. Exaggeration. Exaggeration.  I was subjected to this tiresome litany from various angry officials and a couple of politicians after one of their colleagues — who will remained unnamed — leaked to me the perilous state of India’s granaries and the rotting foodgrain within. On July 26, I reported how 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and rice had rotted away, unfit even for animals; how 17.8 million tonnes, enough to feed...

Even as the prime minister protests his inability to distribute food free of cost to the poor, the overflowing food stocks seem set to lead to another year of blockbuster expenditure on the public distribution system. According to numbers from the department of food and public distribution system (PDS), the government spent Rs25,600 crore on food subsidies during just the first four months of the year. The amount — higher than the...

Kaushik Basu proposes a new framework for release of foodgrains from government warehouses. Last year, official food inflation peaked at 21.05 per cent for the week ended November 28. Since then, it has eased — though the year-on-year rise of 10.86 per cent for August 21 is still in double-digit territory. Moreover, in absolute terms, the ‘food articles' index for the latest recorded week, at 303.3, is higher than the 296.1 level...

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) on food will meet tomorrow to discuss ways of implementing the Supreme Court order to distribute foodgrain ''free'' to the poor instead of letting it rot. "The EGOM on food is meeting tomorrow," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of an insurance summit organised by Assocham in Mumbai. The EGOM will discuss various issues related to foodgrain stock including the Supreme Court''s...

Major foodgrains producing states have been the worst hit by rising prices, thanks to the Centre’s decision to pay more to farmers for their produce. Although inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), has been in double digits for nearly six months, there are several states where CPI in the rural region has been around 20%. A look at state-wise consumer price index numbers shows that pre-dominantly agri-based...