With buffer stocks ahead of harvest being twice the norm, limiting wheat procurement in the coming season is a judicious option. It is time for a thorough overhaul of the foodgrains procurement and buffer stocking policy. With the rabi season harvest of grains — mainly wheat, followed by paddy — just days away, a major challenge will be finding appropriate storage space. As of March 1, the Food Corporation of India...

With an aim to introduce the much-awaited Food Security Bill in the monsoon session (July-August) of Parliament, the food ministry has started parleys to bridge the gap between an expert panel appointed by the Prime Minister and the National Advisory Council (NAC). While it wants to ensure smooth supply of foodgrains to the target groups, the ministry, in an interaction with NAC on Wednesday, made it clear that it is equally...

It is time for the National Advisory Council (NAC) to introspect whether its pious thoughts on food security square up to an economic reality check. There are three likely scenarios: (1) universal coverage at 35 kg/per month per family; (2) universal coverage with 25 kg per family per month; and (3) partial coverage (say, to 11 crore families) with 35 kg per family per month. In each case, the implications...

About 6,348 tons of foodgrain stored in various government outlets across the country were damaged primarily due to storage pest attack and leakages in godowns in 2010-11, a fact which does not go down well for the country's food security. “The foodgrain get damaged due to various reasons such as storage pest attack, leakages in godowns, procurement of poor quality stocks, during movement of stocks, exposure to rains, floods, etc,” Union...

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is estimated to have incurred a financial loss of Rs 484.76 crore in 2010-11 due to damage to foodgrains and storage and transit loss, Food and Public Distribution minister K V Thomas said today. FCI, a nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, is estimated to have lost Rs 484.76 crore in 2010-11, as against Rs 437.87 crore in the previous year, the minister...