There comes a moment in the life of a nation when small differences of opinion are responsible for missing a historic opportunity that the nation may come to regret forever. The regret is greater when realisation strikes later that what seemed like irreconcilable differences could have been easily bridged with a little foresight. We are in such a moment now. The Food Security Bill is a bold measure of historic importance...

The need for ensuring food security for the poor is indisputable. However, the means to do so have to be practical and fiscally sustainable. That is what the prime minister’s economic advisory council Chairman C Rangarajan and a group headed by him, which looked into the proposed food security law, seem to think. Most of the points raised by this panel about the recommendations of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory...

Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has declined to be dragged into the controversy surrounding the implementation of the food security Bill. The move assumes significance in the wake of the differences between Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) and the Rangarajan committee. Pawar said his ministry was ready to implement the Bill according to the decision taken by the government. On a visit to the state-of-the-art Gowardhan dairy at Manchar,...

The Rangarajan committee further dilutes the proposals for the food security bill   The Rangarajan committee set up by the Prime Minister to examine the recommendations of the NAC on the food security bill has submitted its report. It is not surprising to see that it has argued against even the minimalist framework of the NAC saying that expanding the PDS is impossible due to procurement and fiscal constraints. Although the full...

Favours subsidised foodgrains only for poor The C. Rangarajan Committee on the proposed food security bill favours legal entitlement of subsidised foodgrains to the poor (below the poverty line), but has rejected the National Advisory Council's recommendation that above the poverty line (APL) households be partially covered, saying it is not feasible at the current levels of grain production and procurement. “The assured delivery of subsidised foodgrains be restricted to the really...