The chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Ashok Gulati, is a well-known proponent of reforms and an agricultural economist with diverse experience. Prior to taking charge of CACP, he was the International Food Policy Research Institute director in Asia. In an interview, Gulati spoke about the urgency for initiating reforms in the agricultural sector and made a strong case for intervention to check falling wheat prices either...

The long search for an effective system to target subsidies on food, fertiliser and fuel has finally ended with the Planning Commission accepting the idea of an Aadhaar-based rechargeable smart card. Ideas like direct cash transfers and food stamps have been rejected in favour of the Aadhaar smart card. The new proposal can help target the food subsidy with the tamper-proof biometric cards – Aadhaar unique identity cards – being...

Food inflation fell to 8.53 per cent for the week ended April 23 on the back of fall in prices of pulses, reversing the upward trend seen in the previous fortnight. Food inflation in the previous week was 8.76 per cent. The latest numbers are likely to come as a relief to the government and the RBI, especially at a time when the central bank's monetary policy for the fiscal, released...

The Prime Minister-appointed panel on Food and Public Distribution System (F&PDS) headed by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has suggested that the current system of distributing PDS foodgrain per household should be replaced with per capita allocation. According to National Sample Survey (NSS) data, lower income households have more members per family than higher income households, the panel has said in its draft report. Justifying its suggestion as a “progressive...

Children prefer snacking on chips, burgers, noodles, pasta, samosas and other junk foods being sold in schools canteens, leading to lifestyle diseases, an ASSOCHAM survey has found. Releasing the survey, “Rise in consumption pattern of junk food in school”, ASSOCHAM Health Committee chairman Dr. B. K. Rao said there was a need to improve children's nutrition by setting health standards for snacks and beverages sold in school canteens. The survey was conducted...