-The New York Times Blog The right to food is finally becoming a lively political issue in India. Aware of the forthcoming national elections in 2014, political parties are competing to demonstrate - or at least proclaim - their commitment to food security. In a country where endemic undernutrition has been accepted for too long as natural, this is a breakthrough of sorts. The rhetoric, however, is not always matched by understanding...

-The Hindu The National Food Security Ordinance, which President Pranab Mukherjee signed into law last week, has been touted as especially attentive to the needs of women and children. A closer inspection of the Ordinance, however, suggests otherwise - its provisions in fact ignore the distinct socio-economic roles of women and children in society. Moreover, the Ordinance glosses over entire subsets of women and children, including those who are arguably the...

-The Business Standard The right to food is finally becoming a lively political issue in India. Aware of the forthcoming general elections, parties are competing to demonstrate - or at least proclaim - their commitment to food security. In a country where endemic undernutrition has been accepted for too long as natural, this is a breakthrough of sorts. The food security Bill is a modest initiative. It consolidates various food-related programmes and...

-The Hindu Department of Public Instruction seeks higher allocations from Centre Mysore: The soaring prices of food commodities, particularly rice and vegetables, have escalated the cost of cooking food for schoolchildren under the midday meal scheme, Akshara Dasoha, in the State. As rice is the staple diet under the popular scheme which has addressed the issue of school dropout, the sharp rise in the prices of rice and vegetables have only increased the...

-The Hindu State officials are apprehensive of targeted coverage and allocations Chennai: The National Food Security Bill, which is again in news these days, may be generating much excitement in most parts of the country, but not in Tamil Nadu. The reason: a more comprehensive model in the form of universal public distribution system is in place. Successive State governments in Tamil Nadu have held that the coverage of the PDS should be...