-Business Standard The Union government has remained equivocal in public about the Shanta Kumar report and whether the National Democratic Alliance intends to follow up and change the National Food Security Act. But at least on one count it has moved fast to implement the report - converting the subsidised food supply into cash transfers under the Direct Benefits Transfer Scheme. The food ministry has written to the Union Territories to...

Following the recommendations of the Shanta Kumar Committee report on restructuring of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), there are signs that the Central Government is in a hurry to replace the Public Distribution System (PDS) with cash transfers. The Government's intention has been revealed in two official letters (one dated 10 February 2015 and another dated 11 February 2015) that were sent from the Joint Secretary at Department of...

-Business Standard On the basis of resource-efficiency, pollution and compliance, state-owned power generation firms fare the worst A staggering 90 per cent of coal-based thermal power plants in India fare unsatisfactorily on the environmental front, shows a recent analysis. While state-owned power generation companies are among the worst performers, plants owned by private firms have performed better on environmental and energy parameters. In a report released by the Centre for Science...

-The Hindu Tropical diseases have often been neglected by pharmaceuticals because the size of the drug market is smaller, people have lower incomes and companies are uncertain about IPR January marked an important breakthrough in the fight against tropical diseases. Researchers and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Delhi found a drug candidate that prevented TB and malaria pathogens from infecting human blood cells. It is not just that...

-The Times of India PANAJI: With the deadline for the implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in Goa fast-approaching (March 15), the government is scrambling to complete the verification of beneficiary data, both for the electronic public distribution system (e-pds) and also for the NFSA. Civil supplies minister Dayanand Mandrekar told TOI that if Goa does not implement the NFSA on time, the state risks losing the PDS quota of...