-The Hindustan Times A United Nations report on Wednesday asked the government to increase focus on rights-based programmes - like the job guarantee and food security schemes - to eradicate poverty while praising PM Narendra Modi's financial inclusion scheme, the Jan Dhan Yojana. The UN report on India and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) comes at a time when the central government has cut the budget for social sector schemes and initiated...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Bihar, along with Chhattisgarh and Orissa, have recorded the highest improvement among all states in the operations of their public distribution system (PDS), measured by the extent of grain leakages taking place. Development economists Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera estimate that only 9.3 per cent of the foodgrains channeled through Chhattisgarh's PDS network failed to reach the intended consumers in 2011-12. This is a substantial reduction relative...

-The Hindu Business Line Bengaluru: Prospects for wheat exports in the new marketing season are turning bleak on falling global prices even as the country is seen headed for a bumper output this year. The recent fall in Euro against the dollar has made the French wheat cheaper thereby exerting pressure on the global prices. Wheat prices, which hovered around $6.6 a bushel in Chicago during mid December are now down to...

-The Hindu New Delhi: Just how leaky is the Public Distribution System and is it getting worse or better? The question is at the centre of a dispute between economists over recent estimates of diversion in the PDS used in an official report. The Shanta Kumar high-level committee on the restructuring of the Food Corporation of India submitted its report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, recommending a gradual move...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Prices of most food items have been inching up relentlessly through the past year despite several so-called reforms in management of food supply chains. While staples like wheat flour and rice have become marginally costlier, prices of pulses like masoor and arhar have soared by up to 30%. Barring a few exceptions, prices of vegetables and fruits have shot up by 20 to 50%, and...