-The Hindu The UPA seems to have forgotten that the country's trade commitments, including to the WTO, stand in the way of its implementing the Food Security Ordinance The last time I began an essay with the words "in this era of globalisation," in high school, even my teacher winced at the cliché. In junking the phrase, however, we may have forgotten its import too. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) certainly seems...
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Cut Off At The Bottom -Raghav Gaiha
-Outlook The anti-poverty programme politics dictate that the number of poor are kept low. I don't think the Planning Commission's poverty numbers are credible for several reasons: growth has decelerated; NREGA hasn't been as successful in targeting the poor as generally asserted; nor has the PDS benefited the poor significantly. The first phase of the UPA saw some macroeconomic reforms but not the second phase. Also, the poverty lines worked out...
More »This bill won’t eat your money -Sabina Alkire
-The Hindu The expenditure on providing food security will add minimally to India's public spending which is less than what even lower middle income Asian countries spend on social protection In recent media coverage, critics often argue that the cost of the National Food Security Bill (NFSB) is excessive. The Economic Times referred to the NFSB as a "money guzzling measure" and according to CNBC-TV18, Rahul Bajaj, chair of Bajaj Auto, said...
More »Unpalatable truths -K Srinath Reddy
-The Hindustan Times The recent release of The Lancet's special edition on Maternal and Child Nutrition in Delhi provided an occasion to debate the relevance of its recommendations for India. The discourse was enlivened by a statement, released ahead of the event by several Indian health experts, challenging the content and intent of some of the suggested interventions. Three authors of The Lancet series and many of the critics who issued that statement...
More »Food security bill: Change it says BJP, junk it:SP
-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Congress' efforts to secure support for the food bill in its present form have run into trouble, with the Opposition seeking radical overhaul of its provisions and SP, which lends outside support to the ruling coalition at the Centre, asking the government to junk the proposed legislation. The National Food Security Bill is considered to be the world's largest experiment in ensuring food security to poor as...
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