Huge stock being wasted in the absence of adequate storage PDS benefit should go entirely to BPL Computerisation will eliminate pilferage, corruption Expressing serious concern over reports that a huge stock of foodgrains is being wasted in the absence of adequate storage, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider releasing the grain to the deserving people rather than allowing it to rot. A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma asked...

Government on Thursday sanctioned funds for the second phase of the ambitious scheme to allocate unique identity numbers to 10 crore of the country's population. The Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the commencement of Phase II of the scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 3023.01 crore. "Of this, an amount of Rs. 477.11 crore would be towards recurring...

The 1,600 families in Haryana’s Panchkula district which line up at fair price shops for foodgrains and kerosene can do away with their prized ration cards, pieces of paper that entitle the poor to subsidized food and fuel. Beginning Tuesday, while they still have to queue up, these families will receive their rations after a biometric identification using smart cards. That’s a small beginning for an ambitious Rs138 crore Centrally funded project...

The two-day Centre-state meet on revamping the public distribution system (PDS), with an eye to the likely enactment of the National Food Security Law, has harped on the same measures that have been talked about for long. These include the computerisation of PDS operations, timely delivery of stocks to PDS outlets, and proper identification of the beneficiaries, especially those entitled to the below-poverty-line (BPL) cards, based on the latest poverty...

Ultimately, the answer lies in increasing farm production and productivity The Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, C. Rangarajan, on Tuesday suggested that people Above the Poverty Line (APL) could be considered for the mandatory food security scheme by limiting the subsidised foodgrains entitlement of Below the Poverty line (BPL) beneficiaries to 30 kg per month per family (instead of 35 kg). “An alternative is to give the...