-Tehelka The National Food Security Act is probably going to undergo many changes before it is presented in Parliament. But everyone seems to agree that it’s time has come Towards the end of January, a few days after Republic Day and a little over a week after the Congress’s conclave in Jaipur, large half-page advertisements appeared in major newspapers: “Celebrating the 63rd year anniversary of our Republic by putting food on everybody’s...

-Live Mint In an interview, India’s food minister says the Bill is about making the Right to Food a legal entitlement Prospects for the National Food Security (NFS) Bill—United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s dream legislation—haven’t looked better. Food minister K.V. Thomas, in charge of fine-tuning the contours of the Bill, is confident of steering it through Parliament during the budget session. In an interview, Thomas said the Bill isn’t merely...

-The Times of India All antibiotics, TB drugs and other habit-forming medicines may soon come with a label warning users about the dangers of taking them without medical advice. Recommending this to the health ministry as a way to address the problem of drug resistance, a task force has also suggested creating a new category, H1, for these drugs by amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad...

-Governance Now Rakesh Kumar now swears by organic farming — in three years, he has maximised yield and minimised input cost If Rakesh Kumar is over the moon — and he has every reason to be, having just set the world record in per-hectare potato harvest — he does not show it. An unassuming man, the 35-year-old Nalanda resident smiles when you mention his record but for both Kumar and his family...

-The Hindu Chaudhuri on IIPM and J&K Police on Afzal Guru approached courts seeking takedown of online material An investigation by The Hindu into the recent blocking of online content related to Arindam Chaudhuri’s IIPM and the hanging of Afzal Guru shows that on February 14 and 15, the Department of Telecom, on orders from various courts, issued as many as three different lists to Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecom service...