The case of the Food Security Bill gets curiouser and curiouser.  What started off as a fight between universalization and targeting has ended (or so it would seem) in a complete victory in the National Advisory Council, Government of India (NAC) for targeting through universalization (if such a thing was possible), with the honourable exception of Prof Jean Dreze, who has to be commended for his ‘note of disagreement’. On...

The National Advisory Council, headed by Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi, may have grudgingly settled for a much less ambitious National Food Security Act than previously envisaged. But a proactive Sonia now plans to push for a full-fledged ministry of food security, carving it out of the agriculture ministry headed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Sources said she had been advised by stakeholders in the party and outside that the ministry of...

In a significant step towards foolproof monitoring of micro Finance institutions (MFIs) and gaining first-hand information on multiple lending, excessive rural indebtedness and irregularities in the sector, the state government has constituted four working committees that would integrate various databases of SHG bank linkage, ration cards & borrowers' data being submitted by MFIs on a priority. These committees would create and maintain the website on MFIs and also help in responding...

Will UPA-II's ambitious food security programme work? The issue gains immediacy, with the National Advisory Council unveiling a new draft plan envisaging legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrain for at least 75 per cent of the population. That works out to almost 800 million people. If implemented, this means the government's food subsidy bill will be far bigger. Also, our groaning public distribution system will come under greater strain. Now, central...

While the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council's proposal on enhanced food security hinges on higher procurement and increased reliance on the public distribution system, there is a strong view in the government that overworking a creaking system is a bad idea. In a paper circulated within the government, chief economic adviser to the Finance ministry Kaushik Basu has argued that what is needed for food security to work is a reduced...