-Livemint.com * A ground report reveals the rural landless poor are struggling to find work, and cutting down on staple food items * The govt needs to urgently expand the food safety net as it is sitting on surplus foodgrain stocks. The rural jobs scheme needs more funding and prompt payments CHITRAKOOT/ PANNA: It is well past 2 in the afternoon, but the wall clock hanging in Seema’s bare room is stuck at...

  Air quality in North India in general and Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) in particular plunged to its lowest point in recent years during October-November thanks to a variety of factors. Through media reports one comes to know that stubble burning (also called paddy straw burning/ crop residue burning) is chiefly responsible for the public health crisis in India's capital and its nearby regions. Data accessed from the website...

-The Tribune It’s a paradox that food-surplus India is ranked 102nd on Global Hunger Index This strange paradox of plenty remains unexplained. At a time when grain silos are bursting at the seams, the 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI) has ranked India 102nd among 117 countries, placing it in a category with ‘serious’ levels of hunger. As if this is not enough, the latest UNICEF report on the State of World’s Children...

-The Indian Express Procurement of wheat and rice in the central pool has been increasing over the years, leading to accumulation of surplus stock of wheat and rice with FCI. As a result, stocks of food grain in the central pool continue to remain much in excess of stocking norms. With Food Corporation of India granaries overflowing, the government is looking to liquidate its grain stocks to prevent damage and minimise...

-The Hindu Business Line Noted Gandhian economist Dr Sudarshan Iyengar surveys the distressed agricultural landscape, pinpoints its weaknesses, and prescribes solutions with their roots in Gandhian agronomics. Edited excerpts from an interview to BusinessLine: * Given the agrarian crisis in India today, how relevant are Gandhi's economic principles based on the village economy, and equitable distribution of resources? They are relevant in the context of Gandhi's view of gram swaraj (village self-rule), which...