BANGALORE: Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister R. Ashok has said biometric ration cards for both below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) categories will be issued in the State in another two months. The Minister told presspersons here on Wednesday that the Union Government had informed the State Government that it would reimburse the expenditure incurred for issuing the biometric cards to families. Issuance of biometric cards...

Curriculum and classroom teaching in Delhi University at the post-graduate level does not reflect adequate gender sensitivity, a gender audit conducted by the University's Women's Study and Development Centre has revealed. As per the post-graduate level gender audit report, though most of the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines do have gender components in their syllabi, it is inadequate and teacher participation in workshops and seminars on gender issues is “rather low.” The...

Inflation is in the news. Double-digit inflation persists, concentrated in prices of food and necessities. The retail prices of pulses are in the range of Rs 80-100 per kg. Seasonal vegetables retail at Rs 30-40 per kg. Yet, our pink newspapers believe there is little reason for concern. There is a boom in purchases of consumer durables. The middle class is prospering. The poor are better-off with the NREGA. And...

The goal of food for all can be achieved only through sustained efforts in producing, saving and sharing foodgrains. The Supreme Court of India has rendered great service by arousing public, professional and political concern about the co-existence of rotting grain mountains and mounting hungry mouths. In several African countries hunger is increasing because food is either not available in the market, or is too expensive for the poor. Food inflation...

Chezi K. Ganesan looks every inch the high-tech entrepreneur, dressed in the Silicon Valley uniform of denim shirt and khaki trousers, slick smartphone close at hand. He splits his time between San Jose and this booming coastal metropolis, running his $6 million a year computer chip-making company. His family has come a long way. His grandfather was not allowed to enter Hindu temples, or even to stand too close to upper-caste...