-Down to Earth The country's 76 million poor have been denied the right to claim subsidised foodgrain under public distribution system The government has denied 76 million people in the country eligible to access public distribution system (PDS) the benefits of the food security system. For the past 20 years, the government has not cared to refresh its data and has been distributing foodgrain according to the population figure of 1991. Worse, the...
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Cash transfers are bad for food security-Madhavi Cherian
-The Hindu India's hard won gains in achieving food security are in danger of being undermined by a clause in the National Food Security Bill that encourages States to adopt cash transfers in lieu of food entitlements under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Supporting this view, a recent report by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) concluded that the provision of food subsidies in the form of cash would...
More »Balancing soil nutrients -Satish Chander
-The Hindu Business Line Mother Nature possesses bountiful natural resources. After all, it is not for nothing that our planet is today supporting a seven billion human population, besides a large number of other living beings with varying survival requirements. Till around the end of the 19th century, agriculture, in the form it was practised, provided more or less enough food to sustain the human population of that time. This is...
More »Antyodaya Anna Yojana for subsidised foodgrains
-Press Information Bureau In order to make the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) more focused and targeted at the poorest of the poor, Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) was launched in December, 2000 in all States/UTs for one crore families to be identified from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. Coverage under this scheme has been expanded thrice since then i.e. during 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 covering additional 50 lakh households each...
More »Food Security Bill could violate India’s subsidy pledge at WTO -Amiti Sen
-The Hindu Business Line As the Food Security Bill awaits Parliament clearance, India fears that implementation of obligations under the Bill may lead to breach of farm subsidy limits fixed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and attract penalties if some global rules are not amended. New Delhi is, therefore, scouting for support at the WTO in seeking an amendment to the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) to remove limits on public stockholding...
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