With production hitting a three-year low of 14.7 million tonnes in this sugar season (October to September), the government is also expected to double the levy quota for the PDS from 10 to 20 per cent to tide over shortages. The levy price and quota act as a notional benchmark for open market sugar prices, which have doubled to Rs 34 to Rs 35 a kg since last September, owing to a global shortage. The price of levy sugar is half that of the open market price.
The government on Friday admitted that market prices of pulses are higher than the import rates and said it would soon launch a scheme of supplying them at subsidised rates to people through ration shops.
Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution Kantilal Bhuria told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that there was no immediate impact of the hike in petrol and diesel prices on essential commodities. Impact of some of the factors, including hike in prices of petrol and diesel could be felt only with a time-lag. While price of rice went up, prices of wheat, atta, chana dal, tur dal, sugar, mustard oil, vanaspati, milk & onion did not rise during the period under review.
To ensure enough food to the poor during the lockdown, the government last week started distributing free 5 kg of rice or wheat per person and 1 kg pulse per household under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to over 81 crore PDS beneficiaries.
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Can the leaky public distribution system, or PDS, deliver the subsidised grain to two-thirds of the population?
The food and public distribution minister also said that the government did not agree with the Abhijit Sen Committee's recommendation that the universal Public Distribution System be re-introduced.
India might be heading towards a "serious livelihood crisis" as the situation seems to be worse this time for the working class amid the COVID crisis and local restrictions by states already add up to something close to a nationwide lockdown, according to noted economist Jean Dreze. In an interview to PTI, he also said the government's target to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 was never a "feasible target" and was just to pander to the "super-power ambitions" of the Indian elite. About the impact of the second wave of COVID on the Indian economy, the eminent economist said the situation today is not very different from what it was around this time last year as far as working people are concerned.
The gau rakshak stated that the famine-stricken people were suffering because of their past karma and nothing could be done for them. The reply apparently infuriated Vivekananda, who told the gau rakshak bluntly that he had no sympathy to spare for societies which would not lift a finger to help human beings but wasted piles of food on birds and beasts. A fascinating excerpt from Govind Krishnan V's book, Vivekananda The Philosopher of Freedom.
Officials said several witnesses were heard on the impact of the pandemic. They added that this was the longest meeting of the panel without a break so far.
Emphasising that various issues are on agenda at the G20 under India's leadership.
Nearly five months after its soft launch, the government's e-portal, the National Single Window System (NSWS), is seeing a significant increase in the number of investors using it to get a bunch of approvals for their ventures. The first clearance was granted on 18 January. Since then, the progress has been good. Out of the 1,258 registered users on the portal, 378 were registered in the last one week.
Five days after the induction of 18 ministers into his cabinet, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday allocated portfolios, keeping Urban Development and 11 other ministries with himself, while giving the crucial Home Department to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
The action came a day after party vice president Rahul Gandhi condemned the public slaughter of the animal.
The technology-driven futures trading in gold and silver would fulfill its objectives only if poor farmers and small goldsmiths benefit from it, Sharad Yadav, minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution, said in New Delhi on Friday.
The online gold futures trade on the National Multi Commodity Exchange of India will be launched by Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sharad Yadav in New Delhi on Friday.
In a bid to further cool down edible oil prices and curb hoarding, the Centre on Friday extended stock limits on edible oils and oilseeds till June 30. Besides, the government has specified the stock limits that have to be imposed by states that have not implemented the earlier order on the limits. In October 2021, the ministry of consumer affairs had imposed stock limits till March 2022 and left the decision to states to decide on the stock limits based on available stock and consumption pattern.
Das said that global economic activity has remained fragile and the surge in COVID-19 cases has subdued early signs of revival.
The court also raised questions on the petitioner, saying that granting all the prayers sought in the petition would be like an "invitation to people not to work".
In a communication to chief secretaries of all states and union territories, Union home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the ministry of home affairs, under the Disaster Management Act, has allowed manufacture or production, transport and other related supply-chain activities in respect of essential goods like foodstuff, medicines and medical equipment during the 21-day lockdown.
The real requirement for the finance minister's explanatory speech is to explain the measures taken in the Budget to influence inflation and growth not just through the announcement of a deficit goal, but more broadly through the impact on money supply, consumer demand, foreign trade and investment, explains Nitin Desai.
Facing difficulty in procuring large quantities of rice required to fulfil its poll guarantee, the state government on Wednesday decided to pay cash into the beneficiaries' accounts at the rate of Rs 34 per kilo, for the additional 5kg of rice under the free rice scheme.
'Elections in Madhya Pradesh have so far largely avoided freebies.' 'But this time both the Congress and BJP are making such announcements.'
Regulator's nod assumed more importance after the Maggi issue.
Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 Ministers of State were sworn-in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday evening.
'Rapists do have families. I wanted to see how a father or mother would deal with it.' 'They go through shame as well and get discriminated from the rest of the village.' 'Why don't we show it that way?'
The government on Thursday ruled out importing rice in the wake of a massive depletion of stocks in central pool which fell 46 per cent to 109 lakh tonnes in November 2003 as compared to 205 lakh tonnes in the same month of the previous year.
After Delhi, four more states -- Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand - on Thursday banned the sale of Maggi noodles, as the popular instant snack came under mounting scrutiny over food safety concerns.
It also directed the BSF to produce before it the investigation report and the steps it has taken with regard to allegations levelled by Yadav.
As many as 81 per cent people support having rules for consumer e-commerce, but want more services-based platforms to have more clearly defined roles, a survey by community social media platform LocalCircles has found. The survey asked respondents to answer questions based on the recent draft Rules proposed by the ministry of consumer affairs. The responses found 81 per cent consumers wanting sales of products and services over electronic or digital networks to be governed by a set of electronic commerce rules.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia says it's the 'biggest failure of our system'.
He sustained a fracture in his left arm in the accident which took place around 7.15pm on the Tapti river bridge near Gorakhpur when he was coming from Barabanki, North Eastern Railway CPRO Sanjay Yadav said.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday accepted the resignation of Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution, Raosaheb Dadarao Danve, from the Union Council of Ministers.
Paswan, one of the most prominent Dalit leaders of the country who had been a part of several governments headed by rival parties, died on Thursday at the age of 74.
Adani Enterprises, which is launching India Inc's second-largest follow-on public offer worth Rs 20,000 crore next week, on Thursday said it is planning to enter the water segment as this is a key element of its core business of infrastructure. The group is into the entire gamut of infrastructure -- being its ports, airports, roads, expressways power generation & distribution, among others. In ports and airports, the group is the largest player in the private sector. Addressing media from Milan, group chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh said the company has fixed the price band for the Rs 20,000-crore issue in the range of Rs 3,112-3,276 per share.
Talking to reporters Khatkar Kalan, he also suggested that Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence will use farmers' unrest over the new farm laws and will try to foment trouble in the border state of Punjab.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Free provision of food, cash transfers, and jobs in villages see enhanced flow of funds despite a precipitous fall in revenue. Till May, defence spend was nearly 30 per cent less than the previous year.
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