A recent study shows that more than 100 million people are excluded from the public distribution system because the central government insists on using 2011 population figures to calculate state-wise PDS coverage, which effectively leaves out 100 million people, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
Around 7.4 per cent of Indians aged 60 and above are affected by dementia. This number is expected to rise from the current 8.8 million to 17 million by 2036, marking a 97 per cent increase.
Food security for all was a poll promise from the ruling Congress party before this year's general elections.
"We have suggested a fund for drought or flood, and when our production is hit. The fund will be with the states which the Centre will provide. The implementing agency will be the respective state governments," said K V Thomas, minister of state for agriculture and food.
The demand for cash transfers was highest in Bihar at 54 per cent, followed by 34 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 22 per cent in Jharkhand, where the access to PDS foodgrain was found limited.
Signalling both change and continuity, India's new government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term, got into work gear on Tuesday with cabinet ministers and ministers of state filing into their respective offices to assume charge.
'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
Economist Abhijit Sen, a former Planning Commission member and one of the country's foremost experts on rural economy, died on Monday night. He was 72.
To tighten the noose around unscrupulous transporters indulging in diverting public distribution system (PDS) food to the open market, the Delhi government has decided to install global positioning system (GPS) in vehicles ferrying ration items such as wheat and rice.
The study showed that 50 per cent of households have reduced the number of meals ever since the lockdown was imposed
However, storage capacity way behind even present public distribution system procurement need.
'Retail investors, who had not seen such a massive correction in the SMID universe since COVID-19, are witnessing something like this for the first time. Panic profit booking may continue.'
The government had pegged food subsidy at Rs 90,000 crore (Rs 900 billion) in the 2013-14 Union Budget.
India's first home-grown mapping company MapMyIndia is looking to list in the public market by raising around Rs 1,200 crore at a Rs 6,000-crore valuation. Sources said the company is ready with its draft red herring prospectus documents and is likely to file as early as next week. While the money will be used for business expansion, it will also give MapMyIndia's early investors, including Qualcomm, PhonePe, and Japanese mapmaker Zenrin Co., a chance to exit. The Verma family, which founded the company, will continue to remain promoters.
Since the food subsidy is almost Rs 1,000 per person per year, there is a need for complete re-engineering of the existing public distribution system so as to ensure each and every grain reaches the right beneficiary, he said.
Seven aid workers who were working for the World Central Kitchen, a charity delivering food to besieged Palestinians, were killed in the Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Tuesday. The victims comprised three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, an American-Canadian dual citizen and a Palestinian.
The G20 leaders will deliberate on pressing global issues at the grouping's annual summit here on September 9 and 10. India is hosting the summit in its capacity as the current G20 chair.
Varanasi, Detroit, and Venice have been selected to host a global initiative aimed at creating sustainable transportation solutions for cities as part of the 'Toyota Mobility Foundation's Sustainable Cities Challenge'. The initiative is a $9 million programme that will see these cities collaborate with innovators to develop and implement new mobility solutions. The cities, located in the US, India, and Italy, were chosen from a shortlist of 10 cities announced in November 2023.
The Centre has appointed senior IAS officers Vumlunmang Vualnam and Neeraj Mittal as new secretaries in the ministry of civil aviation and the department of telecommunications respectively in a major secretary-level bureaucratic reshuffle, a government order stated.
Many individual states experienced higher inflation than the all-India figures during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Retail inflation figures in Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have been higher than national numbers every month of this financial year, shows a Business Standard analysis of state-wise figures, after the March inflation data was released on Friday. Experts noted that persistent high food inflation along with differences in the weights of rural and urban indices plays into the regional variation in inflation rates.
"Not a single woman (from Sandeshkhali) has lodged any FIR. It was me who directed the police to lodge a suo motu case. Our block president has been arrested," she said.
The Bill at best makes the existing public distribution system a legal right, an aspect that seems of little consequence to the lords of high finance, whose primary anxiety is the FSB-by-numbers.
In yet another blow for Nestle India, live larvae and worms have been found in their milk powder in Coimbatore.
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said whenever BJP came to power, prices of essential commodities saw a fall.
After Odisha and Tripura, West Bengal has now opposed the Centre's direct cash transfer to bank accounts of beneficiaries, claiming it would lead to a breakdown of the existing public distribution system and closure of the Food Corporation of India.
The working group on food and public distribution constituted under the chairmanship of Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is likely to recommend using the numbers effectively for streamlining PDS.
Is it a case of poor targeting of a welfare scheme, or is it a reflection of the government's desire to expand the scope of this benefit to secure greater electoral dividends? asks A K Bhattacharya.
Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved Ltd will sell its food retail business to group firm Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd for Rs 690 crore as part of its strategy to focus on non-food, traditional medicine and wellness business.
Looking under the hood, I see India on the terrible, but commonplace, road to prosperity failure, warns Rathin Roy.
This was the first general election in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370 and the enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the EC said in a statement.
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Trade ministers and diplomats from around 130 countries are participating in the four-day meeting that started on Tuesday.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
Moody's currently assigns 'Baa3' rating on India, with a stable outlook. 'Baa3' means medium grade with moderate credit risk.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday termed Food Security Bill a "historic legislation" and asked party leaders to publicise its importance to masses as they gear up for elections scheduled early next year.
Paswan, one of India's most prominent Dalit leaders and eight-time Lok Sabha MP died on Thursday at the age of 74.
'The corruption charges in FCI are not the first and won't be the last.'
In the three months leading up to the Assembly elections, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government distributed over 1.4 million tonnes (MT) of wheat, 0.95 MT of rice, 0.10 MT of chana (gram), 101.9 million litres of soybean oil and 100,000 tonnes of salt as free ration. This was part of the Covid relief package, officials said.
'It has been an ongoing process, talking to the relevant ministries about eliminating leakages and curbing non-core expenditure in various schemes.'
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested West Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick in a money laundering case linked to an alleged multi-core ration distribution scam in the state, official sources said on Friday.
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