If states have to fall in line with MSPs declared by political parties, they will have to do so in violation of central order or bear the full expense of the surplus procured at above MSP rates.
'It is a fiercely fought battle, like our fiery chillies in Guntur.'
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Karnataka.
The research found that 50% of the people were receiving either nothing or less cash than they were entitled in lieu of the subsidised grains that were stopped under the pilots starting from September 2015 till May 2016.
People at a PDS shop in Hemda village in Karnal district were allegedly forced to buy Rs 20 tri-colour flags otherwise they won't get a ration.
Roy Krishna scored inside five minutes to give the Blues an early advantage but Prasanth Karuthadathkuni scored at the stroke of half-time to restore parity.
A survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation has revealed that 51 per cent or more than half of India's rural households (marginal farmers possessing less than 1,076 square feet of land) have no ration card at all.
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.
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.
Asked about the talk of a rift between him and Chief Minister Baghel during the tenure of the government in the last five years, Singhdeo said there were no differences as such.
There are about 500,000 fair price shops in states and UTs combined.
The horrifying state of hunger in India adds urgency to the need to implement a new food security law, writes Praful Bidwai.
Rising prices of cereals and concerns over rice production in the 2023-2024 crop year due to insufficient rains followed by floods could be the possible causes.
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.
The Chhattisgarh government has decided to set up model fair-price shops (FPS) in each district and encourage owners to act as banking correspondents for providing financial services. The state has around 12,300 fair-price shops across 33 districts. The state government is, however, encouraging FPS owners to provide a host of services besides acting as a banking correspondent.
Direct cash transfers or food coupons should be used to provide services to the poor, says Farzana Afridi.
The survey will encompass various indicators of backwardness such as occupation, educational qualification along with the type of educational institutions attended by members of the households to gauge the social and educational conditions of the backwardness in Odisha, the official said.
The study of the Targeted Public Distribution System, which covered 18 states, held that though the offtake per household has shown improvement yet only about 57 per cent of the below the poverty line households are covered. The information was given by minister of state for finance Pawan Kumar Bansal in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Based on evaluation studies and feedback received from states, a nine point action plan has been jointly formulated.
The central government on Friday stopped the doorstep delivery of ration scheme MMGGRY (Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana) of the Delhi government, scheduled to be launched on March 25.
It also promised financial assistance of Rs 24,000 annually to all dependent widows and single mothers, two free LPG cylinders to all the beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana and 24x7 power supply.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has released its manifesto for the upcoming Nagaland assembly elections, promising a special package for the eastern part of the state and establishment of a board for the holistic development of the region if the party returns to power for the second time in a row.
The free food scheme is driven by electoral considerations, but its long-term fiscal risks outweigh the short-term gains, cautions A K Bhattacharya.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said the government would follow an inclusive policy wherein both APL and below poverty line families will get foodgrains at cheaper rates. He added that the annual subsidy burden on the government would come around to Rs 50,000 crore.
A 6-7 million tonnes shortfall in rice production due to a fall in paddy sowing area is likely to keep rice prices at elevated levels, adding to the inflationary pressure that the slowing economy is already grappling with. Elevated food prices, including that of cereals, had led to retail inflation reversing a three-month declining trend, to touch 7 per cent in August. Similarly, the wholesale price inflation, which declined to 11-month low, also showed price pressures from cereals resulting from wheat output being impacted by severe heat waves in some parts of the country.
The report, which was submitted to the apex court on March 19, 2021, was made public on Monday. The three-member committee had also suggested many changes in the laws, including giving freedom to states to make Minimum Support Price (MSP) system legal.
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.
A study by eminent economists, by Jean Drze, Reetika Khera and Meghana Mungikar released few days back shows that more than 100 million people are excluded from the PDS because the central government insists on using 2011 population figures to calculate state-wise coverage under the National Food Security Act.
'The decision to supply free food grains is not an economically sound decision because the government will find it very difficult in future to charge anything for food grains.'
Earlier, the administration had announced a 24-hour curfew on May 2 and 3 and asked Khargone residents to celebrate the Eid-al-Fitr and Akshaya Tritiya festivals at home.
Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister and a veteran Congress leader Gegong Apang was grated bail on Friday by the Gauhati high court in connection with the Rs 1,000 crore public distribution system scam.
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Friday said international oil prices have been range-bound in the last few weeks, warranting no revision in retail petrol and diesel rates. While petrol price hasn't changed since September 22, diesel rates have been static from October 2.
'Why does a State that sees a national security issue at every turn not recognise the seriousness of the data from sensitive databases being breached?'
The Delhi high court on Thursday set aside the AAP government's doorstep ration delivery scheme -- Mukhymantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna.
Six Communist Party of India leaders, including a legislator, were beaten up, five ration shops were ransacked and two houses set ablaze as the violence against corruption in the public distribution system went on unabated in Bardhaman, Birbhum and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal.
In a much-needed relief to cash-strapped airlines, this is the second straight monthly reduction in rates and the biggest single cut ever.
8 crore migrant workers will get 5 kilogram of grains per person and 1 kilogram of 'chana' for two months.
Replying to a debate on inflation in the Rajya Sabha, Pranab Mukherjee said he is not passing the buck to the states for controlling surging prices, but most areas like PDS and enforcing the Essential Commodities Act lay with them.
Elections are scheduled in five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab.
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