Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday gave further momentum to an alternative proposal that seeks to replace rigid provisions in the National Food Security Bill with “liberal” options that will give greater flexibility to states while legally binding the Centre to a higher food subsidy burden than the estimates for …
In an apparent attempt to provide a fresh push to the Congress’s manifesto promise of Right to food, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to step in to instil a clarity on the way forward for the national food security legislation that the UPA seeks to get on the ground …
Advance of SW Monsoon 2012. The “straggler” monsoon of 2012 today managed to cover the entire country, four days ahead of its official date of July 15, but the government’s worries are not yet over. Despite countrywide coverage, seasonal rains continue to be 23 per cent in the red with …
A nearly 45 per cent dip in rainfall this monsoon has set alarm bells ringing in Jharkhand. The panic has forced the Government to initiate some early steps, which include giving Ministers charge of all the districts and kickstarting a series of meetings involving officials from agriculture, water resources, revenue, …
KOLKATA, 4 JULY: The state government is planning to engage self-help groups and co-operatives to run ration shops, state food and supply minister Jyotipriya Mullick said today at Writers’ Buildings. He said a large number of ration dealers are involved in corruption and the state government will gradually abolish individual …
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Tuesday approved a Food Ministry proposal to export two million tonnes of wheat from its buffer stock in an attempt to ease the storage crisis. The clearance came despite objections by the Department of Expenditure, which felt the proposal would involve an …
The Union food ministry has proposed some major changes to Sonia Gandhi’s pet project, the National Food Security Bill, the passage of which has been delayed for long due to differences between the ministry and policy-makers. The ministry’s alternative approach to the bill, also called Plan B, suggests that the …
Thomas promises way forward for stuck legislation in a fortnight discussion on with Planning Commission, others Union food minister K V Thomas on Monday said a ‘Plan B’ was being prepared for getting the stuck Food Security Bill cleared, but would not explain what this consisted of. The Bill, to …
IMD says rains are not too late to raise an alarm, predicts heavy rainfall in the north-eastern and eastern parts in next two days Worried over the slow progress of the monsoon, food minister KV Thomas held a meeting on Thursday on the likelihood of less rains and subsequent droughtlike …
Food Ministry wants to limit grain procurement to the needs of PDS More than 6.6 million tonnes of wheat meant for the public distribution system, is lying in the open, running the risk of damage from rain, Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution K.V. Thomas admitted here on …
The food ministry on Thursday assured the nation all efforts were being made to ensure foodgrains were not damaged because of improper storage. This, despite the fact that due to poor storage facilities, 6.61 million tonnes remain vulnerable to the vagaries of the impending southwest monsoon. “I can assure all …
New Delhi An empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on Tuesday approved additional supplies of five million tonne of subsidised wheat and rice through ration shops to people below the poverty line (BPL) and another three million tonnes of wheat to bulk consumers to ease storage in choked warehouses, food minister …
Renowned agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan has called for ensuring the sustainability of agriculture, while promoting indigenous varieties of food grains. He lauded the provisions of the Food Security Act, which acknowledges the right to food. He said tribal people and the rural folk are a treasure house of wisdom when …
New Delhi The food ministry has opposed the agriculture ministry's proposal to hike the support price of paddy by over 15% to Rs 1,250 per quintal for 2012-13, saying the move would result in increase in food subsidy bill. The minimum support price (MSP) of paddy of common and 'A' …
States appear lukewarm to bail out the Centre grappling with the “problem of plenty”, as there is no response to the food ministry’s proposal for advance lifting of foodgrains. Even though Union minister of state for food K.V. Thomas had proposed to the states to lift foodgrains in advance for …
The Union government has decided to protect one major river in the State on the lines of the Ganga Action Plan. The State government has been asked to submit a proposal to conserve one major river in the State, such as Periyar, which has been badly polluted, said K.V. Thomas, …
In a bid to provide some relief to the citizens burdened by rise in prices of food items, the city government plans to soon revive a scheme under which subsidised wheat flour will be sold at over 400 outlets at around `14 per kg. The decision to revive the scheme …
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has rejected the food ministry’s suggestion that 25 per cent of wages under the rural employment guarantee programme be paid in foodgrains. Food minister K V Thomas had written to Ramesh early April, suggesting that part of the wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National …
Food Minister K V Thomas on Monday said the problem of foodgrain storage was due to procurement exceeding targets because of record production and encouraging purchase policy, and assured the state governments all help in providing jute bags to overcome the “problem of plenty”. In the Rajya Sabha, he proposed …
New Delhi: Food Corporation of India (FCI) has warned that unless the government can distribute 750 lakh tonnes of food grain, there will be no storage space for the bumper harvest being currently procured, the food ministry told Rajya Sabha on Monday. The crisis of plenty has been engaging the …
