World migration report 2024
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched the World Migration Report 2024, which reveals significant shifts in global migration patterns, including a record number of displaced people
Food Security
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Whither Right to Food? (editorial)
Dr BK Mukhopadhyay
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More research on crop diversity a must for food security'
Speakers at a conference here have stressed the need for conducting more research on crop diversity to ensure food security.
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Eyes fixed on electoral gains, Raman keeps watch on food security plan
AS BILLBOARDS across Chhattisgarh hardsell the state government's Rs 771-crore food security scheme envisaging distribution of rice at Rs 3 per kg to 34 lakh poor households, CM Ram Singh has embarked on an equally ambitious mission: Monitoring its execution right down to the level of the PDS outlet. It's a tech-savvy monitoring plan, involving not only SMS and internet alerts on availability and supply positions to the beneficiary families and panchayat members of the targeted villages, but also retro-fitting of rice-transporting trucks with GPS devices to track their journey from the godowns to the PDS outlets. Thrown in are a toll-free number
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Invest oil money in food, UN says
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has called on the oil-producing countries of the Middle East to invest more of their oil windfalls in developing agriculture in their region, in or
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Climate change may lead to food shortage'
Nobel Peace Prize winner and chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPPC), Dr R.K. Pachauri, today said decline in production of wheat in the country might be due to global climate change. He said the only way to mitigate the adverse impact of global climate change, which may lead to food shortage besides its other affects, was to reduce the level of emission of greenhouse gases through the use of sophisticated technologies. Addressing the public function, where he was accorded a warm felicitation by the Assam government, Dr Pachauri called upon the governments all over the world to ensure that public policies be influenced by
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Global food shortage an opportunity (editorial)
We are into a period of global food shortage and rise in food prices which were not anticipated even a few years ago. A steeply rising food import bill in the medium term could well be on the cards. This is likely to put a severe strain on the Indian government's efforts to reduce poverty and more equitably distribute the economic gains of the last four years. But this challenge can be turned into an opportunity and gives the country's policy makers a chance to address and partially solve the related problems of low agricultural growth and stubborn poverty in rural areas. The challenge and opportunity are both contained in a comparison with China. Though India has 1.47 times more arable land than China, the latter uses its land much better. Its cereal yield is 2.18 times India's. If Indian farm productivity and incomes can be dramatically raised, both global poverty and food shortage will be partially mitigated. To meet the challenge, absolutely the first task is to improve water management
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Farm loan waiver for food security: Chidambaram
High domestic and global prices still pose inflationary threat Rebutting the charge by India Inc. that the Union budget ignored the corporate sector, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday defended the proposed farm loan waiver scheme in the name of food security, saying high domestic and global prices still posed an inflationary threat. "One of the reasons why inflation is still a threat is food price in India,' he said during a post-budget interaction with industry chambers here. "If we grow enough food to feed our people, we are insulated from world prices, but if we are dependent on imports we are subject to world prices,' he said, noting that after a long gap, India had become a marginal importer of foodgrains, which was a dangerous omen. "No country with as large a population as India can be dependent on imports [of foodgrains].' Buttressing his point, Mr. Chidambaram noted that since April last year, the global prices of wheat and rice had risen by 88 and 15 per cent. "Taking all this into account, we came to the conclusion that the distress of the farmers calls for an unorthodox response. And the response was farm loan waiver.' Referring to the corporates' charge, the Minister said: "I have not forgotten the corporate sector. Despite the advice given by my Chief Economic Adviser and the suggestion in the Economic Survey, we accepted your demand for retaining peak customs duty rate.' The corporates would also indirectly benefit from proposals such as excise duty cuts and relief given to personal income-tax payers as these, in turn, would spur demand for consumer goods. The Central Sales Tax, a levy on inter-State sale of goods, was also proposed to be reduced from three to two per cent in the next fiscal. Besides, the budget sought to lift the tax deducted at source (TDS) from listed corporate debt as also avoid double taxation on dividends paid by domestic companies and their subsidiaries. Tax sops A number of tax sops were provided to the hotel and hospitality industry. "What we have done is sufficient to keep the engine of growth running at full speed
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Transforming rural livelihoods in India
<p>This report presents an overview of the impact of rural livelihood programmes supported by DFID in the context of the Millennium Development Goals, and explores some of the lessons learned under headings of income generation and rural growth, better management of natural resources, targeting the poorest and marginalised, and local institutions and self-governance.
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Cubans launched local organic farming experiment
Sir, Christopher Caldwell argues in his column of February 23/24 against any benefit from Fidel Castro's regime.
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Towards increasing rice production
At present about 2.5% of agriculture GDP is contributed by rice, earning a foreign exchange of Rs 7000 crores. India also needs production enhancement for feeding soaring population growth. Rice production from irrigated area is almost stagnant. Rainfed area needs to be exploited.