Our public food programmes are built around large-scale rice and wheat procurement and distribution, making it harder to source, store, and deliver diversified foods affordably.
As devastated farmers begin to come to terms with the fallout, 4 lakh hectares of land under paddy cultivation across state is flooded. Punjab is among the biggest contributors to PDS.
In an affidavit filed before Supreme Court, the months-old state BJP govt has affirmed ED’s charges against 2 senior civil servants who served in erstwhile Bhupesh Baghel regime.
The OMSS has been successfully used to reduce the excessive stocks of wheat and rice. However, the government has not been able to find buyers for rice.
In February 2019, CBI officers were detained outside residence of then Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar. Subsequently, central forces were deployed outside CBI, ED offices.
Lower procurement forecloses any opportunity before the government to make any additional allocations in the run up to General elections in April-May 2024.
During natural calamities like droughts, floods or pandemics, cash transfers may not be of much help. It is a good policy to distribute food grains rather than cash.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
COMMENTS