POVERTY/HUNGER - 2015 January to December - 2015

Compiled By Fr. Paul G Documentation Centre∗

Project Palash gives new life to Jharkhand tribe (21)

NEW DELHI: The year 2014 definitely ushered in "acche din" for the Sabar tribe of Jharkhand. This

endangered tribe, once trapped in the Maoist zone, is still struggling to beat extreme poverty and

underdevelopment. It is looking forward to the New Year with new hope, all thanks to Palash, that not

only offered them sustainable livelihood but also saved their tribe from extinction. Palash is an

initiative to train Sabar artisans from Saraikela district to weave eco-friendly designer products to

make a livelihood. Out of 32 tribes in Jharkhand, nine are endangered. Sabar is also one of the most

primitive and languishing tribes in the country. Their strong resistance to British dominance resulted in

the community getting listed among the 68 denotified tribes who were tagged criminals under the

Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. Most Sabar people in Jharkhand now live in Samanpur, a village

surrounded by hills and forests. Situated 60km from Jamshedpur, it doesn't have proper road

connectivity. "It was beyond my imagination to see the pathetic condition of the Sabars when I first

went to Samanpur in 1996. People had not seen the light of civilization. A paradoxical situation of

abject poverty prevailed in the prosperous forests. They lived in small huts of three-by-four feet, which

they could enter only by crawling. They survived on roots and fruits from forests or on dead animals,"

said Suchitra Sinha, joint director (industries), Jharkhand government, who initiated the project

Palash. "We practically lived in the jungle, ate whatever we could gather from the forests. Never knew

of education and even today I am illiterate. We used to gather firewood and sell them to earn Rs 100-

200 a month. There is still no road, hospital or anything," said Sagar Sarwar, one of the 10 artisans

who are present at the India International Trade Fair. Things started turning around when Sinha saw a

woman weaving a basket out of Kanshi grass in one of the huts. "I saw a huge potential in this

intricate weaving. I was told that these articles had an unorganized market with meager incentives."

With the help of National Institute of Fashion Technology in Delhi, Sinha arranged training of 50 such

artisans. And they now earn Rs 4,000 per month, said Vijay Sawar, an artisan. "To develop it as a

model village, we need to increase our production base and participate in events like IITF. This village

can also be projected as a tourism destination as it still retains its greenery," said Sinha. The project

has managed to wean many away from the Maoist movement, she added. "There is also a decrease

in deforestation. Their life has improved. Now I hope these people will get the attention of the

governments." (Times of India 1/1/15)

63 million people faced with poverty due to healthcare expenditure (21)

NEW DELHI: A whopping 63 million people are faced with poverty every year due to "catastrophic"

expenditure over healthcare which neutralises the gains of rising income and various government

schemes aimed to reduce poverty, according to the health ministry. The draft of National Health

Policy cites this as a significant reason for a new health charter as it seeks to ensure universal access

to affordable health care. "Incidence of catastrophic expenditure due to healthcare costs is growing

and is now being estimated to be one of the major contributors to poverty. The drain on family

incomes due to healthcare costs can neutralise the gains of income increases and every government

scheme aimed to reduce poverty. "Over 63 million persons are faced with poverty every year due to

healthcare costs alone. It is because there is no financial protection for the vast majority of healthcare

needs," says the draft put out by the Health Ministry on its website for inviting public suggestions.

Healthcare costs are more impoverishing than ever before and almost all hospitalisation even in

∗ This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose

reference marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social

Institute, New Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.

public hospitals leads to catastrophic health expenditures, it says. In 2011-12, the draft says, the

share of 'out of pocket' expenditure on healthcare as a proportion of total household monthly per

capita expenditure was 6.9 per cent in rural areas and 5.5 per cent in urban areas. "This led to an

increasing number of households facing catastrophic expenditures due to health costs (18 per cent of

all households in 2011-12 as compared to 15 per cent in 2004-05)," it said. India needs a new health

policy that is responsive to these contextual changes, it says while citing rising burden of non-

communicable diseases and rapidly-growing health care industry as other reasons for framing a new

health policy. (Times of India 4/1/15)

27% people in urban areas are poor, finds census (21)

New Delhi: About 27.6% of 377 million people living in urban India, or 104 million people, have been

identified as poor, according to preliminary figures of the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC).

While the poor in rural India have been identified several times since 1999, this is the first time the

urban poor have been identified. Started in 2011 by the UPA government, the SECC is being

conducted to identify families falling below the poverty line (BPL) in urban and rural areas. It is

expected to help the government better target the poor for its welfare schemes. For example, it will

enable a homeless household to be targeted for a housing scheme, while an unemployed person can

be targeted under a livelihood scheme. The survey was conducted by the housing and urban poverty

alleviation ministry in urban areas, while the rural development ministry was conducting the house-to-

house exercise in rural areas. About 14.63 per cent of 17 million people living in Delhi have been

identified as poor. Of all the states and union territories, Manipur (43.06%) has the maximum number

of poor people living in urban areas followed by Bihar (41.4%), Tripura (40.75%), Odisha (39.4%) and

Mizoram (37.9%). Prior to this census, the erstwhile Planning Commission had accepted a report of

an expert group headed by Suresh Tendulkar that estimated the urban poverty ratio at 25.7% based

on consumption expenditure. The SECC has used a three-stage process recommended by a panel

headed by former Planning Commission member SR Hashim to identify the urban poor. These are —

automatic exclusion, automatic inclusion and scoring index — all based on social, occupational and

residential vulnerability. For example, a family stands to be automatically included as ‘poor’ if it does

not have a home, or any income, or if the household is headed by a female or physically challenged

person. Households having either a four-room house or in possession of any one of these assets — a

four-wheeler, air conditioner and computer/laptop with Internet were automatically excluded. The third

criteria is a scoring index that gives households scores from 0 to 12 based on their vulnerabilities with

a higher score signifying more deprivation. Households that score 0 are ineligible to be included in the

BPL list. The Union Cabinet needs to fix the cut-off score under which a household will be classified

as ‘poor’. “The figures will go up marginally once the government decides up to what score a family

will be included in the BPL list. We are going to the Cabinet soon to get the scoring list finalised,” said

a housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry official. (Hindustan Times 5/1/15)

Ensure that Benefits of Government Schemes Reach Tribals: HC (21)

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday held that health survey and other necessary surveys

should be conducted in the tribal areas, including Attappadi, and that appropriate measures should be

taken so that benefits of the schemes that have already been initiated by the State reach the needy. A

Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A M Shaffique issued the

order while considering a petition filed by High Court lawyer R Sudha, seeking a directive to constitute

a body to ensure that the funds earmarked for the welfare of the tribal people are reaching them. The

petitioner submitted that no proper steps were being taken in the Attapadi tribal area, and that infant

deaths were occurring on account of starvation. “The authorities are not extending the benefits of the

schemes as has been initiated by the State,” the petitioner said. The State Government submitted that

various steps have been initiated for the welfare of the tribal people, and that a detailed affidavit had

been filed. The petitioner submitted that the details and affidavit were insufficient. The State assured

that a fresh affidavit with the latest information would be filed. The Bench observed that ‘filing of

affidavit/statement in the court did not mean that it has actually been done’. (New Indian Express

7/1/15)

Nearly two crore families in Tamil Nadu to get smart ration cards from June (21)

CHENNAI: The state government has approved a contract for Rs 318 crore end-to-end PDS

computerization with smart ration cards. As many as 1.89 crore families would get smart cards by the

year-end. The cards with biometric parameters would be rolled out in Perambalur and Nagapattinam

districts in the month of June and the rest of the state would be covered by December this year. The

database would be completely based on biometric data obtained under national population register

and Aadhar. "This will put an end to bogus/ghost ration cards. The shops will be automated with an

electronic point of sale (E-POS) device and the end server will manage all the transactions," a senior

government official said. The existing database is mired in controversy due to anomalies. In 2012, the

Comptroller and Auditor General of India slammed the government's poor maintenance of PDS

records. The audit found that the total number of persons (8.37 crore) included in the family cards in

the previous year, was more than the population of the state by 1.16 crore, indicating large-scale

existence of bogus cards. In its reply, the state had outlined its proposal to have biometric-based

smart cards in two to three years to eliminate bogus cards. Sources said the Census department has

captured biometric parameters of 74.71% of the 6.74 crore population aged over five years. Aadhar

numbers had been generated to 95% of them, roughly translated to 4.78 crore. It is not uniform

across the state with less coverage in districts like Chennai, Sivganga, Tirupur, Namakkal and

Dindigul. The high coverage, exceeding 85% was recorded in Perambalur, Nagapatinam, and

Ariyalur. More permanent centres to capture biometric parameters are afoot in district collectorates

and local bodies. (Times of India 8/1/15)

'Wrong policies will make 1 bn more people poor by 2030' (21)

London: Almost one billion more people globally may face extreme poverty by 2030 if world leaders

fail to make concrete decision on inequality and climate change at two UN summits to be held this

year. The "action/2015", an international coalition of more than 1,000 organisations, warned that

global poverty could rise for the first time in a generation if politicians make the wrong calls, The

Independent reported Thursday. The "action/2015" campaign will target the UN summit in New York

in September, which will discuss a new agenda to replace the millennium development goals set in

2000, which expire this year. The new agenda is expected to include ending poverty and hunger,

improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and

protecting oceans and forests. The campaign will also demand tough action to tackle man-made

climate change when UN-led negotiations on a new global agreement reach a climax in Paris in

December. Research for the campaign by the University of Denver shows that, if world leaders get it

right, the number of people living in extreme poverty - less than 82 pence or about Rs.77 ($1.25) a

day - could be reduced dramatically from more than one billion to 360 million by 2030. By then, about

4 per cent of the global population would live in extreme poverty, down from 17 per cent today. This

would make eradicating extreme poverty achievable for the first time in history. However, if the two

summits get it wrong, the number of people living in extreme poverty could increase to 1.2 billion by

2030 --the first rise since 1993, and 886 million higher than if strong action is taken. Under this

scenario, one in three of the world's population would live on under 1.32 pound or Rs.123 ($2.0) a

day. The goals of "action/2015" include an end to poverty in all its forms; ensuring fundamental rights,

tackling inequality and discrimination and speeding up the transition to "100 per cent renewable

energy".Nobel laureate and campaigner for girls' education Malala Yousafzai said: "People globally

want an end to injustice, poverty and illiteracy. Our world is interconnected and youth are ready and

mobilised more than ever to see real change take place. Together, we are demanding our leaders

take action in 2015 and we must all do our part." The campaign "action/2015" is supported by more

than 120 countries. Queen Rania of Jordan, Bill and Melinda Gates, rock star Bono, actors Matt

Damon and Ben Affleck and the mobile communications entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim have also extended

their support to the campaign. British Prime Minister David Cameron, Leader of Opposition in Britain

Ed Miliband, and British politician Nick Clegg also have pledged their support. (Business Standard

15/1/15)

Poverty isn’t invincible, after all (21)

KOLKATA: Poverty is dismal, dehumanizing and desolate. But, as Meera Mitra shows, it is possible to

write positively about poverty without mocking it. A collection of 18 real-life stories penned by her and

released on the last day of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF), being held in association

with the Times of India, provides an alternative discourse on poverty. 'Breaking Through — India's

Stories of Beating The Odds On Poverty' features people from all corners of the country who have

overcome the odds and managed to lift themselves out of poverty. But it is more than just a collection

of their stories. The book's subtle narrative, and one that's perhaps more important, is one that shows

how the levers of the system could be worked to struggle for existence. There are stories of Dalits,

small traders, marginal farmers and roadside vendors who work the system to climb up the economic

ladder. The book, as social theorist Ashis Nandy who released it said, is "beautifully written" and is

positive in the sense that it offers hope for the poor and for policy planners and social activists who

want to tackle the scourge Meera, a sociologist and development specialist who is also the spouse of

state finance minister Amit Mitra, said that during her extensive research over the years, she came

across many positive examples of people who managed to beat the odds in India's villages, towns

and cities. Their stories had to be told not only to inspire other poor people but also to show planners

and others that there are ethical ways to beat poverty. "Many NGOs are doing fantastic work in the

fields of micro-finance, panchayati raj and other sectors. Their stories have to be told and the media

has to be asked to do that," she said. She added that since the liberalization process started, the

number of people coming out of poverty "is amazing" and the book shows what ladders they are

taking and how they are doing it. The book is a light read on a very heavy subject. Nandy said that

since the very beginning of development, there has been dissatisfaction with it. Development in all

countries, he pointed out, leads to reduction of poverty in the short and long run, but also leads to

many poor people being pushed into destitution. And development, when fast-paced, leads to some

degree of authoritarianism by its pilots. Development, said Nandy, also weakens and destroys

communities, especially those outside the market. The book, he noted, provides hints on how this can

be avoided. A telling commendation of the book came from film director Goutam Ghose. He said that

the book offers a ray of hope that people can be lifted out of poverty without destroying their social

structures and displacing them. "There are so many exciting and animating stories in this book that

I'm tempted to make films out of them," he said. Sudha Kaul, founder of the Indian Institute of Celebral

Palsy, said development's dark side was that it bypasses people with disabilities. The session, held at

The Park, was moderated by AKLF co-director Anjum Katyal. (Times of India 19/1/15)

India tops malnutrition chart in south Asia (21)

NEW DELHI: Severe acute malnutrition should be recognized as a medical emergency with one

million children under five dying in India due to malnutrition related causes, say activists. A new study

in Baran, Rajasthan and Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh has found that preventable deaths continue

to hit children in the poorest areas of the country. According to UNICEF, every year 1 million children

under five die due to malnutrition related causes in India. The statistics are alarming, and far above

the emergency threshold for acute malnutrition (as per WHO classification of the severity of

malnutrition). ACF India and Fight Hunger Foundation on Tuesday announced the launch of the

Generational Nutrition Program. Speaking about the program ACF India deputy country director Rajiv

Tandon said that there was an urgent need to recognize severe acute malnutrition as a medical

emergency. He also stressed on the need for policies to tackle malnutrition and adequate budgets for

implementation. The ACF report says that the number of children affected in India is higher than all

the south Asian countries with high burden of wasting or acute malnutrition. "Within India, scheduled

tribes (28%), scheduled castes (21%) and other backward castes (20%) and rural communities (21%)

have a high burden of acute malnutrition," the report said. These reports throw light on the

malnutrition situation in the two districts analyzing the infant mortality rates and child deaths due to

conditions which are preventable… (Times of India 21/1/15)

FCI revamp committee suggests lower food security law coverage (21)

New Delhi: The committee constituted by the government on how to reform the Food Corporation of

India (FCI) — it gave its report this week — suggested limiting foodgrain distribution under the

National Food Security Act (NFSA) to 40 per cent as against the current norm of 67 per cent, thus,

saving the exchequer around Rs 30,000 crore per year. It, however, wants more to be given to

households classified as below poverty line (BPL), seven kg a head instead of five kg in a month. The

coverage of 67 per cent would mean a subsidy of Rs 1.3 lakh crore a year and that of 40 per cent

would mean Rs 77,000 crore a year, at five kg each of grain. If seven kg is given, the subsidy will be

Rs 1.07 lakh crore. The committee has also suggested that the food ministry should be quick to

export grains or sell them in the local market as soon as FCI procures more than the requirement.

“The government should defer implementation of NFSA in states that have not done end-to-end

computerisation, have not put the list of beneficiaries online for anyone to verify and have not set up

vigilance committees to check pilferage from the Public Distribution System ,” said the committee’s

report. Former Union food minister Shanta Kumar, who chaired the committee, said the report was

pro-farmer and pro-poor, and followed the Gandhian ideal of Antyodaya (succour to the poorest). “We

(Bharatiya Janata Party) had objections to the NFSA while in opposition but had to support it in

Parliament due to electoral compulsions. Now, we want to correct the mistakes,” Kumar told reporters.

In a related development, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the food ministry to give

its comments to the report, senior officials said they have started the process of implementing some

of the recommendations “like increasing the supply of jute bags and computerisation of public

distribution system”. Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told Business Standard the department will

study all suggestions and consult other ministries before forming a view. The FCI revamp committee

had said beneficiaries covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, numbering around 30 million

households on the basis of a 1992-93 census, should continue to get foodgrain through the PDS at

highly subsidised rates of Rs 3 a kg for rice, Rs 2 for wheat and Rs 1 a kg for coarse cereals. Those

outside this classification but priority households should get grain at a price which is half the

government's minimum support price. Under the current form of the Act, foodgrain is to be allocated to

all beneficiaries at a uniform Rs 3 a kg for rice, Rs 2 a kg for wheat and Rs 1 a kg for coarse cereals

each month. This price would remain for three years. The panel also suggested the government

gradually move to cash transfer of the subsidy in the PDS, starting with the 50-odd cities having a

population of more than a million. “This could be extended to the foodgrain surplus states and

thereafter the deficit states could be given the option of either cash or physical grain distribution,” its

report said. “If the report is implemented in full, it will have a magnificent impact on the poor of this

country and add an extra income of Rs 3,000 crore per annum for the poor, helping bringing around

15 crore (150 mn) out of poverty,” said Shanta Kumar. The panel estimates if food subsidy is

transferred in cash, it will save the exchequer around Rs 30,000 crore per annum in subsidies, while

giving a better deal to consumers. “Our vision of FCI is an organisation which reaches its glorious

past,” said Ashok Gulati, former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices

(CACP). He was a member of the panel. The committee also suggests FCI hand over procurement of

wheat and rice to the state governments in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya

Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab. And, concentrate on Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam,

where farmers resort to distress sales due to poor state procurement and are dominated by small land

holdings. (Business Standard 23/1/15)

Govt. to focus on improving livelihood in 150 mandals (21)

HYDERABAD: Telangana Minister for IT, Panachayat Raj and Rural Development K.T. Rama Rao

stated that the government has plans to spend Rs. 642 crore in 150 mandals that are most backward

over the next five years for improving livelihood and human development indices (HDI) under the

Telangana Palle Pragathi programme. It was often dubbed that welfare and development schemes

such as ‘Aasara’ and restoration of minor irrigation tanks were the only indicators of progress, but

there was more to measure HDI, the Minister said. Providing marketing facility, sharing market

knowledge and ensuring remunerative price to agriculture produce were also part of the larger

development indicators. Speaking after releasing the annual diary of the Society for Elimination of

Rural Poverty (SERP) Employees’ Association here on Friday, Mr. Rao said the credit for mobilising

and organising women during the last 14 years would go to SERP alone. However, the organisation

did not publicise its efforts properly, he felt. He suggested the SERP to set up a centre of excellence

by documenting its best practices in different fields to inspire line departments and act as a model to

other departments. Chief executive officer of SERP A. Murali stated that there were 47.42 lakh

women in about 4.17 lakh self help groups in the State and about 20 lakh poor families were getting

Rs. 3,000 crore financial linkage through banks and Streenidhi federation. In farming, 11.2 lakh

farmers were getting benefited with sustainable agriculture in 20.4 lakh acres, he said. He explained

that about 37.5 lakh families in 10,621 villages were expected to get benefited under the Palle

Pragathi scheme. (The Hindu 24/1/15)

'Vicious circles linking violence and hunger' must end - UN agriculture chief (21)

New York: Agriculture and food security must be treated as essential components of peacebuilding

and conflict resolution, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said

during a special meeting of the UN Peacebuilding Commission held at Headquarters today. "Food

security is an important foundation for peace, political stability and sustainable development. In the

history of humanity, time and time again we have seen vicious circles linking violence and hunger -

and these are conflicts that are not restricted by national borders," FAO Director-General Jose

Graziano da Silva said to participants today. In addition to Graziano da Silva's briefing, the meeting

was also expected to hear opening remarks from the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, another

briefing by the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support as well as an interaction with

Member States. In his remarks, the FAO Director-General emphasized that food security can be used

as "a conflict prevention and mitigation tool" for the advancement of peace and security. Policies and

actions on food security can not only build resilience and resolve conflicts; they can help prevent

them, too. "We cannot just wait for an emergency to react. To achieve food security, we need to act

before the crisis. We cannot prevent a drought from happening, but we can prevent it from becoming

famine," he added. Hunger kills far more people than war or terrorism, he noted during his speech.

For example, between 2004 and 2009, an estimated 55,000 people a year lost their lives as a direct

result of conflict or terrorism, while in Somalia alone, between 2010 and 2012 over 250,000 died due

to famine caused by severe drought, Graziano da Silva said. Meanwhile, the impact of conflicts in

rural areas can be devastating for crop production, livestock and harvests and often causes the

destruction of farm assets and household capital. And the impact of conflicts on food security often

lasts long after the violence has subsided, Graziano da Silva said. As agriculture continues to be the

primary way of life for the majority of people in post-conflict countries, rehabilitation and revival of

agriculture in those areas, therefore, becomes crucial to alleviating poverty and ensuring overall

development. The FAO Director-General emphasized that "partnerships are crucial," spotlighting that

now more than ever countries need to work together to overcome the multiple, interconnected

challenges. It is in this spirit of collaboration that FAO has been able to successfully carry out projects

across the globe. Additionally, with the crafting of new global sustainable development goals (SDGs)

underway, "improved knowledge and understanding of the possible interplays between food security

and human security will help shape more effective interventions and contribute to more lasting

results," Graziano da Silva said. (New Kerala 27/1/15)

More bhagya schemes roll out, but no revenue rolls in (21)

Bengaluru: From Anna Bhagya to Bachchilu Bhagya, chief minister Siddaramaiah has been rolling out

populist schemes one after another, putting severe stress on public finances. This, despite the fact

that the state's revenue collection has taken a major hit this fiscal and adversely impacted

construction projects, infrastructure and road works. In the past week, Siddaramaiah launched two

schemes -- Vime Bhagya (Rs 1.5 lakh insurance scheme for Above Poverty Line families) and

Bachchilu Bhagya (Rs 18,000 subsidy for 1.5 lakh BPL families to construct bathrooms). This at a

time when the state is already shelling out Rs 7,000 crore in subsidies for various populist schemes.

"Populist schemes are the order of the day for any government to win votes. But in Karnataka, it

seems the the policies are extremely pro-poor and less pro-growth. It's extremely important to balance

pro-poor schemes to alleviate poverty and pro-growth schemes to push economy especially in the

wake of federal level competition and slowdown in economy,'' said Prof G Ramesh, Centre for Public

Policy, Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru. As a result of more populist measures, resource

mobilization has taken a serious hit, raising doubts over the government's ability to foot the bill for its

populist schemes and programmes. "It's expected to get worse with dipping revenue and more

populist schemes planned ahead of panchayat elections,'' said a senior official in the finance

department. Siddaramaiah recently met officials of revenue-generating departments -- commercial

tax, transport, excise and stamps and registration - to put pressure on them to meet the Rs 14,500

crore target this fiscal. He reportedly said their promotions would be directly linked to performance in

meeting targets. Since then, the commercial tax department has been going all out to meet the target,

causing resentment among businessmen. "After the CM's warning, the commercial tax department

conducted raids on traders, creating panic in the business community. This was uncalled for since it

has been supportive of the Congress government,'' said Sajjan Raj Mehta, a trader-activist. (Times of

India 28/1/15)

Himachal has succeeded in reducing poverty: World Bank (21)

SHIMLA: Over the years Himachal Pradesh has emerged as one of the states with the best human

development outcomes in India. However, there has been a decline in the female child sex ratio as

people have developed preference for male child. A World Bank report released on Wednesday has

revealed that the state was also facing the problem of malnutrition in children and an ageing

population. The report - Scaling the heights: Social inclusion and sustainable development in

Himachal Pradesh - is a macro-social account of the state's achievements over the past several

decades and an attempt to understand the factors that allowed Himachal Pradesh to move toward

social inclusion and sustainable development. The World Bank report highlights how Himachal

Pradesh has effectively balanced economic growth with good human development outcomes and has

successfully reduced poverty among different groups in the state. However, it has also captured

issues of concern such has decline in the female child sex ratio, under nutrition in children and an

ageing population. "Perhaps one of the most worrisome trends, and in many ways a puzzle in

Himachal Pradesh, is the stark absence of female children compared to male. Himachal Pradesh has

made significant progress in reducing both fertility and infant mortality. Additionally, in a regime where

education, health, sanitation, and overall growth are models for others to emulate, the higher mortality

of female children comes as a surprise and a conundrum," the report stated. The report stated that in

the late 1990s, Himachal Pradesh had received international kudos because its female-to-male ratio

seemed to be approaching parity since 1901, and demographers predicted that this progress would

continue. "But, the 2001 census showed an unexpected dip in overall sex ratio for Himachal Pradesh.

Much more worrisome has been the sharp decline in female-to-male ratios among children," it added.

The report further stated that from 1981 to 2011, the number of females to every 1,000 males

plummeted. Such a sharp decline implicates sex-selective abortions and gross neglect of female

children, although not female infanticide, in a fertility regime that is characterized by a preference for

small families and sons. "However, it is true that stated preferences for sons seem to have declined

from 1992 to 2005, when the first and third rounds of the National Family Health Survey were

conducted," it added. The report stated that the change in attitude seems to have gone hand-in-hand

with a slight improvement in the number of female children to every 1,000 male kids between the

2001 and the 2011 censuses, but the state government has to keep a close watch to ensure this trend

continues to improve. (Times of India 30/1/15)

Modi govt readies to cut flab out of UPA's flagship food security law (21)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office has asked for a blueprint to implement the

recommendations of a top panel that has suggested sweeping food reforms that include limiting

subsidised grains to 40% of the population from the present 67%. The PMO directive gives the

clearest signal yet that the Modi government is looking to amend the National Food Security Act -- a

cornerstone of the previous UPA regime’s welfare agenda. It could also set in motion the first real

reforms in agriculture since the Indian economy opened up. The food ministry has been told to come

out with “specific deadlines” for implementing the Shanta Kumar-led panel report, sources said. A

former Himachal CM, Kumar was the food minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The panel

has called for an end to operations of the leakage-prone Food Corporation of India in traditional food-

bowl states and raising the price at which all categories of beneficiaries get subsidised grains to 50%

of minimum support price, barring the poorest households. The panel also favours a switch to a cash

transfer-based food-subsidy system. The PM-appointed panel submitted its report on January 21. To

boost growth, the government has moved swiftly to cut red tape, allow more foreign investment and

make acquiring land easier. However, it had so far not said much about the reforms it would bring to

the country’s antiquated farm sector. Implementing all the reforms suggested by the panel could be

fraught with political risks in a country where millions rely on state-subsidised food. It is still early to

predict if Modi would go the whole hog. Steps such as paring the food-security coverage and raising

the price of cheap grains -- for the first time in decades -- are in line with the government’s goals of

restricting all subsidies to the poorest. The government’s view is that for high growth, India will need

to slash subsidies and re-direct the spending to infrastructure sector so that more people can join the

workforce. The Ram Vilas Paswan-headed food ministry would meet on February 11 to start

preparing the roadmap, sources said. In the last budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced

an expenditure management commission to suggest comprehensive subsidy reforms, which, too, is

likely to propose changes in food subsidy. None of this can happen without altering the food security

act. Yet, in a country where nearly half the children were either stunted or malnourished, ensuring

access to food was critical. India spends close to Rs 1.25 lakh crore, or 8% of the total government

expenditure of Rs 18 lakh crore, on food subsidy alone. According to ratings agency Moody’s, annual

spending on food subsidies grew 20% on an average over the past eight years, compared with a 16%

rise in overall expenditure during the period. The government’s spending on food in 2014 accounted

for 18% of its fiscal deficit, which it is trying to curtail. (Hindustan Times 1/2/15)

India has Made Notable Progress on MDGs: UN (21)

NEW DELHI: India has made notable progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) set for 2015, but much needs to be done on the fronts of poverty and education, a UN report

said Wednesday. Though India has made notable progress towards reaching the MDGs,

achievements across the goals vary, according to the report titled "India and the MDGs".The report

said India has already achieved the target for reducing poverty by half by official estimates and was

close to doing so by international estimates. However, the progress was uneven. "Over 270 million

people in India in 2012 still remained trapped in extreme poverty making the post-2015 goal of

eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 challenging but feasible," the report said. Similarly, though India

has achieved gender parity in primary school enrolment, latest data suggests that India is off-track on

targets to achieve universal enrolment and completion. "Large number of children still remain out of

school and fail to complete primary education. The quality of education is also a major concern," it

said. India, the study said, was set to achieve the targets of reducing hunger by half, maternal

mortality by three quarters and has halved the proportion of population without access to clean

drinking water. Shamshad Akhtar, UN under-secretary general and executive secretary of the UN

Economic and Social Commission for Asia, said: "Over the years, the MDGs have pushed

governments around the world to mainstream poverty reduction, gender parity, education and health

and such basic needs as water and sanitation in their development agenda." "India's achievements

towards the MDGs are beyond doubt considerable... yet the progress has been uneven across goals

and across states, and inequalities have risen," she said. "The key message is not to leave anyone

behind." The MDGs are eight international development goals that were established following the

millennium summit of the UN in 2000. All 189 UN member states at the time (there are 193 currently),

and at least 23 international organisations, committed to help achieve the goals by 2015. Srinath

Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), said: "There was a problem with

MDGs as they had aggregate indicators and they did not have gender and income segregation." (New

Indian Express 4/2/15)

30 crore people still live in extreme poverty in India: Report (21)

New Delhi:About 30 crore people still live in extreme poverty in India even as the Millennium

Development Goal (MGD) programme will expire in December, a United Nations report has said. "Still

nearly 300 million people live in extreme poverty in India and face deprivation in terms of access to

basic services, including education, health, water, sanitation and electricity," the report -- India and the

MGDs: Completing the Task -- said. India, which has a population of over 125 crore, adopted the

United Nation's MGD in 2000 with an aim to free millions from extreme poverty and hunger, illiteracy,

poor health. The eight-point MGD among others targets promotion of gender equality and women

empowerment, reducing child mortality, improve maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and

environmental sustainability. "India has made a great progress on MGDs, but there is no room for

complacency, because there are gaps relative to the goals and targets. "There are enough

opportunities and there is a lot of scope to catch up, and it is critical that by the end of the year when

the MGD expires, we really accelerate momentum during this year so that we start the Sustainable

Development Goal (SDG) agenda," said Shamshad Akhtar, UN Under Secretary General and

Executive Secretary UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP). India has

an opportunity to become a leader in sustainable development. It has achieved the poverty reduction

target, but the progress is uneven, said the report. "Being home to one-sixth of the world's population,

the world is not going to achieve the SDGs if India does not (achieve them)," Akhtar said. After MGD

expiry, the UN will begin its SDG programme. India has halved incidence of poverty from 1990s. Still

over 27 crore people in 2012 remained in extreme poverty, making the post-2015 goal of eliminating

extreme poverty by 2030 challenging, but feasible, it said. It is significant that countries across the

globe have made social development a public policy through MGD, said TCA Anant, Secretary,

Ministry of Statistics and Planning and Chief Statistician. "We ourselves bring our report. From our

report I can say that we have achieved progress on number of indicators," he added. Seeing MGD an

opportunity, he said, it allows India to sharpen its capability of data mining. "We realised we faced

enormous challenges in our capabilities to measure. There are many indicators in the goal on which

we still have limited information," said Anant. (Deccan Herald 4/2/15)

Poverty removal, child care should be on post-2015 agenda: India (21)

New York: India has told the UN that poverty eradication and special attention to children's needs

should be the central goal for the post-2015 development agenda to ensure that youngsters get a

protective and nurturing environment. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador

Bhagwant Bishnoi said during a meeting of the executive board of UNICEF that 568 million children

globally are still living in extreme poverty and persisting challenge of inadequate investment for their

well-being is often exacerbated by economic crises, natural disasters and armed conflict. "Eradication

of poverty and special attention to children needs to be central to the post-2015 Development

Agenda. This has to be accompanied by focused cross-cutting strategies, including capacity

development, partnerships, social inclusion and knowledge management aligned with national

policies and priorities," he said. Bishnoi said the focus should be to ensure protective and nurturing

environments for all the world's children. He added that India is home to 472 million children, nearly

20 per cent of the world's child population and voiced the country's commitment to the development of

every child, ensuring his or her rights and protection from exploitation. He highlighted the recently

launched 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme in India, which is aimed at ensuring protection of

girls, increasing their participation in secondary education and their overall development. Another

programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'Sukanya Samriddhi Account' seeks to provide

economic assistance to the girl child. Bishnoi noted that sound financial health is integral to the

effective and efficient functioning of UNICEF, which has its largest overseas presence in India. As the

international community embarks on the post-2015 development agenda this year, he said the timely

adoption of a global monitoring and oversight system for activities undertaken by country offices and

the national committees will help in bridging functional and financial gaps. While UNICEF continues to

be a "trusted development partner" for program countries, there is need to evolve clearer guidelines

for managing and scaling up its programmes, including evaluation. A comprehensive resource

mobilisation strategy that addresses funding concerns, especially for health and education

programmes, would enable UNICEF to achieve targets in a more responsive manner, he said, adding

that increased allocation is required in areas of health and education as these are imperatives for all

developing countries. He also emphasised the importance of continuing to leverage South-South

Cooperation in partnering with the countries of the South. "This would be additional to, and not a

replacement, for North South Cooperation," he added. (Zee News 5/2/15)

Mission for hunger-free city has many takers (21)

AURANGABAD: An initiative by a group of senior citizens to stop wastage of food is gaining

momentum across the city. As many as 25 caterers and a city-based NGO have joined hands with the

group to provide food everyday to those visiting the Government Medical College and Hospital

(GMCH). The NGO, All India Majilise Tamer-e-Millat trust has been providing food free of cost to more

than 500 patients and their relatives who visit the GMCH and Government Cancer hospital every day

for the past one and a half years. Many of the visitors, who cannot afford to spend for stay and food,

take shelter at a mosque near the GMCH. Taking the initiative further, the group of caterers will collect

the food gathered from the initiative while the NGO will transport the food and serve it to the needy.

The group of citizens had initiated the campaign to check food wastage at weddings, parties and

meetings by installing boards displaying clear messages like "eat but please do not waste food" at

various marriage halls in the city. The group said that some communities have even pledged to limit

the food items at weddings. About 40,000kg food gets wasted at weddings held in over 170 marriage

halls across the city. The campaign, which was launched about two years back, has been able to help

control about 15-20% food wastage say experts. "Around 25 caterers have decided to share the left

over food to the needy people. Meanwhile, an NGO which has been serving food to more than 500

people every day free of cost said it would make transport arrangements for the food," said Anant

Motale, the brain behind the idea of creating awareness. The secretary of the All India Majilise Tamer-

e-Millat trust, Moid Hashar said, "The idea evolved when my father Hallem Hashar witnessed many

relatives of patients undergoing treatment at GMCH taking shelter at a mosque near the GMCH."

"Many people belonging to economically backward community coming from nearby villages would live

only on tea as they could not afford to spend on food along with the treatment expenses of their

patients. My father decided to provide meals to the needy free-of-cost," he said. "Everyday we serve

home-cooked food like chapati, vegetables, pulses and rice. The food is served at the mosque twice a

day between 12pm and 1pm and 7pm and 8pm. Many even take parcels for patients. Moreover, we

also supply about 150 parcels to the patients and relatives at the Government Cancer hospital

everyday," said trust president Hamad Alamri. According to social activist Sundarrao Shinde, around

2,000 weddings and social events are held in the city per year. "Food wasted each day at one

wedding can suffice the hunger of about 100 people and if we consider the total food wasted during

wedding season in Aurangabad alone it would be enough to feed the city's vast slum population," he

said. Hoteliers, however, aren't too hopeful yet. "Hotels and hostels in the city too should join the

cause. They can supply the leftover food to the orphanages and missionaries in the city and check

that the food is not wasted," said Purushottam Joshi. (Times of India 9/2/15)

15 key promises AAP has made to people of Delhi (21)

Since the Aam Aadmi Party is all set to form the government in Delhi, TOI enlists key promises the

party has made. (1) Delhi Janlokpal Bill: Resolved to bring Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill on coming to power.

Delhi Lokpal will have the power to investigate and prosecute those charged with corruption. (2) 2.:

Swaraj Bill AAP will also bring the Swaraj Bill to devolve powers to the people.Decisions affecting the

local community will be taken by citizens and implemented by their secretariat. (3) Full statehood for

Delhi: AAP will push for full statehood for Delhi. This will make bodies like DDA, MCD & Delhi Police

accountable to the elected Delhi government. (4) Electricity bills to be cut by half: AAP will ask CAG to

do an audit of discoms, and convinced that they are fattening the costs, AAP will reduce electricity

bills by half. (5) Discom portability: AAP has promised to provide consumers the right to choose

between electricity providers.This, they say, will create competition, leading to better services and

lower tariffs. (6) Delhi to be made a solar city: AAP will facilitate a phased shift to renewable and

alternate sources of energy. (7) Water as a right: AAP will provide universal access to clean drinking

water at an affordable price. This, they say, is every citizen's right. (8) Free water: AAP to give free

'lifeline' water of up to 20 kilolitres (20,000 litres) per month to every household. But once

consumption exceeds 20 kilolitres, full amount to be charged. Annual 10% tariff hike will be abolished

& hikes will be after due consideration.(9) Reviving Yamuna: Will ensure 100% collection and

treatment of Delhi's sewage through an extensive sewer network and construction of new functional

sewage treatment plants. (10) Public loos: AAP will build 1.5 lakh toilets in slums across the city and

50,000 toilets in public spaces.Of them, 1 lakh toilets will be for women. (11) New schools: AAP will

build 500 new schools with a special focus on secondary and senior secondary schools to ensure that

every Delhi child has easy access to quality education. (12) New colleges: AAP will open 20 new

colleges under Delhi administration on the outskirts of the city in partnership with the villages of Delhi.

(13) Regulate fees: AAP to regulate private school fees by publishing the fee structures & accounts

online.Capitation fee will be abolished. (14) E-governance: All govt services & forms to be available

online & on cellphone.Data on govt projects, progress, accounts & personnel will be posted online.

(15) Smart Delhi . AAP promised free Wi-Fi in city. It will also install 10,000 CCTVs in DTC buses, bus

stands and in crowded places as a deterrent against crime. (Times of India 11/2/15)

No Toilet in 80 Lakh Rural Households in Odisha (21)

BHUBANESWAR: Even as jaundice is spreading to new regions of the State, nearly 80 lakh

households in the rural areas do not have toilets in their houses while as many households do not

have drinking water connection. The situation in urban areas is similar where outdated pipelines and

lack of garbage disposal have led to outbreak of jaundice which the State Government is finding

difficult to bring under control. Official sources said only 1.59 per cent of the households in rural areas

have pipe water connections while the figure is less than one per cent in 17 out of 30 districts in the

State. As per the 2011 Census, 81.44 lakh households reside in rural areas out of 96.61 lakh

households in the State. Only 1.29 lakh houses have water connections and 32.39 lakh families

collect drinking water from the stand-posts in their villages. About 47.75 lakh families do not have

drinking water facilities. These include tribal and inaccessible villages in Western and Southern

Odisha districts. Coverage under piped water connectivity is less than one per cent in Sundargarh,

Sonepur, Sambalpur, Rayagada, Puri, Nuapada, Nayagarh, Koraput, Khurda, Keonjhar, Kandhamal,

Kalahandi, Boudh, Bhadrak, Bargarh, Balangir and Angul districts. Similarly, only 10.38 lakh families

out of the total 96.62 lakh have toilet facilities as enumerated in 2013 baseline survey. Less than five

per cent houses in Kalahandi, Nuapada, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj,

Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Sundargarh, Sonepur, Sambalpur, Balangir, Boudh, Deogarh, Gajapati,

Ganjam and Jharsuguda have toilet facilities. The issue cropped up in the ongoing budget session of

the Assembly several times as jaundice has affected more than a thousand people in Sambalpur,

Cuttack and other areas. (New Indian Express 15/2/15)

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study (21)

JAIPUR: The level of malnourishment is high among children whose parents migrate in search of

livelihood. Inherent malnourishment in mothers, lack of food and nutrition security, feeding and dietary

practices and illnesses are some of the reasons identified for high levels of malnourishment. A study

‘Understanding hunger and malnutrition among high migrant communities’ conducted in south

Rajasthan by Aajeevika Bureau and EdelGive Foundation has revealed that more than half the

children were underweight in those communities where migration was high. Stunting or retarded

growth was reported in 53 per cent of the children with 28 per cent of them severely so; 33 per cent

are wasted (debilitated growth) with over 9 per cent of them severely so and one-fourth severely

underweight. South Rajasthan — broadly Udaipur division — is a semi-arid region with a largely tribal

population which owns small land holdings. Small land holdings are unable to help them sustain a

livelihood which results in high levels of migration. Each panchayat, where the study was done, had

550-600 migrants. The study was done in four panchayats in one block — two had high levels of

migrations and the other two low migration. The sample of 884 households, which had less than three

children, was picked up from 13 villages. A total of 695 children under the age of three were weighed

and measured as were 607 mothers. The median BMI (body mass index) of mothers was 18.1 with 58

per cent having a BMI of less than 18.5. An analysis has suggested inter-generational transfer of

under-nutrition. When the mother is under-nourished, children are 1.8 times more likely to have

severe malnutrition. Also, less availability of food items, small land holdings resulting in low produce

and caring practices caused malnutrition. Roti was the only food item eaten by children daily and

more than 60 per cent had access to it. Only 58 per cent were breastfed, and less than one per cent

had daliya (porridge) which is supposed to be highly nutritious. The study further shows that children

of migrating families were less likely to be enrolled at the anganwadi centres where the government

provides supplementary food to pre-school children. Importantly, the anganwadi centres were less

functional in areas with high migrating population. When a mother goes for work, the primary

caretakers are grandparents in 57 per cent of the cases, father in just 4 per cent and elder brother in 5

per cent. (The Hindu 16/2/15)

Centre in no hurry to cut PDS cover for poor (21)

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government is not in a hurry to accept the controversial

recommendation of the Shanta Kumar panel to cut the public distribution system beneficiaries for

subsidised foodgrains to 40 from 67 per cent under the National Food Security Act, highly placed

government sources have indicated to The Hindu. With several crucial Assembly elections in the

offing this and the next year and the resurgence of the Aam Aadmi Party which is waiting to spread its

wings in Punjab and Bihar, the Modi government is treading cautiously on important policy decisions.

Assembly elections in Bihar, where the BJP is hoping to make a bid for power, is scheduled for later

this year, and any backlash on account of reduced coverage under the NFSA is not something that

the Modi government would like at this juncture. Incidentally, Union Food and Consumer Affairs

Minister Ram Vilas Paswan whose Lok Janshakti Party is a BJP ally at the Centre and in Bihar, has

strong reservations about the suggestion to cut down the priority beneficiaries from the Targeted

PDS.The Shanta Kumar committee recommendations have already drawn flak from several

opposition parties. “Even if the UPA’s National Food Security Act was a Lok Sabha poll-eve gimmick,

the NDA cannot be seen tinkering with it so as to reduce the percentage of beneficiaries. It will be a

highly unpopular proposal on which there will be no political consensus,’’ highly placed sources told

The Hindu. But some recommendations regarding the re-structuring of the FCI, modernisation of the

PDS, conversion of godowns into silos, de-centralised procurement and raising the quantum of

foodgrains to 7 kg per person from the present 5 kg may be taken on board. So far only 11 States

have rolled out the National Food Security Act but none has the requisite infrastructure in place. The

NDA has given time till June for States to get their act together. The NFSA includes the Mid-Day Meal

Scheme, Other Welfare Schemes and the Targeted Public Distribution System. The 67 per cent

TPDS coverage includes 75 per cent population in rural areas and 50 per cent in urban areas. Under

the scheme, rice is priced at Rs. 3 per kg, wheat at Rs. 2 per kg and coarse grains at Re. 1 per kg.

States have to identify the beneficiaries as per a criterion and cap worked out by the erstwhile

Planning Commission. The panel which was set up by the Modi government in August to make

recommendations for re-structuring the Food Corporation of India, has suggested that the Centre “re-

visit’’ the National Food Security Act to incorporate its recommendations. Among other key

recommendations are raising the quantum of rationed foodgrains to seven kg per person instead of

five, raising the cost of rationed foodgrains, shifting to cash transfers in lieu of foodgrains, a re-look at

the regime for giving minimum support price for farm commodities, an open-ended procurement

system, outsourcing of foodgrains storage and entry of private players into bulk handling of

foodgrains. It justified its recommendations on the consideration of large foodstocks, lack of storage

space and high food subsidy bill, budgeted at Rs. 1,02,476 crore for 2014-15. The allocation of

foodgrains under the Act is estimated at 62.1 million tonne. (The Hindu 19/2/15)

National Food Security Act in NE: Paswan (21)

IMPHAL, Feb 18 – The National Food Security Act (NFSA) which was implemented two years ago in

the country, will be implemented in North Eastern States by June/July this year. This was announced

by Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan on his maiden

visit to Manipur after becoming a Minister in the BJP Government at the Centre, in Imphal on

Saturday. Paswan was speaking to media persons at Hotel Imphal after attending a review meeting

on the preparatory work for the implementation of NFSA in Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.

The Union Minister said that computerisation of data has been completed to the extent of 90 per cent

in Mizoram and Tripura, Manipur has done 77 per cent and Assam 62. Assam and Tripura have

informed that they will be ready to roll out the Act in June next while Manipur informed that they will

implement the scheme by July. Paswan also informed that the ongoing mega-block due to Lumding-

Silchar railway line broad gauge conversion through which the supply of food grains for Manipur,

Tripura, Mizoram and south Assam goes, will be lifted and the track will be made operational after

March 31 next. “The Railways have targeted to complete the broad gauge conversion by March

2015,” he said and directed the concerned officials that all efforts should be taken to ensure adequate

supply of foodgrains in the NE States. Earlier, Food Corporation of India (FCI) which transports about

85,000 MT of food grains per month for the NE States, had even plans to import rice from Myanmar.

The monthly requirement of these States is 82,744 MT for which storage capacity of 12,6443 MTs is

available with FCI against which the Corporation is having stock of 1,19,000 MTs of foodgrains in

various godowns in the region. Regarding the complaint of anomalies in the distribution of grains

through PDS, he said, “We are aware of such grievances, but it depends on the State Governments

on how to improve the system.” After attending the meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee

on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in Guwahati, Union Minister Paswan airdashed

here to lay the foundation for construction of food storage depots at Bishnupur and Sawombung on

Sunday besides attending the review meeting of FCI and State officials. (The Assam Tribune 20/2/15)

‘Next-generation genomics key to global food security’ (21)

SANGAREDDY: Renowned agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan said on Friday that making a

hunger and malnutrition-free society should be the ultimate goal of every agricultural scientist and

stakeholder. Next-generation genomics backed by strong technological advancements will facilitate

science-based agricultural innovations such as development of nutrition-rich crops to eradicate

hunger. He was addressing the concluding session of the 5th International Conference on Next

Generation Genomics and Integrated Breeding for Crop Improvement (NGGIBCI-V) held at the

International Crops Research for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Over 300 delegates representing

private and public sectors from 30 countries worldwide participated and deliberated on future

collaborations and ways to integrate next-generation genomics into the future of crop improvement to

contribute to global food and nutrition security. Genomics – or deciphering the genomic content of

crop species using high-throughput and next-generation approaches – allows the scientific community

access to ‘good genes’ to speed up breeding for superior crop varieties with agronomically important

traits. “It is not so much a question of more food. It is more a question of better food,” opined Dr.

Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, MARS Inc. USA, while talking on genomics

interventions to ensure food and nutritional security in developing countries. “Next-generation

sequencing technologies are vital in feeding the ever growing global population,” said Asis Datta,

founder and former director, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), India. “It is

important to train the next generation of breeders to deploy modern technologies for crop

improvement,” stressed Jean-Marcel Ribaut, Director, CGIAR Generation Challenge Program (GCP),

Mexico, in highlighting successful case studies in translating genomics research for crop improvement

and the GCP’s role in providing the platform. “The challenge of producing more nutritious food to feed

9 billion people in 2050 amid the threat of climate change is enormous. Next-generation genomics is

one of the ‘best bets’ for sustainably eradicating hunger, malnutrition and poverty. This powerful tool

can dramatically increase our capacity to utilise genetic diversity and develop highly nutritious, stress

tolerant crop varieties faster and cheaper than conventional crop improvement practices,”

emphasised David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT. (The Hindu 21/2/15)

5,000 women from across district demand regular foodgrain supply (21)

KOLHAPUR: Around 5,000 women from across the district participated in a morcha organised by the

Ration Bachao Samiti demanding regular supply of foodgrain at ration shops through the public

distribution system (PDS). They also demanded cancellation of direct transfer of subsidy into the bank

account of beneficiaries, saying that many poor people who do not have bank accounts or Aadhaar

cards will not benefit from the scheme. Chandrakant Yadav, leader of the samiti said, "We voted the

Narendra Modi government to power hoping that he will take steps to ensure that all the poor people,

including workers and farmers who are mostly dependent on the PDS, will get foodgrain cheap. But,

instead of preventing irregularities in the system, the government is ensuring that the least number of

people come under the scheme to reduce the burden of subsidies." "From 2008, we were agitating for

foodgrain for all through the PDS which resulted in the central government passing the Food Security

Bill. We are not against linking the Aadhaar card with the ration card or modernisation of the PDS so

that the right people will get the benefit. But that does not mean reducing the quantity of foodgrain that

people get under the system. We want 10kg of foodgrain per person which is 5kg per person now. We

also want sugar through the PDS as it was done previously," Yadav said. DN Patil, another member

of the samiti said, "In 2013, the BJP organised agitations for food security bill and foodgrain for all.

Now, after coming to power, instead of providing more foodgrain through the PDS to serve the motive

of the Food Security Act, the government is reducing the customer base." Pushpa Raj Deshmukh,

state president of the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation said, "Along with the demands of

the people, the government should consider our long-pending demands also that include increase in

transportation and supply commissions which have been stable since 2001. All the ration shop

holders in the state are supporting the agitation and will participate in the next rally that would be

organised at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on March 2 and at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi." On Tuesday, the

rally began from Mirajkar Tikti around 12pm and reached the collector's office via Binkhambi Ganesh

mandir, Mahadwar road and Maharana Pratap chowk. The delegation of the Ration Bachao Samiti

submitted a memorandum of their demands to the district supply officer Vivek Agawane who assured

them to convey their message to the higher authorities. (Times of India 25/2/15)

Feed underprivileged kids with 'Ticket to Cheer' (21)

New Delhi: With the ongoing World Cup fever, the six-week-long campaign urges cricket lovers to

showcase their love for the game and their team with a personalised 'ticket to cheer'. "The 'Ticket to

Cheer' campaign is an attempt to fulfil the basic need of satiating the hunger of children in school

through mid-day meals. We are united in this cause with foodpanda which shares our desire to

provide nourishment to children. "By targeting cricket lovers during the World Cup, we are hoping to

add purpose to their passion and bring a ray of happiness into the lives of children," Shridhar Venkat,

CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, said in a statement. The microsite, tickettocheer.com, has been

created to facilitate cricket fans to support their favourite team, in a match of choice, during the World

Cup by generating their own 'Ticket to Cheer'. One ticket implies a contribution of Rs.750 to provide

mid-day meals to a child for an entire school year. Foodpanda will also be sharing posts to cheer

India on social media and for every cheer foodpanda will donate a meal from their side. "The World

Cup is a great occasion to unite people for a common cause. We take this opportunity to encourage

people to join us in serving 1.4 million children with the potential to lead a healthy and progressive life

like any of us," said Rohit Chadda, managing director and founder, foodpanda.in. Besides foodpanda,

the initiative is also being supported by ESPN Cricinfo and Freecharge. (Business Standard 27/2/15)

Odisha to provide meal for Rs.5 to urban poor (21)

Bhubaneswar: In order to provide an affordable meal in five urban areas of the state, the Odisha

government is all set to introduce "Aahar" scheme from this April, an official said here on Monday.

Under the scheme, the government would provide a meal for five rupees to the urban poor in

Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Rourkela. The menu of the meal will comprise

plain rice and dalma (a combination of dal and vegetables). Taking a cue from Tamil Nadu, the

government has decided to open Aahar centres (canteens) at bus stops, railway stations, collectorate

and hospitals in the five urban areas. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief

Minister Naveen Patnaik here Monday. The poor people coming to the cities can avail the Rs.5 meal

only during lunch time while the government will make arrangements to provide meals to 25,000

people daily, a chief minister's office (CMO) release said. According to the meeting, corporate houses

would provide assistance for the scheme while the state's food supply and consumer welfare

department and the urban development department would set up the necessary infrastructure. The

scheme would be expanded to other urban areas in the coming years if it is successful in the cities,

the official added. "These initiatives have been called populist. But this model of providing affordable

cooked food in urban areas ensure food security and also keeps food prices in check," an official said.

(Business Standard 2/3/15)

Poverty forces mother to kill daughters (21)

AJMER: Preliminary investigation suggests that poverty compelled the mother arrested for killing her

two daughters Sonia, 4 and Samridhi, 1, by mixing their milk with small rusted nails to commit the

crime. Alwargate police found that the accused Sunita alias Ratna had ran out of ration and had no

food in the house except 200 grams of wheat flour and the girls were crying of hunger. Police also

revealed that even the milk which was used to kill the girls was borrowed from the neighbour that

night. Police will now move an application in the court for the mental examination of Sunita in Jaipur.

"We searched Sunita's house and found that she had no food in the kitchen. There were no

vegetables or bread or anything else available. We found about 200 gram of wheat flour in polythene

which was stinking," said a police officer. Neighbours told the police that on the night of February 26,

they heard the girls cry and Sunita was threatening them to stop. "She came to me at about 10pm on

that day and borrowed a glass of milk. She said nothing else," Kanta, Sunita's neighbour, told police.

Sunita, in her statement to the police, accepted that couldn't bear seeing her children cry of hunger. "I

did not have a penny to even purchase poison and I found the nails in the cupboard. I added them to

the milk so that it chokes them and can't speak anything," Sunita told the police before she was

arrested. Police said for two days Sunita slept with the dead bodies of her daughters and when they

started stinking she decided to throw those bodies out in the well. "Not a single tear dropped out of

her eyes over her daughters as all her emotions had died," added a police officer. Postmortem also

proved that doctors found that there was nothing in the belly of the dead girls except those nails and

some milk. Police confirmed that Arun, Sunita's husband, was earning only Rs 2,500 monthly and for

more income they rented out a portion of inherited house for Rs 3,000 a month. "Whatever Arun

earned he spent on liquor. He rarely gave anything to his wife and the fights between the couple were

not unknown to the residents of the colony," said Dharmendra Kumawat, a local resident. Police on

Tuesday concluded the case and will seek permission from the court for mental examination of Sunita

as while investigating they found that she had tried to murder her daughters even last year but failed

and she also took medication for her mental problem (Times of India 4/3/15)

Direct cash transfer of food subsidy to begin on pilot basis (21)

NEW DELHI: Government will launch direct cash transfer of food subsidy to beneficiaries in

Chandigarh and Puducherry on pilot basis. While stating that the ministry is keen to do this to stop

leakage of PDS grain, food minister Ram Vilas Paswan reiterated they have "outrightly" rejected the

PM-appointed committee's recommendation to reduce food security coverage from 67% to 40%.The

panel on restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI) in its report submitted to PM had

recommended these measures besides others. The ministry has proposed the two Union Territories

for direct cash transfer since these are urban areas and the will be better monitoring. Though Paswan

said this is a better mechanism, there are problems as well. "If we transfer cash, beneficiary can buy

food grains from open market. Then what will happen to our procurement operation and what will we

do with procured food grains and our storage facilities. We need to seriously think about this before

implementing it on larger scale," he said. The panel has also suggested the government should

ensure that farmers get minimum support price (MSP), meaning state-owned agencies must procure

grains from farmers. Playing safe the ministry in its submission to PMO has also steered clear of the

panel's sensitive recommendation to have uniform mandi taxes of 3-4% on wheat and rice and the

same to be included in the MSP. Since only West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have agreed to this

proposal, Paswan said they would push this only when all states are on board. The minister also said

that FCI has agreed to procure pulses and oilseeds from farmers at MSP besides rice and wheat, as

recommended by the panel. On the issue of FCI's withdrawal from buying grains in states including

Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha where government procurement system has been

strengthened, Paswan said the agency won't procure any grain from Haryana from this season

starting April. FCI will also stop any procurement from the next season starting April 2016. The

ministry has also favoured outsourcing the testing of FCI foodgrains to private sector and is ready to

try it on a pilot basis in 25 depots in Chhattisgarh. (Times of India 6/3/15)

Chhattisgarh PDS Scam: .. (21)

CHHATTISGARH: Chhattishgarh police investigating the multi-crore rice procurement scam appear

to have prima facie cleared Chief Minister Raman Singh of any involvement in it. Speaking exclusively

to NDTV, Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Gupta said, "Prima Facie there does not seem

to be any involvement of the Chief Minister in the rice procurement scam under investigation." Mr

Gupta's statement comes in the backdrop of multiple raids conducted last month, where the police

seized more than 300 documents and recovered Rs. 4 crores in cash. As many as 28 raids were

carried out, mostly on Civil Supplies Department officials, across the state. Sources tell NDTV, that

there are more than two dozen names of officials ranging from peons to department heads. These

names were a part of meticulously maintained payoff records. Sources say, more than 50 entries

were labelled as "for CM Sir" and the corresponding payoff amount against them is more than Rs. 50

Lakhs. "CM initials in the seized papers could also refer to Chinta Mani Chandrakar - an officer in the

civil supplies department," says Mr Gupta adding that his department will not spare someone because

of their influence of position. The opposition in the state however is not convinced. A galvanised

Congress has kick started a Padyatra to the capital where supporters are expected to converge on

March 16 in a show of strength. "We want the Chief Minister to resign and the CBI should conduct the

investigation" said Bhupesh Bhagel, Chhattisgarh Congress chief, who is leading the protest.

Chhattisgarh has often been touted as a model state for its Public Distribution System by the BJP

where subsidised rice is available to lakhs of poor families at Rs. 2 per kg. Reacting to the allegations,

Mr Singh said "the Anti-corruption branch is conducting the investigations and will present its findings

to the court"Sources tell NDTV that investigations could be complete within a week followed by filing

of the chargesheet soon after. (NDTV 12/3/15)

Poverty kills 50% Trauma Centre head injury patients: AIIMS study (21)

New Delhi: Extreme poverty leads to the death of nearly 50% of patients with severe head injury

cases within six months of their discharge from the trauma centre at the All India Institute of Medical

Sciences, an internal study has found. Almost all of them slipped into a vegetative state after

sustaining severe head or spine injury, and the families did not have enough means to meet their

nutritional requirements and provide nursing care, underlining the importance of hospice facilities that

are scarce in India. The doctors at the centre followed up on 2,500 discharged patients from the

neurosurgery department over a period of five years, starting 2008. Patients were observed for a

maximum of one year before being declared vegetative. “These people belonged to migrant families

in the Capital and usually were the sole breadwinners who left their village in search of work. Their

wives were unable to generate enough money to keep them alive, especially with three-four kids to

take care of,” said Dr Deepak Agrawal, senior surgeon at the trauma centre. The trauma centre – the

only functional one in the Capital -- gets about 200 injury cases in a day, of which about 40% suffer

head or spine injury. 10% of those need admission, which means the hospital requires 10-15 vacant

beds daily. In hospitals such as AIIMS, where shortage of beds is a daily problem, these patients with

no chance of recovery– at least six at any given point – occupy beds for the want of any hospice

facility. Over 3,300 people die in road accidents everyday in India and nearly a third of them result in

severe head injuries but hospice facilities are scarce, resulting in terminally-ill patients occupying care

beds and denying them to some acutely-injured patients. Due to lack of enough research, however,

there is no consolidated data to gauge the enormity of the problem. About 20% of those discharged

from the AIIMS trauma centre are in a vegetative state, which means there is no responsiveness and

awareness due to irreversible injury to the brain. All these people need is nursing care to avoid bed

sores and chest infection. These patients can’t eat regular meals; a mixture of a glass of milk, sugar,

soybean powder and a little ghee or oil is what they require three times a day to survive. As most of

the people in a vegetative state come from a very poor financial background, the families are unable

to bear the maintenance cost. "We have seen many families get wiped out due to this problem. It’s

high time the government takes note and focus on rehabilitation of such people or at least provide

some financial assistance to their families,” Dr Agrawal added. (Hindustan Times 16/3/15)

India among 5 nations accounting for half of world’s hungry (21)

New Delhi: Five middle-income countries (MICs) which displayed strong economic growth in 2014 –

India, Brazil, China, Mexico and Indonesia – account for 363 million, or a half, of the world’s hungry,

according to a report released on Wednesday by the International Food Policy Research Institute

(IFPRI). The 2014–2015 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) called on Governments of these middle

income countries to reshape their food systems to focus on nutrition and health, close the gender gap

in agriculture, and improve rural infrastructure to ensure food security for all. “It may seem

counterintuitive, but these growing economies play a key role in our ability to adequately and

nutritiously feed the world,” said Shenggen Fan, Director General, IFPRI, in a statement. He added

that important strides towards global food security had been made in 2014, it was crucial to “keep

these and other food policy issues high on the global development agenda to ensure we eliminate

hunger and malnutrition worldwide”. The study noted that distribution specifics needed to be ironed

out for India’s National Food Security Act that aims to provide subsidised food to 67 per cent of the

population, while it also praised the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme that aimed to open 7.5

crore bank accounts for poor households. Sanitation link The report highlighted the link between

sanitation and nutrition, using findings from Bangladesh to show reduction in open defecation helped

reduce the number of stunted children who were taller than those living in comparable areas with

similar economic standing in West Bengal. Of the five countries highlighted in the IFPRI study, India

measured poorest in terms of stunted children at 47.9 per cent, as compared to 35.6 per cent in

Indonesia, 14 per cent in Mexico, 9.4 per cent in China and 7.1 per cent in Brazil. “It has become

clear that the factors that influence people’s nutrition go well beyond food and agriculture to include

drinking water and sanitation, the role of women, the quality of care giving, among others,” Fan said.

The report also included a perception survey undertaken in January comprising responses from 1,000

individuals, most employed with NGOs, academic circles and Government/policy sectors, across 55

countries. Only 8 per cent of young respondents – those under 30 – believed that global hunger could

be eliminated by 2025. Nearly 70 per cent of respondents were dissatisfied with food policies in their

own countries and a significant perception gap existed between sexes with only 23 per cent of women

satisfied with prevalent food security measures as compared to 44 per cent of men. (HBL 20/3/15)

State’s poor kids left high & dry on World Water Day (21)

Guwahati: It has been 22 years since the UN started observing March 22 as World Water Day to

focus on those who are not blessed with access to clean water, but the benefits have not reached

people in Assam's poverty-stricken hinterlands. Children in particular, who are malnourished and

anaemic, are in serious risk of being affected by water-borne diseases like Fluorosis and arsenicosis.

A balanced diet could help them combat these diseases, but for the poor, this is a distant dream.

Prolonged exposure to arsenic causes cancer of bladder, kidney, lung and skin. It affects the central

and peripheral nervous systems and can cause birth defects and reproductive problems. Former

retired chief engineer, public health engineering department, and water crusader A B Paul, who is

credited with pointing out fluoride and arsenic contamination in Assam for the first time, said,

"Malnourished children are vulnerable to fluorosis and arsenicosis. Studies show that animal protein is

essential in fighting these diseases." According to the last National Family Health Survey, 41.1%

children in the age group of three to five years are stunted and 35.8% are underweight. Besides, over

67.8% adolescent girls were found to be anaemic. Malnourishment and anaemia are rampant among

tea garden communities. Studies show that water in nine districts of Assam contain fluoride beyond

permissible limit. For arsenic, the number is 21. Around 1,970 villages, home to about 7.22 lakh

people, are severely affected by arsenic contamination. (Times of India 23/3/15)

New land bill is 'great' threat to food security: CPI (21)

New Delhi: In a resolution moved by senior party leader Atul Kumar Anjan in the ongoing 22nd Party

Congress in Puducherry, it has urged farmers and other stakeholders to forge "broadest" possible

unity to defeat the "nefarious" designs of BJP government while observing May 14 as a 'All India

Protest Day'.CPI on Thursday appealed to all the political parties and farmers to reject the new land

acquisition bill, alleging that it was brought by the NDA government to "snatch" away the multi-crop

irrigated land of farmers. The party also claimed that it will be a great threat to food security in coming

days. CPI also said that the BJP Government's proposals for 18 industrial corridors will engulf more

than 35 per cent of cultivable land which will pave the way for thousands of villages to disappear and

crores of people will loose their livelihood and this will bring a social chaos. In a resolution moved by

senior party leader Atul Kumar Anjan in the ongoing 22nd Party Congress in Puducherry, it has urged

farmers and other stakeholders to forge "broadest" possible unity to defeat the "nefarious" designs of

BJP government while observing May 14 as a 'All India Protest Day'. "The bill has been brought by

BJP-led NDA Government to allow foreign and local corporates, land mafia and builder lobby to

snatch away the multi-crop irrigated land of farmers. This will be a great threat to our food security in

coming days. "The CPI calls upon to all political parties to reject this bill in Parliament and save the

rural people from a catastrophe," the party said in a statement. The party said that while the new

proposal of the government has withdrawn the clause of 80 per cent consent of farmers before their

land is acquired, it also withdraws the social impact assessment which is an issue of "paramount

importance"."A genuine fear on Land Acquisition Bill 2015 has began haunting agrarian community,"

the statement said. Meanwhile, during the Plenary Delegate Session, the draft Political Resolution

approved by the National Council of the party was introduced. It analysed the current political situation

and outlined the political tactics to be adopted by the party in the coming period. (DNA 26/3/15)

Centre should not hurry implementation of National Food Security Act: ICRIER (21)

NEW DELHI: The Centre should not "hurry" the implementation of the National Food Security Act in

the rest of 25 states and UTs given the present level of unpreparedness and "apprehensions" over its

delivery, says an ICRIER paper. The NFSA, passed by Parliament in September, has been so far

rolled out in 11 states and Union Territories. The rest of 25 states/UTs have not implemented it yet.

The deadline for implementing it has been extended twice, to April 4. The law aims at providing legal

entitlement to 5 kg of subsidised foodgrains per person per month at Rs 1-3/kg to two-thirds of the

country's population. "However, given the present level of unpreparedness and uncorrected systemic

inefficiencies of the state PDS machinery, the likelihood of states defaulting on even the extended

deadline is high," said the ICRIER working paper co-authored by former CACP chief Ashok Gulati.

"Therefore, the immediate suggestion is not to hurry the NFSA implementation process, especially not

without satisfying its pre-conditions in each state," it said. This time should be used to carefully re-visit

the objectives of the Act and provisions looking for efficient ways to attain them, it added. Highlighting

key challenges in implementing NFSA, the paper observed, "There are wider apprehensions that the

Act will fail to deliver on the promises made or will deliver at a huge cost, which may not be worth the

price." The bigger operational challenges include ensuring the adequate supply of grains every year,

lowering per person entitlement or population coverage particularly when the population is expanding,

unpreparedness of the implementing states, and slowing down the natural process of agricultural

diversification by increasing the relevance of rice and wheat in the system, it added. On

unpreparedness of implementing states, the paper said that the progress on the public distribution

system (PDS) improvement initiatives is both slow and below expectations. "....states have been

implementing the NFSA with old TPDS beneficiaries being rechristened as NFSA beneficiaries

instead of undertaking fresh surveys/efforts to identify beneficiaries. This is undesirable and does not

conform to the reform process initiated under the new system," it said. As on August 1 2014, 100 per

cent identification of beneficiaries has been completed only in six states - Chhattisgarh, Haryana,

Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan - out of the 11 NFSA implementing states. The

identification is still partial in the remaining five states - Bihar (87 per cent), Delhi (44 pc), Himchal

Pradesh (73 pc), Madhya Pradesh (88 pc) and Chandigarh (40 pc). (The Economic Times 30/3/15)

Fight against poverty: Telangana, J&K, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the worst

performing states (21)

NEW DELHI: Telangana, J&K, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the worst performing states in

providing for the poorest of the poor, show latest data on the performance of states under a key

poverty-eradication initiative of the Central government. The top performers are Rajasthan, Gujarat,

Haryana, West Bengal and Karnataka. The April-Dec 2014 data on the Twenty Point Programme

show that the four worst performers could not perform well in over half the schemes targeted at

people below the poverty line. The performance is rated on three parameters: very good (where at

least 90% of the target is achieved), good (80-90%) and poor (under 80%). Telangana could achieve

"very good" rating in just three schemes, J&K for four and MP and Maharashtra, five each, according

to a report of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The states were scored on

target-oriented parameters, which include assistance to the urban poor under the Seven Point Charter

(land tenure, housing at affordable cost, water, sanitation, education, health and social security),

construction of rural roads and houses for the economically weaker and low-income groups, planting

of seedlings, food security and electrification of villages. Rajasthan pipped PM Narendra Modi's home

state of Gujarat to the top slot with better achievement record on the initiative envisaged by former

PM Indira Gandhi. Both states had "very good" rating for 14 schemes each, but Rajasthan performed

well on the other programmes, where it scored better than national average in two more. Gujarat

reported zero performance on three counts. Karnataka is the only Congress-ruled state among the

top five. The ministry used to rank states on their performance under the Twenty Point Programme,

before the practice was discontinued by the previous Congress-led government. (Times of India

1/4/15)

City has just 14 beds for 36,000 severely malnourished kids (21)

MUMBAI: Mahim toddler Mohammed Habib has missed most developmental milestones listed by the

World Health Organisation for young children. At nine months, he cannot sit on his own, stand up with

support or call out coherently for his mother. Worse, his weight when he was rushed to Sion Hospital's

Dharavi outpost in a dehydrated state on a November morning was 3.47 kg—the birth weight of many

infants born in the city's posh addresses. NGO Fight Hunger Foundation estimates that Habib is only

one of the 36,000 children with SAM or severe acute malnutrition in Mumbai. The city, though, has

only one 14-bed nutrition rehabilitation centre in Sion Hospital's Dharavi outpost to nurse SAM kids to

health. Experts say this inequality is the result of poor awareness about malnutrition in urban areas.

Consider Habib, the third child of a driver, who doctors say was given formula feeds that were too

diluted to be nutritious. He got diarrhoea in early November that rapidly spiralled into SAM.

"Malnutrition is probably more prevalent in urban than in rural areas. In Mumbai, mothers have to get

back to work at the earliest after delivery and the cost of living is so high that nutrition gets short

shrift," said Sion Hospital's Dr Alka Jadhav, who is in charge of NRC. Fight Hunger Foundation

director Dr Wasundhara Joshi said it's high time the government recognized that urban poor are as

badly off as their rural counterparts. "They have nine times the risk of dying as a normal kid."

Maharashtra's fight against childhood malnutrition is seen as an example of public health success in

recent times; a study commissioned by UNICEF showed 7% to 16% drop in malnutrition rates in the

past eight years. The success was credited, in part, to the government's nutrition rehabilitation

centres. "NRCs operate out of district hospitals and provide food and care to severely malnourished

infants for 14 days or more,'' said state director general of health services Dr Satish Pawar. In

Mumbai, the only NRC is run by BMC and supported by UNICEF and Fight Hunger Foundation.

"Mumbai's NRC is located in Sion Hospital and doing a great job.'' The centre was set up in 2009.

"We have helped around 400 children so far with over 95% success," said the centre's nutritionist.

Children like Habib are fed on a special peanut butter meal recommended by WHO and treated for 14

days. Habib, for instance, gained 1.2kg in a fortnight. "But his growth is still stunted compared with to

others his age. His poor cognition skills could take years to improve," said a doctor. Meanwhile, Sion

Hospital NRC will reopen its new-look ward soon. Fight Hunger Foundation plans to take the Sion

Hospital-made therapeutic food to slums in Kandivli, Dharavi and Govandi. (Times of India 5/4/15)

New approach soon to estimate number of poor (21)

New Delhi: A task-force headed by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya will soon come up

with a new methodology to estimate the number of poor in the country. The task force held its first

meeting on Tuesday. "It was a brain-storming session today on how to go about it. The report is to be

submitted within three months and thus, a road map for the purpose will be designed soon," said

Chairman of National Statistical Commission Pronab Sen, who attended the meeting as special

invitee. The other member of the task force include Bibek Debroy, who is a permanent member of the

NITI Aayog, noted economist Surjit Bhalla and Chief Statistician T C A Anant. The secretaries of 5

central ministries, director-general of the Unique Identification Authority of India and two advisers from

the Aayog too are part of the panel. The 14-member task-force will develop a working definition of

poverty and prepare a roadmap for its elimination. Besides the panel will also suggest strategies and

anti-poverty programmes, including reforms of the existing ones. Earlier, the UPA government had set

up C Rangarajan committee to rework the poverty line, which was based on the methodology

provided by Suresh Tendulkar panel. However the new government has not officially accepted its

recommendations.The expert group headed by Rangarajan had dismissed the Suresh Tendulkar

Committee methodology on estimating poverty and projected that the number of poor in India was

much higher in 2011-12 at 29.5 per cent of the population. Estimates based on Tendulkar committee

methodology, had pegged the poverty ratio at 21.9 per cent in 2011-12. In absolute terms, the number

of poor in India stood at 36.3 crore in 2011-12, down from 45.4 crore in 2009-10, as per the

Rangarajan panel. Tendulkar Committee, however, had suggested that the number of poor was 35.4

crore in 2009-10 and 26.9 crore in 2011-12. (Business Standard 8/4/15)

Poverty Forces Tamil Labourers to Fall Prey to Sanders Smugglers (21)

HYDERABAD:Poverty is forcing people from backward areas in Tamil Nadu, especially

Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Vellore districts, to fall prey to dreaded red sanders smugglers and

risk their lives. Many touts, working for these smugglers in the past few years, have been targeting

drought-affected areas in Tamil Nadu such as Kootu Muthal, Sonapadi, Arangam, Koothamedu and

Vaazhavand for getting labourers for cutting and transporting red sanders trees. According to official

sources, smugglers pay woodcutters anything between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 per day depending on

the risk and urgency of the order. There are more than 2,300 Tamils languishing in Andhra Pradesh

prisons on charges of smuggling red sanders. “They are from the lower strata of the society who are

trapped by the smugglers to chop down trees. But, once they are caught while cutting trees or during

transportation, the smugglers just wash their hands off and leave them to their own fate,” said a senior

forest official. Most of them have no clue about the value of red sanders and only look for the money

they get on daily basis, the official added. Red sandalwood is both rare and valued at exorbitantly

high rates in the international market, making it a hot commodity for smugglers. Seshachalam

Abounds in Sanders In AP, red sanders grows mainly in the Seshachalam hill ranges spread across

Kadapa, Chittoor and Kurnool districts in the Rayalaseema region and parts of Nellore district. The

area under red sanders is estimated to be 4.67 lakh hectares. There are more than 2,300 Tamils

languishing in Andhra Pradesh prisons on charges of smuggling red sanders. These are from the

lower strata of society who are lured by the smugglers to chop down the trees. (New Indian Express

9/4/15)

3.5 lakh well-off people have given up subsidised LPGs: Modi (21)

Paris: Around 3.5 lakh well-off people have given up subsidised LPGs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi

has said, noting that the money saved on this will be diverted to those who still use wood for cooking.

Addressing a congregation of NRIs here, he recalled that he had casually wondered over a week ago

why well-off people do not surrender subsidised LPG. "Responding to this, two lakh people voluntarily

surrendered subsidised LPG within a week," he said, adding this encouraged him. "By Thursday last,

3.5 lakh people had surrendered subsidised LPG," Modi said. The money saved will not go to the

government treasury but it will be given to those who still use wood for cooking. "We will transfer this

subsidy," he added. This will also help address the problem of climate change. "Cutting of jungles will

continue till people continue cooking using wood," he said. Referring to Jandhan scheme, the Prime

Minister said it was introduced to ensure that the poorest people get a bank account each. He

recalled that he made the announcement from Red Fort on Independence Day address last year and

the aim was to complete the scheme by Republic Day this year. Modi said the outcome of this

scheme was that 13 crore now get direct transfer of subsidy, "plugging leakage" and keeping out the

middlemen. He asserted that on the basis of experience of 10 months as Prime Minister, he could say

that "there is no reason why India should remain poor." Talking about his "dream" of making India

such a developed country which surpasses even developed nations like France, Modi said there are

many possibilities in the country. He said eastern parts of India were still lagging and his endeavor

was to make these states like Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha as developed ones. "Some

things are left for me to resolve," Modi quipped. He also said that he was applying pressure on states

to develop and use funds for healthcare etc (Zee News 12/4/15)

Food Security Act from July 1 in Jharkhand (21)

RANCHI: From July 1, Public Distribution System (PDS) shops in Jharkhand will not only become

tech savvy and IT-enabled, but they will start selling rice, wheat, sugar, salt and pulses to 85% of the

rural populace and 60% of urban populace at a subsidized rate identified for the scheme by a survey.

The Jharkhand government is working on a war footing to achieve the requisite infrastructure-related

targets to launch the National Food Security Act (NFSA) within a couple of months. Among the basic

works being carried out is physical verification of the households identified by the Government of India

through socio-economic survey carried out on the basis of the 2011 Census. State food and civil

supplies minister Saryu Rai, who convened a review meeting with the district-level officials engaged in

the process of identification and verification of beneficiaries, said there are discrepancies in the data

provided by the Centre and the situation on the ground. "While there are families who do not deserve

subsidized foodgrain, there are many families running from pillar to post to get their names included

as they believe that they would be out of the PDS preview forever if they miss this chance," Rai said,

explaining that the process would be rectified and fine-tuned once it takes off. "NFSA is going to

include almost 85% of the rural populace and about 60% urban populace and we appeal to those who

can afford to give up subsidy like many have done in case of LPGs. Those not having their names in

the GOI list will be included in the future based on a local survey," Rai said. After completing the

survey through district supply officers using the administrative infrastructure up to the level of

panchayat and villages, the government has the daunting task of linking all PDS shops through IT so

that availability of grains, procurement from FCI, sale figures and all other details are uploaded on the

departmental website immediately. "The trucks ferrying foodgrain from godowns will be fitted with

GPS and electronic weighing system will be installed at the offtake source and PDS shops,"Rai said.

In case of sugar, for which two packets weighing a kg each are to be given to each household, the

government has invited tender. "The government has agreed to allow Rs 18.50 subsidy on each

kilogram of sugar. Till date, the lower bidder has quoted price of Rs 36.75 per kg, so we are in the

process of negotiation to bring it further down," Rai said, clarifying that packaging cost can be

considered, but the supplier would not be given a rate higher than the wholesale market price. The

government plans to distribute ration cards to every consumer in the first week of July and has given

its nod to the use of old ration card till they are replaced by new one. "Since the Centre will release

funds towards NFSA only when the basic and pilferage-proof infrastructure is ready, we all are in

electioneering mode to set things in order. We are satisfied with the progress made in each and every

district," Rai said. (Times of India 14/4/15)

Jan Dhan Yojna answer to chit fund scams: MJ Akbar (21)

KOLKATA: The Centre's Jan Dhan Yojna, which has brought the poor into the banking network, will

stop people from going to chit fund companies, BJP national spokesperson M J Akbar said here

today. "Jan Dhan Yojna is the real answer to Saradha and Rose Valley. That is the answer. Why are

the poor going to the chit funds? Because they have no other option," Akbar said at an interactive

session organised by 'Friends of BJP' here. He said if the poor are given a bank account, the chit

funds will disappear. "That is the brillance of this scheme," the BJP leader said, adding, as a result the

people who support chit funds are against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Stating that it was a matter

of shame that 400 million people were still below the poverty line in the country, Akbar claimed that

growth during UPA's time was in the number of 'jobless'. Since the Modi government came to power,

the manufacturing sector has increased from a negative figure to around five per cent, he said. On the

issue of declassification of files relating to the disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, he said

the age of truth on the issue is coming. "There has been a conspiracy to stop the truth from coming

out. Now the age of truth on Netaji is coming. When it comes out, it is going to destroy a lot of

reputations of people who have gone and of the people who are still alive," Akbar said. (Times of India

16/4/15)

Unemployment, root cause of social unrest: trade union leader (21)

MADURAI: The root causes of social unrest in many parts of the world were acute unemployment,

especially youth unemployment, and income disparity, said Noriyuki Suzuki, general secretary,

International Trade Union Confederation – Asia Pacific (ITUC-AP), on Friday. Inaugurating the

33{+r}{+d}triennial convention of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) here, Mr. Suzuki said that poverty

eradication programmes, barring a few exceptions, had not made much impact and unemployment

was assuming alarming proportions everywhere. Absence of decent work in their home countries was

forcing people to go abroad in search of livelihood. India’s impressive growth rates had not translated

into decent job creation. After decades of globalisation and financial meltdown in developed countries,

there was no qualitative improvement and inequality was prevailing within and across countries, Mr.

Suzuki said. Mr. Suzuki pointed out that trade unions were confronted with hostile attitude from

governments and employers and cases of violation of trade union rights had become rampant.

Employees were denied the right to work, which was fundamental to economic justice. “Employers

now want a global workforce that is powerless and passive,” he said. Jaap Wienen, deputy general

secretary, ITUC, felt that Indian politicians did not keep their promises to workers and the government

served the employers well, allowing them to be as flexible as they wanted, ignoring workers’ rights.

Unfortunately, a “happy few” benefited from India’s tag as an “emerging country” and poor people did

not notice any progress. (The Hindu 20/4/15)

Centre extends food security Act deadline (21)

NEW DELHI: The period for identification of households eligible for coverage under the National Food

Security Act (NFSA) has been extended up to September 30, 2015 through an order issued by the

Department of Food and Public Distribution on March 24. Though the law stipulates that any such

orders made under the Act are tabled in Parliament, the Centre has no such plans. In response to a

Right to Information query filed with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution,

respondents have noted that the deadline has been extended, for the second time, because States

have not yet identified beneficiaries, and also due to lack of preparedness in 25 States/Union

Territories for implementing the Act. As per Section 42 of the NFSA Act, “if any difficulty arises in

giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central government may, by order, published in the

Official Gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to it

to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty.” But this is upon the condition that “every

order made under this Section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of

Parliament.” However, government sources confirmed to The Hindu that the orders won’t be laid in

Parliament. M.K. Sharma, under secretary to the government, in the Law Ministry, said the March 24

orders were issued after consulting the Law Ministry. Nilambuj Sharan, Director, NFSA, further

confirmed that there was no plan to table the orders for discussion in Parliament. Development

economist Jean Dreze, an expert on food security, told The Hindu that the delay in release of socio-

economic caste Census data to various States had initially posed a challenge in identifying

beneficiary households under the NFSA. “The Act itself has no provision on how beneficiaries would

be identified. But now that most States have received the SECC data, there is no reason why they

should continue to put off its implementation,” he said. He said the Centre was trying to impose

certain conditions for implementation, which were not legitimate, such as end-to-end computerisation,

in which details of beneficiary households were digitised, complete with information of beneficiary

aadhaar numbers etc., which was adding to the delays. The Act aims to provide subsidised food

grains to over one billion Indians. It also legally entitles beneficiaries of the Midday Meal Scheme, the

Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System, to food. Delays

mean legitimate beneficiaries are denied the NFSA benefits. It was signed into law in 2013. (Thew

Hindu 21/4/15)

World rushes aid to Nepal amid 2,300 deaths (21)

KATHMANDU, April 26 (IANS): Another tremblor measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale shook Nepal on

Sunday causing fresh panic as rescuers pulled out bodies from debris, a day after a 7.9 magnitude

earthquake left over 2,300 dead and forced tens of thousands to spend the night on the streets. As

the world rushed emergency aid to Kathmandu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-

level meeting in New Delhi after saying: "I can understand what the people of Nepal are going

through... My dear brothers and sisters of Nepal, we are with you." The home ministry put the fatalities

from Saturday's powerful quake at 2,309 and said another 5,850 people were injured. It is the worst

quake to hit Nepal after one in 1934 killed some 8,500 people. Fearing the continuing aftershocks,

many thousands of people spent Saturday night out in the open. Many lay on plastic sheets or

cardboard boxes wrapped in blankets. Most ate instant noodles and cookies to ward off the hunger.

Hospitals grappled with soaring number of injuries, the doctors and nurses working non-stop. A UN

statement said hospitals were running out of rooms to store bodies and emergency supplies. The

government declared a national calamity and closed down all schools and colleges for a week as it

tried to come to grips with a disaster which has enveloped 30 out of 75 districts, including the

Kathmandu Valley, a tourist paradise. Even as an army of soldiers, police personnel and other

officials were frantically engaged in relief work, another powerful tremblor occurred on Sunday

afternoon, causing aftershocks again in India, Bhutan and Tibet. The epicentre of Sunday's

earthquake was about 110 km from Kathmandu. It was shallower, at 10 km, compared to the

Saturday temblor whose epicentre lay at a depth of 15 km. Saturday's epicentre lay in Lamjung, about

75 km northwest of Kathmandu. Thirty-five aftershocks have hit the country since the first earthquake.

The UN office here said around 6.6 million people have been affected in the Himalayan nation. The

quake sparked an avalanche in the Mount Everest area, killing scores of mountaineers. The disaster

appeared to spare none, VVIPs included. President Ram Baran Yadav spent Saturday night in a tent

with his many guards after the quake caused several cracks in his office-cum-residence. "President

Yadav is still in his tent," an official told IANS. The main entrance to the residence of Prime Minister

Sushil Koirala, who hurriedly returned to Nepal from Indonesia on Sunday, was also damaged. So

were several government offices in Kathmandu. Worse, scores of ancient monuments and Hindu

temples were destroyed or suffered varying degrees of damage, with one expert lamenting that some

of them can never be restored to their original glory. "We have launched a massive rescue and

rehabilitation action plan," Information and Broadcasting Minister Minendra Rijal said. "Our country is

a moment of crisis, and we will require tremendous support and aid." At least 723 people perished in

Kathmandu alone while 205 others were killed in Bhaktapur, just 13 km from the capital and 125 in

Lalitpur, only five kilometres away, the home ministry said. The government has warned that the

death toll was likely to rise. The disaster brought down historical monuments such as Dharhara tower

in Kathmandu while Basantapur Durbar Square and Patan Durbar Square were also destroyed. At the

Dharahara tower, rescuers found some 80 bodies, officials said. The Kantipur Daily said around 80

percent of the temples in Basantapur Durbar Square had been destroyed. These included the

Kasthamandap temple, Panchtale temple, the Dasa Avtar temple and Krishna Mandir.

Kasthamandap, which inspired the name Kathmandu, is a 16th century wooden monument. A few

other monuments, including the Kumari Temple and the Taleju Bhawani, have partially collapsed.

(The Assam Tribune 26/4/15)

Poverty-stricken Bihar Parents Send Kids to Work (21)

HYDERABAD:It only takes Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 and some false assurances to hire a child from

villages of Bihar and make them work as labourers in the city. Though parents are well aware that

their child would be earning a little above Rs 30 per day, low levels of poverty, and lack of work

opportunities makes them send their children to work here. These were some of the dismal findings of

District Child Protection Units, which function under the Telangana Women and Child Welfare

Department, who recently visited some districts of Bihar. Most of the child labourers rescued by the

officials here are from Bihar. The children were found working in bangle-making units and leather

factories. The four-day study was aimed to find the financial condition of child labourers’ families,

social conditions, work conditions of the children and other details. The study was conducted in

Agandha village in Gaya district, Saidpur in Nalanda district and four other villages. Brokers

specifically target villages where families live in abject poverty. After initial payment of Rs 1,000 or

above, brokers assure Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 would be sent to the parents every month. Let alone

monthly payment, the children who are made to work for about 16 hours are paid a pittance of Rs 30

per week, said Imtiyaz Rahim, Hyderabad District’s Child Protection Unit officer (DCPO). “While some

parents were aware, other children left homes along with friends though their families did not give

consent,” he said, adding elders there work for wages of Rs 100 to Rs 200 a day, and most of the

parents had five to seven children. “Some families there take loans at 10 per cent interest rate.

Probably, they send children for working here to repay the loan,” said K Chaitanya Kumar,

Nizamabad’s DCPO. Nalgonda’s DCPO, K Ganesh, was also part of the study. Among the children

rescued in Hyderabad from January, about 80 per cent are from Bihar, 10 per cent from West Bengal,

remaining are from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and other States. (New Indian Express

27/4/15)

World Bank: NREGA, the only insurance for India (21)

NEW DELHI: The World Bank said on Tuesday that the spike in ‘unmet demand’ for MGNREGA jobs

is an indicator of increasing rural distress. Since the scheme is the only and therefore the best bet

India has for mitigating the impact on the poor of the recent unseasonal rains, the government should

take steps aimed at arresting delays in wage payments and the rising unmet demand for jobs. “If you

are a State hit by the unseasonal rains, now is the time to tell those responsible for implementing the

MGNREGA to give their best…it is the only insurance India has…,” said World Bank Country Director

in India Onno Ruhl. He was speaking at the release of the Bank’s latest India Development Update

which analyses the performance of the scheme in States such as Bihar. The update projects that

provided there is a pick-up to 11 per cent in the rate of investment in the economy, growth in the

current year would be 7.5 per cent, 7.9 per cent in 2016-17 and 8 per cent in 2017-18. “The

government has made progress in several policy areas, and long-term prospects for growth remain

bright for India,” said Mr. Ruhl. Continuous strong momentum in reforms aimed at strengthening the

business environment and enhancing the quality of public spending will further unleash the

productivity that Indian firms need for creating jobs and becoming globally competitive, he said. He

stressed the need for reducing the pipeline of stuck projects, especially in the Public Private

Partnership space for lifting the investments rate. Balance sheets of both companies and banks, he

said, are stressed due to the stuck projects. The analysis of MGNREGA in the update shows that the

programme’s impact on rural poverty in Bihar is only 1 percentage point as against its potential of

reducing poverty by at least 14 percentage points. Among the main reasons why the potential is not

being realised, the study says, is that the supply side is too slow to respond to the demand for work

from the poor, workers not receiving the full scheme wage and delays in wage payments.

“Discrepancies in the stipulated wage rages and the actual wages received by workers are

contributing to the gap between potential and realised impacts…payment delays have emerged as a

major bottleneck and are a strong disincentive to participating in the programme,” said a statement. “If

MGNREGA were to be implemented effectively, its design would ensure that there is no unmet

demand for work,” said the study’s author and lead economist at the Bank Rinku Murgai. (The Hindu

29/4/15)

Modi govt wants to scrap UPA-era poverty line, move to Aadhaar matrix (21)

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is set to scrap the UPA-era system of plotting a poverty

line to separate the haves from the have-nots, replacing it with an Aadhaar-based mechanism of

measurable deprivation indicators to design flexible welfare schemes for the poor, sources told HT.

A task force constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on poverty elimination and headed by vice-

chairman of government policy think tank NITI Aayog is likely to recommend this soon, they added.

There was consensus in the 14-member task group, set up in March, that fixing a poverty line for the

country and each state based on per capita expenditure has no bearing on policy and the government

should scrap the exercise undertaken once in five years, the sources said. Setting a bar for poverty

has always been a controversial exercise in India but successive governments continued to toe the

line while estimating the number of India’s poor and deciding on social sector spending. The UPA

government was ridiculed for stating that a poor person can survive on Rs 33 a day in urban areas

and on Rs 27 in rural parts. Though the low poverty threshold helped the UPA assert that its policies

helped 138 million people come out of destitution, it was forced to set up a committee under former

RBI governor C Rangarajan to revise the computation formula. The NDA government did not agree

with the Rangarajan panel’s methodology that fixed an expenditure of Rs 47 for urban areas and Rs

32 for rural parts to determine poverty, and it set up the task force to prepare a road map for poverty

elimination. “Why do I want a poverty line…It does not help in policy formulation. It is an academic

exercise which the institutions can continue to do,” said economist Bibek Debroy, a NITI Aayog

member who is also part of the task force, terming this his personal view.Debroy added that poverty

has different dimensions such as access to healthcare facilities, education, housing, etc, which cannot

be gauged through one number for a country of 1.2 billion.Another member of the task force said a

better approach was to have deprivation indicators for welfare services, such as electricity, health,

education and home, which can eventually be linked to government social sector programmes.“This

mechanism is easier to measure and will bring in accountability in public spending,” he added. With

the new model, for instance, the government would be able to identify based on Aadhaar details of

residents if Uttar Pradesh needs more pucca houses compared to other states and allocate funds

accordingly as well as keep track of the expenditure.The task force is likely to say that the census for

people below the poverty line, done once in 10 years, should create a database of poor people across

India and the government’s decision to bring all its schemes under the Aadhaar-based direct benefit

transfer programme will determine the impact of its poverty alleviation measures.“A majority of the

beneficiaries of different government schemes now have bank accounts issued under Jan Dhan

scheme and Aadhaar,” an official with the Unique Identification Authority of India said. By June this

year, all beneficiaries will have both. Once that is done, a roadmap to eliminate poverty, as stated by

the Prime Minister, could be finalised. That roadmap will be one of the key recommendations of the

task force, which has met a few times and will submit its proposals to the government in June after

NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya returns from the United States. (Hindustan Times

3/5/15)

Two starvation deaths shake civil society’s conscience (21)

Tirunelveli: When Arumugam, a labourer from Anna Nagar in Alangulam, did not get regular

employment, his wife, who was unable to run the family, left her husband and children Antony (27), a

physically challenged youth, and Marial (25) a year ago to settle down in an undisclosed destination.

Arumugam, with the little earnings he could make on being occasionally hired, continued to feed

Antony and Marial at least once a day. Problem started for the family when Arumugam fell ill and died

a month ago. Members of a church performed the last rites of Arumugam and gave some money, rice

and vegetables to Antony and Marial, which were enough to feed the duo for a few days. After the

provisions were exhausted, starvation came to haunt the disabled Antony and his sister, for whom

drinking water was the only ‘food’ for several days. When extreme hunger took a toll in Antony’s

health, Marial, with the help of neighbours, admitted him to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital 10

days ago. “As free food is provided to inpatients at the TVMCH, Antony and his sister used to share

the food,” says a nurse. When Antony failed to respond to treatment and breathed his last a week

ago, Marial’s last hope was shattered. After the body was shifted to the mortuary, Marial confined

herself to the visitors’ shed at the TVMCH, where she was lying without food for a week. Though

starvation was not something new to the girl, extreme hunger killed her on Sunday night as she

refused to drink even water. “A few doctors of the TVMCH agreed to perform the last rites of Antony

and we’ve decided to do the same to Marial,” said a policeman attached to the TVMCH police station.

(The Hindu 5/5/15)

Poverty inspired me to live for others, says Modi (21)

Washington: Recalling the days when he used to sell tea in a railway coach as a child, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi says poverty in a way inspired him not to live for himself, but for others. An emotional

Modi talks about his life's influences in an exclusive interview with Time magazine for next week's

cover feature on "Why Modi Matters" with a picture of the prime minister in a light saffron kurta and

white churidars. "The world needs India to step up as a global power," Time says and asks: "One year

in can Prime Minister Narendra Modi deliver?" Speaking mostly in Hindi, Modi talked about everything

from his ambitions for India to the global war on terrorism to what personally moves him. Asked what

influences him, Modi choked and teared up saying: "This touches my deepest core. I was born in a

very poor family. I used to sell tea in a railway coach as a child. "My mother used to wash utensils and

do lowly household work in the houses of others to earn a livelihood. I have seen poverty very closely.

"I have lived in poverty. As a child, my entire childhood was steeped in poverty. For me, poverty, in a

way, was the first inspiration of my life. I decided that I would not live for myself but would live for

others," he was quoted as saying. His biggest challenge on becoming the prime minister, Modi said,

"was that I was new to the federal government structures. "Different departments tend to work in silos.

Each department seems to (be) a government in itself. "My effort has been to break these silos down,

(so that) everybody looks at a problem in a collective manner. I see the federal government not as an

assembled entity but as an organic entity." Asked whether he would like to have the kind of

authoritarian power that China's leader has, Modi said: "India is a democracy; it is in our DNA. "So if

you were to ask me whether you need a dictatorship to run India, No, you do not. Whether you need a

powerful person who believes in concentrating power, No, you do not," he said. "If you were to ask me

to choose between democratic values and wealth, power, prosperity and fame, I will very easily and

without any doubt choose democratic values." Asserting that his "government will not tolerate or

accept any discrimination based on caste, creed and religion," Modi told Time: "So far as the

government is concerned, there is only one holy book, which is the constitution of India. "The unity

and the integrity of the country are the topmost priorities," he said. "All religions and all communities

have the same rights, and it is my responsibility to ensure their complete and total protection. "My

philosophy, the philosophy of my party and the philosophy of my government is 'Sabka saath, sabka

vikas' - Together with all, progress for all." (Business Standard 7/5/15)

India Needs to Focus on Production, Value Addition, Skill: PM (21)

BURNPUR: India would have to work for increasing production, value addition to mineral resources

and developing the skills of youths to fight poverty in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said

today. "India needs to develop on all these three fronts, increased production, increased value

addition to the nation's mineral resources and developing the skills of the youths," Modi said after the

inauguration of modernised IISCO Steel Plant here. "We have iron-ores. We are exporting the mineral

and then importing steel from China. Then where is the benefit of having iron-ores?" Modi said. He

said if these issues were rightly addressed, the unemployed youths would get jobs and would help the

country fight poverty. Commenting on the economic progress after his government came to power,

Modi said even one year ago, the world perceived that India had sunk and that it would not revive.

"But today, international agencies like the World Bank and IMF were saying that India was among the

fastest growing nations in the world," he said. (New Indian Express 10/5/15)

NITI Ayog to tackle poverty problems in NE India (21)

New Delhi: The newly constituted NITI Ayog will examine the nagging problem of poverty in the North

Eastern region and submit its recommendations for its elimination next month, the Rajya Sabha

Member from Meghalaya Ms Wansuk Syiem was told today. In reply to a question of Wansuk the

Minister for Planning Mr Rao Inderjit Singh said that the NITI Ayog has already constituted a task

force headed by its Deputy Chairman in line with that of earlier Planning Commission to go into

details of this tricky issue. It will submit the report on poverty along with ways and means of its

elimination by middle of next month, he said. Rise of poverty in the Northeastern region despite grand

claims by the Centre and the State Governments and the faulty way of determining the social malaise

rose heckles in political circles here even leading to adjournments of the Parliament earlier. Then

Planning Commission data had showed that poverty in the NE states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur,

Mizoram and Nagaland has increased during 2009-10 the period of the study. As per the report fixed

that low national poverty line of Rs. 22.40 per day for an adult in rural areas and Rs. 28.65 per day

for an adult in urban areas, in 2009-10 and anyone spending more that this is being categorized as

non-poor. As per the report monthly per capita income of a Meghalayan is only Rs.686.9 in rural

areas and Rs.989.8 in urban areas in 2009-10. More than four lakh persons in the hill state are below

poverty line, it added. (The Shillong Times 12/5/15)

Supreme Court accepts panel guidelines to regulate government ads (21)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of an expert panel to

regulate government advertisements, particularly on the eve of elections. A bench of Justices Ranjan

Gogoi and Pinaki Chandra Ghose said considering the fact that a large percentage of the population

of this country were living in below poverty line, such a regulation on government expenditure was

necessary. The panel in its report had said that “government advertisements shall not be used at

patronising media houses or aimed at receiving favourable reporting for the party or person in power.

Advertising campaigns to be related to government responsibilities; advertisement materials should

be presented in an objective, fair and accessible manner and be designed to meet the objectives of

the campaign and not directed at promoting political interests of ruling party; government advertising

shall maintain political neutrality and avoid glorification of political personalities and projecting a

positive impression of the party in power or a negative impression of parties critical of the

government.” The panel said, “Advertisement materials must not mention the party in government by

name; directly attack the views or actions of other in Opposition; include party political symbol or logo

or flag; aim to influence public support for a political party, candidate for election; or refer or link to the

websites of political parties or politicians.” These guidelines would apply to all the government

advertisements other than classified advertisements and would apply to the content of all government

advertising till a suitable legislation was enacted by the government. They were intended to prevent

misuse of public funds on advertisements to gain political mileage as distinct from legitimate

government messaging; would apply to all institutions of government; public sector undertakings; local

bodies and other autonomous bodies/organisations established under a Statute. The panel said the

issue of multiple advertisements by different departments and public sector undertakings should be

avoided in commemorative advertisement and only one advertisement must be issued. As far as

possible during the period prior to elections only those advertisements required by law (such as public

health and safety advisories or job and contract advertisements alone should be released by

government. (Asian Age 14/5/15)

Violence, hunger imperil 2,000 trapped in boats off Myanmar: UN (21)

Naypyidaw: At least 2,000 desperate migrants, including women and children, are at risk of violence

and food shortages after more than 40 days trapped on boats off Myanmar, the UN refugee agency

said Tuesday. The group have been "stranded on at least five boats near the Myanmar-Bangladesh

coasts for more than 40 days", United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokeswoman Vivian

Tan told AFP, adding that unconfirmed reports put the number even higher. It was unclear if the

people-smugglers who had organised the voyage were still on board the boats. A recent Thai

crackdown on people-smuggling has blocked the southwards route through that country to Malaysia,

disrupting the traffic. As a result nearly 3,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants have arrived off

Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in recent days. Thousands of others are feared trapped at sea after

being abandoned by people-smugglers. Tan said some migrants on the five boats had paid

smugglers around $300 each to return to Myanmar`s Rakhine state, where hundreds of thousands of

Rohingya Muslims live in abject poverty and suffer discrimination. Those who have returned to land

have said passengers still on the boats are short of food and water, while reports of violence are

"causing great concern", Tan added. Myanmar`s government on Monday acknowledged international

concerns about waves of boatpeople, many of them Rohingya fleeing Rakhine, but has urged a joint

regional response to the crisis. Information Minister Ye Htut said Myanmar`s navy had begun

preparing to search for vessels in the country`s waters, but anyone returning would have to prove

their nationality. Myanmar does not recognise the estimated 1.3 million Rohingya as an official

minority, instead viewing them as mostly illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. (Zee News 19/5/15)

Niti Aayog might use poverty lines only for analytical purposes (21)

New Delhi: In the wake of the various controversies surrounding poverty lines at the erstwhile

Planning Commission, its successor National Institution for Transforming India (Niti) Aayog feels this

barometer should be used only for analytical purposes. Specific indicators be used for social welfare

schemes. At a recent meeting, an Aayog task force said defining a poverty line was a controversial

issue. It could be based on calorie intake or minimum norms of some other items of consumption

such as clothing, shelter, education, health and transport or a combination of all these, sources told

Business Standard. The task force — of Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, member Bibek

Debroy and experts like Rathin Roy, Surjit Bhalla and the government’s chief statistician, T C A Anant

— recently discussed the issue of using the poverty ratio as a yardstick for indentification of

beneficiaries. Its members felt this was better used as an indicator for analytical exercises to assess

the change in the level of living. Data on sector-specific indicators could be used for targeting

beneficiaries from schemes on that segment. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census, 2011, will be

one of the sources. Also, the purchasing power parity (PPP) concept can be considered for allocation

of resources among states for various schemes. PPP among states can be derived from the National

Sample Survey consumption expenditure data or state-wise poverty lines. “Poverty estimation is as

important as GDP (gross domestic product). It gives an idea on the programmes, which groups are

falling apart. Even if you have a foolproof identification system, it won’t give you a picture of people

who are falling apart. You need to have a statistical barometer to know that,” said Himanshu, an

assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University here. The Planning Commission had got into a big

controversy on these issues, with its calculations on the basis of national consumption and

expenditure surveys. Earlier, the Rangarajan panel had found 29.5 per cent of India's population was

poor in 2011-12, against 21.9 per cent estimated under the previous methodology, which had drawn

sharp criticism from various quarters. In absolute terms, 363 million people were below the poverty

line that year, higher by about 93 million over the 269.8 million estimated earlier. However, the

poverty rate — the number of poor as a proportion of the population — came down swifter in the

estimates of the Rangarajan panel than calculated earlier on the Suresh Tendulkar methodology. A

greater number of people were classified under poverty in 2011-12 as the Rangarajan committee

raised the poverty line compared to that fixed earlier. It had said anyone spending up to Rs 47 a day

in urban areas and Rs 32 in villages would be considered poor as of 2011-12. The Tendulkar

methodology had pegged these levels at Rs 33 in urban areas and Rs 27 in villages. By either

method, poverty was reduced during 2009-10 to 2011-12 (the first three years of the second UPA

government). For 2009-10, the Tendulkar methodology had pegged the poverty line at Rs 22 in

villages and Rs 29 in urban areas. These were raised to Rs 27 and Rs 40, respectively, by the

Rangarajan committee. All these numbers had stirred controversies, with political parties and social

activists poking fun at the Planning Commission over these numbers. The task force notes as most

government programmes are either universal or based on programme-specific indicators, data for

which is separately calculated and used in a programme-specific manner. The National Rural

Livelihood Mission, India Awes Yolanda, National Old Age Pension Scheme, are the three

programmes that remain target group-oriented (for the poor only) but these programmes have other

criteria for selection of beneficiaries, the members said. (Business Standard 22/5/17)

Surguja child’s death puts spotlight on ration card policy (21)

BILASPUR: Death of a five-year-old child caused by hunger and exhaustion, after he lost his way in

forests along with his sibling in Sitapur in North Chhattisgarh, has sparked off a controversy with

Congress alleging that family's ration card was cancelled after their mother died due to illness and

administration did not issue it in the name of male member. Leader of opposition TS Singhdeo told

TOI that the fact that deceased's mother had died a couple of months ago, following which the family's

ration card was cancelled, indicates insensitivity on part of the administration. "There is no rule that

says that if there is no women above 18 years in the family, ration card will not me made in the name

of a male of the house. Since the woman in this case had died and there was no other woman in the

family, the administration should have taken steps to transfer the ration card in the name of the man

of the house," he added. Sarguja district collector Ritu Sen admitted that the family's ration card was

cancelled after the woman member of the family died due to illness. "However, we conduct regular

drive for adding names, but none from the family concerned came forward with the request to issue

ration card in the name of male member," she claimed. Sen said that there is ample work available

under MNREGA and other schemes in the area. In this regard, it would be wrong to assume that the

family did not have any work and was forced to leave the village in search of work. "The man, along

with his children, had come to Sitapur by a bus. From Sitapur, he had left to visit some of his relatives

in another village on foot, when he got separated from two of his children, one of who died," she

claimed. The collector said the postmortem report did mention that the child died due to starvation as

no grain was found in his intestines, but that was because after being separated from his father, the

deceased along with one of his elder brothers was lost in forest and spent a long time trying to find

their way out. Meanwhile, eldest of the three children, Rajaram, who had been missing, was found

alive near Sitapur, the collector said. The child has been admitted to the hospital where his condition

is said to be stable, she added. Leader of opposition TS Singhdeo told TOI that the fact that

deceased's mother had died a couple of months ago, following which the family's ration card was

cancelled, indicates insensitivity on part of the administration. (Times of Indi 24/5/15)

When hunger doesn’t go on vacation (21)

AGRA: The Uttar Pradesh mid-day meal authority's decision to extend the vital service to students of

58 drought-hit districts even during the summer vacation has hit an unlikely roadblock: teachers. This

in essence jeopardizes the well-being of lakhs of school-going children in districts declared 'drought-

hit' in 2014. Many of these regions also bore the brunt of unseasonal rains in March, sparking a spate

of suicides. The opposition, if successful, will likely affect a large number of poor students. There are

some 60 lakh students in UP schools. Even the smaller districts have at least 50,000 students

enrolled in primary and upper primary schools.On their part, teachers have said that they work

throughout the year and are also assigned additional jobs during elections. And to expect them to

work even during the summer break is "a bit too much".The UP Primary Teachers' Association and

Junior High School Teachers' Association on Friday submitted a memorandum with the district

magistrate and the Basic Shikhsa Adhikari, Lucknow, requesting officials to exclude teachers from the

initiative. Similar demonstrations were staged in Mathura, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Etah and various other

cities and towns across the state. READ ALSO: 'We need summer break' , UP teachers oppose spl

midday meal scheme Akhilesh Sharma of the Junior High School Teachers' Association said the

ruling government was exploiting teachers. "Meal distribution during the summer break will only add to

the woes of government teachers who are already struggling to fulfill additional tasks such as

Samajwadi Pension distribution duty and doubling up as block-level officers ahead of elections," he

said on Friday. Sharma also doubted if children would make it to school in the sweltering heat for a

meal. "No student showed up on Friday when the temperature touched 45 degrees. But teachers

were forced to come at 7.30 in the morning to prepare the meal and wait for the children till 12.

Government should make policies that work, this one looks like it will only ruin the holidays for

teachers," he added. Sudhanshu Mohan, the head of Junior High School Teachers' Association,

Lucknow, said he would boycott the plan. Pradeep Singh from UP Primary Teacher's Association,

Lucknow, agreed. "Sarkar ko itni hi daya hai gareebo pe to poore gaon ko bhojan de. Sirf bachchon

ko kyun? Hum taiyyar hain desh ke hit mein kaam karne ke liye, magar zyaadti ke liye nahi (If the

government is so concerned about the poor, it should provide food to entire villages, why just

children? We are willing to work for the country but we can't tolerate highhandedness)," Singh said.

RP Mishra, state secretary and spokesperson of Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh, said that

government should make separate arrangements and allow teachers to go on leave. "The food and

other responsibilities can be shouldered by village headmen," he said. (Times of India 24/5/15)

A World Bank project in Odisha has changed lives of 9 lakh families (21)

Puri: Life has changed for more than 900,000 families across 10 Odisha districts since they signed up

for a credit scheme under a poverty reduction programme started in 2009 with the World Bank

funding of $82.4 million. The World Bank-funded project -- Targeted Rural Initiative for Poverty

Termination and Infrastructure (Tripti) – started in 2009 and will be merged with the National Rural

Livelihood Mission (NRLM) in June but may well end up as the guiding light for the central scheme.

Tripti has touched mostly Dalit and tribal women, who form 17% and 23%, respectively, of Odisha’s

population and are among the most impoverished of the 17 million people in the state below the

poverty line. Most of the women utilised the loan mainly on agriculture, horticulture, poultry, fishery,

health and education. They even repaid previous outstanding amounts to avail bigger loans for

scaling up their enterprises. The scheme covers 78,460 self-help groups across 10 districts in the

state and has led to a spurt in the average amount of a loan sanctioned by banks to such outfits,

which has jumped to over Rs. 100,000 from Rs. 80,000 in the beginning of the year. “This implies that

25% of the state’s bank linkage has occurred in the 10 districts covered under the project,” said

Pranab Jyoti Nath, state mission director of the Odisha Rural Livelhood Mission, responsible for

Tripti’s implementation. This socio-economic empowerment has made women self-reliant and

enabled them to intervene in social and political issues including domestic violence issues, anti-liquor

campaign, education of the girl child and rural sanitation. Such an initiative also helped 23-year-old

Jhili Mondal in Jagatsinghpur district who had suffered repeated physical torture at the hands of her

husband and in-laws. They forced her to abort twice and allegedly tried to sell her off to a trafficker in

Andhra Pradesh. Help came from hundreds of women from nearby villages, who formed 90 self-help

groups and took Mondal under their wing. The SHGs forced her in-laws to part with a patch of their

family land for her subsistence and gave her Rs. 5000 and a livelihood linkage to start her life afresh.

“I would have been dead by now but for them. With their help, I have been able to overcome the

trauma and trying to stand on my own feet,” said Mondal. (Hindustan Times 26/5/15)

India tops hunger list, says UN report (21)

Rome, May 28 (PTI): India is home to the highest number of hungry people in the world, at 194

million, surpassing China, according to a UN annual hunger report. At the global level, the

corresponding figure dropped to 795 million in 2014-15, from one billion in 1990-92, with East Asia led

by China accounting for most of the reductions, UN body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

said in its report titled The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015. India, too, saw a reduction

between 1990 and 2015, it added. In 1990-92, those who were starved of food in India numbered

210.1 million, which came down to 194.6 million in 2014-15. "India has made great strides in reducing

the proportion of food insecure persons in the overall population, but according to the FAO, it still has

over 194 million hungry persons," the report said. However, China stood out as the reduction in the

number of hungry people was much higher than in India. The number came down to 133.8 million in

2014-15 from 289 million in 1990-92. "A majority - 72 out of 129 - of the countries monitored by the

FAO have achieved the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the prevalence of

undernourishment by 2015, with developing regions as a whole missing the target by a small margin,"

the report said. Some 29 countries have managed to meet the more ambitious goal of the World Food

Summit in 1996 where governments had committed to halving the absolute number of

undernourished people by 2015. Talking of noticeable progress, the report made a specific mention of

Latin America and the Caribbean countries, southeast and central Asia, as well as some parts of

Africa. (The Telegraph 29/5/15)

What's delaying Right to Food Act, PUCL wonders before Supreme Court (21)

NEW DELHI: The Centre’s resolve to rid the country of hunger will be tested with a petition being filed

in the Supreme Court challenging the year-long delay in implementing the Right to Food Act and

validity of three administrative directions issued by the government, postponing food and cash

entitlements from reaching the poor. A petition filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL),

asks the Supreme Court to intervene with the government for the implementation of the National Food

Security Act, 2013, and publication of the ‘final lists’ of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 to identify

priority and Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households under the Act. The PUCL, represented by

senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, contended that the 2013 Act was supposed to be implemented by

July 5, 2014, but three successive administrative instructions on June 30 and October 14, 2014, and

March 24 this year had delayed it. Besides, a period not exceeding 365 days was given to the State

governments to identify the eligible households for foodgrain entitlements. This deadline expired on

July 4, 2014. The PUCL petition in 2001 for enforcement of the poor’s right to food had seen the

Supreme Court pass repeated directions to the government to provide food security. The litigation had

largely influenced the 2013 Act, according to the fresh petition. The petition highlights several pitfalls

for the apex court to consider in the government’s proposals to implement the Act. Section 4(b) of the

Act requires that pregnant and lactating women be paid a cash benefit of a minimum of Rs. 6,000

through the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY). The petition said a revised proposal for

IGMSY is with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. As per the proposal, IGMSY would reach

all districts only by 2016-17, and that too if financial resources permit. In the second instance, the Act

wants free meals to be provided through anganwadis to pregnant and lactating women and children

up to the age of six years. The government proposes to do this through the existing Integrated Child

Development Scheme, which has low coverage. Again, the Act entitles children aged between six and

14 to have cooked meals at government schools. The government proposes to do this through the

prevalent mid-day meal scheme. However, the petition said, 3.9 crore of the 13.9 crore children under

this scheme are deprived of this entitlement. It said both schools and anganwadi buildings suffer in

terms of lack of basic infrastructure like kitchens, drinking water, sanitation facilities for proper

implementation of the statute’s objectives. (The Hindu 1/6/15)

AP Government Spent Rs 40,000 Crore to Eradicate Poverty: CM (21)

RAJAHMUNDRY: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said here today that the

state government spent Rs 40,000 crore this year to "eradicate poverty" from the state. Speaking at

Chebrollu village of Gollaprollu mandal of the district, while participating in the 'Neeru Chettu'

campaign, he said the government has prepared a five-point formula to fight poverty. He said though

the state has a deficit of budget of Rs 16,000 crore, it implemented several socio-welfare schemes to

benefit of all sections of the people. "We are taking steps to put Andhra Pradesh in the top position by

2029 and taking measures to overcome the financial crisis," he said, adding, it would take four years

to complete the Polavaram project which would irrigate an additional 2.5 lakh acres of land in East

Godvari district. He said he wanted the Pattiseema project to be launched to supply excess and waste

water from the Godavari river to the drought-prone Rayalaseema region, but opposition parties have

been creating problems and blaming his government. He said steps are afoot to strengthen

Development of Women and Children of Rural Areas (DWACRA) groups for which the state

government has already allocated sand auction and sale of generic medicines to such groups. The

state government is taking steps to provide a 10 MPBS fibre optic internet connectivity to every house

in the state at a cost of Rs 150 per month, he said. (New Indian Express 4/6/15)

When 2-min food becomes staple, you invite trouble (21)

They fed starving soldiers stationed in remote areas, millions of those displaced by natural calamities

and silenced hunger pangs of thousands during economic crises. From once being a source of

sustenance, instant food — pushed by aggressive advertising — is slowly evolving as a staple diet.

However, letting the market chalk out one's diet may not be a healthy plan, say nutritionists.Against

the backdrop of Nestle India, maker of Maggi 2-Minute Noodles, being embroiled in a scare over the

product allegedly containing dangerously high levels of lead, experts also highlighted the lack of

nutrition in these products that are increasingly usurping the gastronomic space in the country.

"People often think that having instant noodles or cereal in the morning is a wholesome meal.

Convenience food need not always be nutritionally sufficient," said nutritionist Meenakshi Bajaj. Her

explanation: they are calorie packed, contain more taste enhancers, little nutrition and lack fibre. "In

noodles, for example, the vegetables, which provide fibre, are too fine and they are dehydrated. While

eating them once in a while is all right, it could lead to life-long constipation if taken on a regular

basis," she said. She added that most of the processed food have high sodium content. "To this, we

add sauces, which again have high sodium content. So we are basically stuffing ourselves with a lot

of sodium and little else."Experts say instead of relying on a food culture developed over centuries,

consumers are banking heavily on marketeers to plan their diet. "A breakfast comprising idli, sambhar

and chutney contains calcium, fibre, vitamins and nutrients. That's a wholesome meal," said another

nutritionist. She said some cereal brands claim that they are iron rich. "What they don't tell people is

that when this is added to milk, the calcium in it interferes with iron absorption in the body. So

basically, what you're having has very little nutritional value." Experts say in several instant food

products and breakfast cereals, the health benefits are either destroyed by the manufacturing process

or stripped away before it. When manufacturers speak of 'value-added' products, they seldom look at

the nutrition side, and instead look for ways to add cost to things by creating convenience. While

several countries are reverting to their traditional cuisine, India is increasingly absorbing instant

breakfast.Consumer activists have asked the government to strengthen policy guidelines and make

nutrition-fact labelling mandatory in India. "Right now, it is mandatory for food products to only include

the ingredients and composition. We still have a long way to go before including the nutritional

content," said Pradip Chakraborty, former director, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

(Times of India 6/6/15)

Poor Tripura tribal couple sell new born for Rs 4500 (21)

Khowai (Tripura): In a bizarre incident, a tribal couple in Tripura has claimed that they were compelled

to sell their newborn son, as they were unable to bear the cost of bringing it up. The boy, the fourth

child in the poverty ravaged family, was sold a day after his birth for Rs 4500. The incident took place

in bordering Khowai district's Munda Basti ADC (Autonomous District Council) village. "When my wife

was three months pregnant, we (my wife and I) contacted the doctor for aborting. But then, a few

villagers came to know about it and suggested us not to abort the child and that they will put me in

touch with someone who will take the baby and give it a better life. Accordingly, I then contacted

those people, and last Tuesday (June 2), the child was born, and on Wednesday at 11.20 a.m., we

handed over the child. Those who took my son we very happy and gave me Rs.4500," said Ranjit

Tanti, the father of the baby. "I am not feeling bad. Rather, I am happy, because I know that we

couldn't have provided for him. He has gone to a rich family to live a better life, and I hope that in

future, if he will be an owner of cars, I am happy." Sima Tanti, the mother of the child, said she and

her husband had decided to give the child away, as it was becoming impossible to run their family on

their meagre income. "I and my husband had decided to give away our son hoping that he will lead a

better life, be able to study there. We are poor and cannot educate him, as we do not have the

money," said Sima. The child was bought by a couple of Duski village under Teliamura, 35 km from

the village. (New Kerala 7/6/15)

14,737 BPL ration cards issued in four months (21)

Kozhikode: The Civil Supplies Department has issued ration cards to 14,737 beneficiaries in the

Below the Poverty Line (BPL) category in the past four months with special focus on bedridden

patients, physically or mentally challenged persons, cancer patients, and widows. Of this, 400 cards

were issued during the Chief Minister’s mass contact programme. Officials said that Antyodaya Anna

Yojana (AYY) cards were given to all eligible tribal families. Civil Supplies Department has also

introduced a helpline number (1967) to register complaints regarding the public distribution system.

Complaints are recorded as online data and will be sent to the respective offices to be

redressed.“Ration card management system software is currently being updated as a part of the

computerisation of ration cards. Once this is implemented, it will be easier to renew the present ration

shops,” officials said. (The Hindu 9/6/15)

PM assesses preparations of 'Housing For All' project (21)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for a holistic approach towards meeting

the target of "Housing for All", a priority project of his government. Chairing a meeting to assess the

work done so far in rural and urban areas, Modi stressed on the need for official agencies to adopt a

flexible approach, taking into account local conditions such as building material, habits and lifestyles.

"A tribal may prefer a house made from traditional local materials rather than bricks and mortar, and

therefore should be facilitated accordingly," the prime minister said. The meeting was attended by

Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender

Singh and senior officers from the ministries of HUPA (housing and urban poverty alleviation) and

rural development, NITI Aayog and the PMO. Modi was quoted as saying in a statement that in rural

areas, the goal should be achieved "village-by-village", so that the progress was tangible and can be

monitored effectively. "All common facilities and required connectivity should also be conceived and

delivered along with housing - so that we move towards the concept of 'samasya-mukt gram'

(problem-free village)," Modi said. For urban areas, Modi suggested that urban solid waste can be

used to make bricks, which would be useful as building material. He said all newly-constructed

houses should take into account the required norms in disaster-prone areas. (Business Standard

11/6/15)

One Million Nepalis Slip Below Poverty Line Due to Earthquakes (21)

KATHMANDU: Nearly one million people have slipped below poverty line in Nepal due to two

powerful earthquakes that left about 9,000 people dead and a trail of destruction across the

country."The earthquakes have pushed 982,000 more people back into poverty due to the loss of

assets and income generating opportunities," according to a report by Nepal's National Planning

Commission. The draft report on Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), which will be given final

shape soon, has put the needs estimate of the country at USD 6.66 billion or nearly one-third of the

country's Gross Domestic Product. The draft PDNA, prepared by the NPC working with some 250

Nepali and international experts, divides the damage assessment into 21 sectors. It has calculated

the damage extent in housing and human settlements, the sector suffering the most damage, at Rs

330 billion. Damage to education and tourism is estimated at Rs 28 billion and Rs 18 billion

respectively. NPC handed over the PDNA draft report to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Friday. Vice-

Chairman of NPC Govind Raj Pokharel claimed that the report will be finalised by June 18 and will

include inputs from broader consultations to be organised in Kathmandu on Saturday, as well as

donors' comments thereafter. The report will be tabled before the donor community at an international

donors conference here on June 25 to collect resources for the post-quake rebuilding and

reconstruction. The government is also mulling to form a high-level implementation agency for the

reconstruction tasks and a law for this purpose is in the making. In order to convince the donor

community, the government is also expected to establish an agency for implementation and

reconstruction in a fast-track mode. Altogether 36 out of the total 75 districts in Nepal are affected by

the 7.9 magnitude earthquake on April 25 which was followed by another 7.3-magnitude earthquake

on May 12. However, 14 districts including three districts in the Kathmandu valley fall under most-hit

regions (New Indian Express 14/6/15)

Drought may hit rural India, aggravating poverty (21)

NEW DELHI: India's farm economy could contract this fiscal year for the first time in over a decade

because of drought, threatening Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to lift millions in the countryside

out of poverty and bolster his party's support. Roughly half of India's farmland lacks irrigation and

relies on monsoon rain, but this year's rainfall is officially forecast to be only 88 per cent of the long-

term average and, for the first time in nearly three decades, farmers face a second straight year of

drought or drought-like conditions. That comes on top of a crash in commodity prices, unseasonable

rain earlier this year and delayed sowing late last year because of scanty monsoon rain. "Farmers are

already reeling under heavy losses ... and now they don't have money to irrigate their fields or use an

optimum level of inputs like fertiliser," said Ashok Gulati, an agricultural economist who formerly

advised the government on crop support prices. In the last official drought in 2009-10, the agricultural

economy expanded about 1 per cent. But several private economists, including DH Pai Panandiker of

think tank RPG Foundation, said the challenges in this fiscal year from April could shrink output by as

much as 4 per cent, which would be the first contraction since 2002/03. Panandiker estimated that a 4

per cent decline in farm output, which accounts for about 16 per cent of Asia's third-biggest economy,

could shave 0.6 to 0.7 per centage point off the overall growth rate, all other things being equal. Such

a decline could bring the overall growth rate down below the 7.3 per cent seen in fiscal 2014/15 and

push more people in the countryside closer to penury. The central bank is looking for 7.6 per cent

growth this fiscal year, having just cut its forecast from 7.8 per cent. Monsoon rain has picked up after

a delayed start but small-scale farmers are struggling. "My two children go to a private school, where I

have to deposit 25,000 rupees ($391) every six months," said Uday Vir Singh, a farmer in Mathura, a

semi-arid city in Uttar Pradesh. "God forbid I may soon have to pull them out of school," he said,

sitting under a tree where farmers had gathered to protest at delays in getting compensation for

recent crop damage…. (Times of India 15/6/15)

Food Security Act to be Implemented by September in Bengal (21)

KOLKATA: The National Food Security Act would be implemented in West Bengal by September this

year, its Food and Supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick assured the state assembly today. Already

three districts are under the purview of the act and more districts are being included in phases as

digital cards are being delivered by the agencies handling them. By September the entire state would

be brought under the scheme and a total 6.1 crore people would be benefited, he said. The

government was constructing godowns to handle the increased quantity of food grains required to

implement the scheme, he added. (New Indian Express 16/6/15)

Almost 2,50,000 children facing starvation in South Sudan, says UN (21)

Beijing: Almost 2,50,000 children are facing starvation in South Sudan due to the military battles

witnessed by the nation since 2013, the United Nations has warned. Toby Lanzer, the UN

humanitarian coordinator who was recently expelled from South Sudan, said that in half of the

country, one in three children were acutely malnourished, reported Xinhua. He also noted that about

two-thirds of the country's 12 million people were in dire need of aid as around 4.5 million faced

severe food vulnerability. Lanzer added that a continuing war in South Sudan will lead to 'economic

collapse.'The country attained independence from Sudan in 2011 but plunged into crisis in December

2013 as troops loyal to President Salva Kiir clashed with defectors led by his former deputy Riek

Machar. The conflict soon became a full-blown war, with violence taking an ethnic flavour. It left

thousands of South Sudanese dead and compelled around 1.9 million people to flee. (New Kerala

17/6/15)

Yoga needed for pot-bellied rich, not poor: Lalu Prasad (21)

PATNA: RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Friday said there was no need for the poor to practice yoga and it

is actually meant for those who have eaten funds of poor and became rich and super rich. "Poor and

the poorest of the poor have no need to practice yoga because they have not accumulated fat on their

bodies," Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader said here at a party function.The former Bihar chief

minister also said even he did not need to practice yoga. "Poor people have to be provided adequate

food first for their survival. There are 14 crore poor people in the country who are fighting hunger." He

said landless farmers, poor labourers, milkmen to rickshawpuller have no problem of pot-belly

because they worked hard. "What is the need for them to practice Yoga?"The RJD leader said that

Yoga had turned a fashion among a section of the people who have been suffering from obesity and

accumulated fat on their bodies by eating into the funds meant for the poor. "BJP president Amit Shah

and RSS people who have become fat, will practice yoga. But no need for poor people with symptoms

of malnutrition to practice it," Lalu Prasad said. (Times of India 20/6/15)

APL families show little interest in food subsidy (21)

BENGALURU: While the Opposition and ruling MLAs had forced the State government to offer

subsidised food through public distribution system to above poverty line (APL) families, these

beneficiaries seem to have shown little interest in availing themselves of the subsidy. The State

government had included subsidised food items for APL families from June 1, but data from the

Department of Food and Civil Supplies shows that less than one per cent (0.89 %) of the total 33 lakh

APL ration cardholders have registered at ration shops to get rice and wheat at subsidised

prices.There are 33.78 lakh APL cardholders and only 30,268 have registered at around 20,000

designated ration shops by paying a registration fee of Rs. 10. After registration, the APL families get

enrolled in the department website from where the monthly quota is released. Under the scheme, APL

families can avail themselves of rice and wheat at Rs. 10 and Rs. 15 a kg, respectively. Each family is

eligible to get a monthly quota of 10 kg each of rice and wheat. The department had opened

registration counters across the State to enable the families to apply for cards. However, APL

cardholders have not been showing interest and prefer purchasing food from the open market at

much higher prices, officials pointed out. For such families, ration cards seem to be restricted only for

address proof and to use as one of the government documents to get services such as claiming

insurance under the State government’s Rajiv Arogya Bhagya scheme, officials added. In some towns

and cities, APL ration cards have been lying in the department offices as families have not even

approached the officials to collect them. (The Hindu 22/6/15)

Poverty ratio declines, Scheduled Caste literacy rate improves (21)

New Delhi: Reflecting the growing economic prosperity of Delhiites, the city has witnessed a decline

in poverty to about 10 per cent of the total population in 2011-12 from over 14 per cent. The literacy

rate among the Scheduled Caste population of the city has registered a steady spike. According to

the latest Economic Survey, there were 23.3 lakh people living below poverty line (BPL) in 2009-10,

but the number decreased to 16.96 lakh in 2011-12. Poverty had increased to 14.2 per cent in 2009-

10 in comparison to 13 per cent in 2004-05, but it fell to 9.91 per cent of total population in 2011-12, a

significant decrease. “Per cent of population below the poverty line in Delhi was less than the national

level in all period covered under the study. During 2011-12, 21.92 per cent of the population of India

were under below poverty, while it was 9.91 per cent in Delhi.” It noted that people living in Delhi who

earned less than Rs 1,145 in rural areas in 2011-12 and Rs 1,134 in urban areas, were considered to

be in the BPL category. Besides, the survey revealed that the literacy rate in the Scheduled Caste

population has registered a steady rise, with the figure going up from 20.86 per cent in 1961 to 70.85

per cent in 2001 and 78.89 per cent in 2011. Although the 2011 figure was below Delhi’s overall

literacy rate of 86.20 per cent, it remained above the national average of 63.07 per cent. (Asian Age

25/6/15)

3.6 L Benefit from Rural Poverty Elimination Plan (21)

BHUBANESWAR: Around 3.6 lakh people from scheduled categories and economically weaker

sections of the society of 10 districts have been benefited under World Bank-assisted Targeted Rural

Initiative for Poverty Termination and Infrastructure (TRIPTI) programme. The project, a poverty

reduction programme, aims at enhancing the socio-economic status of the poor, especially women

and disadvantaged groups, in 38 blocks of 10 districts. The project launched in November 2009 has

mobilised 79,000 self-help groups (SHGs) and made them economically self-sustainable by

leveraging funds from commercial banks and other financial institutions to meet their credit needs for

establishing micro-economic activities. The implementation completion and results report (ICRR) of

the World Bank Mission team said around Rs 446 crore has been invested in the project and 79,000

SHGs have been mobilised and empowered against a target of 30,000. Around 1010 gram panchayat

level SHG federations have been made active and sustainable and they are now providing lending

support to SHGs. Capital investment of Rs 570 crore for gram panchayat level formal structure

(GPLF) management has now grown to Rs 1,402 crore. Around 73 per cent of community loans have

been used in agriculture and related activities and about one lakh households have upgraded their

productive activities through adoption of the system of rice intensification (SRI), line sowing and seed

village concepts. The micro-economic activities by the SHGs have brought around Rs 120 crore of

incremental income to beneficiaries in last three years. The report of the World Bank Mission team

headed by Jim Hancock was discussed at a high level meeting, presided over by Chief Secretary GC

Pati on Saturday here. The TRIPTI project was implemented in 38 blocks of 10 districts of Angul,

Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh and Puri.

Feedback from stakeholders show that approaches like proper identification of the poor, micro and

household investment plan, capacity building of community through incentive-based process, record

keeping, identification of bank mitras from among SHG members, dedicated and professional

implementation structure along with transparency and accountability have made the project

successful. The Chief Secretary asked Odisha Livelihood Mission functioning under the Panchayati

Raj department to document the interventions and processes already proved successful in project

areas and replicate them in livelihood mission activities. (New Indian Express 29/6/15)

Survey shocker: Half of rural India touched by poverty (21)

NEW DELHI: India has a problem at hand and its magnitude is much higher than what was imagined

or reported. That is the short and succinct message of the socio-economic caste census (SECC)

released on Friday. According to the census, 49% of rural households show signs of poverty. And

51% of households have 'manual casual labour' as the source of income. Whichever way the figures

are sliced and diced, the poverty data leaves no scope for assurance or optimism. Till now, every

survey had been showing poverty as receding. The survey has used seven indicators of deprivation:

All definite pointers to subsistence-level existence and serious handicaps like 'kuccha houses',

landless households engaged in manual labour, female-headed households with no adult working

male member, households without a working adult, and all SC/ ST households. While there can be

room for correction, experts are unanimous that this would not change the bleak picture significantly.

For instance, they are unanimous that all those dependent on 'manual casual labour' for livelihood —

51.14% of households — are bound to be poor. The dismal scenario is illustrated by another set of

dire figures: 2.37 crore households live in one-room kuccha houses, constituting 13.25% of the 17.91

crore rural households. At the same time, 30% of rural households own no land and are engaged in

manual labour. The overall poverty figures for the country will also take into account the urban

household survey that is yet to be released. But they, whenever they are out, are unlikely to change

the overall picture. The degree of deprivation as evidenced by the rural survey poses an intractable

challenge for the Modi government if it wants to draw up a consolidated list of the poor, known as

'Below Poverty Line'. If the government goes by the new evidence, the BPL category would balloon

beyond its fiscal capacity. Conversely, if it seeks to put a ceiling and depress the figures, it would

attract the kind of controversy that had hit the UPA…. (Times of India 4/7/15)

India has made progress towards realising the Millennium Development Goals: UN (21)

New Delhi: India has made notable progress towards realising the Millennium Development Goals,

including of reducing poverty by half and securing gender parity, but the achievements across the

goals vary, a major UN report has revealed. "India has already achieved the target of reducing

poverty by half by official estimates and is close to doing so by international estimates. "It has already

achieved gender parity in primary school enrolment and is likely to reach parity in secondary and

tertiary education also by 2015," says the report on Millennium Development Goals released by the

United Nations Economic and Social Communication for Asia-Pacific (UN-ESCAP). While India is on

track to achieving the hunger targets, it remains home to one quarter of the world's under-nourished

population and nearly a third of world's underweight children, the report said. India also has nearly a

third of the world's food insecure people, it added. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

had released a 2015 report on Millennium Development Goals yesterday. Noted economist and

member, NITI Aayog, Bibek Debroy, along with Nagesh Kumar, Head, UN-ESCAP, and Rebecca

Tavares released the MDG report and Asia-Pacific MDG report here today. The report revealed that

while India is on track to achieving gender parity at all levels of education, women's literacy rates lag

behind that of men, indicating poorer learning outcomes for the fairer sex. Securing opportunities for

women and ensuring their empowerment remain major development challenges. (Business Standard

7/7/15)

Mother of six ends life due to poverty (21)

MUMBAI: A 37-year-old woman committed suicide at her Malwani residence on Monday, fed up of

poverty. Noori Qureshi, the deceased, was a mother of six. Her husband, Ehsaan, is an autorickshaw

driver. According to the police, the family had difficulty making ends meet. With Eid around the corner,

Noori felt the pinch as there was no money for festivities. Noori and her family lived at the New

Collector Compound in Malwani. On Monday, Noori hanged herself with a dupatta from a rod in her

house. Her family discovered her hanging and informed the police. She was rushed to a hospital

where doctors pronounced her dead. A case of accidental death was recorded by the Malwani police.

The police are recording Ehsaan's statement. No suicide note was found. (Times of India 8/7/15)

Bombay HC seeks reply from Maharashtra on starvation death (21)

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra

government to file an affidavit on its non-implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013,

following a starvation death in Tiroda, Gondiya, district. A division bench comprising Justice Bhushan

Gavai and Justice Indu Jain asked the principal secretary, food and civil supplies department of the

state, to file the detailed affidavit within two weeks. The court orders came on a public interest

litigation filed by Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari, who alleged the state

government's failure in implementing the food security act led to the starvation death in the backward

Gondiya district of the state. The victim, Lalita S. Rangari, was a Dalit widow, aged 36 and mother of

two children, one of whom is visually disabled, allegedly because of starvation. Terming this as 'gross

negligence' on the part of the state government, Tiwari in his PIL said that the state government has

failed until now to identify the 'eligible' and 'priority' households under the NFS Act after it came into

being on September 10, 2013. Moreover, the PIL claimed, attempts by the government to reduce the

quantity of food grain supply through the public distribution system (PDS) also caused great hardships

to the poorest of the poor in the past one year. "The report of starvation death is shocking...It is a

stigma on civilized society and thus is a matter of great concern... This unfortunate incident could

have been avoided if the state had performed its obligation under the NFS Act," the petition pointed

out. Of Maharashtra's population, 76.32 percent in rural areas and 45.34 in urban areas is required to

be covered under the Targeted PDS, he added. "The NFS Act is a complete code in itself...and gives

effect to the right to life as guaranteed by the Constitution of India under Article 21. Till date, the state

government has not framed any guidelines to implement it properly and effectively, which led to the

starvation death," Tiwari said. He demanded directions to the state to implement the NFS Act

properly, order a probe into the starvation death and adequate compensation to the deceased

woman's family. The petition will come up for next hearing on July 22, said the petitioner's lawyer

Vinod Tiwari. (Business Standard 9/7/15)

Combining social protection with pro-poor investments can eradicate world hunger by 2030 –

UN (21)

New York: According to a new joint United Nations agency report, an additional USD160 per year for

each person living in extreme poverty would end chronic hunger - and additional investments of an

estimated USD267 billion annually in social protection and in rural and urban areas would sustainably

eradicate world hunger by 2030. The report, prepared by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization

(FAO), the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme

(WFP), was presented in Romeon Friday ahead of the Third International Conference on Financing

for Development, which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from13 to 16 July 2015. Entitled,

Achieving Zero Hunger, the report notes that despite decades of progress, nearly 800 million people,

mostly in rural areas, still lacked enough to eat while underscoring that, on average, USD160 annually

would enable them access to food and improved livelihoods. Eliminating chronic undernourishment by

2030 is a key element of the second proposed sustainable development goal of the new post-2015

agenda, which will be up for adoption at the UN General Assembly in September. It is also at the

heart of the Zero Hunger Challenge supported by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. FAO Director-

General Jos Graziano da Silva saidthe message of the report was clear: If we adopt a business as

usual approach, by 2030, we would still have more than 650 million people suffering from hunger,

which is why we are championing an approach that combines social protection with additional

targeted investments in rural development, agriculture and urban areas that will chiefly benefit the

poor. Noting that a total investment of some USD267 billion per year over the next 15 years would

eradicate world hunger, Grzaiano da Silva stressed, given that this is more or less equivalent to 0.3

per cent of the global GDP, I personally think it is a relatively small price to pay to end hunger. We

wont see gains in reducing poverty and hunger unless we seriously invest in rural people, said IFAD

President Kanayo F. Nwanze. Given the right kind of tools and resources, small-scale agricultural

producers and rural entrepreneurs can transform struggling communities into thriving places. We

need a dramatic shift in thinking to help the worlds poorest break the cycle of hunger and poverty by

2030. We cannot allow them to be left behind, said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. We must

invest in the most vulnerable and ensure that they have the tools they need not only to overcome

hunger, but to enhance their resources and capabilities….. (New Kerala 11/7/15)

Mizoram to implement Food Security Act (21)

AIZAWL, July 11 - Mizoram would implement the National Food Security Act, 2013 from October this

year, State Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister John Rotluangliana said in the

Assembly on Thursday. Rotluangliana, after laying the Mizoram Food Security Rules, 2015 and the

Guidelines for Selection of Beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, 2013, in the Assembly,

said that the Food Security Scheme was imposed on the State by the Centre. He said that only 7.06

lakh people of more than 15 lakh population would be covered by the Food Security Scheme, which

included around 1.36 lakh people under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme. As determined

by the Centre, 81.88 per cent of the people living in the rural areas (4.33 lakh) and 48.60 per cent of

people residing in the urban areas (2.73 lakh) would be covered by the scheme, he said. The AAY

families would receive 35 kilos of rice per family per month while around 5.7 lakh people would be

entitled to receive five kg of food at the rate of Rs 3 per kilo in a month under the scheme, he said.

He, however, added that eight kilos per adult per month being distributed by the State Government

was insufficient. The State Government, therefore, decided to add another three kg to those who were

entitled under the food scurity scheme making the ration at eight kilos a month for those covered

under the scheme. The Minister said that for those 5,03,704 people left out by the scheme, the State

Government would make arrangement to give eight kilos of rice per month at the rate of Rs 15 per

kilo. – PTI (Assam Tribune 12/7/15)

670 million in rural areas live on Rs.33 per day (21)

New Delhi, July 13 (IANS/IndiaSpend) Seventy-five percent of rural households in India have a

monthly income of less than Rs.5,000 ($79), 51 percent of households make a living from manual

labour, 28 percent (over 50 million) of households do not have mobile phones or any form of

communication. More than 70 million rural households face some form of exclusion, either from

assets or socio-economic benefits, according to data released by the Socio-Economic Caste Census

(SECC) survey last week. As many as 833 million Indians, or 69% of the population, live in rural

areas. The SECC report comes at a time when global credit rating agencies such as Moody's have

warned that slow growth in rural India may cripple the overall economy. Rating agencies have laid

stress on speeding rural reforms. More than half of rural households depend on manual labour for

livelihood, and 75 percent of the rural population, or 133.5 million families, earn less than Rs.5,000

per month. "A preliminary analysis reveals a grim picture of rural areas with three in four rural

households earning less than Rs.5,000 per month and almost 90 percent of households have

incomes of less than Rs.10,000 per month," Himanshu (he uses only one name), an agricultural

economist with Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University wrote in Mint, citing the findings of the Arjun

Sengupta committee (2007), which identified 77 percent of India's population as poor. "Overlooked by

the media, these numbers are very close to the estimates of poor and vulnerable derived from other

estimates based on the consumption surveys of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Rs.5,000

per month per household with an average household size of five would also mean an income of Rs.33

per person per day in the rural areas," wrote Himanshu. Although it is not meant to be a comparison

of poverty estimates, the SECC data reveals that about 670 million Indians in rural areas alone live on

Rs.33 per day (75 percent of rural households is around 134,373,569 households; five members per

household gives us a total of 671,867,845 people). .. (Business Standard 13/7/15)

Centre, States Must Move Together to End Poverty: PM Modi (21)

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the second meeting of the governing

council of Niti Aayog here on Wednesday, said that Centre and states must move together to end

poverty. Prime Minister Modi said the political deadlock over Land Acquisition is seriously impacting

rural development, including the creation of schools, hospitals, roads and irrigation projects. He

reiterated that as far as paying enhanced compensation is concerned, there are no differences in the

stands of the Centre and States. Reiterating the vision of his government that state units should be

the focus of all development efforts, as part of ‘Team India’, the Prime Minister recalled that the Chief

Ministers had always felt that development policies at the Centre should be framed in consultation

with the states. Prime Minister Modi said that the last one year had been a good beginning, with

states being taken on board in the planning process and the Chief Ministers taking the lead in sub-

groups of the Niti Aayog. The Prime Minister said that after formation of his government, several

states had raised concerns with regard to the implementation of the Right to Fair Compensation and

Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. He said many states

had felt that development work was suffering due to the provisions of the 2013 Act; and some Chief

Ministers had requested for changes in the Act, and sent letters to this effect. The Prime Minister said

that the ordinance was brought about in response to these development concerns of the states and

also to ensure that farmers continue to receive their legitimate due. Prime Minister Modi appealed to

everyone that political considerations should not come in the way of a solution that would facilitate

development of the rural areas and greater prosperity for the farmers. He said the matter is now

before the Parliamentary Standing Committee and, therefore, ahead of the upcoming Parliament

Session, it was appropriate that the suggestions of the states be listened to, once again. Concluding

the meeting, the Prime Minister thanked the Chief Ministers for their participation and said that their

suggestions would be welcomed. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that certain non-

BJP chief ministers skipping the Niti Aayog meeting in New Delhi was "against the spirit of

federalism". "Those who chose to boycott (Niti Aayog meeting) must introspect whether not attending

the meeting is in tune with the spirit of federalism," Jaitley said at a press conference here after the

Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded. (New Indian Express 15/7/15)

Government has accorded high priority to hunger: Paswan (21)

New Delhi: The central government has taken note of the United Nations annual hunger report, and

accorded high priority to the issue of hunger, a union minister said on Wednesday. "The government

has taken note of the UN annual hunger report. As per the report, India has 194.6 million

undernourished people but the number has declined from 210.1 million in the base year 1990-92,"

said Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, in response to a

question in the Lok Sabha. "The government of India has accorded high priority to the issue of hunger

and malnutrition in the country and is implementing several schemes to improve food security in the

country," the minister said. According to the report 'The State of Food Insecurity in the World' by the

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation', there has been a 7.4 percent progress in the

country to achieve the World Food Summit target, Paswan added. "The government is implementing

the National Food Security Act, 2013, to provide food security to our population. So far, 12

states/union territories have implemented the act," he said. The act provides for coverage of up to 75

per cent of the rural and 50 per cent of the urban population to receive highly subsidised food grain

under Targeted Public Distribution System. Despite India's commitment to the Millenium Development

Goals (MDG), the country has the maximum number of undernourished people in the world,

according to the report. MDGs are the eight international development goals established by the UN in

2000 to eradicate hunger and poverty and to reduce child mortality. Even at the World Summit on

Food Security at Rome in 2009, world leaders pledged to work towards eradicating hunger. (New

Kerala 22/7/15)

NITI Aayog panel’s draft report treads cautiously on poverty (21)

New Delhi: The NITI Aayog taskforce on eliminating poverty has decided to tread the middle path on

the contentious issue of whether to have a poverty number to identify the poor or just use deprivation

indicators for decision making. In its draft discussion paper on mitigating poverty, which has been sent

to the States for comments, the taskforce, under the Aayog’s Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, has

placed arguments both in favour of and against the need for a poverty number. “The Governing

Council of NITI Aayog, which will vet the final draft, will take a final view on issues raised in the

discussion paper,” a government official told BusinessLine. States are supposed to give their

comments on the draft by mid-August. The panel includes NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy, Chief

Statistician TCA Anant, economist Surjit Bhalla and secretaries from the ministries and departments

of rural development, housing and urban poverty alleviation, financial services, MSME and skill

development. The discussion paper also states that in case a poverty number is required, it may not

be necessarily calculated by the NITI Aayog. It could be calculated jointly by the Rural Development

Ministry, which would give the number for rural poor, and the Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry,

which would give the number for urban poor, or the statistical commission. “People have already

started making calculations on rural poverty based on the recent findings of the Socio Economic and

Caste Census (SECC), 2011, of the Rural Development Ministry. Although the survey is a sensitivity

analysis based on certain deprivation indicators, a number can be calculated if you decide on the

indicators to include and add them up,” the official said.The Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry is

carrying out a similar census, which will also throw up a number for the urban poor. “We need to just

calculate the aggregate to come out with a national poverty number,” the official said, quickly adding

that a decision on the matter has not yet been taken. Giving arguments in favour of doing away with

poverty numbers, the document has said that none of the anti-poverty programmes, such as the

Indira Awas Yojna and the Antodaya Scheme, are contingent on using anti-poverty numbers.

Moreover, the definition of poor might also differ between various sectors. A household that is

considered poor for a housing programme may not qualify under a food programme. However, the

document adds that poverty numbers may be needed for two reasons; one, if there is some

percentage of subsidy in poverty schemes borne by the Centre and two, poverty numbers may be

needed for particular States. Also when Sustainable Development Goals are in place — they may

have targeted poverty reduction numbers — the country would need a baseline as a measure of its

performance. The taskforce’s document has suggested to States that they use the Socio Economic

and Caste Census survey, wherever suitable, for their welfare programmes. The SECC has

automatically excluded 39.39 per cent of the rural population from the list of poor based on 14

parameters, included 0.92 per cent based on five parameters and has divided the rest on the basis of

seven deprivation indicators. The Rural Development Ministry has reportedly classified 31.26 per cent

of rural households as poor based on about four of the seven indicators. The Rangarajan committee,

a technical expert group set up by the UPA in 2012, had classified 30.95 per cent of rural Indians as

poor in 2011-12. (Business Line 23/7/15)

Not enough on the plate: Nutrition plan for poor mothers buried? (21)

New Delhi: A nutrition plan within the National Food Security Act meant for pregnant women and

lactating mothers, a vulnerable group that skews India’s hunger indices, looks quietly buried. It still

runs as a trial in 52 districts, two years after the landmark legislation was signed into law. The Centre

hasn’t yet begun budgeting for it to expand the maternal health scheme to cover the whole country.

While a parallel scheme under the food law for children, the school lunch programme called mid-day

meals, is funded jointly by the Centre and states, the maternal scheme has to be funded entirely by

the central government. The maternity scheme, aimed at mostly anaemic pregnant women among the

poor, provides for cash of 6,000 in instalments for medical expenses and nutritious food during the

course of pregnancy. For up to six months after the childbirth, such mothers can also have a free hot

meal that meets nutritional standards. Such benefits may look like largesse, but India is an outlier

even among its south Asian neighbours when it comes to maternal mortality rate, or women who die

during pregnancy or shortly after delivering. At 190 for every 100,000 live births, India’s figure is

worse than Bangaldesh’s 170 and Bhutan’s 120. In contrast to images of Sudan’s scrawny children

with distended bellies, hunger in India remains largely invisible because it is driven not by near-death

starvation but by sweeping malnourishment and calorie deficiencies. Simply put, too little food lacking

in essential nutrients has resulted in the world’s largest proportion of stunted children with poor brains.

Worse, their poor health actually begins even before they are born: in the womb of their half-fed

mothers. According to the Lancet medical journal, poorly fed mothers are more likely to give birth to

underweight children (see graphic) and malnourishment in the first year of a child’s life is

irreversible…. (Hindustan Times 25/7/15)

Caste data won't be out any time soon, here's why (21)

New Delhi: Dismissing suggestions that caste census report was not released to "hide truth",

government on Tuesday said more than 8.19 crore errors were detected in the data of which 1.45

crore faults continue to exist. A total of 8,19,58,314 errors have been found in caste particulars and all

states and union territories have been communicated for rectification. The states have rectified

6,73,81,119 errors. However, 1,45,77,195 errors are yet to be rectified, a Home Ministry statement

said today. Maharashtra with 69.1 lakh errors in the census data tops the list of states where the

faults were detected. Currently, there are 13.9 lakh errors in census data in Madhya Pradesh, 11.6

lakh errors in West Bengal, 7.2 lakhs in Rajasthan, 5.4 lakhs in Uttar Pradesh, 2.9 lakhs in Karnataka,

1.7 lakhs in Bihar, 1.4 lakhs in Tamil Nadu which are yet to be rectified. On July 3, the government

refrained from releasing the caste-based data in its first Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC)

released in eight decades. Union Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh had said

brushed aside suggestions that government avoided giving the caste count in the survey report due to

political reasons ahead of Bihar polls. "There is no such thing. Connecting it with elections is not

good," he had said. However, opposition parties alleged that government was "hiding the truth from

the country" by not releasing the data of SC, STs, Backward Class, Minority and Upper Class in the

country so as to "minimise the quota for reserved classes cleverly in future".The Home Ministry

statement today said the government has reviewed the status of the Socio-Economic and Caste

Census (SECC) on July 16 and it emerged that 46,73,034 distinct caste names have been returned in

the SECC. "These include caste/sub-caste names, synonyms, surnames, clan/gothra names,

phonetic variations, sections, sub-groups etc. These will have to be classified by experts having

domain knowledge on these issues," it said. Further, the government noted that the field work of

collection of data has been completed and that the data relating to socio-economic features of

households in rural areas was released by the Ministry of Rural Development on July 3. The Ministry

of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, however, did not released any data relating to urban areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced formation of an expert group to classify and categorise the

caste returns under the chairmanship of Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairperson, NITI AAYOG. The

members of the expert group would be finalised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in

consultation with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Further, the expert group will be serviced by the

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. "The government is

fully committed to completing the SECC and requests the state/UT governments for its fullest

cooperation to complete the rectification of errors. In the meanwhile, the classification of the available

caste/tribe data will be taken up by the expert group," the statement said. The Home Ministry had

sought the approval of the Union Cabinet on May 9, 2011 for collecting the Caste Data along with the

SECC. The then UPA government decided on May 19, 2011 that the data collection under SECC

would be done by the state governments with the financial and technical support of the Government

of India. The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty

Alleviation (MoHUPA) were designated as the nodal Ministries in the Government of India. The Office

of the Registrar General, India (RGI) was directed to provide the technical and logistical support.

Further, it was decided that after completing the field data collection, the data relating to caste/ tribes

would be handed over by the RGI to an expert group to be constituted by the Government at an

appropriate time for classification. Accordingly, as the field work is now substantially completed, the

present Government has decided that it is now appropriate to constitute the expert group, the

statement said. (Zee News 29/7/15)

India census exposes extent of poverty (21)

New Delhi (CNN)India's latest Socioeconomic and Caste Census (SECC) paints a stark picture of

widespread rural poverty and deprivation. Of the 300 million households surveyed, an overwhelming

majority (73%) live in villages. Of this rural population, less than 5% earn enough to pay taxes, only

2.5% own a 4-wheeler vehicle and less than 10% have salaried jobs. Not only does rural India have

miserable statistics on income and asset ownership, its literacy rates are low. Only 3.5% of students

graduate and around 35.7% of residents can't read or write. It comes as no surprise that the bulk of

the Indian population is still overwhelmingly poor. Past surveys and experts have continued to

emphasize the chasm between the two disparate pictures of India -- one that owns ambitious space

and nuclear programs, and boasts of billionaires and information technology prowess, and the one in

the villages, of which 92 million households (51%) earn their living by manual labor. The self-reported

data from the SECC survey will be used for targeting new and existing welfare schemes. Toeing the

line taken by the previous administration, the government refrained from making caste data public….

(CNN 3/8/15)

NSSO: 73% of rural Bihar use kerosene for lighting (21)

NEW DELHI: For all the subsidy flowing towards selling kerosene through the public distribution

system, it now emerges that the fuel is hardly being used in kitchens across India - in towns as well as

villages - but remains a key source for lighting lamps and lanterns in rural areas, which either lack

power connections or don't get adequate supply. The latest survey released by the National Sample

Survey Organization (NSSO) has revealed that in rural areas, subsidized kerosene was used in less

than 1% of kitchens, which relied largely on firewood and chips as the primary source of energy for

cooking during 2011-12. After firewood (67% share), cooking gas cylinders have emerged as the

second most preferred kitchen fuel in rural areas, with a share of 15%. In urban areas, of course, they

now fire over 68% of the stoves, while the share of kerosene is estimated at 5.7%, lower than

firewood (14%).But when it comes to lighting homes in villages, the share of kerosene is estimated at

26.5%, with electricity's share estimated at 72.7%. In urban India, 3.2% of households uses kerosene

for lighting while the share of electricity is 96%.The data points to what several economists have

argued for years: there is reduced dependence on kerosene despite the government doling out

subsidized fuel, which is suspected to be used in large quantities for adulteration or finds its way into

the open market, where there is no subsidy. Currently, the government pays Rs 18.51 as subsidy for

every litre of kerosene sold through the public distribution system. The under-recovery on the sale of

kitchen fuel by the oil marketing companies added up to Rs 24,800 crore during the last financial year,

with the government taking over around Rs 5,000 crore of the burden and forcing the state-run

companies to bear the additional burden. The government has been talking of reforming the subsidy

delivery mechanism for several years and is contemplating extending the direct benefit transfer

scheme to kerosene to check leakages. But the findings of the NSSO survey showed wide divergence

in fuel used across states with those such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh still relying on dung cake and

firewood to a large extent. The use of firewood and chips for cooking has declined but slowly over the

years in rural India. It declined from 78.2% of all rural households in 1993-94 to 67.3% in 2011-12.

LPG use in rural households has grown relatively fast, from fewer than 2% of rural households two

decades ago to 15% in 2011-12. Cow-dung cake remained one of the major fuels for cooking for rural

households in Uttar Pradesh (33.4%) followed by Punjab (30.3%), Haryana (24%) and Bihar

(20.8%).Tamil Nadu had the highest use of LPG among rural households, with over a third using it for

cooking, followed by Kerala and Punjab. The use of LPG was least in Chhattisgarh (1.5%) followed by

Jharkhand (2.9%) and Odisha (3.9%).When it comes to lighting, 73.5% of rural households in Bihar

still use kerosene as primary source of energy for lighting, followed by Uttar Pradesh (58.5%) and

Assam (36.8%).Bihar also tops the chart when it comes to use of kerosene for lighting in urban areas

with 17.2% of households still depending on kerosene. Followed by Bihar were Uttar Pradesh

(10.8%), Assam (7.9%), Gujarat (5.2%) and West Bengal (5%).However, over the past decade, the

proportion of households using kerosene to light their houses has halved in rural India. The use of

electricity was the highest in rural Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where nearly all

rural households used electricity to light their homes. In contrast, just 25.8% of rural Bihar and 40.4%

of rural Uttar Pradesh households had electricity. (Times of India 3/8/15)

Over 7,000 face starvation in South Sudan (21)

Approximately 7,600 displaced families in South Sudan face starvation after humanitarian assistance

ran out last May. "Individuals affected by the conflict subsist on leaves to stay alive in the Melut

county of South Sudan, as humanitarian conditions have worsened for over 7,600 families," Xinhua

quoted Deng Kiir, head of the Dethoma camp, as saying on Tuesday. Kiir said humanitarian

assistance ceased arriving as aid organisations suspended their activities after fighting erupted

between government troops and opposition fighters last May. He called on the government and

humanitarian organisations to provide urgent assistance to the displaced families. According to United

Nations statistics, two-thirds of South Sudan's 12 million people are in dire need of aid and 4.5 million

face severe food shortages. The recent military clashes forced thousands of civilians to flee to safe

areas and United Nations bases for protection. South Sudan secured its independence in 2011.

However, it plunged into violent clashes in December 2013 as fighting erupted between troops loyal to

President Salva Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Riek Machar. The conflict soon grew into

an all-out war, with violence taking on an ethnic aspect, pitting the president Dinka's tribe against

Machar's ethnic faction. The warfare killed thousands of South Sudanese and forced 1.9 million

individuals to flee their homes. (Business Standard 5/8/15)

Thousands of villagers face starvation; landslides cut off 25 villages in Chandel (21)

Kakching: : Thousands of villagers are on the brink of starvation as over 25 villages under Machi Sub-

Division in Chandel District are totally cut off and remained inaccessible since the last one week due

to the multiple landslides. To assess the situation of landslide affected area, a team of Kuki Chiefs'

Association (KCA) Machi Block, KSO Machi Block and Rural People's development Federation

(RPDF) along with media persons visited the spots on Friday. During the visit, the team found that

landslides occurred at several places and many cracks developed along the stretch between Machi

and Tengnoupal Sangshak road junction. Apart from washing away the portion of Tengnoupal-

Sangshak Road in between Phalbung and Chehlep junction, two major landslides measuring about 2

kms in length also occurred near Simang Villages along the road.There were also landslide in the

Inter Village Roads of Bongmol to Bongli, Kuljang to Sairel, Machi Lamkai to Samukom, Khoibu

Centre to Parengtong/Charawanpham. Briefing media persons, Chief of Molpi (Nungtak) Village

M.Letkhosei Haokip, who is also the Advisor of KCA Machi Block said that around 25 Villages of

Bongli area were totally cut off from the rest of the State due multiple landslides which occurred on

July 31 . Since then, the villages of that area remained inaccessible till date and the villagers were on

the brink of starvation. Haokip further maintained that there is also a problem of electricity and safe

potable water as many electric poles and water sources were recently washed away by landslides.

Besides the need for clearing the mud and slush and reopening of all the roads, provision of essential

commodities, medicines, drinking water and electricity is also the need of the villagers, added the

Village Chief. However, the State Government and the elected representatives of the area have no

concern for the villagers of the area till date and the authority failed to take up necessary action for

reopening of the roads, said the Village Chief. While appealing to address the grievances of the

villagers of the area, Letkhosei Haokip, Chief of Molpi Village drew the immediate attention of the

State Government and authority for reopening of the cut off routes at the earliest. Khaineo Lupho, Co-

ordinator of RPDF also said that most of the villagers of the area were living from hand to mouth as

their primary occupation was selling of forest products besides engaging in shifting cultivation. He

also maintained that even though the authority failed to provide the Public Distribution System (PDS)

items earlier, at least they could make necessary arrangement to dispatch the essential commodities

under the PDS during such time of natural calamities. Senpu Haokip, General Secretary of Kuki

Chiefs' Association (KCA) Machi Block and John Haokip, Secretary of Kuki Students' Organisation

(KSO) Machi Block also accompanied the team during the visit. (Manipur: E-Pao 8/8/15

'MGNREGS reduced poverty, empowered women' (21)

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) reduced poverty

by up to a third and gave a large number of women their first opportunity to earn cash income, a new

research has found. Officials from the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and the National

Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) released a new report Wednesday evening which

used data from two rounds of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) – 2004-5 and 2011-12.

The survey was conducted by the NCAER and University of Maryland, involving over 26,000 rural

households across the country. Comparisons between the two survey rounds found that the

programme reduced poverty overall by up to 32 per cent and prevented 14 million people from falling

into poverty. “Economic growth contributed to overall poverty reduction during this period, but we

found that the MGNREGS also played a significant role,” Sonalde Desai, principal author of the study,

said. The numbers show that the MGNREGS is likely to have had a much smaller impact on the rural

job market and on rural wages than is commonly believed. At an all-India level, the average days

worked under the MGNREGS is less than four, pointing to the relatively small impact of the scheme to

the overall rural job market. “On the surface, MGNREGS has virtually no impact on rural employment

patterns since it fails to add to the number of days that individuals work. But it seems to attract

individuals who were previously employed in less productive work, thereby raising their incomes,” the

report notes. Overall, while the period of 2004-5 to 2011-12 saw a sharp rise in rural wages,

MGNREGS plays only a modest role in wage increases, the report notes. The United Nations

Development Programme on Wednesday also released a review of recent research studies on the

MGNREGS which found similarly, and found that the scheme’s uptake is far greater in the lean

season that in the peak agricultural season. The part of the rural job market that the MGNREGS did

seem to have a more significant impact on was for female work. About 45% of female MGNREGS

workers were either not working or worked only on a family farm in 2004–05, indicating that the

MGNREGS “may well be the first opportunity many women have to earn cash income”. As a result,

there was a substantial increase in women’s control over resources — including cash in hand and the

likelihood of having a bank account — and improvement in women’s ability to make independent

decisions about their health, the report found. Children from MGNREGS households were likely to

obtain higher levels of educational attainment than their non-MGNREGS peers, the report found, and

were less likely to be working. While financial inclusion rose in general during this period and reliance

of moneylenders declined, the effect was much greater for MGNREGS households, as was the

decrease in the overall interest paid by the household. Simultaneously, accessing of formal credit

grew. What holds the MGNREGS back is “work rationing” — the inability of all interested households

to get 100 days of work — as a result of mismanagement or pressures, and affects the poorest the

most, the report finds. “These findings clearly show that there is a large unmet demand for

MGNREGS work,” Jugal Kishore Mohapatra, secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, said, adding

that a paucity of funds at the level of implementations and erratic fund flows, particularly in 2014-15

had affected both demand and supply. “For the last four months, our job has been convincing

everyone that the scheme is not going away and rebooting demand,” Mr. Mohapatra said. (The Hindu

12/8/15)

PM Modi's Independence Day speech: 10 big quotes (21)

New Delhi: In his 90-minute Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn't

announce any major scheme for the country rather he focussed on presenting a report card of the

schemes that he had announced last year from the ramparts of Red Fort. Here are the 10 big quotes

from the PM's speech: 1. This is a morning of hope of the dreams and aspirations of 125 crore

Indians. This Team India is a team of 125 crore Indians. 2. Simplicity and unity are India's strength, it

should never be tainted or hurt. There is no place for casteism, communalism in the country. 3.

Nobody wants to remain poor. Those who are poor want to move away from poverty. That is why, all

our programmes must be for the poor. All our schemes must serve the poor. Be it MyGov, letters from

citizens, Mann Ki Baat, communication with people 'Jan Bhagidari' is increasing on a daily basis. 4.

Last time from the Red Fort I spoke about toilets and cleanliness. If there is something that has

touched every person, it is the movement towards cleanliness. The children of this country are the

biggest mascots of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. 5. We have change the way we look at workers in India

and for that the government has introduced Shrameva Jayate Yojana. 6.I proudly say that the 'give it

up' campaign for gas subsidy has been successful, 20 lakh people have given subsidy up. 7. There

has been no accusation of even Re 1 corruption in the 15 months since this government was formed.

8. We must be Number 1 in startups. 'Start-up India' and 'Stand up India'. A new start up should begin

in every part of the country. Every bank should ensure that its every branch must give loan for start

ups to at least one Dalit or tribal seeking to establish a start up. 9. Even after so many decades of

independence there are nearly 18,500 villages that do not have electricity. We affirm our commitment

to provide electricity to these 18,500 villages in next 1000 days. 10. The government has agreed in-

principle to One Rank One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen. There are some issues which would

be resolved soon. (India Today 16/8/15)

Telangana launches new scheme for village development (21)

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Monday launched 'Grama Jyothi', a new scheme for

empowering villages. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao formally launched the scheme at

Gangadevipally, a village in Warangal district. The state government plans to spend Rs.25,000 crore

for the development of villages over the next four years under this ambitious project.Different

ministers and officials simultaneously launched the programme in other districts.Grama Jyothi is

aimed at strengthening villages in areas like water and sanitation, health and nutrition, education,

social security and poverty eradication, natural resources management, agriculture and

infrastructure.It will ensure inclusive and holistic development of villages through people's participation

in planning and collective decision-making. Officials said the development would be achieved through

transparency, accountability and incentivsation. Addressing a public meeting at Gangadevipally, the

chief minister said the model village had proved what people could achieve by working together for

the development of their village.He announced Rs.10 crore for undertaking various development

programmes in the village. The chief minister said the scheme would strengthen panchayat raj system

as gram panchayats would formulate development plans. Each village will be allocated Rs.2 crore to

Rs.6 crore depending on their population. (New Kerala 17/8/15)

Digitization of ration cards in 26 states to plug PDS leakage (21)

NEW DELHI: In significant progress made by states to check leakage of foodgrains under the public

distribution system (PDS), 26 states and Union Territories have completed 100% digitization of ration

cards in the past one year. Six states have digitized the supply chain for better monitoring of grain

moving from godowns to the doorstep of consumers. According to food ministry sources, the overall

digitization of ration cards across the country is about 92% and they expect the process to be

completed in the next 6-7 months. The states that have achieved 100% progress include Andhra

Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh. They added Andhra

Pradesh and Telangana have recorded 98% progress in linking Aadhar while Delhi has completed

100%. The achievement is more than 80% in the case of Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Puducherry

and Kerala. "Once we have the complete digitization and beneficiaries' Aadhar numbers are linked, it

will plug the leakage of highly subsidized grains that are meant for the needy. Completing these tasks

will also ensure better implementation of the National Food Security Scheme (NFSA)," said a ministry

official. (Times of India 19/8/15)

Education antidote to poverty, Kejriwal says at sons school (21)

NOIDA: The Delhi Public School, Noida, had a special guest on Friday. Delhi chief minister Arvind

Kejriwal came calling, as a parent and as the chief guest. Kejriwal visited the school to honour

students who had won sports awards at the district, state and national levels. He also awarded

students who performed nukkad natak (street theatre) at the inter-school event, Mukhote, where they

highlighted social, political and environmental issues. The CM was accompanied by wife Sunita. His

son Pulkit is a student of Class IX of the school. In his address, the Delhi CM emphasized the need

for education for all to achieve wholesome growth of the country. Kejriwal said education is the

antidote to poverty, and that the Delhi government is dedicated to improving the quality of education

in government schools. "If we provide quality education to one generation, poverty will automatically

be eradicated from society. The Delhi government has raised its education budget this year. The

quality will also improve. Education is the antidote to poverty," he said. On his relationship with DPS

Noida, Kejriwal said he felt he was part of the DPS family, and that he has been visiting the school for

the past 13 years as a parent. Like Pulkit, his daughter Harshita, too, studied in DPS Noida, from

Nursery to Class XII. He said DPS Noida is one of the country's best schools that focuses on holistic

development of students. "When we moved from Ghaziabad to Delhi, I asked Pulkit to get admission

in a Delhi school, as travelling would be an issue. But he said he wanted to continue in his old school

and refused the offer," said Kejriwal. (Times of India 22/8/15)

Mah govt distributes 4500 tonnes of grain to farmers (21)

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has distributed 4500 metric tonnes of grains to farmers in 14

suicide prone districts in the state under the Food Security Act, officials said. The grains have been

distributed to eligible farmers in 140 talukas. The grains have been provided at the rate of Rs 3 per kg

of rice and Rs 2 per kg of wheat. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had made an announcement on

the inclusion of farmers in the suicide belt of the state under the scheme in the state assembly. The

distribution of grains began on Independence Day. (Times of India 26/8/15)

Centre to begin cash transfers for 1.5 lakh families entitled to PDS grains (21)

NEW DELHI: From next Tuesday, at least 1.5 lakh families in Chandigarh, Puducherry and Dadra and

Nagar Haveli will get cash in the bank accounts of their family members in place of getting subsidized

wheat and rice. The direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for PDS foodgrains is being rolled out on a

pilot basis from September 1 and government expects this can prove to be the solution to pilferage of

subsidized grains under the present public distribution system. Sources in the food ministry said the

Centre would transfer cash equivalent of five kilograms of grain to each beneficiary as provisioned in

the National Food Security Act. They added the cash transfer would be around Rs 22 per kg for rice

and Rs 16 per kg for wheat each month. The calculation has been done on a formula based on the

minimum support price of food grains and what the beneficiaries are paying now to get subsidized

food grains. As per the scheme, the beneficiaries can use the amount paid by the government to buy

foodgrains from the open market. The three Union Territories are among the 26 states and UTs where

100% digitization of ration cards has been achieved. Moreover, these cards have been linked to the

bank accounts of beneficiaries and the UT administrations are close to completing their seeding with

Aadhar. "Once the scheme is rolled out we will find how we much are saving in the food subsidy," said

a food ministry official. TOI had first reported this proposal on May 16 and a government official had

claimed that pan-India roll out can reduce government's food subsidy bill by close to Rs 20,000 crore

as Food Corporation of India will have to carry less stocks. While sources said the outcomes of these

pilots would pave the way for expanding the DBT, they added it would be a tough decision. "Once you

provide cash to beneficiaries then what are you going to do with the huge what and rice you procure

from farmers? Can government take the bold step to stop procurement, which ensures minimum

support price to farmers?" asked a government official. He added that leaving the foodgrain price to

market forces for the poor and needy may create a new crisis. For example, while a beneficiary can

get rice at Rs 22 per kg in a rice growing state the price of wheat may be higher than Rs 14 that the

government offers. "This is because the traders will have to get wheat from another part of the country

and they will add transportation cost and profit while fixing price," the official pointed out. (Times of

India 27/8/15)

Exclude bureaucrats, MLAs, MPs, rich from reservations: JP (21)

HYDERABAD: The ongoing agitation by ‘Gujarat Patels’ for the status of ‘Other Backward Castes’

should lay the ground for a nation-wide comprehensive discussion on rationalisation of reservations,

said Lok Satta Party founder president Jayaprakash Narayan. The issue needed a creative response

and not confrontation. The time had come to reform reservations and a fair system of reservatison

that would positively impact the lives of all was needed, he said in a statement here on Wednesday.

Dr.JP said that reservation benefits reached only those privileged few who were well educated and

countless poor among SCs and OBCs were struggling for opportunities. On the other hand, the poor

and despondent among OCs developed hatred towards those garnering reservations. Except those

well-to-do sections who were enjoying reservation benefits, others feel they had been given a raw

deal by successive governments. The crisis could only be resolved by making some changes in the

reservation policy, he said. Proposing some changes, Dr.JP said IAS, IPS and other officers, MLAs,

MPs, doctors and the rich should be removed from the purview of reservations to give the benefit to

the eligible poor. For the poor students among OCs if their parents were not literate, then such

students should be given additional marks to compete with other students, facilities be put in place so

that no merit and talented poor student was deprived of access to higher studies due to poverty and a

system be evolved to provide guaranteed quality school education, he said. The Lok Satta leader said

that with the above proposals the reservations could be brought down gradually and in 25 years, one

could do away with reservations. B. R. Ambedkar hoped that rulers would provide quality education to

all without any discrimination and create a system which did not require reservations. But the political

system in the country had failed to provide proper education and perpetuated poverty and used

reservations to divide people and garner votes, he said. (The Hindu 28/8/15)

India criticises UNDP for ignoring developing countries (21)

UNITED NATIONS: India has criticised the UN Development Programme for ignoring concerns of

developing countries, saying "deliberate neglect" by the UN body towards views of developing nations

does not augur well for the future of the implementation of the 2030 development agenda. "The way in

which UNDP, which remains primarily a development agency, has chosen to ignore the concerns of

its primary constituents, i.e. developing countries, does not augur well for the future of the

implementation of the Agenda 2030," counsellor in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Prakash

Gupta said at the Second Regular Session of the Executive Board of UNDP here on Tuesday. He

said developing countries look up to UNDP with immense hope and aspirations to make sure that

their common development objectives are fulfilled. "This continuing, consistent and deliberate neglect

by UNDP Management towards views of developing countries is not leading to a desirable situation

and needs to be addressed sooner than later. "We hope that UNDP will take necessary steps to

ensure that its increasing perception of being against developing country interests is corrected at the

earliest," he added. Gupta said that since the last year's June Session in Geneva, the Group of 77

and China has sent three official submissions to the UNDP and not one of the requests has been

acted upon. "It is therefore most unfortunate that even on the question of scheduling sessions in

Geneva, another issue that could well have been decided in the previous Board, or even this one, the

Group is being forced to move for a decision in the UN General Assembly later next week," he said.

He said India along with G-77 has been requesting for deletion of just three indicators from a set of

100 in the integrated Results and Resources Framework since the last one year, but while thirty

others have been pruned by UNDP Management, those three remain un-altered. He said for India,

and for the entire developing world, the vision for the future cannot but have the eradication of poverty

as its overarching goal. "We are gratified that there has been no compromise on the ambition of the

Agenda 2030 either. Its fulfillment, in our view, can allow poverty to be eradicated within the span of a

single generation," he said. (Times of India 2/9/15)

AP SHG women to become e-literate (21)

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, who was credited with launching

self-help groups in the country, has now embarked on a bigger mission to make every woman in the

state e-literate or skilled in computers. Directing the rural development ministry, Naidu aims at

equipping 2.2 crore women in 84 lakh self-help groups across AP with computer knowledge so that

their services can be utilized in all sectors. The government will ask search engine Google to provide

the necessary assistance to women to gain computer skills and also improvise the marketability of

products, made by women's groups. Naidu is also planning to involve online players, such as Flipkart,

Amazon and e-Bay for directly selling products online. The mission will see complete makeover of

rural and semi-literate women as e-literate and self-made entrepreneurs. In order to reach the target,

Naidu has asked his officials to provide Rs 14,000 crore as corpus fund that would be utilized in the

next four years. "The target is to make every woman who is a part of the self-help group, capable of

earning at least Rs 10,000 per month which is at present is Rs 5,000 per month. The government

decided to open several other service sectors to these women so that they could spread their wings to

newer businesses," said a senior official in the government. The society for elimination of rural poverty

(SERP) that looks after the self-help women movement in AP, is now planning series of programmes

for groups such as food enterprises, Anna Sanjivani, Dwacra bazaars, city livelihood centres, lamb-

rearing, sanitation contracts, creation of textile parks, poultry, sea-food and meat-processing centres.

Naidu has issued orders to pave way for the lucrative sand auctioning business to self-help groups

and ensure more than Rs 500 crore worth sand is sold by these groups. SERP chief executive officer

Solomon Arokiaraj suggested creation of clusters in each village which will be responsible for creating

revenue out of these facilities by engaging women involved in tailoring. "They can feed fodder, carry

out milking of animals and can be paid for the services at the common centre. The same can be

carried out for fisheries as well," said an official in the rural development ministry. Similarly, for city

livelihood centres, these groups will identify service providers such as plumbers, carpenters, cooks

and house-keeping personnel. To give big push to products of these groups, AP government is

hosting the national dwacra fair at Vizag from October 15 to 24. (Times of India 8/9/15)

Protect fleeing refugees, says Jolie (21)

London, Sept. 7 (Reuters): As thousands of desperate people stream into Europe seeking refuge, a

distinction must be made between those fleeing extreme poverty and those fleeing war, actress and

human rights activist Angelina Jolie wrote in an editorial in The Times paper today. Refugees fleeing

conflict face an immediate need to be saved from persecution and danger, and effective screening

could give them needed protection, wrote the actress, a special UNHCR envoy. "We should be

conscious of the distinction between economic migrants, who are trying to escape extreme poverty,

and refugees who are fleeing an immediate threat to their lives," Jolie wrote in the editorial published

in The Times, London. In particular, they wrote, "Syrians are fleeing barrel bombs, chemical weapons,

rape and massacres." (The Telegraph 8/9/15)

Malnourished kids found in villages adopted by district officials (21)

AGRA: Several children suffering from malnutrition have been found in villages adopted by

government officials. The fact came to the fore as children were examined as part of the Weighing

Day drive on Monday. Following directions from the state government, officials such as the district

magistrate and chief development officers (CDO) had adopted two villages each under the State

Nutrition Mission. Sources said 13 malnourished kids were found in Chuharpur village under

Etmadpur Block, which has been adopted by the district magistrate. Likewise, Barhan village adopted

by the district probation officer has 135 malnourished kids. In Manikpura, which is adopted by

executive engineer (minor irrigation department), 10 such kids were found, while the figure stood at

10 in Nagla Bhari, adopted by a minority officer. The government, in November 2014, had directed the

district magistrates and CDOs of the state to adopt two villages each where a majority of children

were malnourished. The officials were also asked not to change the names of their adopted villages

until they became malnutrition-free. Agra chief development officer Deepak Meena, who is also the

nodal office for nutrition mission in the district, said, "Once the children are properly identified, the

department will ensure that they get proper treatment and nutrition." (Times of India 9/9/15)

Lands Occupied by BPL Families to be Regularised (21)

VISAKHAPATNAM : Coming to terms with the reality over increasing land encroachments, the

Visakhapatnam district administration has begun the process for regularisation of unobjectionable

encroachments up to an extent of 100 sq.yards in the government lands free of cost. It is a dream

come true for over a lakh poor residents of the Port City and majority of the lands are likely to be

regularised by the year-end. The State Government had proposed to regularise government lands

encroached by the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in urban areas and issued orders to this effect.

Keeping in view various types of lands and disputes over their ownership in Visakhapatnam, district

collector N Yuvaraj Thursday released the guidelines for regularisation of the encroachments. A

maximum area of 100 sq.yards under encroachment with dwellings/structures as on January 1, 2014,

will be considered for regularisation in GVMC area, including Bheemili and Anakapalle zones along

with Narsipatnam and Yelamanchili municipalities. “The issue of regularisation of the encroachments

of more than 100 sq.yards lands on payment of prescribed penalty, is under consideration by the

State Government and necessary orders are expected to be issued shortly,” the district collector said.

The district administration has so far received 1,681 applications. The authorities are expecting to

receive applications pertaining to an estimated 60,000 unobjectionable encroachments and 15,000

objectionable encroachments. As per the norms, the occupant should submit an application to the

district administration on payment of `35 in Mee-Seva towards the application fee on or before

December 15. They should fill the application in the prescribed format which would be forwarded to

the tahsildar concerned for verification. A team of officials from the revenue and municipal

administration departments will be engaged in the inspection. The report will be submitted to the

district land regularisation committee through the tahsildar for final decision. The applications will be

disposed of within 90 days of receipt. The BPL families should enclose a copy of the ration card or

income certificate issued by the tahsildar, along with a copy of the Aadhar card or identity proof. The

applicant should also submit a proof of occupation like copy of property tax receipts, electricity bills

and registration document (sale deed). In case of applicants having no document to show his

possession over the property, the application will be taken up on the basis of ration card/income

certificate followed by field verification. The GEO tagging and GPS co-ordinates will be obtained along

with a photograph of the family. The collector said that the land patta would be issued in the name of

woman member of the family and in her absence, in the name of eldest male member, at a public

function. “The land owner will be eligible to dispose of the land only two years after the regularisation.

While priority will be given to applicants with no property, those who benefited from such land

regularisation scheme earlier would not be considered under the fresh scheme,” he added. (New

Indian Express 11/9/15)

'Closed Bengal tea estates a major humanitarian crisis in the making' (21)

Kolkata : The "semi-closure" and "abandonment" of tea estates in northern West Bengal is fast

becoming a major humanitarian crisis with a population of over 75,000 dependent on them forced to

live in near-starvation, warns a report. Releasing the "Ignoring Hunger- Report on the Situation in

Duncans' Tea Estate in North Bengal", Right to Food and Work Campaign's West Bengal chapter

demanded immediate intervention of the Mamata Banerjee government. The Right to Food and Work

Campaign (RFWC)- a network of organisations and activists, slammed the Banerjee government for

turning a blind eye to the "grim" issue and said they will be compelled to seek legal recourse if the

state government failed to take measures under the Right to Food Act as mandated by the Supreme

Court. "The situation is peculiar for the fact that the 15 tea estates owned by the Duncans are neither

closed nor open. With the estates being in limbo since February, the population of over 75,000

directly dependant them, is living in near starvation," said Anuradha Talwar of RFWC. "Since the

gardens have not been officially closed, the state government is not extending the benefits of social

schemes including financial assistance to workers of locked-out industries. "The people are not only

compelled to live in near-starvation, there is no facility for drinking water, medical facilities have totally

collapsed. Its near a disaster situation unless immediate steps are taken, it will soon turn into a major

humanitarian crisis," she added. The activists demanded the state government to take immediate

steps like regular distribution of rations, employing the people under the rural job guarantee

programme, and providing pensions under the National Social Assistance. "So far our attempts to get

the state government to intervene in the matter have failed to evoke any response. If they don't act

immediately, we will be moving the Calcutta High Court with public interest litigation," said Father S.J.

Jothi of the network. According to the report, the lease of most of the estates has expired, so the

company "illegally" possessed the land which belongs to the state government. It also states that total

cash dues to the workers of these estates were over Rs.22.5 crore. "The state government needs to

ensure that either the management runs the estates properly or search new owners and cancel the

leases if necessary. The government must also ensurethat all the dues to the workers are paid," it

said. The report also includes a letter to state Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra by Harsh Mander, special

commissioner of the Supreme Court on Right to Food, who stated that "illegal and undeclared

stoppage of wage payments and ration payments in the Duncan gardens has resulted in enormous

food distress and livelihood distress". (Business Standard 14/9/15)

India yet to achieve U.N. Millennium Development Goals (21)

NEW DELHI: The Statistical Year Book, brought out by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme

Implementation (MoSPI) that is overseeing progress on the MDGs, shows that only six of the 18

targets adopted as part of the eight goals in 2000 have been fully met. Another report brought out by

the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific shows that India has met only four

of the eight MDGs. The key targets for the MDGs were halving poverty, ensuring universal primary

school enrolment, attaining gender parity, cutting maternal mortality rates by three-fourths, cutting

child mortality by two-thirds and reducing incidence of HIV/AIDS, among others. As per the official

figures, India has managed to halve poverty rates from the 1990 levels, ensure gender parity in

primary school enrolment, reversed incidence of HIV/AIDS, and reduced malaria and TB deaths.

However, India continues to lag behind in checking maternal mortality and child mortality to expected

levels. It has failed to address prevalence of hunger as well. As per the Census 2011 report, 89

million children in the age group 0-3 were malnourished, with 35.6 million among them underweight.

The failure to improve access to sanitation, with half of the country’s households lacking a latrine,

remains a major concern as well. Even in areas where India claims to be close to meeting its targets,

such as reversing the incidence of malaria and TB, the disease burden continues to be high in terms

of absolute numbers. As the year book shows, 1.8 million persons develop TB every year, and until

recently, 3.7 lakh persons died annually, or 1,000 persons every day. Another target was to achieve a

significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. But, the report says

that it is not “statistically discernible” if the target was met. As per the Census 2011, a 37.14 per cent

decadal growth was observed in the number of slum households, making it a significant challenge for

the country. As for the other two targets of environmental sustainability and partnerships for

development with other countries, official reports say India is on track. Experts, however, dispute the

government’s claims and flag the absence of quality data as a challenge in monitoring the country’s

progress on the targets. (The Hindu 15/9/15)

Narendra Modi mocks Cong's 'garibi hatao' slogan, says his govt's different (21)

VARANASI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the opposition for raising questions against his

Jan Dhan Yojana and asked, "Those who kept poor away from banking facilities even after four

decades of nationalisation of banks are seeking account of such a scheme which has brought Rs

30,000 crore cash in rotation in a record time." "What these people could not do in 50 years, I will do

in 50 months," Modi retorted at a function in his parliamentary constituency on Friday. "The

programme would not just change the lives of a few people, but herald a new beginning that would

change the future of 'Kashi' and its poor," the PM said. "Things will start moving fast and the town will

get a new identity and the common man's lives will improve," he told the hundreds of people who had

gathered to listen to him. The PM, on his first trip to his Lok Sabha constituency in over eight months,

claimed poverty alleviation measures of the past lacked a proper direction. "We have been hearing

about 'garibi hatao' for the last 40-50 years. In elections too, we hear about poverty alleviation

programmes for the poor. It has become a tradition in politics to talk about the poor and their welfare.

There is need to come out of this tradition," he said. Stating that experiments for poverty elimination

had failed to give desired results so far, Modi said, "I don't want to blame any government or party, but

we must make a new beginning for the welfare of the poor." He also appealed to the poor to send

their children to school as education was the best option to fight poverty. Modi also stressed on skill

development and said through technology the poorest of the poor could earn more and become self-

reliant. "A little support in developing skills of hardworking poor is creating confidence among them. A

rickshaw-puller too has become aware about skill development and its importance in his work. This

programme must be initiated on broader scale as the rickshaw pullers and auto drivers create the first

impression on any tourist or visitor. Their training in behaviour with guests is vital." (Times of India

19/9/15)

Poverty, infant mortality reduces in Delhi, other Millenium Development goals not achieved

New Delhi: In spite of significant reduction in 'extreme poverty', infant and maternal mortality, and near

universal enrolment in primary education, Delhi has failed to meet few parameters set by the

Millennium Development Goals, although it is "on track" to achieve them shortly. In spite of significant

reduction in 'extreme poverty', infant and maternal mortality, and near universal enrolment in primary

education, Delhi has failed to meet few parameters set by the Millennium Development Goals,

although it is "on track" to achieve them shortly. The facts were put forth in a report released by the

Delhi government on Tuesday ahead of the high-level Sustainable Development Summit in New York

on September 25, where 17 new goals, to replace the eight MDGs, are to be adopted by world

leaders. The report said that the proportion of people below the poverty line in Delhi estimated for

2011-12 was 9.9% in comparison to 15.7% during 1993-94, the base year of MDG. Releasing the

report, 'Millennium Development Goals Delhi State Report 2014' prepared by the Institute of Human

Development (IHD) in collaboration with Delhi Planning Department, Deputy Chief Minister Manish

Sisodia said that most of the goals have "either been attained or likely to be achieved shortly." Sisodia

said that with the current 0.3% rate of reduction in poverty, the target of halving the poverty between

1990 and 2015 as per MDG will be achieved by 2017. Terming malnourishment of children as a

significant indicator of food security, the report said that the percentage of underweight children

(under 3 years) in Delhi decreased from 36.2 % in 1992-93 to 24.9% in 2005-06. To halve the 1990

proportion, the required reduction for the next ten years is only 0.7%, which can be achieved easily,

Sisodia said. The most notable achievement has expectedly been in the field of teledensity, i.e.

telephone per 100 population, which jumped from 41.8 in 2004 to 218.9 in 2011. "There are 29.1 % of

households which have personal computers comprising 17.6% households having internet facility,"

the report said. On the primary education front, Sisodia said the net enrolment ratio in primary

education was 97.6 % during 2012-13 and proportion of pupils completing it was 99.7% in 2010-11,

"near to universal" as envisaged in MDG. "The youth literacy rate (15-24 years old) was 96.46%

during 2011-12. So, Delhi is near to achieve 100% Youth Literacy Rate by 2015," it said. Sisodia

claimed that Delhi has already attained the target of eliminating gender disparity in primary education

and was very close to attain the same in secondary and tertiary education. "Share of women in wage

employment in the non-agricultural sector was 17.1 in 2011-12. Proportion of seats held by women in

State Assembly was 4.3% in 2013 which increased to 8.6% in 2015," the report added. The under-5

child mortality rate during 1992 was 83.1 in Delhi which fell to 28 in 2012, while infant mortality rate

was recorded at 25 in 2012 in comparison to 36 in 1998. "Both of these targets of reducing child

mortality rate are likely to be achieved by 2015," the report said. However, the city will miss the 100%

target rate set for the proportion of 1-year olds to be immunised against measles. "...likely

achievement by the year 2015 will be 89.05%," it said. In the field of maternal health, which is the fifth

MDG, the report says that the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel in Delhi during

2012 was 84.7%, out of which 81.4% were institutional births, which is expected to go up to 86.4% by

2015. It claimed success in combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and other diseases in recent years.

Tuberculosis prevalence rate has been reduced to 67.7 per one lakh population in 2010 as opposed

to 284.5 in 2004. In ensuring environmental sustainability, it said that Delhi has appreciably widened

the forest and tree cover in the city from 1.5% to 20% in 2011. "Percentage of households with

sustainable access to an improved water source in Delhi as per 2011 census is 81.3%, which was

75.3% in 2001. 89.6% households had the sanitation facility in 2011 in comparison to 78% in 2001.

The percentage of slum households in 2001 was 16.3 which comes to 11.3 in 2011 census," it said.

(DNA 22/9/15)

10.6 million tons of food production to be affected in current year, says FICCI (21)

NEW DELHI: A study by FICCI reveals that 10.6 million tons of food production is likely to get affected

in the current year due to spurious/counterfeit pesticides. The study was released Dr JS Sandhu,

deputy director general, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and Agriculture commissioner

to Government of India at a discussion organized by FICCI here on Wednesday. With 1.2 billion plus

population, India requires a robust, modernized agriculture sector to ensure the food security for its

population. The scope for further increasing cultivable land is limited. In order to meet the food grain

requirements of the nation, the agricultural productivity and its growth needs to be sustained and

further improved. India faces a challenge of non-genuine pesticides in the market, which can be

counterfeit, spurious, adulterated or sub-standard. It is estimated that they constitute about 30% of the

total market. The study assesses the extent of the problem and suggests ways to counter the

menace. It indicates that the problem is growing 20% per year and if not addressed will reach to the

level of 40% by 2019. It also states that irreversible damage to environment by use of unmonitored

toxic ingredients in non-genuine due to degradation of soil through unknown illegal chemicals. India's

position as one of the leading food grain exporter in the world is fully at stake as the possibility of

rumors or sabotage by other countries or rejection of Indian exports food items from developed

importing countries would increase. In such a scenario, export of 29 million tons of food grains worth

Rs. 1, 578 billion (USD 26 Billion) is at stake. (Times of India 23/9/15)

UN summit to approve 15-year blueprint to eradicate poverty (21)

UNITED NATIONS: World leaders on Friday unanimously approved an ambitious and costly 15-year

blueprint to eradicate extreme poverty, combat climate change and address more than a dozen other

major global issues. Presidents, prime ministers and diplomats from the UN's 193 members stood and

applauded loudly after general assembly president Mogens Lykketoft gaveled approval of the

development roadmap. Discussions on how to implement the new goals — expected to cost between

$3.5 trillion and $5 trillion every year until 2030 — is expected to dominate the three-day summit that

will include speeches by US President Barack Obama, China's President Xi Jinping and the leaders of

Egypt, India, Iran, Germany, Britain and France. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told the general

assembly that the test will be implementation, calling for action from all people, everywhere, and high-

level political commitment. The agenda "embodies the aspirations of people everywhere for lives of

peace, security and dignity on a healthy planet," Ban said. The goals "are a to-do list for people and

planet, and a blueprint for success." The document —called "Transforming our World: The 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development" — sets out 17 broad goals and 169 specific targets. Its

overarching aims of reducing poverty and inequality and preserving the environment got strong

support from Pope Francis who addressed the general assembly immediately before the summit

opened. The non-binding goals will succeed the eight Millennium Development Goals adopted by

world leaders 15 years ago. Despite significant progress, however, the only one achieved before this

year was halving the number of people living in extreme poverty, due primarily to economic growth in

China. The broad new goals include ensuring "healthy lives," quality education for all, clean water,

sanitation and reliable modern energy — and achieving gender equality, making cities safe, reducing

inequality within and among countries, and promoting economic growth. Critics say they are too

broad, lack accountability and will lead to disenchantment among those in the world most in need of

hope. Supporters say there is no choice but to go big in a world of expanding population, growing

inequality, dwindling resources and the existential threat from global warming…. (Times of India

25/9/15)

Attacked poverty by using tech power: Modi (21)

San Jose (California): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government "attacked

poverty by using power of networks and mobile phones". Speaking at the Digital India Dinner here,

Modi said: "Since my government came to office we attacked poverty by using power of networks and

mobile phones to launch a new era of empowerment." "I see technology as a means to empower and

as a tool that bridges the distance between hope and opportunity," he said, adding: "In this digital age,

we have an opportunity to transform lives of people in ways that was hard to imagine just a couple of

decades ago." He also said: "The only status that now matters is not whether you are awake or

asleep, but whether you are online or offline." "California is one of the last places in the world to see

the sun set. But, it is here that new ideas see the first light of the day." On the social media frenzy, the

prime minister said: "Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, they are the new neighbourhoods of our new

world." (New Kerala 27/9/15)

Food security deadline over; UP, TN, Kerala to pay dearly (21)

NEW DELHI: Three big states - Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala - may pay a heavy price since

they seem in no position to implement the Food Security Act even by December. Though government

did not extend the deadline for food security law beyond September 30, sources said it is likely to

continue allocate subsidized food grains for families living below poverty line (BPL) and those above

poverty line (APL) till this year end. Beyond January, states have to buy grains at higher price, which

is nearly three times more than the price at which PDS grains are supplied. Any other state or Union

Territory, which also fails to implement the law by then, will also end up paying much higher prices for

PDS grains. Sources said a Cabinet proposal has been moved by the food ministry following a

number of requests from the state governments. They added there is also a proposal that the food

ministry will release grains for both BPL and APL category of beneficiaries at the minimum support

price (MSP) rate beyond December to the defaulting states. "It will be up to them to face the public ire.

We don't want to take the blame of their ineffectiveness," said a food ministry official. At present 16

states and Union Territories are implementing the Food Security Act. While Uttarakhand and

Telangana are likely to launch it in the next two months, bigger states including Gujarat, Uttar

Pradesh and Kerala may not be able to roll out the scheme. The ministry had earlier issued similar

warning to the states and had said while it won't touch the allocation meant for BPL and Antodyaya

(poorest of the poor) families, it would stop allocating cheap grains to the APL families, who are also

targeted beneficiaries of the Food Security Act. Buying grains at the minimum support price will put

the state governments at a huge disadvantage as they would end up spending more on food subsidy.

For example, the present rate of rice under APL category is Rs 7 per kg while it will touch Rs 18 per

kg if it is provided at MSP. In case of wheat, MSP rate will be around Rs 14.50 per kg against the APL

rate of Rs 6. But the National Food Security Act entitles every identified beneficiary or person to get

5kg of subsidized food grains per month at Rs 1-3/kg. This covers two-third of the country's total

population. (Times of India 3/10/15)

Zero Hunger Hour campaign started in Coimbatore (21)

COIMBATORE: City boy launches 'Zerohungerhour' campaign in the city which would be celebrated

on October 16, as part of World Food Day celebrations. A G Padmanabhan, who runs Spice

Foundation, an NGO, and has already garnered support internationally for his No food Waste

campaign, has written to several NGOs globally seeking their support for the initiative. He has

received replies from several of them. "We have written to United Nations as well. We are hopeful that

if we launch it successfully in the city this year, it would get international support soon," he said.

Corporation commissioner, K Vijayakarthikeyan launched the hashtag and also the online application.

"This campaign is the need of the hour campaign and we plan to extend full support to it," he said.

The website portal of the campaign was also launched. "Through this portal people across the globe

could log in and share their activities on World Food Day with us. This is more like a movement to

eradicate hunger as there are more than 130crore deaths of children every year due to hunger," said

Padmanabhan. Vanitha Mohan, Managing trustee of Siruthuli said that such campaigns by

youngsters would definitely drive people towards change. "The portal and applications are available

online and on mobile phones. People could feed the hungry between 12:30 and 1:30pm on October

16 and become a part of the 'Zerohungerhour' campaign," said A G Padmanaban adding that they

could motivate their friends to do the same. "The aim is to create a community that is against hunger

and food wastage," he said. (Times of India 6/10/15)

World Bank estimates show fall in India’s poverty rate (21)

NEW DELHI: The World Bank has revised the global poverty line, previously pegged at $1.25 a day to

$1.90 a day (approximately Rs. 130). This has been arrived at based on an average of the national

poverty lines of 15 poorest economies of the world. The poverty lines were converted from local

currency into U.S. dollars using the new 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) data. In its latest report

‘Ending Extreme Poverty, Sharing Prosperity: Progress and Policies’, authors Marcio Cruz, James

Foster, Bryce Quillin, and Phillip Schellekkens, note that world-wide poverty has shown a decline

under these new estimates. The latest headline estimate for 2012 based on the new data suggests

that close to 900 million people (12.8 per cent of the global population) lived in extreme poverty.

Compared with 2011, this number represents continued poverty reduction, as the headcount estimate

then, using 2011 PPP data, was 987 million people (14.2 percent of global population). Further,

tentative projections for global poverty in 2015 suggest that the global headcount may have reached

700 million, leading to a poverty rate of 9.6 per cent. With the Sustainable Development Goals

adopted in September, seeking to end all forms of poverty world over, the World Bank Group has set

itself the target of bringing down the number of people living in extreme poverty to less than 3 per cent

of the world population by 2030. The 2015 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) counts 1.6 billion

people as multi-dimensionally poor, with the largest global share in South Asia and the highest

intensity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though home to the largest number of poor in 2012, India’s poverty

rate is one of the lowest among those countries with the largest number of poor, a latest World Bank

report notes. Also in the case of India, with large numbers of people clustered close to the poverty

line, poverty estimates are significantly different, depending on the recall period in the survey, the

authors note. Since 2015 is the target year for the Millennium Development Goals, the assessment of

changes in poverty over time is best based on the Uniform Reference Period consumption method,

which uses a 30-day recall period for calculating consumption expenditures, as per the report. This

method, used to set the baseline poverty rates for India in 1990, shows India’s poverty rate for

2011/12 to be 21.2 per cent. By comparison, the Modified Mixed Reference Period (MMRP), which

contains a shorter, 7-day recall period for some food items, leads to higher estimates of consumption

and, therefore, lower poverty estimates. “We expect that the MMRP-based estimate (currently at

12.4% for India) will set the baseline for India and global poverty estimates,” a World Bank

spokesperson told The Hindu . More country-specific details will be available once the Global

Monitoring Report, using the new estimates, is launched in Washington DC on October 7. (The Hindu

6/10/15)

'Hindu, Muslim Should Join to Fight Poverty' (21)

PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday broke his silence on the Dadri lynching case by

strongly advocating communal harmony and brotherhood in the country, saying Hindus and Muslims

should stand together and fight poverty. Campaigning in Bihar, the Prime Minister said Hindus and

Muslims should work together to fight the common enemy — poverty. “I have said it earlier also. We

have to decide whether Hindus should fight Muslims or poverty. Muslims should decide whether to

fight Hindus or poverty.” “I want to tell the people that because of politics and for petty gains, people

are making irresponsible statements. I appeal to citizens not to take them seriously. Even if Narendra

Modi himself says something like that, don’t listen to him,” said Modi during his Nawada rally. He also

referred to President Pranab Mukherjee’s recent speech in the backdrop of Dadri incident, asking the

people of the country to follow it as “there can be no bigger thought than that, there is no bigger

guidance, there is no bigger message, no bigger direction.” “The country has to stay united,” Modi

asserted while he invoked Mukherjee, who underlined the need to maintain India’s core values of

diversity, tolerance and plurality. Meanwhile, SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday alleged

that the incident had been a conspiracy and that three persons, who were also involved in the

Muzaffarnagar riots, were behind it. The three will be punished “even if we have to sacrifice the

government,”… (New Indian Express 9/10/15)

Achieving food security is the biggest challenge, says expert (21)

Bidar: K.M.L Pathak, Deputy Director-General, Animal Science, Indian Council of Agricultural

Research (ICAR), has said that the biggest challenge before the country is how to achieve food and

nutritional security of the world. Talking to veterinarians in Bidar on Saturday, he said there was a

need to alleviate poverty by producing more food that is safe, especially from animal origin. “We need

technological breakthroughs to achieve this against a shrinking genetic diversity of animals and their

increasing global trade,” he said. He was delivering the convocation address at the Karnataka

Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU) in Nandinagar. Availability of

affordable food of livestock origin would go a long way in helping to overcome the challenge of

chronic hunger and protein malnutrition, he said. According to him, livestock production needs to

more than double in the developing world to meet the demand for meat and milk in the coming 20

years. There is a huge mismatch between demand and supply of food, he said. He listed out new

technologies such as cloning through nuclear transfer technology, exogenous growth hormones

synthesised by bacteria that increase milk and meat yields, transgenic sheep and goat that express

foreign protein in milk, and stem cell and recombinant DNA technology that could lead to improved

fodder crops and better animal breeds, which were helping scientists address malnutrition issues.

Fish is a cheaper and easily available source of nutrition and we need to work on increasing

production, he said. Karnataka however, is yet to fully exploit its potential in fisheries. It ranks number

one in the country with inland fisheries resources but 10th in inland fish production, he pointed

out.Globalisation and climate change have forced a restructure in veterinary education. “We need to

introduce newer areas like nuclear medicine, cryosurgery, bioinformatics, value addition to indigenous

dairy products, fishery biotechnology, and others in the curriculum. We also need more

undergraduate degree courses in livestock business management, animal biotechnology, food

science and technology and MBA in related fields,” he said. He asked the universities to use IT to

improve the quality of education. “We need campus-wide networks, virtual lectures and digital

libraries, online programmes. There is a need to work with overseas universities in this regard,” he

said.The university should focus on research to create disease-free zones, development of diagnostic

kits, wildlife research, social problems like stray dog menace, value addition and reduction of post

harvest losses, and making farming more remunerative, he said. Governor and Chancellor Vajubhai

Vala, Vice-Chancellor C. Renuka Prasad, members of the board of management, officers and others

were present. (The Hindu 11/10/15)

India’s poor may soon get a taste of biryani (21)

New Delhi: The country’s poorest may get their first taste of world-famous basmati rice, a favourite of

biryani connoisseurs. The government may sell basmati rice at Rs 3 a kg through ration shops to the

country’s poorest people as it has started purchasing paddy after rates fell below the minimum

support price. The food ministry has allowed the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to purchase Pusa

1509 and Pusa 1121 basmati rice, the world's longest grains post-cooking, as Punjab and Haryana

have requested for it, a government official said. “Earlier too, FCI used to buy higher grade, but

basmati was never bought as it earned a premium,” he said. There are two options before the

government – either to sell it through the public distribution system (PDS) or in the open market sales

scheme (OMSS), the official said. FCI began purchasing the new crop from October 1 and will

continue to buy as long as farmers sell it, the official said. The OMSS offtake is very poor as only

38,600 tonnes could be sold out of 6.73 million tonnes on offer since April this year, according to

official data. If the government decides to sell it through PDS, many poor people may, for the first

time, get a taste of biryani, which goes best with basmati rice, constituting a big gift from the Modi

government. The government purchases paddy from farmers at Rs 1,410 per quintal for common

variety and Rs 1,450 per quintal for higher grade. After processing, it sells rice to states for distribution

through ration shops. Rice is sold at Rs 3 per kg to the poorest of the poor under the antyodaya anna

yojna and to all beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act. However, the population below

poverty line (BPL) category gets it at Rs 5.65 per kg and those above poverty line (APL) get the

common variety of rice at Rs 7.95 a kg. In addition, a higher grade is available at Rs 8.30 per kg.

Currently, farmers in Haryana are selling Pusa 1509 variety of paddy at Rs 1,550 per quintal, which is

sold at Rs 1,350 in Punjab. Prices in Haryana improved only after FCI started buying the grain, said

Vijay Setia, former president of All India Rice Exporters Association….. (Asian Age 13/10/15)

'Hunger is more than a lack of food – it is a terrible injustice,' says Ban (21)

New York: On World Food Day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is underlining that

"hunger is more than a lack of food—it is a terrible injustice," while reaffirming the global community's

commitment to work together "to end hunger in our lifetime."This years observance of World Food

Day follows the landmark adoption by world leaders of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development, including a set of 17 goals to guide our work towards a future of dignity and prosperity

for all on a healthy planet, Ban said in a message. He stressed that how people choose to grow,

process, distribute and consume the food they eat has a profound effect on people, planet, prosperity

and peace. Delivering on the promise of the 2030 Agenda will not be possible without rapid progress

towards ending hunger and undernutrition, he continued. In the same way, delivering on the

commitment to end hunger forever, for all people, will not be possible without major gains across the

new Agenda. Sustainable Development Goal 2 summons the global community to end hunger,

achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. Ban noted that the

world has achieved important progress, highlighting that since 2000, the proportion of undernourished

people has declined by nearly half. At the same time, in a world where nearly a third of all food

produced is lost or wasted, and where we produce enough food to feed everyone, almost 800 million

people still suffer from hunger, he warned, adding that the path out of poverty is proving to be too

slow for too many. Meanwhile, the theme for this years World Food Day Social Protection and

Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty highlights the crucial role of cash transfers,

insurance, pensions and other social protection programmes in enabling vulnerable people to better

manage risks and build profitable livelihoods. The Zero Hunger Challenge that I launched in 2012

underscores the need for national leadership in tandem with wide-ranging multi-stakeholder

partnerships, the Secretary-General explained, adding that ending hunger is everyones responsibility,

which includes farmers, scientists, international organizations, activists, businesses and consumers.

In addition, Ban stressed that building inclusive, resilient and sustainable food systems also demands

that women farmers be empowered, that young people be provided opportunities, and that

investments be made in smallholder farmers. (New Kerala 18/10/15)

Supreme Court seeks details of BPL families having toilets in Haryana (21)

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has taken note of one of the minimum criteria that a person must

have for contesting panchayat elections in Haryana — a toilet in the house — and asked the state

government to file an affidavit giving details as to how many poor natives have the facility. “You

(Haryana) file an affidavit as to how may below poverty line families have toilets in their households,”

a Bench comprising justices J. Chelameswar and A. M. Sapre said. The court’s direction came when

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Haryana, justified fixation of minimum criteria including

that a candidate should have a toilet and said around 7 lakh BPL households, out of total 8.5 BPL

homes, have toilets. “Almost 80 to 85 per cent BPL families have the toilet facilities and hence, this

pre-requisite cannot be said to be bad,” the AG said, adding that the representatives should “lead by

an example“.Besides fixing minimum educational criteria for aspiring candidates, the Haryana

Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 also said that any candidate desirous of contesting

panchayat elections will also have to file a self-certified statement that there is a functional toilet in his

or her residence. Earlier, Haryana had defended the recent amendment in state law fixing minimum

educational qualifications and other criteria for candidates of panchayat polls saying the

representatives should lead by example as they need to perform various governmental functions. The

Bench is hearing a plea assailing the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 which fixes

minimum educational qualifications for candidates of panchayat (village administration) polls. The

apex court had stayed the amended provisions of the law and sought the state’s reply in four weeks.

The amended law fixes matriculation as essential qualification for general candidates contesting

panchayat elections, while the qualification for women (general) and Scheduled Caste candidates has

been fixed at Class VIII. However, in case of a woman candidate belonging to SC category contesting

election for the post of Panch (panchayat head), the minimum qualification would be Class V. – PTI

(The Hindu 20/10/15)

Chhattisgarh tribal man dies of starvation, probe on (21)

Raipur: Alleged starvation death of a primitive tribe man in a Chhattisgarh village has rocked the

state. The alleged tragedy, occurred in the village of Ladergada under Bagicha block in north

Chhattisgarh district of Jashpur last month, was brought to light by the local sarpanch on Tuesday.

Chief minister Raman Singh promptly ordered a probe into reports of hunger death of the primitive

tribe man after Opposition Congress called for President Pranab Mukherjee’s intervention in the

matter. According to official sources, Lambu Ram (50), a member of Pahadi Korba tribe community,

died on his way to village from Sanna, where he had gone to treat his wife Sukhni Bai at the local

public health Centre for eye infection, on September 12. “We spent all our savings on my treatment.

We were penniless and hungry when we were returning back to our village. My husband could not

withstand hunger and passed away at Keledaragara on way to our village,” Ms Sukhni Bai told the

visiting media persons. A delegation of Congress, which visited the tragedy-struck family on Tuesday,

found no rice or any other foodstuff in their home. “We found that wild roots were the staple diet of not

only the Sukhni Bai’s family but also of all the 20 Pahadi Korba tribe families residing in the village. No

family in the village has ration card depriving them of benefits under Below Poverty Line scheme,”

Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupesh Baghel, who headed the probe team

of his party, told reporters. Official sources said all the tribal families in the village eked out their living

on selling fuel wood collected from the jungle. When contacted, Bagicha sub-divisional magistrate

Prem Kumar Patel denied that Lambu Ram died due to starvation. (Asian Age 21/10/15)

Hunger death cry in tea garden (21)

JALPAIGURI: Allegations of hunger deaths are back to haunt the tea belt on north Bengal. At least

eight deaths have been reported from Bagrakote tea estate in Malbazar in the last six weeks. The

administration denies this. The garden was abandoned by the management in February this year,

leaving nearly 1,500 workers and their families helpless. The closure of the garden, which was reeling

from one crisis after another for the past few years, has left hundreds jobless and scrounging for food.

Locals allege that starvation and malnutrition led to the deaths of eight persons. The latest was on

Monday , when 44 year-old Mukti Santhal of Rai Line died. Bagrakote garden belongs to the Duncans

group and there are 15 more gardens (13 in the Dooars and two in the Hills) which have stopped tea

production since February. Four months on, nearly 25,000 tea workers are not getting wages and

rations and living in endless misery. "If the Centre does not acquire these gardens as per the

Plantation Labout Act, 1953, starvation and malnutrition deaths will again increase in the tea belt,"

feared Chitta Dey, convener of Coordination of Tea Plantation Workers' Unions. "We are crying out for

aid but have received very little. The garden is running out of food. Pimps are already prowling the

area," said Laurentus Kerketta, a worker. The administration denies these are starvation deaths,

saying that adequate steps were taken to ensure that food wasn't a problem for workers after the tea

garden was abandoned. "In all 41 sick and closed gardens in the Dooars, the administration is taking

care so that no one is left unfed. Special ration are being given to expectant mothers," said a food

department official. Last year, the nation was shocked when 100 alleged starvation deaths were

reported between January and July in closed tea gardens of the Dooars. Then, too, the administration

had denied these were hunger deaths. In the erstwhile Left regime, when hundreds of workers were

dying in closed and abandoned tea estates, the administration had never accepted starvation and

malnutrition. There may be a different party in power, but the stance of the government remains the

same. Workers have received loads of promises from the administration and labour unions but there

is little sign of implementation. Irregularities in all the government sectors have made life hell for the,

the workers say. (Times of India 27/10/15)

Poverty is falling fast in India, but we still measure it terribly (21)

Earlier this month, the World Bank decided to raise its global poverty line from $1.25 per day (in

Purchasing Power Parity or PPP terms) to $1.90, the first major overhaul in ten years. How the Bank

essentially constructs its poverty line is by taking the average of the national poverty lines of 15 of the

world’s poorest countries (chiefly sub-Saharan countries and Nepal since 2005) and then converts

this average into an internationally comparable number. For this number, it takes a basket of goods

and services and calculates how much it would cost to buy these in various countries - think of it like a

global exchange rate, essentially. What happened last week is that the World Bank decided to update

the prices in this basket to 2011 prices (plus a few other tweaks) since incomes in these countries had

risen, and that raised the poverty line - what was $1.25 at 2005 prices became $1.90 at 2011 prices.

In aggregate numbers, this means that there were 897 million poor people globally in 2012 by the new

poverty line. By the old poverty line, there were over 1 billion poor people as of 2011. (It seems

strange that raising the poverty line still led to a lower number of poor people, but the fact is that

incomes have grown considerably too.) In long-term trends, the updating changes really quite little.

Here’s how India, China, Bangladesh and the world’s poverty levels had changed over the years

according to the old poverty line.What does this mean for India? Well whichever way you look at it,

poverty’s declining fast in India. By the new poverty line, in fact, the two years between 2009 and

2011 saw the fastest ever decline in India’s poverty in history. But the drawing and redrawing of

poverty lines is a hugely fraught issue, and few have spoken more sharply and engagingly about it

than Angus Deaton, the Scottish-born Princeton economist renowned for his work on consumption,

poverty, nutrition and health - the irony of a major overhaul in global poverty lines just weeks before

he was awarded the Nobel Prize would not have been lost on him. Mr. Deaton, who has long

criticised the World Bank’s (and India’s, for that matter) ways of drawing poverty lines and is on a new

commission to examine ways to improve it, told the Financial Times about the shift to $1.90 last

month: “You’ve got a line that no one knows where to put it, PPPs that change, and underlying data

that is bad.. It is sort of a statistical problem from hell.” The problems with the poverty line, as Mr.

Deaton has frequently and eloquently pointed out, become sharply relevant for India. As President of

the American Economic Association in 2010, Mr. Deaton gave a speech that is essential reading for

anyone interested in poverty lines. In it, he pointed out that the graduation of India from the group of

15 poor countries the World Bank used to fix a poverty line in 2005 because it had now grown to

middle income status perplexingly actually increased the number of poor in India. How on earth did

that happen? India’s poverty line was so low that its graduation out of the group substantially raised

the average poverty line - if you’ve been averaging 15 poor friends’ incomes, then when one of the

poorest leaves the group, the group’s average income shoots up. Raising the global poverty line

raised the number of those officially classified as poor everywhere - including in India. Mr. Deaton

suggests a number of ways to improve poverty measurement, including self-reporting, of which he is

a passionate advocate. Where does that leave us? Poverty in India is undeniably declining fast -

perhaps faster than ever before - but the world’s newest Nobel laureate reminds us that we still do a

terrible job of measuring it. (The Hindu 27/10/15)

Most anganwadi children don’t eat take-home ration, finds study (21)

MUMBAI: A study in three tribal districts of the state has found that 95% of children do not consume

the take-home ration (THR), provided as supplementary nutrition, at anganwadis. The state spends

around Rs 300 crore to the makers of these supposedly protein and micro-nutrient-rich powdered

foods. Anganwadis provide cooked meals to children in the age group of 3-6 years, while children

under 3 years are provided the THR packets twice a month. The findings were based on a survey in

Amravati, Nandurbar and Gadchiroli by NGOs Rachna, Lokseva Sangam, Sathi, who interviewed

families of 234 children. Around 98% found the sweet powdered food (sheera) unpalatable. In a

previous study in 2012, around 79% had said that they fed THR to their cattle, hens or dogs. (Times

of India 30/10/15)

Every Fourth Indian Goes Hungry, Says Vandana Shiva (21)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Environmentalist Vandana Shiva on Sunday said the country was on the

decline in terms of production and consumption of healthy food. She was addressing mediapersons

with regard to the announcement of the third Annam National Food and Agro biodiversity festival

scheduled from December 10 to 14 in Kochi. “Every fourth Indian is hungry. Each second a child in

the country is losing his or her weight and height. It’s due to lack of nourishment. The health of the

younger generation is deteriorating physically and intellectually. Ever since the advent of junk food,

the energy of young India is at stake. Ayurveda which has a rich tradition and heritage in the country

is not to be limited to massage parlours,” she said. It is time for a wake-up call as the youths are dying

of heart attack and cancer. She raised apprehension that number of farmer suicide had crossed 3

lakh.After the announcement of the festival that will be at Rajendra Maidan she launched the blog of a

group of techies running an NGO, Prakruthi, for promoting organic farming among the youth,in the

Technopark. The festival will showcase the rich diversity of Indian food, agriculture and the native

culinary ethos. Several workshops and seminars will be conducted by experts in various fields. The

five-day event will be organised by Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA), an

NGO working with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Food and Civil supplies.

(New Indian Express 2/11/15)

Starvation Deaths Stalk Bengal Estates (21)

KOLKATA: With starvation deaths stalking the tea gardens in North Bengal, the state government on

Monday ordered a CID probe into the issue. On Sunday, labourer Ranti Goalini (62) died at Bagrakote

tea estate of the Duncans Group. His wife alleged that since wages had not been paid over the last

several months, they could not even buy rice. Sources said there had been 13 starvation deaths in

the last 45 days due to non-payment of wages, though the government claimed that the labourers had

been suffering from ailments and the deaths were natural. The CID on Monday asked Duncans Group

chairman G P Goenka to report at its headquarters here as there were charges of financial

discrepancies in the tea company. Since Goenka was out of the city, another director M H Chinoy

went to meet the sleuths. But he was told that Goenka should be present for questioning on Tuesday.

The Duncans tea gardens cover 7,500 hectares of land spread over the Dooars, Terai and Darjeeling.

(New Indian Express 3/11/15)

Adivasis have been reduced to eating garbage, says VS (21)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sight of Adivasi children eating food from a garbage dump at

Peravoor, a high range village, is a telling commentary on the kind of ‘development’ that the United

Democratic Front (UDF) government claims to have achieved in the last four and a half years, Leader

of the Opposition V. S. Achuthanandan said in a statement here on Thursday. The UDF government

pretends to have spent crores of rupees of the Adivasis. In spite of this, how is it that there are hunger

deaths among the Adivasis? How is it that there are stillborn Adivasi infants, a press note issued here

on Thursday asked. The sad plight of tribal settlements at Attappady has figured in the media even

before. It is shocking that Adivasis in Kerala have to eat garbage to quench their hunger. A case

should be registered against the UDF government under relevant provisions of the Prevention of

Atrocities Against the SC/STs Act, Mr. Achuthanandan said. Adivasis have been reduced to eating

garbage because the greedy in the UDF government have ‘swallowed’ the money meant for the

welfare of the tribal people, just as they have done away with money meant for other sectors. The

UDF rule by making an Adivasi woman Minister a mute witness has reduced Kerala to a deplorable

State. Enlightened Kerala would never forgive this UDF government for behaving in an

unconscionable manner towards the Adivasis, the press note added. (The Hindu 6/11/15)

Climate change could result in 100 million poor: World Bank (21)

Stockholm: Climate change could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 by

disrupting agriculture and fueling the spread of malaria and other diseases, the World Bank has said

in a report. Released yesterday, just weeks ahead of a UN climate summit in Paris, the report

highlighted how the impact of global warming is borne unevenly, with the world's poor woefully

unprepared to deal with climate shocks such as rising seas or severe droughts."They have fewer

resources and receive less support from family, community, the financial system, and even social

safety nets to prevent, cope and adapt," the Washington-based World Bank said. How to help poor

countries -- and poor communities within countries -- deal with climate change is one of the crunch

issues in talks on a global climate accord that's supposed to be adopted next month in Paris. Those

who say that rich countries aren't doing enough to help the poor said the report added emphasis to

demands for billions of dollars in so-called climate finance to developing countries. "The statistics in

the World Bank report are suitably shocking and I hope they force world leaders to sit up and take

notice," said Mohamed Adow of Christian Aid. "The Paris deal needs to support the poor and

vulnerable communities to cope with unavoidable climate crises better, and to be more resilient to a

changed climate." Despite pledges to rein in emissions of carbon dioxide and other global warming

gases, climate change isn't likely to stop anytime soon. Carbon emissions are expected to rise for

many years as China, India and other developing countries expand the use of fossil fuels to power

their economies. But efforts to protect the poor, such as generally improving access to health care

and social safety nets, and targeted measures to upgrade flood defenses and deploy more heat-

tolerant crops could prevent most of the negative consequences of climate change on poverty, the

bank said. "Absent such good development, climate change could result in an additional 100 million

people living in extreme poverty by 2030," the report said. Stephane Hallegatte, one of the authors,

told The Associated Press that one of the unique features of the report was that instead of analyzing

the macro-economic impact of climate change it was based in part on surveys of 1.4 million people in

92 countries. "When we ask people why they fall into poverty there are three major factors," he said.

"Agricultural shocks, including an increase in food prices; natural disasters such as floods, droughts,

storms; and health issues, including malaria, diarrhea. (Business Standard 9/11/15)

'Enabling Food for All' event to be held in Mumbai (21)

MUMBAI: World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai and All India Association of Industries will organise the

Global Economic Summit 2015 on "Enabling Food for All" in Mumbai between November 19 to 21.

"Leaders from the world over are working towards ensuring 'Enabling Food for All' and have

committed to sharing best practices, knowledge and research to equip farmers to overcome

challenges. India, along with 28 countries, are gearing to meet the challenge of hunger posed by

climate change, food wastage and lack of infrastructure," said a press release. The summit will have a

combination of conferences, B2B, exhibition and post event farm tours to Nagpur. Over 500 delegates

comprising of stake holders, including over 100 farmers, are expected to attend. (Times of India

10/11/15)

Govt tweaks funding pattern of 17 key central schemes (21)

NEW DELHI: In a major decision that could adversely affect social sector schemes, funding pattern of

17 centrally-sponsored schemes have been brought down to 60:40 between the Centre and states.

This includes Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-Day Meal scheme, Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, National

Rural Drinking Water Programme, Integrated Child Protection Scheme, Krishi Unnati Yojna, Housing

for All, Smart City Mission, National Health Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban

Transformation ( AMRUT) and many others. Funding pattern of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme and six other schemes under National Social Assistance

Programme --an umbrella programme for development of SCs/STs/differently

abled/minorities/backwards --have been left untouched. Finance secretary Ratan P Watal has

conveyed the decision to all administrative ministries. Watal said the decision has been taken based

on the report of the sub-group of chief ministers on rationalization of centrally-sponsored schemes

constituted by the NITI Aayog. Watal clarified that in case of 17 schemes if funding pattern is already

less than 60:40, the existing funding pattern will continue. In case of Integrated Child Development

Scheme (ICDS), he said, additional funds will be provided for this year at the supplementary stage. In

case of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna finance ministry will issue separate instructions later.

Many schemes not specifically mentioned, Watal said, will be optional for the state government and

funding pattern will be 50:50 between the Centre and the states. Four schemes, Watal said, will be

run as central sector schemes from 2016-17. This includes National AIDS and STD Control Program,

National Skill Initiatives/Skill Development Mission under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna,

National Disease Surveillance Systems and the Crime and Criminal Control Network. In case of Union

Territories, centrally sponsored schemes will be 100 per cent funded by the central government.

However, which programme can run will be decided by the centre in consultation with union territory.

(Times of India 11/11/15)

Households with income of Rs. 10 lakh may lose LPG subsidy (21)

HYDERABAD: The Union government is actively examining discontinuation of subsidies such as the

one given on domestic LPG cylinders to all households having an annual income of Rs. 10 lakh and

above. It could happen in the near future as indicated by Union Minister for Urban Development,

Housing and Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu here on Saturday. Speaking at a function

organised to give away the “Excellence Awards” instituted by the Federation of Telangana and

Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI) he said the government was also

planning to give other subsidies such as the one on urea directly to farmers, instead of giving it to

fertilizer companies. “By doing so, the government is planning to maintain a financial equilibrium in

society”, Mr. Naidu said, adding that the Petroleum Ministry had already been saving huge money

spent on LPG subsidy by linking the domestic consumers with their bank accounts and Aadhaar

numbers. A large number of fake beneficiaries were eliminated in the process, he said. On the

functioning of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Mr. Naidu said some sections, including

those from the industrial/corporate sector were of the opinion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could

have done more by now. But, the government needed to be given time to show results. “Unlike some

Opposition parties, the BJP does not believe in criticising corporate sector in the morning and do

business with the same in the evening,” he said. (The Hindu 15/11/15)

Centre funds Rs.3,231 crore to build 2.28 lakh houses for urban poor (21)

New Delhi: The central government will provide Rs.3,231 crore to five states -- Andhra Pradesh,

Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthana - for constructing 2,28,204 houses for urban poor.

The project was approved on Wednesday by the Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

Ministry. Of the houses approved, 2,17,748 were for economically weaker sections (EWS), whereas

the rest are for low income groups, an official statement said. Under the two components, the central

assistance at the rate of Rs.1.50 lakh per house will be provided. Andhra Pradesh has been

sanctioned 1,93,147 houses in 37 cities, followed by Gujarat with 15,580 houses in 4 cities,

Telangana 10,290 in 10 cities, Rajasthan 6,255 in 10 cities and Tamil Nadu 2,932 houses in 5 cities.

"In the light of the experience of implementation of housing projects in the past, this time around the

Ministry of HUPA has ensured availability of land for all the proposed projects with respective state

governments providing land as their share of affordable housing in partnership," the statement said.

(Business Standard 18/11/15)

Duty of state govts to ban cow slaughter, says Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in Kolkata (21)

Kolkata: “There are a lot of things to eat in this country apart from cow,” Union Minister Sadhvi

Niranjan Jyoti said in Kolkata while stressing that it was the “duty” of state governments to ban cow

slaughter. Talking about cow slaughter and consumption of beef, Jyoti said, “Such things should not

happen. If you are asking for respect from us, then you should also learn to respect us first. “In a

democracy it is the duty of the state governments to ban cow slaughter. There are a lot of things to

eat in this country apart from cow.” West Bengal is among the states where there are no restrictions

on cow slaughter. Jyoti also alleged that the issue of alleged intolerance was raised as a pre-planned

move to malign BJP ahead of Bihar polls. “Intolerance is a issue that was created with political motive

to malign us ahead of the Bihar poll. It was pre-planned and that is why you can’t see any protest after

the results are out,” Jyoti told PTI. Jyoti, who is Union Minister of State for Food Processing

Industries, said that it was the neutral votes that made all the difference in the Bihar poll. “It is the 5-10

per cent neutral votes that made the difference in Bihar. After coming to power at the Centre, we have

won several states. I give my best wishes to Nitish Kumarji,” Jyoti said. On writers returning their

awards in protest against ‘intolerance’, she said, “I have immense respect for the writers, but awards

should not have been returned.” “Awards are not just a token of honour. But it is an honour from the

entire country. So if you are returning the award then you are dishonouring the country. “If it is due to

an issue, then it was there earlier too during the Sikh riots and Bhagalpur riots. Politics should not

have been brought into it. There has been politics regarding this thing (returning of awards),” she said.

Jyoti said that the Dadri lynching was a case of law and order failure on the part of the Samajwadi

Party government in Uttar Pradesh. “This incident should not have happened. It is a law and order

problem, which is a state subject. If the state had taken action, then such situation wouldn’t have

happened. Instead of taking action, they are blaming us,” she said. Jyoti also slammed UP minister

Azam Khan for his comments that Paris attacks were a reaction to the actions of the West in the

Middle East. “This is shameful and that too coming from a person like Azam Khan. In a democracy

everybody has the right to speak. But you should not talk so much that it brings down the prestige of

the country before the world,” she said. “We have kept a close watch on people who speak in favour

of Pakistan and ISIS. But there are many people in the minority community who are really good

people and are working for the development of the nation. Those who commit the act of terror do not

belong to any religion, caste or creed,” she said. (Indian Express 22/11/15)

No more food security cards in Delhi for now (21)

NEW DELHI: With the Capital almost reaching its allotted limit of beneficiaries under the Food

Security Act, 2013, the Delhi government has put the brakes on issuing fresh food security cards. The

Food and Supplies Department of the State government has received an “overwhelming” number of

applications for these cards, taking the number of pending cases alone to 2-3 lakh. From a total 62.55

lakh beneficiaries as on May 10, in just six months Delhi has witnessed a surge of about 14 per cent

in the number of households enrolled under the food security scheme. Besides, several lakh

households are in the queue to get their below poverty line (BPL) cards. The problem, however, is

that the government can enrol only 1.5 lakh more households under the scheme, because of which it

has had to temporarily freeze accepting applications. “Under the Act, the quota for beneficiaries in

Delhi under the Food Security Act, 2013 is 72.8 lakh. So far, we have 71.3 lakh households already

enrolled in the scheme. For the remaining slots, all waitlisted applications will be thoroughly reviewed

and then we will move on to pending cases,” said Sanjiv Khirwar, Commissioner (Food and Supplies).

The 20,000 to 30,000 waitlisted applicants are those whose applications have been verified, while the

pending cases are those whose documents are in the process of verification. In the past few months,

about 25,000 cards have been cancelled. The government is unable to carry out massive drives

against ineligible card holders owing to shortage of staff. It is because of this that the officials are

eagerly looking forward to computerisation of the food security system. “By May 2016 we hope all fair

price shops in Delhi will be linked to biometric systems. This will eliminate a large number dormant

cards and help in extending the scheme only to the needy,” Mr. Khirwar added. Apart from recording

transactions at Fair Price Shops and getting them ready for monitoring, the biometric system will also

act as a check on irregularities. Covering almost 44 per cent of Delhi’s population, the food security

scheme has several categories. As per the official break-up, there are a total of 77,552 Antyodaya

Anna Yojna cardholders, 1,90,788 under the selected priority household (PR-S) category, while

16,91,720 are PR (priority category sans sugar) card holders. According to the Delhi Economic

Survey report, the city has 2,430 fair price shops. On an average each shop handles more than 736

ration cards as on March 31, 2015. The highest number of cards (2, 81,727) during 2014-15 was in

North-West district of Delhi, while the highest number of fair price shops (347) was in the North-East

district, the report said. (The Hindu 24/11/15)

State issues food security rules to implement FSA (21)

HYDERABAD: The State Government has issued draft Telangana Food Security Rules as part of

implementing the Food Security Act (FSA). The rules will come into force from the date of their

publication in the official gazette. Secretary (Food and Civil Supplies) Rajat Kumar stated in the

orders issued on Saturday that all the households with annual family income up to Rs.1.5 lakh in rural

areas and up to Rs.2 lakh in urban areas and the households with landholding up to 3.5 acres of wet

land or 7.5 acres of dry land would be entitled for food security cards. Similarly, the households of

landless agriculture labourers, marginal farmers, rural artisans/craftsmen such as potters, tanners,

weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers and others who earn their livelihood on daily basis,

households headed by widows or terminally ill/physically challenged/persons over sixty years of age

and single women with no assured means of subsistence or societal support, all primitive tribal

households, leprosy-affected persons, HIV positive persons/families, homeless people and beggars

would be covered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana. (The Hindu 28/11/15)

Centre seeks report on status of funds allocated to Adivasis (21)

KOZHIKODE: The Centre on Sunday said it would seek a report from the Kerala government on the

status of funds allocated to alleviate the poverty of Adivasis in the state. "Even after the passage of

several years since India's independence, Adivasis are reeling under poverty. This is a serious issue.

The Centre will seek a report from the Kerala government on the status of funds allocated for the

welfare of Adivasis," Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Thawaar Chand Gehlot

said here today. Gehlot, who was here to inaugurate the Composite Centre for Person with

Disabilities, said the Centre was ready to cooperate with the state in solving the problems of Adivasis.

A three-day camp to distribute supportive aid to differently abled persons, organised by the

department of Social Justice of the state government to mark the occasion, was also inaugurated.

(Times of India 29/11/15)

Anand: Education alone can eradicate poverty (21)

PATNA: Super 30 founder Anand Kumar, who was felicitated in Germany recently, said educational

empowerment was the key to find a lasting solution to the twin problems of poverty and deprivation

facing the world. Kumar was invited by German government to deliver a lecture and was honoured by

Eva-Maria Stange, minister for higher education and research. A special lecture followed the

felicitation. Citing the success stories from Super 30, Kumar said there is no dearth of talent in India.

"What is important is to ensure that all get equal and proper opportunity to excel in their chosen fields.

Lack of opportunities is what makes them suffer," he said. Kumar said like Japan, Germany should

also think of attracting Indian talent through special scholarship so that they could continue their

higher studies to contribute to the world's progress in more ways than one. "Today, a large part of the

world is affected by recession. If there is one thing that is still produced in large numbers to cater to

the growing demand is automobiles," he said and added, "With huge scope for automobile

engineering, Germany should do something for talented students from underprivileged sections of the

society in India and train them for the job." (Times of India 2/12/15)

Supreme Court frowns upon tardy roll-out of shelter scheme (21)

NEW DELHI: As temperatures dipped in the National Capital, the Supreme Court on Friday criticised

the government for not implementing the scheme to provide shelter to the urban homeless. The

Social Justice Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and U.U. Lalit asked the government where the

money for the scheme had gone. It said merely setting up committees will not translate into effective

implementation of the scheme. “Setting up of the committee doesn't mean you are done. The entire

leadership is not interested... You pass the buck to the Secretaries and Chief Secretaries. How will it

work? You are giving money but it is not being spent. Where has the money gone?” the court asked.

The Bench asked the Union Urban Development Ministry Secretary to appear before it on January 8.

The court was looking into the progress made by the government in implementing the National Urban

Livelihood Mission (NULM). (The Hindu 5/12/15)

1,321 officials fined for holding BPL cards (21)

Vijayapura: In an effort to weed out BPL cards given to undeserving persons, the Vijayapura district

administration has identified 1,321 government officials having (below poverty line) BPL cards, and

collected a fine of Rs. 9.22 lakh from them. The BPL card is meant only for poor people to avail

themselves of government benefits such as subsidised ration. The Department of Food and Civil

Supplies, which had identified 13,725 ineligible card-holders, including 1,321 government employees,

had directed them to return their BPL cards before July-end. “Many did not adhere to the order even

after the deadline,” said Srishail Kankanawadi, Deputy Director of in Food and Civil Supplies

Department. “As per the norms, no government official or their family members are entitled to BPL

cards,” he said. He said that during a survey, the officials found 2,085 ineligible card-holders in

Vijayapura, 2,560 in Vijayapura Rural, 1,316 in Basavanabagewadi taluk, 3,284 in Muddebihal, 2,485

in Indi, and 1,995 in Sindgi taluk. (The Hindu 6/12/15)

Village residents protest against cancellation of BPL ration cards (21)

Mandya: Residents of several villages in the taluk staged a protest demonstration outside the Deputy

Commissioner’s office here on Tuesday against the cancellation of ration cards by the Department of

Food and Civil Supplies. They said the department had cancelled ration cards of nearly 220 families

below the poverty line staying in Avverahalli, Madegowdana Koppalu, Chikka Koppalu,

Maradevanahalli, Putti Koppalu and Maranachakanahallli. MLC Ashwath Narayana, who was near the

Deputy Commissioner’s office, visited the spot and supported the protesters. They shouted slogans

against the Department of Food and Civil Supplies for deleting the cards and urged its Deputy

Director Kumuda to immediately take steps to issue new ration cards. They said cancellation of ration

cards had deprived the villagers of benefits under the public distribution system. Later, they submitted

a memorandum to the Deputy Director Kumuda demanding ration cards. A.S. Sudha, Puttaswamy,

Bhagawan, T. Shridhar, H.R. Ashok Kumar and others led the protest. (The Hindu 9/12/15)

Poverty in mountains has increased: study (21)

COIMBATORE: While global poverty is on the decline, poverty in mountain areas increased by 30 per

cent between 2000 and 2012, according to the latest study released on the International Mountain

Day by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation and Mountain Partnership. The Nilgiri

Documentation Centre is member of the Mountain Partnership. Mapping the vulnerability of people of

the mountains to food insecurity, the study found that the number of people with food insecurity living

in mountain regions in developing countries grew to nearly 329 million in 2012, up from 253 million in

2000, even though the overall population in the world’s mountains increased only by 16 per cent

during that same time. Mountain areas covered 22 percent of the earth's land surface and it is home

to 13 percent of the human population, says the study. "The living conditions of people in the

mountains have deteriorated and their vulnerability to hunger has increased. Harsh climates and the

difficult, often inaccessible terrain, combined with political and social marginality certainly contribute to

making people of the mountains particularly vulnerable to food shortages" says the report. “As we

now endeavour to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, the international community and

resource partners are hereby called upon to invest in mountain areas and reinforce the efforts of FAO

and the Mountain Partnership. "Ninety percent of the people live in developing countries where most

are dependent on subsistence agriculture, working in fragile ecosystems that are easily affected by

climate change."What that means for people in the mountains is an unfortunate injustice: communities

with one of the smallest carbon footprints in the world are among the first to bear the brunt of climate

change", says Mountain Partnership Secretariat. Almost 59 million people in the mountains in Africa

were identified as vulnerable to food insecurity in 2,000, a number that increased from 46 percent to

86 million by 2012. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the total number of vulnerable people in the

mountains increased by 22 percent from more than 39 million in 2000 to nearly 48 million in 2012.

However, the proportion of vulnerable mountain populations remained quite stable, passing from 30 to

31 percent in 12 years. Mountain populations of Asia are particularly prone to vulnerability. Results of

the study showed that more than 192 million people were considered vulnerable to food insecurity in

2012, an increase of over 40 million people, or 26 percent, from 2000. The study also found the

proportion of vulnerable people among mountain populations grew from 35 to 41 percent between

2000 and 2012.The report has called for strong political commitment and effective actions to invert the

hunger trend and address the roots of food insecurity in mountains, filling the hunger gap between

lowland and upland people. In mountain areas, where family farming and smallholder agriculture,

forestry and animal husbandry are the prevailing farming systems, it is key to create a supportive,

enabling institutional and political environment in which people in the mountains can have access to

services such as training, information, credit and healthcare, and adequate infrastructure. Investments

and technical support are also needed to diversify and boost mountain production systems through,

for example, integrating indigenous knowledge and traditions with modern techniques, says

Dharmalingam Venugopal of the Nilgiris Documentation Centre. (The Hindu 14/12/15)

41 percent of Odisha's BPL families are without power (21)

Bhubaneswar: About 18 lakh poor families, or 41 percent of all BPL households in Odisha, are yet to

get an electricity connection, the state government said on Tuesday. A total of 25.91 lakh households,

out of 44.37 lakh Below Poverty Line (BPL) households in the state, have been provided electricity

while 18.45 lakh are yet to get power connection, Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das told the state

assembly on Tuesday. The total number of households - i.e. BPL plus others - without electricity

connection was 35.35 lakh, Das had stated recently, noting that the state government aimed to

electrify every household by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017). The minister also

informed the assembly that dues of Rs.5,538.23 crore were pending against electricity consumers in

Odisha. The dues pending against BPL families were Rs.309.76 crore. While general domestic

consumers are charged Rs. 2.50 per unit up to 50 units, BPL consumers pay Rs.80 for 30 units per

month. Households are being provided electricity through Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran Yojana, Biju

Gramjyoti Yojana, Biju Saharanchal Bidyutkaran Yojana, and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti

Yojana. (Business Standard 15/12/15)

‘No starvation deaths in tea gardens’ (21)

Kolkata: There have been no starvation deaths in tea gardens of North Bengal, State Labour Minister

Moloy Ghatak said in the Assembly on Tuesday. Replying to a question raised by Communist Party of

India(Marxist) MLA Mamata Roy, the Labour Minister said that there has been no death due to

starvation or lack of treatment in the tea gardens of North Bengal. When the members of Opposition

parties referred to several newspaper reports about the same, the Minister asked whether they could

show any certificate in recent past where doctors have written that the death was due to starvation.

The Minister went on to compare the death rate of West Bengal and India and said that these deaths

are natural. Mr Ghatak said that facilities like jobs under MGNREGA, medical vans, mid-day meal and

drinking water are being provided in the closed tea gardens. When the Minister said that the

Trinamool Congress government had decided to reduce the time span in which the assistance under

the scheme Financial Assistance to the Workers in Locked Out Industrial Units (FAWLOI), certain

members raised the issue many tea gardens where distress have been reported have not been

declared closed. The remarks of the Labour Minister come at a time when several rights organisation

and trade unions have claimed that situation in the tea gardens of the State remain grim. Recently an

international team called Global Network on the Right to Food and Nutrition (GNRtFN) comprising 18

members from nine countries visited the tea plantations of north Bengal and Assam from November

27 to December 4. “The team witnessed a hazardous combination of extremely low wages,

precarious working conditions, inadequate housing and sanitation, structural violence against women,

as well as lack of access to water, education and health care,” a press statement issued by GNRtFN

said. (The Hindu 16/12/15)

Starvation Death in Nuapada (21)

NUAPADA: An alleged starvation death was reported from Kamkeda village in Nuapada district on

Thursday. The deceased is 65-year-old Tike Mahanand. Apparently, Tike had not taken food for the

last few days. He was enlisted under Antodaya scheme and got 35 kg of rice every month. He begged

to eke out living and sustain his family that comprised his mentally-challenged daughter Hemlata (35).

His son Hemant, who is also mentally-challenged, is missing from September this year. After the

State Government implemented the Food Security Act, Tike found his name missing from the list of

Antodaya beneficiaries. He had not got his rice share for the last two months. After the news spread,

Congress workers blocked NH-53 for an hour. The blockade was lifted after Komna BDO Abani

Kumar Sahu pacified the protestors. On the other hand, Komna Block Development Officer Abani

Kumar Sahu said Tike’s name was removed from the Antodaya beneficiary list and had been

recommended for inclusion recently. He said Tike was suffering from fever and that could be the

reason behind his death. (New Indian Express 18/12/15)

'Starvation, water scarcity have hit Bengal tea garden workers' (21)

Kolkata: Another Bengal tea garden worker dead; minister rules out starvation deaths Five Bengal

tea garden workers die over past 10 days WBengal draws plan to support closed tea garden workers

Labourer dies at tea garden, admn says no starvation death in Tea garden workers stage

demonstration demanding bonus Scarcity of water and food are the major concerns for tea gardens

workers in northern West Bengal, where work has been suspended and deaths are frequent, a report

by a group of civil society organisations said here on Monday. Deaths in the region's tea gardens

have made headlines this year, even as a minister claimed not a single death due to starvation has

taken place there. In the wake of reports of deaths, an umbrella group of organisations like G-NESEP,

NAPM, MASUM, ActionAid, DISHA and also comprising academicians, human rights activists and

doctors, visited the gardens on November 24 and November 25, and released the findings here on

Monday. The right to food of workers in the Bagracote (Jalpaiguri district) and Dumchipara (Alipurduar

district) gardens, owned by a particular company, was being "completely violated", according to the

report which highlights the "deprivation of basic human rights and living with dignity".The report said

"most of the tea gardens owned by this company are under complete work suspension since 10 to 12

months, but have not been officially declared as closed".It further revealed that "permanent workers,

who are to receive Rs.1,500 per month as employees of closed tea gardens under the FAWLOI

(Financial Assistance to the Workers of Locked-Out Industrial Units) are being deprived of that

minimum benefit".In Dumchipara, after the closure of the food distribution system, the families have

been brought under the Antyoday Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme but the amount of food grains reaching

them is less than half of what they should be getting, the findings show. "Prolonged starvation has

caused malnutrition, frail health and abnormal losing of body weight. A considerable number of people

are suffering from lack of appetite, vomiting, swelling kwashiorkor, jaundice, tuberculosis etc.," The

report also sheds light on the provision of water. "Since closure or work suspension, supply of water

has been withdrawn in Dumchipara. In Bagracote, the workers' families have to pay for the supply,"

said Sasanka Dev, on behalf of the group. (Business Standard 21/12/15)

PPP Projects for Rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers in Gujarat (21)

NEW DELHI: Gujarat has become the first state in the country to take up public-private partnership

projects for in-situ redevelopment of slums in urban areas under the recently launched Prime

Minister’s Awas Yojana. The inter-ministerial Central Screening and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) of

the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation chaired by Secretary Nandita Chatterjee today

approved 30 PPP Projects proposed by Gujarat government for rehabilitation of slum dwellers in

Ahmedabd, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara. 17,580 new dwelling units will be constructed for slum

dwellers living on government lands in these four cities of Gujarat by private developers, according to

a release. Centre will provide an assistance of about Rs 176 cr @ Rs 1 lakh per house to be built.

Land will be monetized for meeting the remaining cost of slum rehabilitation projects and

consequently, slum dwellers will get new houses with all amenities free of cost. CSMC today

sanctioned 1,69,381 houses for economically weaker sections in 145 cities in eight states for which a

total central assistance of Rs 2,444 crore will be provided. These include construction of houses

under in-situ slum redevelopment, affordable housing in partnership and beneficiary led individual

construction. EWS houses approved today include 47,050 units in 70 cities of West Bengal, 45,217

in 27 cities and towns of Telanagana, 27,186 in 6 cities of Gujarat, 19,241 in 16 cities of Madhya

Pradesh, 16,146 in 14 cities of Jharkhand, 7,621 in 9 cities of Tamil Nadu, 5,548 in Bhubaneswar in

Odisha and 1,364 in Aizawl and Lawngtlai in Mizoram. With this, HUPA Ministry has so far approved

construction of 4,23,415 houses for urban poor in 243 cities in 11 States across the country, for which

the Union Government will provide an assistance of Rs 5,900 crore. Under PMAY (Urban), the Union

government provides an assistance of Rs 1 lakh per unit for in-situ rehabilitation of slum dwellers and

Rs 1.50 lakh per unit under Affordable Housing in Partnership and Beneficiary led individual

construction for EWS beneficiaries. Under the fourth component of Credit Linked Subsidy of Rs 2.30

lakh per beneficiary will be provided. (New Indian Express 21/12/15)

72,000 ‘fraudulent’ Aadhaar cards found linked with PDS (21)

Gurgaon: The Food and Supplies Department authorities of Tawdu block in Mewat district have come

under scanner as around 72,000 fraudulent Aadhaar cards were detected to be attached with the

public distribution system (PDS) hinting at a major scam. The revelation, which has rattled the entire

department, has reached the ministry which has marked an internal inquiry into the matter to identify

the officials involved in it. It may be noted that to ensure maximum benefit of various schemes of the

department and easy distribution of the ration the Aadhaar cards were linked to the PDS. The

decision, however, backfired in many blocks, including Tawdu, where such fraudulent Aadhaar cards

were linked to the PDS system to misuse the ration items. “The issue has been brought to the notice

of all high-ups concerned and we are checking the records to find whether it was just a mistake or an

intentional blunder,” said a senior official. “Tawdu is not the sole case in Mewat. In fact, there are

around 13 lakh such fraudulent cards in the entire state but the ministry concerned is sitting quiet.

Those eligible are getting the benefit of the scheme and ration meant for them. We want a thorough

inquiry and punishment for all those responsible for it, besides a better mechanism to make the

system fullproof,” said senior Congress leader Aftab Ahmed. “We cannot say these are fraudulent

linking but we can say wrong Aadhaar card numbers have been put in the system. It may be a clerical

mistake or mistake of data entry operators and we are looking into it. All beneficiaries of the block are

genuine,” said Surender Saini, Food and Supplies Controller, Mewat. (The Tribune 22/12/15)

Over 22,000 families out of NFSA in Darrang (21)

MANGALDAI, Dec 26 - More than 22,000 households pertaining to eight Gaon Panchayats in

Darrang district may be deprived from enjoying the benefits under the National Food Security Act

(NFSA), which was formally launched in the State on Thursday. According to sources in the Food,

Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department in Darrang, the district under the provisions of the

Act has a total target 1,55,526 families. However, due to intervention of the Gauhati High Court,

initially a list of 25,545 targeted beneficiary families under nine Gaon Panchayats could not be

finalised. In the meantime, in case of Ojagaon Gaon Panchayat under Pub Mangaldai Development

Block, which has total target of 3,197 families, the court reportedly reviewed its earlier decision and

directed the Deputy Commissioner to ensure removal of the alleged anomalies and prepare a correct

final list, resulting in inclusion of that gaon panchayat. However, as petitions against eight other gaon

panchayats under Dalgaon LAC are still pending in the court, a total of 22,348 families have been

deprived from enjoying the privilege of availing rice or foodgrains at subsidised rates under the

provision of the Act, the source added. The district administration, it has been gathered, will start the

process of distribution from Sunday after its scheduled ceremonial distribution function held at the

District Library auditorium here on Thursday. It may be mentioned that petitions were filed in the

Gauhati High Court challenging the selection process of beneficiaries with allegations of anomalies,

nepotism and political influence, thereby depriving a section of genuine applicants. (The Assam

Tribune 26/12/15)

25 States, Union Territories Have Rolled Out Food Security Law: Centre (21)

New Delhi: The Centre has said that 25 states and union territories have so far rolled out the

ambitious food law and is making efforts to ensure remaining 11 states also implement the Act at the

earliest. At present, over 11 crore households consisting of 53 crore beneficiaries are being allocated

highly subsidised foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at Rs. 2 per kg wheat and

Rs. 3 per kg rice, it said. Computerisation and use of technological device at ration shops to

authenticate beneficiaries has helped delete 61.43 lakh bogus, duplicate or ineligible ration cards in

last two years, thus stopping diversion and misuse of foodgrains in the PDS system amounting to

about Rs. 4,200 crore, it added. "Now, 25 states/UTs have started implementing NFSA. The

government is making all efforts to ensure that remaining states also start implementing the Act at

earliest," the Food Ministry said in a statement. The NFSA came into force in July 2013. In the first ten

months, 11 states/UTs had started implementation covering about 7 crore households, while 14 more

states rolled out NFSA in the last six months, the ministry said. "Implementation in some of the states

was started hurriedly without completing all the requisite preparations. Consequently problems were

faced. Uttarakhand had to roll back the implementation and Bihar also faced initial problems in

distribution," it added. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman &

Nicobar, Gujarat, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh are among 11 states which are yet to implement the Act.

In the statement, the Centre said 17 states/UTs gain in terms of quantity of foodgrains allocation

under the food law compared to previous PDS system. However, a provision has been made for

remaining states to protect their average annual offtake of foodgrains. For successful implementation

of the Act, the government said stress is being laid on end-to-end computerisation for which states

are being technically and financially assisted. The beneficiary database has been digitised in 33

states/UTs, wherein, information is available right up to beneficiary level and is in the public domain.

Online allocation of foodgrains in being done in 17 states/UTs, and the entire foodgrain supply chain

has been computerised in nine states/UTs. All States have set up grievance redressal systems, it

added. To ensure leakage-free distribution of foodgrains, food subsidy is being tranferred in cash into

the bank account of beneficiaries in Chandigarh and Puducherry on a pilot basis. That apart, a fair

price shops are being automated for distribution of foodgrains through a point of sale (PoS) device

which authenticates beneficiaries at the time of distribution and also electronically captures the

quantum of foodgrains distributed to the family. At present PoS devices are operational in about

59,500 shops, it added. (NDTV 29/12/15)