Ignoring concerns expressed by allies and civil society groups, the United Progressive Alliance government is all set to push for an ordinance on the Food Security Bill. The revised Bill along with Food Ministry’s 81 amendments will be tabled for approval in the Union Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Food Minister K.V. Thomas and key ally and NCP chief Sharad Pawar are known to have expressed concern over taking the ordinance route. Some of the allies have also let it be known that the proposal for an ordinance was moved during the previous Cabinet meeting without prior consultation.

Union Cabinet did not take up for consideration the proposal

After an entire day of suspense on whether the government proposes to promulgate an Ordinance on the National Food Security Bill, the Union Cabinet did not take up for consideration a proposal to this effect moved by the Food Ministry. According to sources there is no consensus on taking the Ordinance route for the food security Bill not only between various political parties but within the United Progressive Alliance as well.

Nobel laureate upset at disruption of Parliament by Opposition

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is upset that disruption of Parliament has held up passage of important legislation including the UPA’s flagship National Food Security Bill. He feels that if the Bill is not passed — even if without amendments — several hundred children will go hungry or die from under-nutrition. The Bill has been criticised as “limited” and “targeted” by activists such as Jean Dreze and Kavita Srivastava, who on Monday shared the dais with Prof. Sen to advocate its passage albeit with changes.

The Centre on Friday revised its foodgrains production estimate upwards by 5.22 million tonnes for 2012-13 over earlier expectation on account of higher output of rice, wheat and coarse cereals.

The total foodgrains output is now estimated at 255.36 million tonnes with wheat production pegged at 93.62 million tonnes and rice at 104.22 million tonnes.

The CPI leader, in his letter to Jaipal, cites “conflict of interest”

Close on the heels of 17 MPs urging Science and Technology Minister Jaipal Reddy to withdraw from the Lok Sabha the recently introduced Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, CPI leader D. Raja has also expressed “serious reservations” over the Bill, which provides for a single-window clearance mechanism for genetically modified crops.

Despite severe opposition from civil society groups, the Union government has decided to cut the entitlement of a beneficiary to subsidised grain from 7 kg a month (as provided in the National Food

The Centre proposes to move at least 250 amendments to the National Food Security Bill when it is tabled in Parliament during the current Budget session.

The Bill, which seeks to give subsidised foodgrains to identified beneficiaries, will take into consideration the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food. Disclosing this, Right to Food activists said that during their meeting with the Minister of State for Food K.V. Thomas, they were given the assurance that the 2.5 crore Antyodaya Anna Yojana beneficiaries will continue to get 35 kg of concessional foodgrains.

Evidence of tampering with, overwriting & alteration of records

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, pointed out that several ineligible farmers were favoured and a large number of deserving small and marginal farmers left out in implementation of the United Progressive Alliance’s much-touted Rs. 52,000-crore farm loan waiver scheme.

The budget signals a decisive shift to high-value agriculture with allocations for crop diversification in the Indo-Gangetic belt, nutri-farms for growing fortified food crops, Farmer Producer Orga

Court of Arbitration in The Hague to decide on minimum flows by year-end

Though the Court of Arbitration at The Hague has upheld Indian’s right under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty to divert waters from the Rs. 3,600-crore hydro-electric project in the Kishenganga, the battle is not yet over. In its ‘partial award’ delivered on Monday in the dispute between India and Pakistan over the 330 MW project, the Court ruled that India would have to maintain a minimum flow in the river, known as Neelum in Pakistan.