NEW DELHI : The Indian government on Thursday put a draft law before parliament which seeks to provide subsidized food to more than half of the country's 1.2 billion population, local media reported. The Food Security Bill seeks to introduce a legal right on cheaper food grains to approximately 63.5 percent of the population. Up to 75 percent of the people in rural India will be covered, while about half of people will be covered in the urban centers, the Times of India reported. Under the bill, every person belonging to a "priority household" would be provided with 7 kilograms (15.5 pounds) of rice, wheat and coarse grains. Rice would be provided at 3 rupees (USD 0.05) a kilogram (2.2 pounds), wheat at 2 rupees (USD 0.03) and coarse grains at 1 rupee (USD 0.01). In addition, people belonging to the "general category" would get at least 3 kilograms (6.6. pounds) of grains at a rate not exceeding 50 percent of the minimum support price. Earlier this week, the Cabinet approved the draft bill. Asked about the concerns raised by some opposition parties, Food Minister KV Thomas said: "The bill has been prepared after wide consultations in [the] last two-and-a-half years ...
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United Nations, India, an aspirant for permanent membership of the UN Security Council, has said that an expansion of the decision making organ was essential for its credibility and the international community's continued confidence. "Genuine reform in the working methods of the Security Council really requires a comprehensive reform in the membership of the Council, with expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories," India's Permanent Representative Hardeep Singh Puri said Wednesday. "This is essential both for the credibility and continued confidence of the international community in this institution," he said during an open debate in the Security Council on its working methods. The Council's composition, rooted in the situation in 1945, as well as its working methods, are both divorced from contemporary reality of international relations, Puri said. Outlining an Indian perspective on how the Council could better its performance, he said: "The permanent members of the Security Council must recognise, not only individually but also collectively, that the Council must be reformed to make it reflect the contemporary realities of the international ...
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Amritsar, January 24 (DMS)- Expressing concern over the increase in the number of attacks on Indian students in Australia, veteran Congress leader and MP Partap Singh Bajwa has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to send an all-party parliamentary delegation to Australia to study the deteriorating situation there. Bajwa has also asked the Australian Government to take the necessary steps to check the “unbridled violence” against Indian students who had opted to go to that country after spending billions of dollars and had given a big boost to the economy of Australia with their efforts and money. “The PM should give personal attention to the issue. A large number of Indian students have gone to Australia after spending huge amounts and with very high hopes and ambitions. But their dreams have gone sour with increasing attacks against them. The Australian Government should also realise its duty to ensure the safety and security of Indians and to protect them against violence which has become a blot on an otherwise safe, secure and developed country,” said ...
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Patiala, January 15 (DNS)- Apprehending threat to his life, Naib Tehsildar Jasbir Singh Walia has demanded security cover from the Patiala police. Walia, who was allegedly assaulted by former Municipal Councillor Gurdev Singh Punia and his men at the Gymkhana Club on January 10, has also demanded immediate arrest of the accused. Expressing dissatisfaction over the manner in which the police was dealing with the matter, Walia said it was really shocking that the accused were still roaming around freely. Elaborating on the matter, Walia, who was discharged from the hospital today, said, “While I was posted in Patiala, I refused to extend undue favours to Punia. After that, he started nurturing grudge against me. I am currently posted at Ludhiana. On January 10, I went to the Gymkhana Club in connection with some work. Spotting me there, Punia and his friends started abusing me.” When he reacted, Punia and his men badly thrashed him, inflicting injuries on him, he added. Though the Civil Lines police registered a case under Section 307 of the IPC against Punia and others, investigations into the matter were progressing at a snail’s pace. “It is beyond understanding why ...
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