Pulses policy in the works to curb inflation
The food ministry has proposed converting a recently set up stockpile of pulses into a permanent buffer, which should hold 10% of the country’s total output.
Rising food inflation is a major worry for the government not just because it roils household budgets but also acts as a hindrance to its growth agenda.
High inflation for instance limits scope for lowering of interest rates, needed to expand manufacturing. Wholesale inflation rose sharply to 1.6 % in June compared to a rise of just 0.8% in May. The increase in food prices quickened to 8.2% in June, compared to a 7.8% jump in May.
The food ministry has proposed steady imports through longer-term government-togovernment deals rather than just “spot purchases”. As part of this, India has already signed a bilateral pact with Mozambique for growing and importing pulses. The Myanmar government is currently examining a similar draft agreement from India.
The supply of lentils, a common
of “poisoning the political atmosphere”.
Azad said the government was “using tricks” to destabilise opposition-ruled governments, pointing out that even the Shiromani Akali Dal, a BJP ally, had attacked the Centre for undermining states.
Racing against time to roll out GST from the next financial year, Modi pitched the bill as a matter of national importance.
Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar said the government would talk to all parties to evolve consensus on the bill, which requires a constitution amendment bill to be passed separately in both Houses with a two-thirds majority. “Our legislative business, including GST, is a priority. We want to pass the GST bill with consensus. We are going to take every party on board,” he said.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi said it would support the GST bill if the state’s demand for a separate high court was fulfilled, while the SP advised the government to engage with all parties and not just the Congress. The CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury asked the PM to convene an all-party meeting exclusively on the GST bill.
A second all-party meeting was held later in the evening, this time called by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. She said the parties had given an assurance to let Parliament function while the government had said it was ready to talk on any issue that is raised. source of protein for the poor, has failed to keep pace with demand, because rising incomes have led to higher consumption of protein, analysts say.
The farm ministry has expanded the National Food Security Mission to cover all states. More than 90% of the funding under this programme will go to pulses.
“This year, `1,700 crore is being spent under the National food security mission. The allocation for pulses is `1,630 crore,” a farm ministry official said.
and everyone wants to know what is happening here. Every bit of news here gets attention. That is why we advertise in other states. Also, we want to tell investors that Delhi is the place for them.”
Touching on the statehood issue, he said his government was considering an opinion poll. “We can’t do a referendum as it is not permissible in the Constitution, but we want a sort of opinion poll where people can vote.”
The show, which went a little over two hours, started with a 40-minute monologue on the government’s achievements and the problems it faced. This was followed by Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia taking questions via Twitter and Facebook, text message and on phone from callers in Delhi, Punjab, Kerala and Hyderabad.
The next episode of Talk to AK is expected next month. This is nearly 95% of the total funds, he said. Separately, `20 crore is being made available for new type of breeder seeds for pulses, he said.
Yet the challenges are steep. At an all-India level, just 16% of area under pulses has irrigation cover, compared to 58% for cereals.
India’s yield is low at 622 kg per hectare yield, compared to the world average of 1200 kg/ha. Moreover, most pulses varieties are long-yielding, which means they take a long time from sowing to harvest.
According to the weatherman, this week will see less rain than the last. Light showers are expected on Monday as well as the next three days.
The previous week witnessed enough precipitation to compensate for Delhi’s rainfall deficiency. While the rainfall was 30% below normal at the beginning of last week, it now stands at 1% above normal.
The rain gods were much harsher on other parts of northern India, with at least 21 people dying in rain-related incidents over the last 24 hours. The worst affected were Uttarakhand, which witnessed the death of 10 people, and Madhya Pradesh, where the toll has already touched 35.