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Ravleen Kaur
Ravleen Kaur
Articles by the Author
2010-10-15
Reaching food to people who need it the most has remained one of the most stubborn problems in India. The public distribution system (PDS) is in a shambles in most parts of the country with the poor unable to get their quota of foodgrains despite the biggest build-up of government stocks in recent times. A chunk of the grain mountain is rotting for want of storage space and effective mechanism for releasing adequate stocks in times of high food inflation.
Is it time we dismantled the largely corrupt and inefficient PDS and switched to food coupons or cash transfers as some economists suggest? Some states have introduced food coupons but there is no certainty these will work any better. On the other hand, the Food Security Bill envisages an expanded PDS to cover a larger population. Can the system be streamlined?
Latha Jishnu and Ravleen Kaur analyse the different facets of managing the food economy and find that the PDS could become highly efficient if innovation and technology are harnessed to political will, as Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu did. These states offer valuable lessons in resolving the problems of procurement, storage and allocation of basic food items.
Aparna Pallavi, Ashutosh Mishra and Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava, who travelled across large parts of the tribal belt, report on the extent of the problem that most destitute people face in getting their meagre rations, month after month. They highlight the urgent need to get food across to the large swathe of malnourished and chronically hungry people in the hinterland
2010-6-30
First pulses, now milk. The common household is compelled to give up on its easy sources of protein. RAVLEEN KAUR found rise in fodder prices, not rise in demand, is pushing up the cost of milk
2010-7-15
A judgement by a Bhopal court has brought the worst gas tragedy into spotlight. It has galvanized the media and the government into action. A group of ministers has recommended relief measures, clean-up of the factory site and asked the government to go after Bhopal’s prime culprit, Warren Anderson. RAVLEEN KAUR, KUMAR SAMBHAV and SAVVY SOUMYA MISRA revisit the tragedy and uncover why liability has not yet been fixed, where the courts and authorities went wrong and what it will take to remove the toxic waste at the site
2009-5-15
An upcoming port at Dhamra was cited as the reason for the endangered Olive Ridley turtles giving the Gahirmatha beach a miss last year. This year, they are back. But there are other problems with the port: its environmental clearance is actually flawed
2011-2-28
Issues notices to Union Carbide, Dow Chemicals on Centre's plea seeking enhancement in compensation
2011-2-28
Supreme Court asks states to evict illegal occupants of village commons
2010-12-13
Residents are angry after increase in the dam’s water level led to landslides and subsequent house collapse
2010-12-15
Radha Ben remembers the noted economist and thinker who passed away on November 14
2010-11-30
Union law minister, Veerappa Moily, on October 27, announced the government will not pursue the ongoing lawsuit in the US for compensating Bhopal gas tragedy victims. Himanshu Rajan Sharma, lead counsel for the victims in the class action suit against Union Carbide Corporation, told Ravleen Kaur how the decision has affected chances of holding the company accountable for the 1984 gas mishap. The Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide owned the pesticide plant where the gas leaked, killing a few thousand people overnight. Excerpts:
2010-11-15
Adani’s affidavit shows work at project site before public hearing
2010-8-24
Agriculture Minister says it is not feasible to give grains for free as suggested by Supreme Court
2010-8-15
On a trip on the outskirts of Jaipur RAVLEEN KAUR finds farmers making money by following an unconventional practice
2010-7-22
Sukhdev Vihar residents say plant won't solve waste problem, will impact people's health
2010-7-21
RAVLEEN KAUR attends a meeting where farmers rail at government’s sugar pricing policy
2010-7-31
Pentavalent vaccine linked to child deaths in Sri Lanka, Bhutan; ball in high court
2010-4-15
Commercial interest behind claim, says Centre’s research institute
2010-6-21
Traveling in rural India to report developments is turning out to be uncomfortable. Uncomfortable for the reporter’s soul, not body. We ask so many questions to the villagers, and expect answers. What if they ask us questions...
2009-11-15
Weather does not support traditional sweet varieties in lower regions; sour varieties replace them
We have found in Asian country especially in rural sectors new mothers are unaware about baby's health care issues therefore...
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it is good to eat as many as vegetables and fruits (totally vegetarian), but my aurvedic doctor asked me to stop eating every...