
The Samajwadi Party chief slammed the Congress for presenting the Food Security Bill, saying, "The House is not in order. Presenting the Food Security Bill at this time is not appropriate." ...

07:29 PM, May 07, 2013

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said important bills such as Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill needed to be passed in Parliament. ...

07:25 PM, May 07, 2013

New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday hugged Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj in the Central Hall of Parliament. The two exchanged pleasantries and spoke for a few minutes. The meeting between the two came days after Sushma had attacked Sonia for destroying spirit of democracy. Last Friday, Swaraj had accused Sonia of instigating her MPs to disrupt her speech in the Lok Sabha. Sonia, who has been under attack from...

06:58 PM, May 07, 2013

New Delhi: 1:00 pm: As the Lok Sabha resumed, uproar continued in the House with BJP MPs demanding Manmohan Singh's resignation. The Lok Sabha has now been adjourned for the day and the Food Security Bill may again be taken up on Wednesday. 12:40 pm: The Congress Core Group is meeting in Parliament to chalk out a strategy to end Parliament deadlock. 12:17 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Parliamentary...

11:21 AM, May 07, 2013

New Delhi: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Monday sought to blame the opposition for disruption in Parliament, saying they were "bursting debates" and "killing arguments" in the House as he backed the Food Security Bill in its present form. Sen, an eminent economist, said the essence of democracy is to have arguments and there is a need for skillful presentations of what the issues are. At a press conference along...

09:02 AM, May 07, 2013

New Delhi: The Opposition is in no mood to relent saying it will not let Parliament function without the resignations of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On Monday, there was uproar in the Lok Sabha with the BJP, its allies and the Left storming the well of the House even as the National Food Security Bill was taken up for discussion....

08:54 AM, May 07, 2013

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday said her government would upgrade 12,500 acre of barren land into cultivable farm land with adequate water facilities while announcing several schemes for ushering in a second green revolution in the state. "With food production to be affected owing to the reducing cultivable land, my government this year will upgrade 12,500 acres of barren land and to set up proper water...

04:46 AM, May 07, 2013

New Delhi: A war of words broke out between the Congress and the opposition over the National Food Security Bill that the government tried its best to debate in the Lok Sabha and get passed on Monday. The opposition continued to disrupt the house over the coal blocks allocation issue as Food Minister KV Thomas moved the bill, saying it was a key UPA legislation that would give the right...

04:05 AM, May 07, 2013

New Delhi: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath on Monday told the BJP not to "lecture" the Congress on corruption and said Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar would not resign. "There is no question of their resignation. Did Nitin Gadkari resign as president of the BJP? The BJP should not give us lectures on such matters. Our government knows what is to be done and if...

07:59 PM, May 06, 2013

Greater Noida: Noble laureate Amratya Sen on Saturday said it is unfortunate that government has not been able to push through the Food Security Bill that sought to provide subsidised foodgrains to people below poverty line. "It is unfortunate that we are not able to pass the Food Security Bill because Parliament is not able to meet", he said during a seminar at the ADB annual meet here. He further...

08:58 PM, May 04, 2013

Beijing: Chinese police have broken a crime ring that passed off more than $1 million in rat and small mammal meat as mutton, authorities said, in a food safety crackdown that coincides with a bird flu outbreak and other environmental pressures. Authorities have arrested 904 suspects since the end of January for selling and producing fake or tainted meat products, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement posted...

02:22 PM, May 03, 2013

New Delhi: The government which introduced amendments to the landmark Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday could not get it passed as opposition stalled proceedings in the House over killing of Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan and other issues. Food Minister KV Thomas moved amendments to the National Food Security Bill, which was originally introduced in Parliament in December 2011, but no discussion on it could take place...

06:42 PM, May 02, 2013

New Delhi: Despite BJP escalating confrontation in Parliament, government has listed two key bills, including the ambitious National Food Security Bill, for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill piloted by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh is also on the legislative agenda of the Lok Sabha Thursday. Congress has often dubbed the Food Bill and the Land Bill as "game-changers" as...

09:15 PM, May 01, 2013

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to step in to end the political deadlock over coal scam. Sources said the PM is likely to call an all-party meet to break the logjam in Parliament and try and pass the Land Bill and the Food Security Bill. A temporary truce on the Finance Bill was achieved on Monday and the Bill will now be taken up post noon. It...

10:24 AM, Apr 30, 2013

I believe in discovering books on my own. I do not believe in recommendations because I am scared that most people do not know what I love to read or do not care to ask. It is a fact. Most people just put a book in your hands and tell you, "You must read this." There is nothing more to that interaction. And yet there are times when I am...

04:03 PM, Apr 29, 2013

New Delhi: South-west monsoon rains are expected to be "satisfactory" barring some states in South India, Food Minister KV Thomas said on Friday ahead of an official forecast later in the day. "We have an assessment of monsoon. Monsoon will be quite satisfactory in India except the southern tip - Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu," Food Minister KV Thomas told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Delhi. Monsoon...

02:08 PM, Apr 26, 2013

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said the country would meet the target of producing 254.23 million tonne foodgrain in 2012-13 despite drought in some parts of the country. India could not achieve the food production target in 2009-10 due to severe drought in many states. However, it had met the target since 2010-11. "Despite drought in some parts of the country in 2012-13, foodgrain production is on course to...

03:47 AM, Apr 24, 2013

New Delhi: Government is likely to convene an all-party meeting soon on the ambitious Food Security Bill before it is taken up in Parliament. "We are planning to convene an all-party meeting before taking up for further proceedings. It is likely to be held in a day or two," a Minister, who did not want to be identified, told reporters. The National Food Security Bill gives the right to food...

03:10 PM, Apr 22, 2013

Patiala: A CBI special court in Patiala on Saturday awarded seven-year rigorous imprisonment to Akali Dal leader Mangat Rai Bansal in an embezzlement case related with the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Twenty-two other convicts were also sent to jail. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special judge Hemant Gopal sent the ruling party leader Bansal, 54, to jail for a fraud involving Rs.1.8 crore in the 1990s. Besides Bansal, the...

05:15 AM, Apr 21, 2013

Attari: The novel concept of promoting friendship through food at 'Sarhad', a restaurant serving the best of cuisines from both sides of Punjab, has attracted attention of Harvard Business School. 'Sarhad', which promotes cultural and culinary heritage of pre-partition Punjab, was picked up as a mini project for Digital Marketing Strategy by Harvard's MBA class of 2013. The restaurant is situated exactly between Amritsar and Lahore and is 1.5 km...

10:15 PM, Apr 20, 2013