According to the Cabinet note, 75 per cent of the rural and 50 per cent of the urban population are to be brought under the food security umbrella.
'Hundreds of thousands of people who earn their livelihood from the 12 million existing retail outlets may be put out of business by Big Retail,' says Bhavdeep Kang.
Long written off as a political force, K N Govindacharya made a strong comeback this week, bringing together a million people -- most of them farmers -- on the platform of alternative development.
The proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA) may have to be put off to 2012 due to financial constraints, going by a recent Planning Commission document which points out that additional resources of Rs 77,000 crore will be required to implement the programme.
The Supreme Court's order on free distribution of grains to the needy is most likely meant to be a one-time exercise, feels Bhavdeep Kang.
The conversion of Indian farmers from traditional varieties and public hybrids to commercial hybrids and GM seeds could create a market larger than China.
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