Odisha to give 5 kg addl rice free to 2.7 million poor families for next 3 months: Majhi
Speaking at a function here on Friday, Majhi said each eligible family in eight KBK districts, including Boudh, Gajapati, and Kandhamal, will receive 5 kg of free rice per month for the next three months. Majhi said the government will spend ₹180 crore to distribute 41,082 tonnes of additional rice among them.
The announcement comes after the state government decided in July to suspend ration distribution to 2.058 million beneficiaries who have not completed the mandatory e-KYC for their ration cards.
At the time, food supplies and consumer welfare minister Krushnachandra Patra had declared that beneficiaries had three months to complete the process or face permanent cancellation.
Officials said the decision would also help ease the pressure on the state's godowns, which were holding surplus parboiled rice. The Food Corporation of India is not lifting parboiled rice from Odisha and the three other states, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, haven't evinced interest in lifting parboiled rice either.
FCI has so far lifted 14.33 lakh tonne till the end of July, leaving a stockpile of nearly 12 lakh tonne with the rice millers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Historic decision': Zelensky hails US offer of security guarantees to Ukraine
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday hailed the United States' offer of security guarantees as a 'historic decision', a day before his meeting with US President Donald Trump. Zelensky called the 'coalition of the willing' meeting on Sunday 'very useful'.(AP) This comes after US envoy Steve Witkoff hinted that the US was prepared to commit to security guarantees. 'Security guarantees as a result of our joint work must be truly very practical and provide protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must also be developed with Europe's participation,' Zelensky said. He further called the 'coalition of the willing' meeting on Sunday 'very useful'. The meeting, held via video conferencing, was attended by a group of Ukraine's allies, including Britain, France and Germany. Zelensky said that all parties agreed that state borders must not be changed by force. The Ukrainian president reiterated the resolution of the key issues in the Russia Ukraine conflict in a 'trilateral format', which includes Russia, Ukraine and US. Trump could offer a NATO-like protection to Ukraine, and Russia is open to the idea, one of his top foreign policy officials told Reuters on Sunday. This comes before the meeting between Trump and Zelensky, who will be joined by the European leaders. 'We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection,' Witkoff earlier told CNN's "State of the Union" program. He said that the US can offer an Article 5 protection, adding that it was the first time that Russia had agreed to something like this. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty regards an attack on any one of its 32 member nations as an attack on all. Witkoff hinted that a security guarantee of this scale could be extended to Ukraine in lieu of NATO membership, which Putin has objected to. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had also accompanied Trump to Alaska for the summit with Putin, said in an interview with the CNN that the talks had 'made some progress'. 'Ultimately, where this should lead is to a meeting between the three leaders, between Zelensky, Putin and President Trump, where we can finalize, but we got to get this thing closer before we get to that point,' Rubio said.
Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
US keeps daily tabs on India-Pakistan, says Marco Rubio
Synopsis The United States closely monitors the situation between India and Pakistan. Ceasefires are fragile and require constant maintenance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlights President Trump's efforts in achieving peace globally. He cites examples like Cambodia, Thailand, India-Pakistan, Rwanda, and DRC. The US aims for lasting peace deals, not just temporary ceasefires. Reuters U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends an event at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 16, 2025. New York | Washington: The US keeps "an eye" on what's happening between India and Pakistan "every single day" as ceasefires can fall apart very quickly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said."...the only way to have a ceasefire is for both sides to agree to stop firing at one another. And the Russians just haven't agreed to that. Beyond that, I would say that one of the complications about ceasefires is they have to be maintained, which is very difficult. I mean, every single day we keep an eye on what's happening between Pakistan and India, what's happening between Cambodia and Thailand," Rubio said. "Ceasefires can fall apart very quickly, especially after a three-and-a-half-year war (in Ukraine) like what we're facing now, but I don't think anyone disagrees that the ideal here, what we're aiming for is not some permanent ceasefire. What we're aiming for here is a peace deal so there's not a war now and there's not a war in the future," Rubio said in an interview to NBC News Meet The Press. In a separate interview with Fox Business, Rubio again mentioned the recent conflict between India and Pakistan that President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed he solved. "And I think we are very fortunate and blessed and should be thankful to have a President who has made peace and the achievement of peace a priority of his administration. We've seen it in Cambodia and Thailand. We've seen it in India-Pakistan. We've seen it in Rwanda and the DRC. And we're going to continue to pursue any opportunities we can find to bring about peace in the world," Rubio said.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Global markets face shaky week ahead as US pressure mounts on Ukraine
European leaders rush to support Ukraine in US talks Analysts link US-Russia ties to Arctic energy deals Oil and gas may enter "deep" bear market - BofA European defence spending to ramp up - Berenberg By Naomi Rovnick and Dhara Ranasinghe LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Defence stocks and energy markets are likely to be in focus this week, as European leaders rushed to back Ukraine in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump that may pressure Kyiv to accept a peace deal favouring Russia. Investors are watching for signs that the U.S. may move closer to Russia in a bid to exploit vast, untapped Arctic energy resources, in a major geopolitical shift that piles pressure on Europe to rapidly boost defence spending. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended their weekend summit in Alaska without securing a Ukraine ceasefire agreement, with the U.S. President then saying he now wanted a rapid peace deal that Kyiv should accept. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is travelling to Washington on Monday for talks that leaders of nations including Germany, the UK and France will now join. "Trump seems inclined to reduce or even end US support for Ukraine. Putin got him interested in business deals," Berenberg Chief Economist Holger Schmieding said in a note to clients. "As a result, the US may lift its sanctions on Russia and invest in Russia instead," he added. "Europe will have to spend a lot more for its own defence." DEFENCE STOCK RALLY Investors have bet on that outcome since February 2022, driving a supercharged rally in European aerospace and defence stocks with gains of over 600% for Leonardo and 1,500% for Germany's Rheinmetall. The euro has rallied 13% against the dollar this year and traded at about $1.17 on Friday. Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett highlighted the potential for U.S.-Russia Arctic drilling projects to exploit 15% of the world's undiscovered oil and 30% of the world's undiscovered natural gas, resulting in a deep energy bear market. Brent crude, which dropped more than 1% to near $66 a barrel, on Friday, was still priced for a Ukraine peace deal, Hartnett cautioned, while Trump wanted lower energy prices for U.S. consumers. Ukraine's government bonds - key mood indicators - rallied when news of the summit emerged earlier this month but have stalled at a still-distressed 55 cents per dollar. "I would think they will be a bit weaker following the recent strength as the mood seems to favour Russia following Friday's summit," Aegon Asset Management head of emerging market debt Jeff Grills said.
