-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) The official Wholesale Price Index for ‘All Commodities' (Base: 2004-05 = 100) for the month of February, 2014 has remained unchanged at its previous month level of 178.9 (provisional). INFLATION The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 4.68% (provisional) for the month of February, 2014 (over February,2013) as compared to 5.05% (provisional) for the previous month and 7.28% during the corresponding...

-The Business Standard Inflation has cooled in recent months but the next monsoon holds the key. With fear of an El Niño effect impacting it, academicians and policy makers are worried about the possible impact on farm output and food inflation. Prabhu Pingali, director of the Tata-Cornell Agriculture and Nutrition Initiative at Cornell University and former director of the agricultural and development economics division of the Food and Agriculture Organization,...

-Down to Earth Delisting fruits and vegetables from APMC Act in Congress-ruled states will not benefit farmers Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi last December said fruits and vegetables will become affordable if states allowed farmers to directly sell their produce to consumers. He also directed the chief ministers in Congress-ruled states to delist fruits and vegetables from the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act. The Act makes it mandatory for farmers to sell...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Agriculture) The two-day National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign has come out with detailed strategy for maximising crop production during the coming kharif season. The focus will be on ensuring timely availability of fertilizers and quality seed and also sufficient credit to farmers. Based on inputs from States and the Fertilizer Ministry, it is established that sufficient quantities of fertilizers and seeds are available in...

-Outlook Raipur: The CAG has indicted the Chhattisgarh government for diverting around 10 lakh tonnes of foodgrains from the central scheme to the state's Mukhyamantri Khadyan Sahayata Yojna without permission and in violation of Centre's instructions. CAG report on the Public Sector Undertakings for the year ended March 2013, was tabled in the state assembly here today. "At the direction of the Government of Chhattisgarh, the State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (company) diverted...