India’s city population will nearly double to close to 600 million people by 2030, requiring huge investment to avoid urban “chaos”, a report by global consultancy McKinsey warned Thursday. India must invest $1.2 trillion for core urban infrastructure in its cities over the next 20 years, equivalent to $134 per capita a year, the report said — almost eight times current spending in per capita terms. “The need for change is urgent....

India's annual food and fuel inflation quickened in the week to April 10, putting upside pressure on the headline inflation and central bank to take action before its next policy review in July. The food price index rose 17.65 percent in the 12 months to April 10, marginally higher than an annual rise of 17.22 percent in the previous week. The fuel price index rose 12.45 percent in the 12 months to...

The impact of global recession will force an additional 64 million people across the world to live in extreme poverty by 2010, warns the World Bank. The economic crisis and recession have substantially increased the challenge of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets, according to the World Development Indicator (WDI) 2010 released by the World Bank on Tuesday. In contrast to the record growth in 2000-07, the global Economy grew only...

Summer temperature in India is set to remain above average, weather officials said, raising hopes of heavy rains at the start of the monsoon season that will help early sowing of rice, soybeans and lentils. Early sowing and the subsequent early harvest insulates crops from weather risks such as weak rains towards the end of the June-September monsoon season that delivers 75-90% of the rainfall in most parts of India. It also...

For decades the sprawling state of Bihar, flat and scorching as a griddle, was something between a punch line and a cautionary tale, the exact opposite of the high-tech, rapidly growing, rising global power India has sought to become. Criminals could count on the police for protection, not prosecution. Highwaymen ruled the shredded roads and kidnapping was one of the state’s most profitable businesses. Violence raged between Muslims and Hindus, between...