-The Economic Times Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao has said the proposed elimination of fuel subsidy can lead to a massive 2.6% spike in inflation, an assessment that makes it even more difficult for the government to bite the bullet. While a hike in diesel and cooking gas prices may be long overdue, the government is hard-pressed to contain inflation ahead of crucial assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh...

-The Hindustan Times Although some detailed exposés of India’s nefarious role in purchasing or leasing agricultural land in other countries — notably in Africa — have been surfacing in the last few years, the full picture of what some critics term a land grab and new form of colonialism has only emerged during the Rio+20 environmental meet in June. The Washington DC-based think tank, the Worldwatch Institute, released a report based...

-The Economic Times  The government has stopped short of declaring a drought but rolled out a relief package which includes subsidised diesel for irrigation, funds to ensure drinking water, seed subsidy for resowing crops and augmentation of fodder supply. "The number of rain-deficient districts this year is more than in 2009," said agriculture minister Sharad Pawar after chairing a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on drought. The meteorological department...

-PTI Indicating that its nearly three- year-old battle with inflation is not yet over and a loose monetary policy is still far off, the Reserve Bank today said the near-term inflation trajectory still remains sticky on the back of weak monsoon, higher support price for farm crops and the falling rupee. Headline inflation persisted above 7 per cent during the first quarter of the fiscal due to a rebound in food rates...

-Live Mint The much-awaited land acquisition Bill seems to be in jeopardy with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government rejecting a parliamentary standing committee’s suggestion the government should not acquire land for public-private-partnership (PPP) projects. But it has accepted that land procured for special economic zones (SEZs) and some defence projects cannot be exempted from the purview of a land acquisition Bill and promised to amend other laws pertaining to purchase...