The increase in the total number of suicides committed in India during 2020 in comparison to the previous years has hit the headlines recently. While some media commentators have stated that the economic distress (caused by job loss, income loss, failure of business, and growing hunger, among other things) in 2020 could have led to more suicides being committed, others have said that home isolation and deteriorating mental health (associated...

-PTI/ The Hindu The Crisil argument is based on the fact that the burden of inflation varies across different income groups, as the share of spending on food, fuel, and core categories differ across classes Extrapolating the retail inflation print for October, which inched up on-month to 4.5% from 4.3% in September, but steeply declined from 7.6% on-year, Crisil says the richest 20% of the population, who pay more on non-food or...

-The Hindu Business Line It is an important tool for agrarian families to manage and mitigate their risks Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the Indian economy, especially in rural areas. According to the recently-released Situational Assessment and Land Holdings of Agricultural Households in Rural India Report (SAS, 2019) by the National Statistics Office, 54 per cent of rural households are agricultural, earning 37 per cent of their household income from farming.  This sector, however, is also subject to a...

-The Hindu Rising fuel prices remain a festering pressure point for households The urban poor have been the worst-hit by the high inflation that has prevailed over the past one-and-a-half years, and the persistent uptick in fuel prices continues to pose a major threat for them, rating agency Crisil said in a note on Friday. While inflation shrinks purchasing power across the board, the impact on different income classes varies with their share...

One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...