-The Telegraph Costlier food items carried inflation up to 7.55 per cent in May, and the price situation could get aggravated further by the government’s decision to raise the minimum support price of paddy, oil seeds and pulses. However, the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) deferred a decision to raise urea prices because of opposition by some ministries. Inflation in May last year stood at 9.56 per cent. Overall food inflation rose to...

RANWAN, India — In this north Indian village, workers recently dismantled stacks of burned and mildewed rice while flies swarmed nearby over spoiled wheat. Local residents said the rice crop had been sitting along the side of a highway for several years and was now being sent to a distillery to be turned into liquor. Just 180 miles to the south, in a slum on the outskirts of New Delhi, Leela...

-The Times of India The Madras high court on Thursday refused to interfere with the recent increase of petrol prices, and also observed that the last week's crippling petrol and diesel shortage in Tamil Nadu had been overcome due to state government's efforts. A vacation bench of the court comprising Justice K Venkataraman and Justice C S Karnan passed the order on Thursday, while dismissing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by...

-Live Mint After a record harvest of 90.23 mt this year, the govt’s wheat stocks were at 38.2 mt as of 1 May Worry lines run deep on the faces of wheat farmers in Sehrala in Haryana as falling prices, higher input costs and poor infrastructure erode earnings and cast doubt over not just their next crop, but their future in agriculture as well. Agents in the grain market of Ballabgarh said spot...

The dreaded El Niño weather phenomenon is set to appear during the second half of the southwest monsoon, which may cause less-than-expected rains in August and September. El Niño had earlier hit the Indian monsoon in 2009, when the country faced a severe drought. This time, its impact is not clear as of now, but if there are excessive breaks in the monsoon, crops of paddy, oilseeds and pulses could...