The official line is simple. Since we cannot afford to feed all the hungry, there must only be as many hungry as we can afford to feed. There was irony in the timing of the petrol price decontrol order. The decision, which also covered major hikes in diesel and kerosene prices, and affects hundreds of millions of people, came even as Manmohan Singh advised world leaders in Toronto on the need...

A law empowering Indians to seek information from government to promote accountability and transparency has brought change to urban India, but has largely left out the country's rural poor, social activists say. The Right to Information (RTI) Act - similar to the Freedom of Information Act in the United States - was enacted almost five years ago and is aimed at providing a practical way for all citizens to access...

India's Food Price Index rose 12.92 per cent in the year to June 19, while the fuel price index climbed 12.90 percent, government data released on Thursday showed. The pace of increase in food prices slowed from the previous week's annual rise of 16.90 percent, while fuel price inflation eased from last week's annual rise of 13.18 per cent. The primary articles index was up at 14.75 per cent. Wholesale price...

India's food inflation accelerated in mid-June, maintaining pressure on the Reserve Bank of India to tighten monetary policy at a faster pace. India's Food Price Index rose 16.90 per cent in the year to June 12, higher than the previous week's annual reading of 16.12 per cent, government data released on Thursday showed. The fuel price index remained unchanged at 13.18 percent in the year to June 12. The yield...

Bowing to pressure from the political leadership of the Congress, the government will consider making food security universal, but at a higher price for the rich. Food security was an electoral promise of the Congress before the 2009 polls, but the initial draft of the Bill said that it would apply only to the poor. After Congress president Sonia Gandhi refused to accept the Bill in that form, an empowered group...