-Bloomberg   World food prices will drop this year as increase in unemployment in developing and developed countries slows growth in demand, the United Nations said.   “We have started to see a decline in food prices,” Jose Graziano da Silva, director general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, said at a conference in Hanoi on Thursday. World economic expansion will slow to 3.3% this year from 3.8% in 2011, according to the International...

Token relief to individual taxpayers will cost the exchequer Rs. 4,500 crore In a “pragmatic and domestic growth-oriented” budgetary exercise aimed at shoring up investor confidence and investment, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday sought to tap indirect taxes, especially service tax, to rake in an additional Rs. 45,940 crore into his kitty. Presenting the budget for 2012-13 in Parliament, Mr. Mukherjee provided a token relief to individual taxpayers that will cost...

-The Times of India The finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech said that efforts were on to arrive at a political consensus on the issue of allowing 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. The retail sector of the economy has been constantly pushing for allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. The Economic Survey 2011-12 also advocated the case for FDI in multi-brand retail. The much-talked about...

-The Business Standard   Major subsidies extended by the government are likely to jump to Rs 1,34,411 crore during 2011-12 The Survey has warned of deteriorating fiscal health due to a mounting subsidy burden. The huge outgo over the past year has been largely on account of the global rally in crude oil prices, the fertiliser subsidy and state-controlled foodgrain prices, it said. It also blamed ‘coalition politics and federal considerations’ for holding...

Government-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) may witness a 52% jump in losses on account of selling fuel below cost at state-mandated prices to Rs.2 trillion in the next financial year, said R.S. Butola, chairman, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), the nation’s largest fuel retailer. Such an increase will impact the financials of government-owned OMCs such as IOC, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), which currently register...