A UN expert body on Thursday said surge in food prices in India is a matter of concern, but retail price inflation will cool down to 7.5% this year from around 12% last year. The UN Economic Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (Escap) also projected the economy to grow by 8.3% in 2010-11, compared to estimated 7.2% last fiscal, fueled by the recovery in investment and private consumption. “In India, consumer...
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Normal rain forecast cools food inflation by Unni Krishnan
India’s food inflation slowed as finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said agriculture prices may cool further on prospects of sufficient rains this year. An index measuring Wholesale Prices of agriculture products including lentils, rice and vegetables compiled by the commerce ministry rose 16.61% in the week ended 17 April from a year earlier. It gained 17.65% the previous week, according to a statement in New Delhi on Thursday. Mukherjee on Wednesday vowed to...
More »Good wheat crop to ease inflation: Montek
A good wheat crop this season is likely to ease the near double digit inflation in the next 2-3 months, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said today. "This season very good harvest (wheat) is coming in. There is ample stock of foodgrain in the country. So the inflation psychology would be broken," Ahluwalia told reporters here. The Wholesale Price index (WPI) is currently nearing the double-digit mark, with the March-end...
More »In India, Wal-Mart Goes to the Farm by Vikas Bajaj
At first glance, the vegetable patches in this north Indian village look no different from the many small, spare farms that dot the country. But up close, visitors can see some curious experiments: insect traps made with reusable plastic bags; bamboo poles helping bitter gourd grow bigger and straighter; and seedlings germinating from plastic trays under a fine net. These are low-tech innovations, to be sure. But they are crucial...
More »New food scheme based on Tendulkar report likely
A“reworked and realistic” food guarantee scheme is on the anvil. The Suresh Tendulkar panel report is likely to form the basis for poverty estimation required for this. A hint to this effect came during a meeting of the core group of chief ministers on price rise chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Thursday. The government has been under pressure from state governments to make a fresh BPL assessment....
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