-The Economic Times Nearly 6 crore formal sector employees could look forward to retiring with a minimum pension of Rs 1,000 a month, in addition to their provident fund savings, if the finance ministry green signals a labour ministry proposal to increase the pension of PF subscribers.   At present, most provident fund subscribers receive less than Rs 500 a month as pension after decades of service, with some getting as low as...

-The Economic Times The latest consumption figures from the National Sample Survey Organisation show that rural consumption grew 18% in the two years to 2011-12.  Poverty fell by roughly 7% in villages and 1% in towns. The town-country gap in incomes narrowed. This is welcome but needs to be qualified. 2009-10 was a drought year, depressing consumption and thereby exaggerating the improvement registered two years later.  Over a longer seven-year period, between 2004-05...

-Reuters Monsoon rains will not be enough to save the country from its first drought in three years, the weather office said on Thursday as it forecast that the El Nino weather pattern should reduce rains again in the second half of the June to September season. India, one of the world's largest food producers and consumers with a population of 1.2 billion, last suffered a drought in 2009, which forced it...

-Live Mint The latest numbers may lead to a significant decline in the poverty level India’s rural income grew at a much faster clip between 2010 and 2012 than in the previous years, according to the provisional results of the 68th round of the consumption expenditure survey carried out by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). The latest numbers may lead to a significant decline in the poverty level once the Planning Commission...

-PTI Amid growing political opposition in India for easing of foreign investment norms in retail and other sectors, US-based companies like Wal-Mart and Prudential Financial are lobbying hard with their own lawmakers here to garner support for their Indian business expansion plans. As per their latest lobbying disclosure reports filed with the House of Representatives and the Senate, the US-based companies and industry groups spent millions of dollars since the beginning of...