-The Economic Times Vegetable prices have dropped thanks to good supplies across the country. Onion, tomato and potato prices have fallen by almost 20%-25% in the last fortnight bringing relief to consumers. Traders say prices are likely to remain low till June. Indians consume nearly 15 million tonne onions a year. A drop in the prices of staple vegetables like onion and potato helps bring down food inflation, a major worry for...

-The Hindu Verdict wrongly held that even terror activities would amount to political movement: West Bengal The Supreme Court has stayed a Calcutta High Court judgment directing West Bengal to treat arrested members of the banned Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) as “political prisoners” by declaring the outfit a “political movement.” A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai was acting on the State government’s appeal challenging the rationale of the August...

-The Hindu The West Bengal Government will introduce a Bill in the upcoming Budget Session of the State Assembly to ensure that public services are delivered to people on time, said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee here on Wednesday. Fines will be imposed on government servants if it is found that services are not delivered on time, she told journalists after a Cabinet meeting. The legislation, Paschim Banga Lok Parisheba Adhikar Bill, 2013 (West...

-The Hindu Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat on Wednesday demanded an independent inquiry into the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which has pointed out serious lapses and wrongdoings in the Rs. 52,000-crore farm debt waiver scheme. Ms. Karat was talking to journalists at the party office here, before resuming her programme of “Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha,” which began from Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on March 4. She said...

-The Hindu Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s budget for 2013-14 will be remembered not only for its strategies to stimulate economic growth and control fiscal deficit, but also for the importance given to the needs of the underprivileged sections of our society. In the field of agriculture, he has adopted the following three pronged strategy: 1. Defend the gains already made in the original green revolution areas like Punjab and Haryana: For this purpose...