-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Indian economy, Asia's third-largest, faces a difficult situation where growth has slowed to a decade low but price pressures have remained stubborn. It has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, and the highest in Asia. Weak growth and high inflation also complicated the policy choice for the central bank. Separate data released by the Central Statistics Office showed industrial output slumped 1.8%...

-Frontline In a situation of increasing life expectancy and crumbling traditional support structures, a universal social pension scheme that does not rely on contribution by a person or an employer can help the elderly. INDIA prides itself on being a "young" society, likely to benefit from a demographic dividend as children and young people move into working age groups over the next decade. This optimistic view assumes that society will be able...

-The Times of India KOLKATA: You must have been complaining about rise in prices across categories - food or non-food. What you have not realized is West Bengal has become one of the most expensive states in India. Consumer price indices for October this year, filed with the Parliament barely a fortnight back, shows that Bengal's figure is now the second highest. Consumer price indices (CPI) for the rural Bengal during October...

-PTI Soaring inflation, high fuel cost, rising cost of education and health insurance premiums have eroded the real incomes of middle-class Indian families, with household savings rates dropping by a staggering 40 per cent in the last three years, says an Assocham survey. "Poor households are unable to maintain the consumption levels at current prices while middle income families find their purchasing power erode fast, thus having far less surplus money," Assocham...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Maharashtra has the highest per capita income, but when it comes to prosperity, Punjab tops the chart while Madhya Pradesh is at the very bottom. In terms of equity, Kerala pips Punjab to the top slot, while Andhra Pradesh has the highest levels of disparity, says a new study that ranks states based on pattern of ownership of consumer durables. The soon-to-be released report by ratings and...