-The Telegraph Public sector oil marketing companies yesterday raised the prices of diesel sold to bulk consumers like the railway and defence by Rs 1.20 a litre despite protests in Parliament last week. At the same time, oil companies reduced the price of domestic non-subsidised cooking gas by Rs 38 for a 14.2 kg cylinder. Following the revision, cooking gas will be sold at Rs 933 a cylinder in Calcutta and neighbouring areas...

-The Hindu “The purpose of a Budget – and the job of a Finance Minister,” P. Chidambaram declared in his speech, “is to create the economic space and find the resources to achieve the socio economic objectives.” Now that the presentation of and the spate of initial responses to the budget are behind us, it may be appropriate to ask how far the Minister went in accomplishing his self-defined task. Mr. Chidambaram...

-The Asian Age Sonia Gandhi’s economic and political ideology may have apparently triumphed over that of Manmohan Singh. The neo-liberal finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram may be conveying an impression that he’s turned socialist with a vengeance by increasing taxes on the rich in the run-up to the 16th general elections. But the truth is that Mr Chidambaram has made certain assumptions about subsidies, inflation and the expected growth of gross domestic product...

-PTI Says sharp decline in Fuel subsidies points to a hike in petrol and diesel prices to international levels CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat today said that the Union budget has "failed" to address the major concern of the masses and questioned the reason behind cutting oil subsidy and increasing the tax concession for the corporates.      "There has been a sharp decline in petroleum subsidy, for diesel, petrol and other oil products....

-The Economist Government borrowing generates inflation, widens the external deficit and crowds out much-needed investment. Can India now overcome its debt addiction? INDIA has grappled with its public finances for long enough. When presenting its first budget after independence in 1947, the finance minister of the day insisted that the country was not living beyond its means. Yet every budget since has failed to produce a surplus. India borrows more heavily...