-The Telegraph Food prices, which account for nearly half of the consumer price index basket, softened last month The finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are in discussions on the inflation trajectory amid the easing of global commodity and crude oil prices. A Reuters poll of economists forecast retail inflation at a five-month low in July at 6.78 per cent. But it is still above the RBI’s upper threshold...

-Down to Earth blog Palm oil is water-intensive and requires large patches of land India is the second-largest consumer of edible oil globally and its largest importer. While the government has taken several initiatives over the years to increase the domestic production of edible oils, its shortage and high price are often in the news. Palm oil production grew between 2015-2016 and 2020-2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 per cent,...

-TheWire.in The withdrawn Bill had, controversially, sought to provide the government with powers to exempt its probe agencies from the provisions of the Act. New Delhi: The government on Wednesday withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill from the Lok Sabha and said it would come out with a “set of new legislation” that will fit into a ‘comprehensive legal framework’. IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said this while moving for withdrawal of the Bill...

-Newsclick.in The Education Department has attributed the delay in payment to the non-release of the funds by the state Finance Department. Lucknow: Government schools in Uttar Pradesh have reportedly not received any money for mid-day meals for the last three months, preventing some schools from serving food to children under the scheme. In a few schools, teachers and gram pradhan (village head) have been spending from their own pockets or buying rations...

-PTI/ The New Indian Express While sitting MPs are entitled to use the railways' first class air-conditioned or executive class for free, their spouses too can avail free travel under certain conditions. NEW DELHI: Free train travels of sitting and former Lok Sabha members over the past five years have cost the exchequer Rs 62 crore, which included nearly Rs 2.5 crore in the pandemic-hit 2020-21, according to information revealed under the...