-The Hindustan Times Despite a pickup in rainfall last week, the southwest monsoon remains in deficit by a significant 22%, almost certainly lowering annual production of grains, pulses and oilseeds, the three crops where sowing has been worst hit. The Met office’s estimate coincided with the release of food inflation data that showed a worrying 10.81% rise in June from a year earlier, up from a 10.74% rise in May, an...

-The Hindu The State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called for a sustained month-long campaign across West Bengal in August to highlight its demand for the incorporation in the Centre’s proposed Food Security Bill provision for a universalised public distribution system that ensures a monthly allocation of at least 35 kg of foodgrains per family at the rate of Rs. 2 per kg. Demands like remunerative prices to...

-NDTV India is likely to raise diesel prices after the presidential polls on July 19, an oil ministry official said on Thursday, as the government attempts to cut the amount of money it pays out to keep prices lower. "This has been the thinking for quite some time," that a price rise could come after presidential polls, the official said, requesting anonymity. "It is inevitable. By how much I can't say," he added. The...

-The United Nations Higher demand for food due to population growth, urban migration and other factors will require countries to increase their productivity, according to a new report co-authored by the United Nations, which warns that without more supplies, prices will rise significantly. “Higher demand will be met increasingly by supplies that come to market at higher cost. With farmland area expected to expand only slightly in the coming decade, additional production...

-The Hindu Unsustainable import competition and the end of the investment subsidy that the sale of under-priced resources provided to Indian companies are the main reasons why the economy has slowed down What has been called the ‘golden age’ of India’s economic growth was underpinned by global integration, high rates of investment and savings growth and low current account deficits. The slowdown is characterised by a sharp deceleration in investment growth on...