A hike in diesel and domestic LPG prices has been deferred for now, but an increase in petrol prices later this week looks imminent. An Empowered Group of Minister (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was to meet on Wednesday to consider raising the diesel price by Rs 3-4 a litre and domestic LPG rates by Rs 20-25 per cylinder, but the meeting was deferred without assigning any reason. "No new...

The government plans to restrict subsidised domestic LPG cylinders to six per household every year. For additional cylinders, consumers will have to pay the market price. Data show 65-70 per cent of households use 5-6 cylinders (14.2 kg) a year, while the remaining use more. In Calcutta, PSU oil marketing firms suffer a loss of Rs 329.73 by selling an LPG cylinder at Rs 365.10. A senior oil ministry official said the proposal...

Procurement of wheat for the public distribution system on Friday crossed the last year's level although it remained lower in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, compared to the corresponding period last year, due to late arrival or delayed reporting. As per the latest data released by the Centre, the Food Corporation of India and State agencies had procured 20.92 million tonnes of wheat compared to 20.61 million tonnes procured last year in...

United States has placed India, Pakistan, China and nine other countries on the top 'priority watch list' with regard to violations of intellectual property rights (IPR). America's trading partners on the Priority Watch List present the most significant concerns regarding insufficient IPR protection or enforcement, or otherwise limited market access for persons relying on intellectual property protection. Twelve countries-India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Israel, Thailand and Venezuela are...

The head of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) warned today that the “slow-motion catastrophe” of non-communicable diseases could overwhelm even the wealthiest nations if the root causes of the epidemic, mostly lifestyle decisions, are not addressed. Margaret Chan, the WHO Director-General, told delegates at the First Global Ministerial Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Noncommunicable Disease Control in Moscow that the fact the many of the chronic non-communicable illnesses in...