Consider this. Every time petrol prices rise, oil companies end up losing more money. How? The price differential between petrol and diesel increases further; people start buying diesel-powered vehicles so oil firms bleed more. Even worse, we all bleed because dieselisation adds to toxic pollution in our cities. This, in turn, adds to the health burden and costs. This is all very well accepted. Yet, nobody has done anything to fix...

Two months ago, a media baron from Ahmedabad bought 240 bighas of land near Mahakali temple in Sitapur village, adjacent to Hansalpur where India's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, plans to set up its biggest plant in the country.  The media baron paid Rs 12 lakh a bigha. On Tuesday, four days after the car project was announced, they sold the land for Rs 33 lakh a bigha.  From Sanand to...

There isn't a single burning, insurmountable issue because of which workers at Maruti's Manesar plant have struck work thrice in the last five months . Sruthijith KK & Chanchal Pal Chauhan report from Manesar that at its core lie accumulated grievances and resentment, and events are adding fuel to the fire A day after workers at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar facility went on strike in June, 55-year-old MM Singh, the company's head...

Real wages in the hinterland have stagnated despite Zooming economy While the economy has Zoomed along at an average of 7.2% of GDP in the last decade, real wages in the hinterland have stagnated. You would imagine that after a decade of impressive economic growth averaging around 7.2 per cent, rural populations would be beneficiaries to this story. However, wage patterns considered over the last ten years show that real wages (wages...

-The Times of India   For all those already reeling under a series of hikes in petrol prices on the back of Zooming inflation, here is some news that will enrage you further. Data of retail prices in countries across the world shows that Indian prices are amongst the highest in the world at current exchange rates. And, if you even out the differences in purchasing power of different currencies then Indian...