With its granaries brimming over, the government faces a crippling dilemma: The tab for releasing foodgrain to make way for new arrivals adds up to Rs 20,000-25,000 crore, an unviable addition to the subsidy bill. The government's bind was succinctly outlined by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee when he told a meeting called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday that vacating food silos will mean a hefty cost at a time...

The permission given by the Centre for new registrations for Export of cotton has brought little cheer either to cotton farmers or to the huge cotton processing industry in Adilabad district. Both the segments feel the move is too little and too late. Almost all the cotton produced in this district has arrived in the markets and no trader has dared stocking cotton bales this season owing to its low price....

Remote controls are identified as technical devices which are used for various purposes ranging from the launching of space-ships to the monitoring of toy cars. But of late, these devices are being used to direct policies for nation states which are formally sovereign. We speak here of the powerful lobby of international credit rating agencies like Standard and Poor's (S&P), which has just delivered its sermon that India is no longer...

-The Times of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to discuss the foodgrain storage and crop situation with food minister K V Thomas and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday amid news of a bumper harvest this year and overflowing granaries.  The meeting, slated for Monday, was postponed, and is likely to discuss options before the government to offload the grains in the central pool that are expected to reach record...

Export Import Bank of India has sanctioned a Libor-linked foreign currency loan to artisans in Bihar for bulk purchases of tasar silk, their raw material. Libor is London inter-bank offer rate which is being used as a benchmark for short term rates in the international capital market. Exim Bank has given the working capital loan for three months to Ecotasar Silk Pvt Ltd, an enterprise manufacturing off-the-loom tasar silk products in...