-PTI The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 4.87 per cent in May. It was 1.46 per cent in June 2017. Retail inflation rose to 5 per cent in June, a five-month high despite easing food prices, government data showed on Thursday. The retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 4.87 per cent in May. It was 1.46 per cent in June 2017. The earlier high was in January...
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Real rural wage growth back in negative territory
-Livemint.com Rural workers’ real wage rate growth was very high in 2014, but has fallen dramatically since then Rural wage growth for men for both agricultural and non-agricultural occupations (simple average) was 3.53% in March from a year ago. But Consumer Price Inflation for rural India was 4.44% in March. That means the real rural wage growth, or wage growth after taking inflation into account, was negative during the month. In other...
More »The food economy: A Catch-22 for policymakers
-Livemint.com The best way to double the real incomes of Indian farmers would be to halve their numbers through job creation in other parts of the economy The Narendra Modi government last week announced sharp increases in minimum support prices (MSPs) for a variety of farm products. The move itself is not unexpected. The first sign that the Modi government would shift away from its earlier strategy of minimal hikes to douse...
More »India needs both price and income support for farmers -Soumya Kanti Ghosh and Debashis Padhi
-Livemint.com The concerns about the downsides of these schemes are overblown, and they could go some way in alleviating rural woes Since the Union Budget 2018-19, there has been a great deal of discussion in the public domain regarding the health of the rural sector. We believe that the rural sector needs some policy intervention, be it price support or income support. As a case in point, the agri gross domestic product...
More »Farm support prices come with hidden costs -Ashima Goyal
-The Hindu Business Line In view of the distortions arising out of excessive price support, direct income transfers to farmers is a better option The domestic debate has tended to conclude that the rise in MSP announced in the Budget is an essential part of achieving the government’s objective of doubling farm incomes. But MSP stands for minimum support prices and is an instrument designed for reducing income volatility, not for raising...
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