If dal roti went out of reach for the aam admi in 2009, vegetables and onion prices brought tears towards the end of 2010 and with food inflation touching a high of 14.44 per cent for the week ending December 18, the New Year did not ring in any respite from high food prices. The sudden increase of Rs.3 per litre in the price of petrol in December — the sixth...

If the price rise is due to production shortfall, how does one explain the near doubling of the price within a few days? The sharply rising onion prices have raised the suspicion that speculators are manipulating a shortage situation. First, a few facts. In Retail markets, onion prices have soared from Rs 10-11 per kg in June to as high as Rs 70-80 on Dec 21. Even more significantly, prices zoomed by...

It is time for India's government to put its money where its mouth is. New Delhi has raised some $30 billion since March by selling state assets and telecom airwaves. That is about as much as the country will attract in foreign direct investment this fiscal year. There is one area above all else where this money should be directed: food security. New Delhi talks a lot about guaranteeing food for India's...

With fresh arrivals of onions from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, Central agencies on Monday announced their decision to sell them through their outlets at Rs. 35 a kg, setting it as a benchmark price. The variety, however, was poor in quality and low in quantity. In the Retail open market and Retail chains, onion prices remained around Rs. 50 a kg, garlic price was unchanged between Rs. 250 and Rs. 280...

The Retail prices of onions and tomato largely remained unchanged on Saturday although the price of garlic fell by up to Rs. 40 a kg, thanks to better supplies. It is expected that the availability of these essential items will improve in three weeks when the late kharif crop arrives in the market. According to reports from the four metros, onion prices remained stable at Rs. 50-60 a kg, while tomato...