Good politics and good economics can make compatible bedfellows, if the timing is right. Food, its producers and consumers, are now the Centre's most potent political and economic battleground. Politically speaking, this could be the best time for the UPA to reclaim its dog-eared pro-people credentials through the Bill. The Right to Food Bill has triggered many apprehensions, including fears of a higher subsidy burden, an adverse impact on private...

India is today the world's largest importer of arms. These include fighter jet planes, missiles and radar systems for strategic partnerships and geo-political power. India is also investing in security and surveillance to combat foreign threats and resistance from its own people in places like the Kashmir valley, and the North East and tribal regions of Central India. This provides tremendous opportunity for multi-national corporations to sell and invest in...

Every family below poverty line may get over Rs 400 per month from the government from April next year in lieu of Fuel subsidy for kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas cylinders as part of India's first direct cash transfer scheme.   The move, which is expected to be considered by Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on June 9, is aimed at checking use of kerosene for Fuel adulteration and reduce financial...

The commission plans to file several cases under the SC & ST Act The battle of Bhatta-Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh's Greater NOIDA area, where violence raged recently over the contentious issue of land acquisition, promises to get bigger. On Thursday, the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes decided to summon the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police of Gautam Budh Nagar district, where the twin villages are located, to seek a...

-The Economic Times   A repeat of the 2008 rice crisis that led to riots in the developing world cannot be ruled out as the cost of other agricultural goods surge, a research group has warned. The International Rice Research Institute said the global rice market was delicately balanced as the grain had managed to avoid huge price rises thanks to stable weather in rice growing regions. The cost of wheat surged 121...