-DNA It's a misconception that high economic growth translates into employment A recent report prepared by the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) harps on the usual premise of boosting economic growth as the basis for job creation. Accordingly, it will still take 20 years to remove unemployment even if India grows at an annual growth rate of 9 per cent. This is exactly what we were...

-The Indian Express * Have global agri-commodity prices fallen? By how much? They have. The Food and Agricultural Organisation's latest Food Price Index (base: 2002-04 = 100) of 192.3 for October is down 6.9 per cent compared to a year ago, and 19.1% below the all-time high of 237.7 reached in February 2011. Prices of commodities such as corn, wheat, soybean, sugar and palm oil traded in international futures exchanges are today...

-The Business Standard Wholesale prices of edible oils have risen 40% since Oct 15; pulses and wheat have surged 4.62% and 8.33%, respectively These could still be early signs, but it appears the breather on food inflation that India has been enjoying for some time is going to end. Following a sharp reduction in production estimates, prices of key agricultural commodities have risen over the past three weeks. According to data from the...

-The Hindu Business Line Now that the gains from the first round have petered out, we need to embrace biotech to boost farm productivity As India seeks to ignite the next agrarian revolution, it must try and absorb some of the lessons of the Green Revolution. Currently, agricultural productivity and growth vary from State to State, resulting in regional disparities. Through targeted policymaking, investment in rural infrastructure and research, and ongoing support...

-TheGoan.net As had been anticipated, on October 18, the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to decontrol the prices of diesel, the most widely-used petroleum product in the country. Riding on an unexpected fall in world prices of crude oil, the government was able to simultaneously announce a sharp fall in consumer prices of diesel by Rs 3.37 per litre (in Delhi). But the decision...