The Central Statistical Organisation estimate of overall GDP being likely to grow at 7.2 per cent this year has brought back the confidence of the industry and policymakers that the economy has truly turned the corner. But the growth of the farm sector is almost flat (-0.2 per cent), though this too is a pleasant surprise given that it was exposed to the worst drought since 1972. The real worry...

India’s love for peanuts is now such a mega trend that chikki and chivda are bigger money-spinners than groundnut oil, the most expensive traditional cooking oil. The popcorn generation has morphed the peanut from a stodgy oil crop into the nation’s favourite snack food. But hasn’t the peanut always helped us live through moments of excitement and ennui? Isn’t the volume of peanut shell litter a uniquely Indian indicator of...

 The United Nations has mobilized the fashion and cosmetics industries in an “eco-fashion” battle to curb the unprecedented loss of the world’s biodiversity, from over-harvesting wild species for their skins or natural fibres to pollution caused by manufacturing processes. More than 500 prominent figures from government, international organizations and the above industries have been meeting in Geneva over the past two days at the UN Conference on Trade and Development...

The collapse of the Dubai dream is not without any implications; it may be an indication that the travails of finance capitalism are not over. GLOBAL capitalism is in a phase in which it must deal with the fruits of the overextension during the previous boom, and there is no doubt that this is going to be painful. The financial crisis in the United States and some other developed countries...

Thrissur: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Sunday that the import of edible oils would continue as there was a huge oil deficit in the market. Speaking to journalists after launching a coconut replanting and rejuvenation project at the Kerala Agricultural University, he said there was a gap of 5 million tonnes between the domestic production of edible oils and demand. “Imports will continue until domestic production is up. To offset...