-Outlook Patna: The Bihar government would bear the interest rate above 7 per cent on loans taken by Self Help Groups (SHGs), Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today. The SHGs paying loan on time would be given incentive by providing loan at a lower interest rate of 4 per cent, Kumar said addressing a review meeting of "Jeevika" (Bihar state rural livelihood mission) here. Banks are at present providing loan to SHGs at...

-The Hindustan Times Prices of almost all everyday products and services - from food to footwear and movie tickets to medicines - saw a sharp rise in October, pushing retail inflation to 10.09%, the highest in seven months. Costlier onions and tomatoes saw retail inflation - a measure of prices that are asked of you at a shop - cross the double-digit mark for the first time in seven months, indicating Indians...

-Deccan Chronicle Hyderabad: The rising prices are driving people from the lower income groups in the city into extreme poverty. These groups earn about Rs 5,000 per month and most of it goes towards house rent and food, leaving nothing for their children's education and health needs. The rising prices of rice, cereals, vegetables are fo-rcing the urban poor to cut back on the quantity and quality of their food resulting in food...

-The Hindu India should take its cue from Brazil and invest in ethanol as a viable commercial substitute for costly petrol The public and media were outraged recently after a suggestion that petrol stations could be closed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. to curb consumption. Oil import is the heaviest burden on India's foreign exchange, at $144 billion last year. The situation could get worse, given the potential for an increase...

-The Indian Express In Gujarat, growth relies on indebtedness. And relegates development. The Gujarat pattern of development has often been arraigned from the left because of its social deficits. Indeed, the state's social indicators do not match its economic performance. With 23 per cent of its citizens living below the poverty line in 2010, Gujarat does better than the Indian average - 29.8 per cent - but it reduced this proportion by...