Poor families may find it tough to pay for medical care, children's education “Recent gains in poverty reduction made in Asia will be undermined” Resurgent global food prices, which averaged 10 per cent in many economies and posted record increases in the first two months of 2011, may push nearly 30 million Indians and 64 million people in the Asian region into extreme poverty, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday. In...

Resurgent global food prices, which averaged 10 per cent in many economies and posted record increases in the first two months of this year, may push nearly 30 million Indians and 64 million people in the Asian region into extreme poverty, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday. In a report titled “Global Food Price Inflation and Developing Asia,” the Manila-based bank warned that a 10 per cent rise in...

Resurgent food prices, which rose by 10% on average in many regional economies in Asia this year, can push an additional 64 million people into extreme poverty, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report says. The study, titled, 'Global Food Price Inflation and Developing Asia', by the multilateral lending agency, finds that a 10% rise in domestic food prices could push an additional 64 million people, out of 3.3 billion people living...

The government may approve acquisitions of local drugmakers by global firms on a case-by-case basis on certain conditions to ensure availability of medicines at affordable prices, despite calls for restrictions on such deals in the wake of a spate of takeovers in the last three years. Multinationals may have to move buyout proposals through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), allowing the government to understand the firm's rationale for buying a...

According to the third advance estimate, India’s foodgrain production in the current farm year (to end in June 2011) will be a record 235.88 million tonnes, including an all-time high wheat output of 84.27 million tonnes against 81.47 million tonnes projected earlier. Ahead of the wheat harvest, the country had buffer foodgrain stock of 47 million tonnes at the start of 2011 in the central pool. A buffer close to double...