From onions, sugar and coconuts, to tea, pulses, rice and spices, all kitchen ingredients will remain expensive in the New Year as unseasonal rains beyond the monsoon wipe out India’s major crops. Worse, rains are hampering the sowing of winter wheat, coarse grains and oilseeds, putting further pressure on food inflation that touched a two-and-a-half month high at 14.44% on Thursday. Across the country, farmers are helplessly watching their fields turn into...

Concerned at the rising food inflationary trend, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday hinted at more steps to check the rising prices, even as food inflation surged to a 10-week high of 14.44 per cent. The Cabinet Committee on Prices, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, met in the evening to review the situation and expressed concern at the spurt in the prices of eggs, fruits, Vegetables, milk and other...

The food bowl of the country figures pathetically low on hunger index — a statistical tool to measure the state of countries' hunger situation. Punjab lies below 33 other developing countries ranked by Global Hunger Index . Based on a publication by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, it was concluded that there is no link between economic progress and hunger. The IFPRI report was presented at the ongoing 93rd annual...

After Vegetables, now milk will also pinch consumers, as Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets dairy products under the brand Amul, on Tuesday announced a pan-India hike in milk prices by up to Rs 2 a litre. "We have increased prices of our various brands by Re 1 to Rs 1, which will come in to effect from December 30 in Gujarat and Delhi and by January 3 in other...

This allocation is in addition to 25 lakh tonnes of grains released for BPL population in August Ban on export of pulses and permission to import pulses at zero duty to continue till March 2012 The Centre on Tuesday announced an additional allocation of five million tonnes of wheat and rice to States for distribution to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) beneficiaries through the Targeted Public Distribution...