-The Telegraph Oil companies today announced the first cut in petrol prices since deregulation in June last year, citing global changes but gifting Mamata Banerjee a political victory. The petrol price will go down in Calcutta by Rs 2.31 a litre to Rs 70.84. “We had gained Rs 1.85 per litre, excluding all taxes, since the last price revision because of a fall in global Oil rates and a marginal appreciation in rupee...
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The environmental cost of diesel subsidy by Sunita Narain
Consider this. Every time petrol prices rise, Oil companies end up losing more money. How? The price differential between petrol and diesel increases further; people start buying diesel-powered vehicles so Oil firms bleed more. Even worse, we all bleed because dieselisation adds to toxic pollution in our cities. This, in turn, adds to the health burden and costs. This is all very well accepted. Yet, nobody has done anything to fix...
More »Fixing poverty line at Rs 32 per capita/day doesnt even guarantee a bare subsistence by Raghav Gaiha & Vani S Kulkarni
-The Economic Times The UPA government - especially the Planning Commission - has been taken to task for fixing a poverty line at a level (Rs 32 per capita/day in urban areas) that does not even guarantee a bare subsistence. In the medley of scathing critiques and rebuttals, three strands of arguments seem dominant. One is that the poverty line is utterly unrealistic as a measure of subsistence requirements of food, health...
More »Fuel price hike a reality: PM by Archis Mohan
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said rising prices of fuel were a reality Indians needed to deal with as any more subsidies in the Oil sector could destabilise the economy. The comment came days after Mamata Banerjee, his biggest ally at the Centre, warned that her Trinamul Congress would quit the ruling UPA if prices of kerosene, diesel and cooking gas were raised. Asked what he thought of the Bengal chief minister’s...
More »Education is a magic wand, Manmohan Singh tells children at RTE campaign
-PTI "Education gave me a new life.... It is a magic wand that can help us meet any challenge." This was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's message to students as Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal rang the school bell in this nondescript town in rustic Mewat region, marking the launch of the year-long 'Shiksha Ka Haq Abhiyan' campaign to create awareness about the Right To Education (RTE). The Prime Minister's message was read out...
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