-Live Mint Step is another sign of government intent to move towards direct transfer for all programmes The Union cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal that will eventually lead to the direct transfer of cash subsidies to farmers for fertilizer, two weeks after it put in place the architecture to enable such a transition. The step is another sign of the government’s intent to move towards a regime of direct transfer of cash...

-The Indian Express The government’s proposal to price-control certain drugs will create more problems than it will solve From clothes to cars, prices of consumer products the world over are determined taking into account input costs, margins and competition, popularly called the cost-based pricing system. Departing from this sound, fair, tried and tested principle of commerce, the government’s new drug pricing policy, approved by the Group of Ministers headed by Sharad Pawar,...

-Mainstream Weekly Intense and motivated propaganda, powerful national and international diplomatic pressure, verging on pure and simple arms-twisting of the kind the Third World has been facing for decades by means of the active role of the econo-mic hit-men in the policy establishments, huge cash-back lobbying, both in India and abroad, blunt attempts to bamboozle the persons holding key positions in India’s policy establishment through a combination of hissing and kissing...

-The Times of India Market leader IndianOil on Monday reduced petrol price by 56 paise to pass on to consumers the benefit of the rupee's growing strength against the dollar in recent times. The fuel will cost Rs 67.90 a litre at IndianOil's pumps in Delhi against Rs 68.46 due to higher incidence of state tax while the price in Mumbai will come down by 71 paise to Rs 74.43 a litre....

-Tehelka Policy flaw lets private players jack up prices and siphon off massive government subsidies. TO DROUGHTS and abject poverty, farmers can add another crisis: sky-rocketing fertiliser prices. The issue has prompted eight chief ministers of large states to seek the intervention of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers (MoCF) in the matter. Consider, for example, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MoP), two fertilisers that used to have massive demand...