-PTI Indicating that its nearly three- year-old battle with inflation is not yet over and a loose monetary policy is still far off, the Reserve Bank today said the near-term inflation trajectory still remains sticky on the back of weak monsoon, higher support price for farm crops and the falling rupee. Headline inflation persisted above 7 per cent during the first quarter of the fiscal due to a rebound in food rates...

-The Economic Times Sales of inverters and batteries jumped about 30% for the quarter to June, as a delayed monsoon pushed up power consumption in energy-deficient India.  Manufacturers of power backup systems say they expect good profits this year, as the increase in sales will offset the rise in input costs due to a weak rupee. The country's largest battery maker Exide Industries said growth was robust despite a 4%-5% rise in prices....

-The Times of India The present food Bill legalises the injustices of a targeted distribution system A national campaign throughout the month of July on issues related to food security and against rising prices will culminate in a five-day sit-in protest in Delhi beginning today. These are issues fundamental to the well-being of the majority of our people and therefore deserve national support.   With the spectre of drought haunting the countryside, speculators, hoarders...

-Business Today "I want it back," says Sharada Begum. The 67-year-old woman is a member of one of the 100 households of Raghubir Nagar, a resettlement colony in west Delhi, chosen to participate in a pilot scheme that aimed to turn the public distribution system (PDS) on its head. Through all of 2011, these households had Rs 1,000 transferred every month to a woman member's bank account in lieu of rice, wheat,...

-The Economic Times The food and consumer affairs ministry plans stern action to curb any speculative trading of grains in the futures market after an emergency meeting slated for later this week to review the price situation. Food and consumer affairs minister KV Thomas is taking a daily stock of prices as the country grapples with a below- normal monsoon. "After reviewing the situation in the futures market, we will send the...