-The Economic Times It is ironical that food inflation surged to around 18% in August when agriculture is the primary hope in the economy. The culprit was mainly vegetables and, within that, onions. Onions are once again in the news due to steep rise in retail prices by almost 25% in a fortnight. Safal outlets in Delhi have set the price at Rs 60 per kg whereas some other retailers are charging...
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July inflation accelerates to 5.79%: Government
-PTI NEW DELHI: Rising prices of onions and other vegetables pushed inflation to a five-month high of 5.79 per cent in July even as the government and RBI battled to stabilise the rupee. Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was at 4.86 per cent in June. In July 2012, it was 7.52 per cent. The July number is above the Reserve Bank's comfort level of 4-5 per cent inflation. This is...
More »Deciding who gets to eat -Brinda Karat
-The Hindu By allowing futures trade in food and diversion of farm land for commercial purposes, the UPA government is fuelling the price rise International agencies are warning of high food prices on a global scale in 2013 if urgent action is not taken. But our government shows little concern. The President’s address to Parliament had only a cursory mention of inflation. “Inflation is easing gradually, but is still a problem,” he...
More »A futures shock from FCI-Devinder Sharma
-The Business Standard Turning the country's food procurement agency into an international trader will fan inflation and hunger At a time when the Global Hunger Index 2012 ranks India 65th among 79 countries, K V Thomas, minister of state for food and public distribution and consumer affairs, has revealed that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will soon trade wheat in the futures market. Seeking clearance from the Forward Markets Commission, the...
More »Like US, agriculture ministry needs a wing to collate dependable farm data-Tejinder Narang
-The Economic Times The fear of drought in India has abated with late precipitation of the monsoon in September this year. However, the country continues to suffer from a drought of formalised tabulated data of agro items on a real-time or monthly basis, though many estimates continue to fatigue the print and electronic media. Red or green prices flashing on computer screens are taken for 'granted', but the discovery of future or...
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