-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Finance Economic Outlook, Prospects and Policy Challenges Macroeconomic fundamentals in 2014-15 have dramatically improved. Highlights are: * Inflation has declined by over 6 percentage points since late 2013. * The current account deficit has declined from a peak of 6.7 percent of GDP (in Q3, 2012-13) to an estimated 1.0 percent in the coming fiscal year. * Foreign portfolio flows have stabilized the rupee, exerting downward pressure on long-term interest...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Justifying retention of penal provision of Section 66A of Information Technology Act for posting offensive material on social networking sites, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that reach and impact of internet was wider and the level of restriction on this medium should be higher in comparison to print and television. Unlike print and electronic media, the web did not exist and operate in...

-Business Standard Intellectual property policy should focus on implementation A preliminary draft of a new intellectual property rights policy for India has been the occasion for much discussion. Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman even felt it necessary to assert on Twitter that the proposed revamp is not meant to appease the United States, given that this remains a major outstanding irritant in relations between the two countries. The government has argued that the...

-The New Indian Express   BALANGIR: The ongoing socio-economic survey to prepare the beneficiary list for the National Food Security Act (NFSA) is scheduled to be completed next month. The process, though, is going to leave out lakhs of migrants from Western Odisha districts, Balangir in particular, who will not be able to enrol themselves. This is because the seasonal migration cycle, which begins from September to June will deny the migrants a...

-The Hindu With India continuing to be plagued by malnutrition, it is foolhardy to use the changed food production situation in the domestic economy as a reason for dismantling the FCI Within months of assuming office, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government set up a High Level Committee (HLC) in August 2014 to restructure, reorient and reform the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The eight-member HLC was chaired by senior BJP leader,...