-The Business Standard   After lingering tantalisingly close to 10 per cent for about a month-and-a-half, food inflation climbed to double digits for the week ended October 8, signalling that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may continue with its tight monetary stance in its policy review later this month despite the economy showing signs of a slowdown in growth. As protein-based items turned dearer, wholesale price-based annual food inflation rose by a whopping...

In a major breakthrough Tuesday, researchers announced that the vaccine candidate RTS,S reduces the risk of malaria by half in children ages five to 17 months, first results from a continuing phase three trial showed. The results have tremendous implications, as malaria is responsible for nearly 800,000 deaths annually. The disease kills one child every 45 seconds in Africa, where it accounts for approximately 20 percent of childhood deaths, according to...

-The Economic Times   Chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu has said that part of the blame for the sustained high inflation in India must go to rising wages.  Basu believes that labour cost differences between the developed and labour-surplus countries such as India that have been in existence for a long time have now started narrowing which is feeding into higher prices within the country.  "The reason for inflationary pressures in India is that...

The members of Bhartiya Kisan Union on Tuesday threatened to take a six-month holiday every year for 10 years from framing if the government fails to take note of the hardship faced by farmers over rising prices and acquisition of farm land for commercial activity. Rakesh Tikait of Uttar Pradesh said with increasing input costs, farmers were finding it difficult to cultivate round the year. “If the government does not pay...

-The Economic Times   If food inflation seems to be pinching more, it is because vegetable prices barely decline in winters, milk rises through the year and egg prices remain high in summers - all because of rising demand.  Over the years, the seasonal variation in prices has dropped and consumers do not have the option of shifting to cheaper produce to keep daily costs down, says a recent Reserve Bank of India...