-The Business Standard   Food articles inflation dips to 8.64% compared to 9.9% in March Wholesale Price Index-based Inflation fell by 0.5 percentage points to 5.2 per cent in April from 5.7 per cent in March, providing some relief to a new government amid other deteriorating macroeconomic numbers such as retail inflation and industrial output. All three major components of the index - food, fuel and manufactured goods - recorded moderation in inflation on...

-The Business Standard   Or, why our subsidy and tax policies have been almost exactly wrong Thomas Piketty's seminal book on inequality, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, comes at a fortuitous time. Although inequality has been a well-discussed issue in India for some time now, the success of the book contributes by sharpening the debate. It complements the McKinsey Global Institute's (MGI) report titled "From poverty to empowerment: India's imperative for jobs, growth,...

-Frontline   Political parties flush with funds provided by corporate houses are winning over journalists, and some news organisations are creating packages for election coverage, making the phenomenon of ‘paid news' all pervasive. THE credibility of journalism and journalists has been greatly undermined by the scourge of cash for coverage, a much-abhorred sickness in the profession worldwide. News space on television, radio and newsprint is compromised with impunity with blatant advertising parading...

-Live Mint   Strong political commitment is needed to build a system of universal health coverage and better regulations   Life expectancy in India has more than doubled since independence, to 65 years, from just 32 in 1950. The infant mortality rate has been cut by two-thirds since 1971. Smallpox and guinea worm have been eradicated, the spread of HIV/AIDS has been contained, and the World Health Organization has declared India polio-free.   Yet for all...

-Down to Earth Studies indicate high food inflation As Met office predicts below normal rainfall because of El Nino this year, a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has projected a 1.75 per cent GDP reduction and loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the unskilled sector. The report released recently says that five per cent deficit rainfall forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) will...