The report of the Rangarajan Committee scrutinizing proposals of the National Advisory Council for the National Food Security Bill makes for a very instructive read. It's official now: UPA II is on a death wish, and it could not have been articulated better. The alacrity with which the prime minister set up this committee (remember, he could not find time in three years to convene the nutrition council he chairs)...

Food prices around the world surged to a new historic peak in January, for the seventh consecutive month, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today, adding that the prices are not likely to decline in the months ahead. According to the FAO, its latest Food Price Index, a commodity basket that tracks monthly changes in global food prices, averaged 231 points in January and was up 3.4 per...

THE boom in demand for apparel and mobile phones may soon be over as Indians plan to spend less on fun and entertainment to deal with rising food prices, a Nielsen study says. Indian consumers are extremely cautious about rising food prices and a sizeable section may defer purchases by 6-12 months, says the latest Nielsen global consumer confidence index released on Monday. Some companies, including LG Electronics and Future Group, agreed...

The promise made by UPA II that it will ensure food security for Indians through legislation that guarantees the Right to Food seems, in its view, to have been an error. In a multi-stage process that reflects the pulls and pressures within the policy-making elite, the Food Security Bill has been diluted so much that it marks a reversal rather than an advance compared to the status quo. Let us...

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) today cautioned on rampant speculations in the global commodity markets which is fuelling unprecedented price hikes around the world, with worst effects on poor countries such as India. "Financial speculation in global commodities trade is a source for concern as it contributed to steep price hikes," UNCTAD's Secretary General Supachai Panitchpakdi said on the sidelines of a special meeting convened by UNCTAD...