Food prices have hit a 10-year-high as supply shortages due to poor monsoon and floods in some parts finally bit hard, forcing a worried government to announce a step-up in imports and strengthening expectations of RBI tightening policy to stop a breakout of inflation in the wider economy. Prices of potato, other vegetables and pulses drove inflation to 19.95% in the year to December 5, surging from 19% in the...

The recession was less calamitous than many feared. Its aftermath will be more dangerous than many expect IT HAS become known as the “Great Recession”, the year in which the global economy suffered its deepest slump since the second world war. But an equally apt name would be the “Great Stabilisation”. For 2009 was extraordinary not just for how output fell, but for how a catastrophe was averted. Twelve months ago,...

Cutting emissions drastically is neither easy nor cheap, so the developed world is looking for scapegoats. As you read this, a deal is possibly being signed at Copenhagen to save the world from climate change. But be very clear. The agreement which the world has waited for is not going to be either an effective deal or a fair deal to reduce emissions in the world. The reason is clear: The...

India's Supreme Court has admitted a plea to end the life of a woman who has been in a vegetative state since 1973. Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse in Mumbai (Bombay), has been paralysed and considered "brain-dead" since she was attacked by a rapist in November 1973. The plea has been made by a journalist who has written a book on Ms Shanbaug. The court will examine if the plea is "akin...

India needs to initiate a number of steps to manage the emerging situation.  After three consecutive good years, agricultural production has faltered in the last two years. There was a fall in production to the tune of 1.6 per cent in 2008-2009 compared to the previous year. This year, again, agricultural production is likely to be down by 2 per cent or more. The deceleration in the growth of foodgrain...