-The Indian Express For tomato, however, the difference jumped from 4 per cent on July 8 to 100 per cent on August 8. A month after the central government brought onions and potatoes under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and empowered states to put stockholding limits on these vegetables to rein in hoarders, the difference between their wholesale and retail prices has not reduced. And in the case of other kitchen staples such...

-The Telegraph In her recent book, Green Wars, the environmental journalist Bahar Dutt, writes: "The editor of a leading media house, everytime I pitched a green story, would invariably complain: ‘Environmentalism is stalling growth; all I am interested in is double-digit growth for this country.'" The idea that environmental protection and economic progress are at odds is widely held among India's elite. It is shared by newspaper editors, economists, businessmen, and, not...

-The Financial Express World Bank's latest data suggests realisation of millenium development goals may not be far off. Reduction of poverty and hence, how it is measured, has long been a contentious political economy issue in India. There is general discomfort every time the headcount ratio of the number of poor, based upon an accepted methodology recommended by an expert committee, declines; this then triggers a process to revisit known issues by...

-The Financial Express Thiruvananthapuram: Following the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, Palakkadan Matta rice from North Kerala has started going the mobile app-based retailing way. Following the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, Palakkadan Matta rice from North Kerala has started going the mobile app-based retailing way. A farm specialising in Palakkadan Matta has launched a mobile application that facilitates retailing of the rice and rice products to supply anywhere in India....

-The Hindu The gulf between statistics and substance is not easily bridged. The number of rape cases registered in the country may conceal the reality in two significant ways. First, only a small proportion of the rapes are reported at all. Secondly, a significant number of rape cases relate to consensual sex but have been criminalised by circumstances. The Hindu's six-month investigation into cases of sexual assault in Delhi has...