-PTI Soaring inflation, high fuel cost, rising cost of education and health insurance premiums have eroded the real incomes of middle-class Indian families, with household savings rates dropping by a staggering 40 per cent in the last three years, says an Assocham survey. "Poor households are unable to maintain the consumption levels at current prices while middle income families find their purchasing power erode fast, thus having far less surplus money," Assocham...

-Live Mint NSSO data show that slower pace of jobs creation between 2004-05 and 2011-12 reflects a fall in distressed farm employment Tracing the pace of new jobs created in an economy, a key electoral issue, is a good indicator of inclusive and balanced growth. But in a developing country such as India, the nature of new employment is often as important as the total number of jobs created. The changes...

-DNA An allocation of Rs 17,700 crore in the 2013-2014 Union Budget but not a single accountable rupee spent for pre-school education or a plate of food for the homeless children in Mumbai. Yoshita Sengupta investigates the absence of homeless children from ICDS registers Mumbai: In 2010, Ms. Rekha, a homeless woman living on the footpath in Mumbai in her last month of pregnancy, slipped while trying to cross a wall. She...

-WageIndicator.org   The report entitled: "Gender Pay Gap in the Formal Sector: 2006-2013 -WageIndicator Data Report (Preliminary Evidences from Paycheck India Data)" aims at quantifying the magnitude of gender-based disparities that women face in the organized sector of the Indian labour market, and track their progress over time. The extent of the gender pay gap is measured on various parameters such as age, educational qualifications, industry, work experience, designation, level of...

-The Times of India BANGALORE: Probably it's time to take a closer look at what's on your platter. Cypermethrin, heptachlor, quinalphos, aldrin, chlorodane, dichlorvas, cypermethrin - these banned pesticides could well be a part of your regular diet. Okras, leafy green cabbages and other vegetables, bananas or oranges and apples that you so relish may be overloaded with some of these harmful pesticides. A study by the Food Safety and Standards Authority...