-Live Mint The big question is whether commitment made by Chidambaram-to contain Fiscal Deficit at 4.8% of GDP-will be met With the current account deficit in check, the spotlight is now on the second major macroeconomic problem that needs to be fixed: the Fiscal Deficit. The big question is whether commitment made by finance minister P. Chidambaram in the budget-to contain the Fiscal Deficit at 4.8% of gross domestic product (GDP)-will be...

-PTI Allaying fears of a spurt in public expenditure ahead of Lok Sabha polls, finance minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said government will not compromise on fiscal discipline, notwithstanding the defeat of Congress in four states, including Delhi and Rajasthan. Inaugurating the Delhi Economic Conclave, Chidambaram blamed the states for "inaction" to check hoarding and said the incumbent government pays a price for high inflation. "The agenda, therefore, will be obvious. At the...

-Down to Earth India faces a surplus of foodgrains. Is exporting a good option? With India's grain mountain set to implode, the government is desperate to push the exports of rice and wheat. However, a global glut and the resulting depression of prices are dimming the prospects of foodgrain exports. According to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal agency for grain trade in the country, India is sitting on 34 million...

-The Business Standard Politics of populism will impact the government's fightback against inflation Mumbai: With the benefits of Food Security Bill failing to kick in, government is back to playing the card which many claim helped it win the previous election. It is looking to make a substantial hike in wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), according to a latest report by Economic times. A panel...

-The Asian Age Reserve Bank deputy governor K.C. Chakraborty has finally set the record straight on what is well known in left-wing development circles: that Corporate India's loans waived by banks are more (over Rs. 1 lakh crore in the past 13 years) than farm loans to the tune of Rs. 60,000 crores written off under the Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme. More revealing is that medium and large units have...