-PTI Amid widening fiscal deficit, Prime Minister's economic advisory panel today suggested aligning Diesel Prices to global market in a phased manner and also raising excise and service taxes to pre-crisis level of 12%. Releasing the Review of the Economy: 2011-12, Chairman of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) C Rangarajan also pitched for deregulation of urea prices. Expressing concern over high fiscal deficit which is expected to overshoot the target of 4.6%...

The uncertainty over the Lokpal Bill has overshadowed an equally significant National Food Security Bill, which was cleared by the Union Cabinet last week and is to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The Bill has been in the eye of the storm over targeted coverage of beneficiaries as against universalisation in view of the immense ramifications for the aam aadmi , struggling with rising food prices. In the second...

Singapore spot market, not production costs, driving Indian petrol price Have you ever wondered why when petrol prices go up or down they do so uniformly across the retail outlets of the three oil marketing companies — Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum? If they are three different companies with their own refineries and distribution systems, then surely their costs and selling prices must be different? Welcome to the strange world...

-The Hindu   The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday refuted the “specious explanations” on inflation given by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying his statement hid the government's failure to check price rise. Reacting to his November 22 suo motu statement in Parliament, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said: “It is nothing but an exercise in deception to conceal the utter failure of the UPA government in checking the relentless price rise.” While referring...

Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels. “In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on...