THE boom in demand for apparel and mobile phones may soon be over as Indians plan to spend less on fun and entertainment to deal with rising food prices, a Nielsen study says. Indian consumers are extremely cautious about rising food prices and a sizeable section may defer purchases by 6-12 months, says the latest Nielsen global consumer confidence index released on Monday. Some companies, including LG Electronics and Future Group, agreed...

If you thought only onion made headlines and governments fall, here is some more food for thought. The retail prices of brinjal soared 110% and those of tomato by 125% between the first weeks of November 2010 and January 2011, while the rise in crude oil paled in comparison, climbing about 12% in the same period. While import-dependent economies are struggling to keep their fiscal math in shape with crude...

The revised daily wage for NREGS workers is still lower than the minimum wages paid in several States. A CONTROVERSY seems to have surfaced between the Prime Minister's Office and the National Advisory Council (NAC) on the issue of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The NAC has been arguing for some time that there should be parity between wages under the National Rural Employment...

The Food and Agriculture Organisation has raised the red flag over a potential spike in global prices of sugar and cereals, especially wheat. Although India might just get away thanks to a bumper output this year, it could get caught in the spiralling milk and edible oil prices. In any case, the government has virtually thrown its hands in the air on taming fruit and vegetable prices. But it isn't just...

The Manmohan Singh government is digging an even bigger hole for itself by claiming there was no loss of revenue from the sweetheart sale of 2G spectrum to favoured corporate houses. “Milord,” cunning lawyers have argued in countless Hindi movies, “how can there have been a murder when there is no dead body?” I was reminded of this line when I heard Kapil Sibal — who has been performing as an...