-The Times of India Making a strong pitch for raising diesel prices, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan on Wednesday said there was a need to revise prices to reduce the huge subsidy burden and bring down the fiscal deficit.  While releasing the economic review for 2011-12, Rangarajan said it was earlier agreed to deregulate diesel prices but the decision was never implemented. He advocated a phased deregulation of diesel...

-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%...

Agrarian distress and growing awareness among farmers, tired of poll-time rhetoric and freebies, may make it tougher for political parties to woo this large electorate with worn-out promises in the upcoming assembly polls.  Ahead of elections in five states, including in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous and politically-critical state, many farmers say they are ready to pay market rates for power and other inputs provided there is reliable supply.  Swarn Singh,...

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...

Buying and running cars and two-wheelers could soon become a costly affair with a Planning Commission working group suggesting a green surcharge of Rs 2 on every litre of petrol, a green cess of 3% of the annual insured value of all private vehicles and a steep urban transport tax to be collected at the time of purchase of private vehicles.  The panel, headed by Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan, has...