India lives in its villages, Gandhi said. But increasingly, the people of India are dying on its roads. India overtook China to top the world in road fatalities in 2006 and has continued to pull steadily ahead, despite a heavily agrarian population, fewer people than China and far fewer cars than many Western countries. While road deaths in many other big emerging markets have declined or stabilized in recent years,...

"It is wrong to say that we will become a super cabinet. We are here to get the Indian bureaucracy to see reason to carry forward social projects related to areas like health, food, agriculture speedily and make sure that people like (Planning Commission deputy chairman) Montek Singh Ahluwalia gets the correct picture and figures on social issues," a member of the National Advisory Council told rediff.com. The member argued...

vineyard owners of Maharashtra who export grapes are worried. The Euro-pean Union rejected their table grape consignments in mid-April as they were found containing traces of chlormequat chloride, a plant growth regulator. The export of table grapes (these are consumed directly unlike grapes that go into wine making) was halted immediately. The farmers are facing losses of about Rs 300 crore, media reported. “My son-in-law had exported two containers (30...

India's annual food inflation edged up for the second week, rising to 16.49% for the week ended May 8 as shown by the official data released on Thursday. The food inflation stood at 16.44% the previous week, up from 16.04% for the week ended April 24. Data on the wholesale price index (WPI) released by the commerce and industry ministry showed that food inflation rose though the index for this...

The demand for restoration of caste-based census got a solid boost on Tuesday, with members of the Union Cabinet making a forceful pitch for the enumeration of OBCs nationally. A decision on the issue was deferred as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed detailed discussions, and there are indications that inclusion of caste as one of the criteria for the census may not be possible for the exercise that is already...