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 Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has asked the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to ask the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry to raise the controversial matter of Dow Chemical sponsorship for the London Olympics 2012 with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This should be done through the National Olympic Committee in view of the strong public opinion within India. The sponsorship issued has led to outrage among the Bhopal tragedy victims...

The failure of timely intervention by the state government as regards the woes of cotton growers of Vidarbha seems to have only added to the agrarian crisis. The suicide by six more cotton growers of the region in the last 72 hours paints a grim picture of the correlation between the government’s inaction and distressed farmers driven to take the extreme step.   Reports reaching here on Thursday said that among the...

Four deadly cobras among 40 snakes unleashed by farmers in latest anti-corruption protest in northern India Two farmers fed up with bribery demands have dumped three sacks filled with snakes on the floor of a busy tax office in northern India. The 40 or so snakes of different sizes and species, including at least four deadly cobras, sent clerks and villagers climbing on to tables and scurrying out of the door to...

-The Hindu   In a show of audacity, the United Progressive Alliance government has decided to further open up the retail trade sector to foreign investment. Foreign investors will be permitted to enter the hitherto prohibited multi-brand retail segment and hold equity of up to 51 per cent in the units established. That there is widespread political opposition to this change in policy was known for long. Hence, the move is nothing...