For LPG and kerosene subsidy, government has to make up from petrol, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia he government should use its money on building schools and hospitals than subsidising oil companies, which were making huge profits because of grant, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said. “The profits shown by the oil companies are largely due to subsidies. We are not supposed to be subsidising the oil companies ... we...

Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto turned classical capitalism on its head with his trickle-up theory: that if you create wealth at the bottom of the pyramid, it will find its way up. de Soto, president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, speaks to The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta on NDTV’s Walk the Talk on the need for the poor to be able to participate in the global economy...

The world’s largest and most comprehensive database on food, agriculture and hunger is now open to the public, free of charge, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today. Previously, it was possible to download a limited amount of information from FAOSTAT, but access to large amounts of data required a paid annual subscription. The database contains over one million data points covering more than 200 countries and territories. Hafez Ghanem,...

Earlier this week, India's opposition parties came together in a rare show of unity to take to the streets in cities across the country. They protested against the government's recent decision to raise fuel prices after it scrapped its subsidy of petrol prices in an effort to cut the budget deficit. Supporters of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party joined hands with their ideological rivals among the Communists to paralyse normal life in...

A Kanpur couple has alleged their 10-year-old son died because roadblocks set up for the Prime Minister’s visit to the city prevented the family from taking the child to hospital in time. Aman Khan, a Class 2 student, suffered head injuries on July 3 after the iron gate at his home in Shyam Nagar fell on him. His parents tried to take him to a hospital but were allegedly delayed because...