There is some respite expected for India in terms of prices of imported commodities. This may ease the depletion of its foreign exchange reserves. The country has faced a widening of its merchandise trade deficit from US$ -17.91 billion to US$ -26.91 billion between October 2021 and October 2022. The commodity price data provided by the World Bank in December 2022 (termed as The Pink Sheet) shows that energy prices plummeted by...

-ThePrint.in Three-fourths of the full-time workers on Indian farms are women because men move to cities. Yet, there was little attention to uplifting them and their finances. There was a time when women’s work in agriculture and animal husbandry was rarely counted. But according to the 2015-16 Agriculture Census, 11.72 per cent of the total operated area in the country was operated by female holders. Civil society assessments suggest that three-fourths of...

-The Hindu A critical facet of the consequences of an interest rate increase is the correction of asset prices. Interest rates act as gravity to stock market prices The Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world have raised interest rates to curb inflation. The rationale behind raising interest rates is that the cost of borrowing rises whenever they are raised, and the incentive to save and invest rather than consume...

-TheIndiaForum.in Since 2015, there has been a sharp rise in farmer suicides in Punjab. Farmers in the state borrow large loans at high interest rates; some of which is used for consumption. According to official data, 51% of farmer suicides in Punjab are due to a high level of indebtedness, mostly to institutions. Farmer suicides are back in focus. Media reports suggest that in April 2022 alone 14 Punjab farmers died by...

-The Hindu Health workers need better remuneration and safety guarantee, not just awards Recognition very often goes to those at the top of the pecking order, and stays there. Credit seldom trickles down to the worker at the bottom. The World Health Organization’s act of recognising India’s ASHA (accredited social health activists) and the polio workers of Afghanistan is an attempt to right that wrong. It is a rare, and commendable doffing...