With food inflation hovering in the double digit bracket for most part of 2010-11 and the aam aadmi up in arms, all hopes were pinned on the Union Budget 2011-12 for giving a new fillip to the farm sector. But the budget has disappointed most, in spite of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee allocating Rs 14,744 crore for agriculture.
On 16 August, the government gave the green signal to blend 5 per cent ethanol with petrol, even as it hiked the price of ethanol from Rs 21.50 to Rs 27 per litre. And while the Planning Commission is examining the issue of ethanol blending and pricing in detail before it submits its final report later this year, this interim measure has left all sides dissatisfied.
This is also the reason why even wind-rich states such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka suffer power shortage. And this is also why wind energy is often used only for captive uses of industries instead of being utilised for wide-scale distribution to average consumers. This is much the same in other countries as well.
Rather uncharacteristically, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is actively intervening in critical issues such as Bt Brinjal and 3G (third generation) spectrum auction to resolve bottlenecks. And it seems to be working.
The agriculture ministry is preparing a contingency plan to prevent food shortage----------
For the first time in 30 years, India stares at the probability of a drought, which threatens to worsen the already precarious food demand-supply balance and plunge the country into a deeper food security crisis.
Manmohan Singh By the time you read this, some of the jostling for the key positions in the Cabinet will be over. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will be ready to begin its second innings. And everyone will be keenly watching if Manmohan Singh unveils any big bang steps to
Having excluded union territory-turned states Delhi and Goa from the overall state competitiveness rankings, it was impossible to ignore the National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi or rather the bigger whole that is the National Capital Region. The NCR is unique because of the intensity of population and its huge purchasing power as well as the agglomeration of businesses.
