Food

Business

Food price hikes: Reforms needed in supply chain management, says RBI

August 18, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: India should introduce major reforms in food supply management for increased efficiency and productivity gains, and enable “stable prices for consumers, assured supplies, and remunerative proceeds for farmers”, a research team of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said. For this purpose, it said, India needs to adopt a sound […]

Business

Lifestyle: Fruits and veg brand Pluckk partners with Kareena Kapoor Khan

August 10, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Mumbai: Pluckk, India’s leading lifestyle-oriented fresh fruit and vegetables brand, has partnered with actor Kareena Kapoor Khan as an investor and brand ambassador. Mumbai-based Pluckk, India’s first plastic-neutral f&v brand founded in 2021, offers over 400 items across more than 15 categories, including essentials, exotics, hydroponics, and cuts and mixes. The diverse catalog also includes […]

Business

Confidence: From fragile to foremost economy in 9 years, says Sitharaman

August 10, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Asserting that the Indian economy is currently the fastest-growing in the world, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that a global ranking company has moved its rating for India from fragile to foremost in the last 9 years of the Narendra Modi government. Addressing the Lok Sabha during the […]

Business

Contraction: As post-Covid recovery falters, China’s economy slips into deflation

August 9, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: The world’s second-largest economy, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), slipped into deflation in July for the first time in over two years as slowing domestic spending, and waning exports and imports, weigh heavily on the post-Covid economic recovery. The shock came a day after reports, quoting official data, emerged […]

Business

Roving Periscope: Ukraine sees the Jeddah peace talks as positive; but it’s negative for Russia

August 7, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: After nearly 18 months of relentless and destructive war, Ukraine has termed the fresh round of peace talks hosted by Saudi Arabia “productive” while Russia has called it a “doomed attempt.” On August 5, the Saudis hosted the National Security Advisors’ Meeting on this matter in their capital Jeddah. NSA […]

Business

Pakistan, again: PM Shehbaz Sharif to dissolve Parliament on August 9

August 4, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif will dissolve the National Assembly, the Lower House of the bicameral Parliament, on August 9, and seek fresh elections, the media reported on Friday. Next Wednesday, he will send formal advice to the President for the dissolution of the National Assembly. On Thursday, […]

Business

Economy: Services PMI jumps to 62.3 in July, the highest in over 13 years

August 3, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: India’s services activity shot up sharply from a Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of 58.5 in June to 62.3 in July, a report from the S&P Global Market Intelligence said on Thursday. At 62.3, the July services PMI is the highest point in over 13 years, vis-à-vis the last time’s peak […]

Business

Roving Periscope: The US re-engages Taliban, may push them against China

August 1, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Few could have missed the real reason why the US forces, armed to the teeth, suddenly fled from Afghanistan in 2021, in the dead of night, and without even informing then President Hamid Karzai, their own protégé. No superpower worth its firepower would stew in its own juice. Of course, […]

Business

Race for rice: India’s ban on exporting non-basmati triggers panic buying in the US

July 27, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Close on the heels of Russia exiting the Black Sea Agreements and bombing Ukraine’s last granaries, thus triggering a possible food scarcity in many countries, India’s ban on white rice exports has also panicked many people worldwide. After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed concern at India’s June 20 ban […]

Business

Pakistan: Now, even its Army chief wants to “throw away the begging bowl!”

July 25, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Two things that ‘distinguish’ Pakistan from other countries is that it never ceases to surprise others and that it has a vicarious sense of humor. Even the worst socio-political and economic crises have not changed Pakistan a bit. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif was the first to admit in […]