The Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), began its three-day deliberations on Wednesday amid expectations of a status quo on benchmark rate mainly on account of uncertainty over the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the fears of firming inflation may also refrain the MPC from tinkering with the interest rate in its bi-monthly monetary policy outcome to be announced on Friday. The RBI had kept key interest rates unchanged at the last MPC meeting held in April.
Since jobs will remain scarce for the foreseeable future, an unemployment allowance should be the next big social-security initiative, suggests T N Ninan.
Declining vegetable prices brought down the retail inflation to a 15-month low of 4.59 per cent in December and within the comfort zone of the Reserve Bank, government data showed on Tuesday. It is for the first time during the current fiscal that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation print is below 6 per cent or in the RBI's target range of 2 to 6 per cent. The central bank factors in the CPI-based inflation while arriving at its monetary policy. The inflation in December 2020 came down from 6.93 per cent in November, mainly on account of 10.41 per cent decline in vegetable prices over the year-ago period.
India has been relatively insulated from the severe headwinds in the West. However, with a third of the global economy expected to slip into recession in calendar year 2023, the impact will strongly be felt on India's exports and trade economy, leading economists said in a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit in Mumbai on Wednesday. The panel comprised former Reserve Bank of India executive director and former Monetary Policy Committee member Mridul Saggar, State Bank of India Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Citibank India Chief Economist Samiran Chakraborty, ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar, and IndusInd Bank Chief Economist Gaurav Kapoor. The topic of the panel discussion was No recession in sight: Is India decoupled from developed economies?
The four incumbents -- Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal -- are likely to be re-elected. All four are from the Democratic party.
The people will view it from their viewpoint, their immediate interest, historical experiences, their insecurities, he said.
'When you love someone, you have to love him, without looking at his past. Everyone has a past.'
Dietician Komal Jethmalani provides expert help.
Currently, the retail inflation is well below the RBI's comfort level. The government has asked the central bank to keep inflation in the range of 4 per cent.
Airline flight attendants reveal the craziest requests they have received from passengers!
A look back at many memorable moments in his life as Prince Charles.
The symptoms have reduced and she is now stable, authorities at Victoria Hospital where Sasikala is being treated said on Sunday. Her sister-in-law J Ilavarasi, who is also serving a prison term in the corruption case, has tested positive for coronavirus and has been admitted to Victoria Hospital.
'Then, one fine morning, I returned to my first love.' 'All the top directors of the time were waiting for me.' 'In one day, I signed 12 films.' 'Prosenjit Chatterjee was back!'
'On that day, I decided no matter what harm comes my way, I am going out to help the poor.'
MasterChef Australia Season 13 winner Justin Narayan speaks about his Indian roots.
The 25-member team returned to Rishikesh on Monday after traversing a distance of 1,158 km on foot braving the vagaries of the weather in highly difficult terrain in 50 days.
The beauty of foreplay lies in its nature of being unpredictable, the more you indulge in it, the better it gets, advises Divya Sethi, sexual wellness expert at Domina by Pee Safe, a feminine hygiene brand.
'Nobody is talking about the inequality that is going to come.'
Spiralling prices pinched the pocket of consumer as edible oil, fuel and many other commodities turned dearer this year amid pandemic-induced disruptions but the inflationary pressure is anticipated to ease, though marginally, in the coming months. As consumers, at retail as well as wholesale levels, are willy-nilly learning to live with the new normal of curbs to contain the spread of coronavirus infections, experts are of the view that elevated inflation is likely to stay longer. After dealing with the devastating blows from the second COVID wave, especially during the April-June period, the economy is well on the revival path but the emergence of Omicron might unsettle the recovery trajectory in the short term.
The spicy mathris are a good substitute for biscuits at tea-time.
Unfazed by the widespread criticism of his comments against the Hindi film The Kashmir Files, Israeli director and IFFI international jury chair Nadav Lapid said he stands by his remarks as he "knows how to recognise propaganda disguised as a movie".
In a premise begging for food porn, there's a shocking scarcity of sensory pleasure or vision. You'll see more gastronomic delights in the two-minute trailer of the original Chef than in this entire movie, feels Sukanya Verma.
As the second wave of the pandemic ebbs and the daily caseload falls, the struggles of the urban poor have come into focus. Many have suffered income and job losses after two successive waves. The second wave, in particular, has seen the poor being hit hard on account of lack of medical and financial help. For the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies this has meant that an important segment is under severe distress.
'For a very long time I could not bring myself to watch several of their films because I couldn't see them depressed, in trouble or dead on screen.' 'It was hard to separate my parents from their characters, so I stayed away.' 'It was only after I became an actor that it became a job requirement.'
Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com shares his food pics from Darjeeling and Gangtok.
Wellness expert Roopashree Sharma answers your health queries.
The Indian women's hockey team launched an 18-day fun fitness challenge starting on Friday to raise funds towards helping the poor and migrant families whose lives have been affected due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the challenge aims to raise crowdfunding for the cause, the movement also encourages people to use this opportunity to adapt to an active lifestyle during the nation-wide lockdown that has been extended till May 3, 2020.
The central government has said it will look into the matter.
Aseem Chhabra highlights 10 films that moved him, films that may show up in theatres near you.
India's manufacturing sector activities improved in September as companies benefited from strengthening demand conditions amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) improved from 52.3 in August to 53.7 in September, indicating a stronger expansion in overall business conditions across the sector. The September PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the third straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
'When women are independent financially, they will never take crap.'
After unseasonal rains, supply disruptions and pandemic-induced woes pushed retail inflation well over the Reserve Bank's comfort zone in 2020, the scenario is likely to stay that way at least in the short term as economic recovery slowly gains foothold. For most part of this year, pricier food items pushed the retail inflation, based on Consumer Price Index (CPI), higher in the range of 6.58-7.61 per cent, except for March when the reading was 5.91 per cent. Experts believe retail inflation is likely to average around 6.3 per cent this fiscal and mostly will remain sticky going forward owing to pick-up in demand across sectors.
'The middle class needs to be made aware of the migrants's plight.'
Believe it or not, your skin can tell you a lot about your stress level.
The airport has formulated standard operating procedures for post-lockdown safety of the passengers, which include social distancing, stringent thermal screening, positioning temporary quarantine centres and also continues to sanitise and disinfect the airport to ensure safety and well-being of the passengers when operations resume.
The inclination for sex also increases because the messiness of periods, the need for contraception and the fear of pregnancy are over, the nest is empty and her partner retired, with all the time in the world at their disposal to indulge in such activities, which makes them enjoy it all the more!
The inflation in the food basket spiked to 7.89 per cent in October 2019 as against 5.11 per cent the preceding month.
Some companies argue that the culture of staying, working and learning at home will persist for a while, altering lifestyle habits of consumers.
Yogini and wellness entrepreneur Radhika Iyer Talati tells you how simple modifications in your lifestyle can help you lead a healthy life.
