In Delhi, the wholesale price is now Rs 48-52 a kg; the retail one is Rs 80 a kg.
For July-September, it pegged CPI-based retail inflation at 4.2 per cent which it saw firming up to 4.8 per cent in the second half of the current fiscal.
NITI Aayog has been working on an action plan to relieve rural distress and energise the agricultural sector
The NITI Aayog, in a concept note floated a few months back, had suggested three models of procurement but the Centre, at least for the time being, has decided to rely on existing PSS schemes along with giving states the option of choosing Bhawantar Bhugtan for oilseeds.
The recent improvement in consumer sentiment is almost entirely a rural India story. Much of the corporate sector reposes faith in rural India to fuel its growth, observes Mahesh Vyas.
'I hope the trend is sustainable and that economic activity accelerates going forward.'
With rainfall and monsoons becoming highly unpredictable partly due to climate change and partly due to usual changes in weather patterns, it is such innovations by IMD which will help in planning better, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
In the context of RBI's view that the real interest rate, defined as the repo rate less "look forward" CPI, should be around 150-200 basis points.
The India meteorological department has stated that day temperatures are likely to be above normal by 0.5 degree Celsius, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
The fall in urban sentiments in June is worrisome, observes Mahesh Vyas.
This year's kharif output may be higher than last year but it will be short of 2007 or 2008 levels.
In the coming four months from August, agitating farmers will hold 400 meetings across the country to highlight farmers' issues and protest against government claims, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
Among the key concerns of the Street is market share losses in growth segments, led by higher competitive pressures.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government is acquiring groundnut at Rs 4,500 per quintal; the market price is Rs 3,500 per quintal
The summer and rainy weather is favourable for locusts and they move from one place to another during this time, travelling 150 km in a day.
However, the growth, driven largely by a bumper rabi harvest and facilitated by relaxation in lockdown, may not have resulted in a big rise in income for a section of farmers.
Indicators show green shoots in the economy with electricity and fuel consumption, inter and intra-state movement of goods, PMI data and retail financial transactions witnessing a pick-up, she said.
The Reserve Bank on Friday projected retail inflation to be in 5-5.2 per cent range during the first half of the next fiscal year, expecting further softening of vegetables prices in near term. Also, it has lowered the retail inflation forecast for the current January-March quarter of 2020-21 fiscal at 5.2 per cent. The Reserve Bank (RBI) has kept the key policy rate unchanged at 4 per cent, with an accommodative stance, so as to ensure that inflation remains well within the target, Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the last monetary policy of 2020-21.
The final agriculture GDP numbers for 2016-17 are expected to be revised up, as rabi production is looking really good.
'The answer for a quicker boost to growth is simple -- run a much larger deficit, use the resulting public resources to ensure adequate price support for agriculture, subsidise wage costs of MSMEs and accelerate public sector construction-intensive activities,' advises Nitin Desai.
Skymet is credited with correctly predicting the 2009 drought.
If the quantity purchased from anywhere in the country exceeds 25,000 tonnes, the central government will also have to be informed in writing.
Owing to erratic monsoons this year, the kharif grain output is projected to fall 18 per cent to a seven-year low of 96.63 million tonnes against last year's 117.70 million tonnes.
The Reserve Bank on Friday said the agriculture growth will be muted this fiscal on account of the impact of poor monsoon on kharif crops.
The India Pulses and Grains Association estimates production of kharif pulses at seven mt this year.
Only vaccinations can eliminate the threat of new waves, help raise sentiments and allow sellers and buyers to participate aggressively in the much awaited economic recovery, observes Mahesh Vyas.
Farmers have either dropped or delayed sowing of summer crops due to poor rains.
The cumulative loss of salaried jobs since the pandemic is even larger at 12.6 million, reveals Mahesh Vyas.
Pushed by rising prices of essential kitchen items, the retail inflation rose to an eight-month high of 7.34 per cent in September, making the RBI's task to push growth by reducing the interest rate even more difficult in coming the days. The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation was 6.69 per cent in August and 3.99 per cent in September 2019. Inflation has been hovering above 4 per cent since October 2019.
Since April, India has seen multiple strains of the coronanavirus sweep the nation, upending life and businesses alike. Out-of-home retail and discretionary categories such as durables, auto, fashion, lifestyle, hospitality, food services, travel, and tourism have been the worst-hit as Covid cases remain high, leaving state governments with no option but to curtail mobility and economic activity.
Till August 21, 246 districts were declared as drought affected, out of the 600-plus districts in the country.
From NITI Aayog to industry leaders to the Reserve Bank of India, all are apprehensive that any major increase in MSP, following the 2018-19 Budget announcements, would push up prices, if not immediately, in the next six to eight months after the decision is taken.
The Centre will utilise huge network of post offices across the country to sell subsidised pulses, mainly tur, urad and chana, to ensure availability in the ongoing festival season.
The coronavirus outbreak has brought a large part of the world's second-largest economy China to a standstill and its impact has been felt across industries.
Analysts said the demand recovery in two-wheeler and car segments was skewed towards the semi-urban and rural markets.
With the farmers' protest against the three new laws and in support of legalising the minimum support price (MSP) going strong, state governments have announced a slew of measures in their annual Budgets to placate farmers. The Centre kicked things off in the Union Budget by assuring farmers that the MSP would continue and coming out with a report card to demonstrate its commitment. However, these efforts don't seem to have yielded tangible results. In their respective Budgets, states chose to go a step further by announcing a variety of measures.
The kharif grain output is estimated to have declined 2.48 per cent to 117.96 million tonnes while the rabi grain output has remained flat at 109.92 million tonnes, according to a government release. Output has declined mainly in kharif pulses and coarse cereals while a marginal dip has been projected in the rabi wheat output.
Officials said good rain in August - though it might not improve acreages much for most crops except urad, moong, and paddy - would help in improving yields in the crops already planted.
The reforms will help FPOs procure directly from farmers, something that they have been pressing for long.
The domestic availability of onion has been affected on account of damage to kharif crop because of unseasonal rains in key producing states including Maharashtra.
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