It’s time to review population policy, says Pronab Sen

October 9th, 2009 KOLKATA - India's inflation rate is expected to rise beyond predicted levels by the end of the year, according to Pronab Sen, secretary in the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. "By December, I expect inflation as measured by WPI (wholesale price index) to have crossed RBI's (Reserve Bank of India) comfort zone," Sen said here Friday.

October 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's annual rate of inflation crawled up marginally to 0.83 percent for the week ended Sep 19 from 0.37 percent the week before, according to official data released Thursday. The price indices for major groups like primary articles, manufacturing products and fuel, power, light and lubricants rose for the week under review.

September 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The railways ministry Wednesday said it would not resort to forceful acquisition of land for railway projects, and that it would review its land acquisition policy. "The ministry of railways has decided that there shall not be any forceful acquisition of land for railway projects," the ministry said in a statement.

August 28th, 2009 Britain's population tops 61 million for 1st timeLONDON — Britain's population took its biggest jump in almost half a century last year, as a baby boom made new births rather than immigration the main contributor to growth for the first time in a decade. Government figures show that 791,000 babies were born in the year to mid-2008 — 33,000 more than the year before — helping to bring Britain's population to 61.4 million.

August 17th, 2009 Fla. population drops for 1st time since 1946JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Researchers say Florida's population has declined for the first time in 63 years and economists are blaming — what else? — the recession.

July 28th, 2009 MUMBAI - Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao will review and update the monetary policy for the current fiscal a little before noon Tuesday amid little expectation of any major change in key policy rates.

July 24th, 2009 BEIJING - Couples in China's glittering metropolis of Shanghai are being encouraged to have another child to overcome an ageing population due to the decades old strictly enforced one-child policy norm, an official said. "We advocate eligible couples to have two kids because it can help reduce the proportion of the ageing people and alleviate a workforce shortage in the future," Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission, was quoted as saying by China Daily Friday.

May 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India will maintain its exports at $160 billion for this current fiscal, as steps will be unveiled in the upcoming budget and the trade policy review to help the sector, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here Friday. He also said that India was ready to ink a host of pacts, including a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and economic cooperation agreements with South Korea and Nepal.

May 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Delhi's new industrial policy is likely to be announced by early August, an official statement said Tuesday. The new policy was formulated taking into account the guidelines included in the Master Plan for Delhi-2021.

April 21st, 2009 MUMBAI - The following are the highlights of the annual monetary policy review released by the Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank, Tuesday: * Repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent * Reverse repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent * Cash reserve ratio remains unchanged * GDP growth for 2009-10 to be around 6 percent * GDP growth for 2008-09 at 6.5-6.7 percent * Annual rate of inflation to be four percent by end of March 31, 2010 * Inflation to turn negative in early part of 2009-10 * Negative inflation may not persist beyond mid-2009-10 * Consumer price inflation to be in positive territory this fiscal * Banks can open ATMs without prior approval * Foreign currency convertible bond buyback limit increased to $100 million * External commercial borrowing ceiling relaxation extended * Current foreign bank policy to remain, review to happen once world economy recovers * Money supply growth for 2009-10 forecast at 17 percent * Government's market borrowing schemes will infuse liquidity worth Rs.1.2 trillion in first half of 2009-10

April 20th, 2009 MUMBAI - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will present the annual review of its monetary policy here Tuesday, even as stakeholders saw the central bank leaving key rates untouched and an overall status quo on the measures. RBI Governor D.

January 26th, 2009 MUMBAI - Indian shares continued to rule in the positive territory Tuesday, even after the central bank conducted its monetary policy review at 11:15 a.m. where it left all key rates unchanged.

January 26th, 2009 MUMBAI - Following are the highlights of the quarterly monetary policy review conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) here Friday in which some key rates were left unchanged and the country's growth targeted was lowered for this fiscal: - Bank rate kept unchanged at 6 percent. - Repo rate has been kept unchanged at 5.5 percent.

January 26th, 2009 MUMBAI - Following are some key points made by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao in his quarterly monetary policy review before the chief executives of commercial banks here Tuesday: - This quarterly review is set in the context of a deteriorating global economic outlook and heightened uncertainty about the global financial sector.

December 22nd, 2008 NEW DELHI - The Indian government Tuesday nudged the central bank to reduce key interest rates in a bid to offset the impact of global slowdown on the country's economy, while warning that growth could fall to seven percent this fiscal. 'An aggressive monetary policy may be necessary if global economic depression continues to adversely affect manufacturing,' said the finance ministry's mid-term review of the Indian economy tabled in parliament Tuesday.