Tuesday, January 19, 1999
Railways' woes
Reports indicate that the railway ministry is considering austerity measures to reduce capital expenditure, and perhaps a dip into its reserves. This drastic step is primarily being thought of because of the sudden rise in the pension bill from Rs 2,300 crore to Rs 3,800 crore and an expected drop in freight earnings by Rs 1,100 crore.
Mystery of prices
Inflation is low, and declining. That is the message of the official wholesale price index (WPI). Prices (wholesale) of agricultural products, notably of vegetables and edible oils, have softened since November. But are retail prices declining? It is difficult to answer the question with certainty.
Growth, ecology must go together
Amartya Sen's conclusions about the causes of famine being due to deliberate distortion in distribution of food and the absence of democracy have been more or less established. So far as the Bengal famine of 1943 is concerned, the findings of Nanavati Papers support Sen's assertion that famine could happen in the absence of food scarcity too.
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