Plain Facts

Retail inflation remained more or less steady at 3.65% in August, thanks to the statistical effect of a favourable base. But what lies beyond the base effect? Have price pressures fallen as well? Mint investigates.

Gold prices reached all-time highs last month despite declining inflation and strong equities. Somewhere, the contrarian surge indicates the underlying market uncertainty and investor anxiety.

As over 800 million Indians rely on the government for free food, awareness as well as affordability of a balanced diet remains largely a theoretical concept.

Despite numerous laws and public outcry, India continues to grapple with rampant gender-based violence. Making workplaces and public spaces safer is an urgent crisis to solve as India continues to struggle to bring more women to the paid workforce.

The unified pension scheme (UPS) for government employees launched last month could provide some relief to states by halting them from reverting to the old pension scheme.

News and developments from the week gone by, through numbers and charts.

The top court recently held that marginalized caste and tribal groups are heterogenous and may need sub-quotas. But the official consumption survey data suggests there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Health insurance policies attract an 18% GST rate on the total premium paid, the second highest tax slab. However, as premiums see a sharp rise due to medical care becoming more expensive, the government could be forced to reconsider its decision.

Beyond the headline number, the GDP data released last week threw many surprises, underpinning the resilience in economic activity. The growth in gross value added was 6.84%, the highest in three quarters, and, more importantly, private consumption bounced back after trailing for many quarters.

Two in three issues of sovereign gold bonds have beaten stock returns. Their investors choosing to hold on to them says much about the outlook on gold prices.