With Sonia Gandhi at the helm again, the National Advisory Council is expected to push forward the social sector agenda of the Congress—particularly the Food Security Bill. However, there are several loose ends to be tied up.

Nokia India can ill-afford to bask in the glory of being the biggest foreign-owned company in the country. Key to its lasting success is how it helps its parent make an ambitious transition into services.

What's the value of all the cars the government owns? Why has the Centre given up on downsizing? Read about these factoids and more.

From shortage to surplus—bordering on glut—government actions and policies yet again play havoc with India’s food grain economy.

Political parties have made tall promises in their manifestos, unmindful of the high cost of fulfilling them later borne by the voters who were once lured by the promises.

Telecom operators, banks and a clutch of service providers are jostling for what is likely to become a massive market in mobile payment. The question is: can it do to banking what mobile phones did to communications? Kushan Mitra finds out.

Global food prices are on a boil as biofuels and freak weather play havoc with the demand-supply equation. Food prices in India too have been inching upwards. How vulnerable are we to food price shocks? 

The economy is slowing down, foreign investors have turned wary, and there is an election to be won next year. So, will Finance Minister P. Chidambaram script Budget 2008 for votes or growth? Shalini S. Dagar tells us what we can expect this year.  Full coverage: Budget 2008-09

Knowledge is no substitute for native intelligence. Or so it appears, when one takes a look at the goings-on in the wheat business in the country.

Big Bazaar is going out of its way to make small-town consumers feel comfortable with the beast called modern retail, discovers.

Wheat trade in the country is no longer what it used to be. Underlying the new dynamics is the loss of self-sufficiency in production. BT looks at how the farmer misread the market, and (surprise!) the government got it right. Here's how procurement can be made more efficient.