Congress claims victory in Uttarkhand
Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Uttarkhand Harish Rawat won a vote of confidence from the state legislature on Tuesday, according to party leadership (NDTV, Hindu, LiveMint). The vote was administered under the authority of the Supreme Court of India and the results are to be presented to the court on Wednesday for official declaration. Previously, the Supreme Court overturned a decision by the Uttarkhand High Court to dismiss President's Rule – direct rule of the state by the federal government – in the state, ordering a floor test in the legislature. Uttarkhand High Court had said that the federal government acted in “blatant falsehood” and the speaker of the state assembly had “double standards” with regards to dismissing nine Congress members on disciplinary grounds.
According to a poll by Reuters, India's annual inflation rose to 5.0 percent in April from 4.83 percent in March due to higher food and fuel prices (Reuters). The official inflation data for April is expected to be released on Thursday. A rise in inflation will mean that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will find it difficult to decrease interest rates quickly. Last month, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 percent, the lowest since 2011. The latest poll also showed industrial output grew 2.5 percent in March, faster than 2.0 percent the month before.