Retail inflation rose to 5.49 per cent in September from 3.65 per cent in the preceding month mainly due to higher food prices, according to official data released on Monday.
The consumer price index-based inflation was 5.02 per cent in September 2023.
The National Statistics Office data showed that inflation in the food basket rose to 9.24 per cent in September from 5.66 per cent in August and 6.62 per cent in the year-ago month.
The Reserve Bank, which kept the key short-term lending rate unchanged earlier this month, has been tasked by the government to ensure inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
PTI, October 14, 2024...
GANDHINAGAR: Deakin University, ranked in the top 1% of global universities, proudly celebrates 30 years of transformative engagement in India with the strategic approach of of 'In India, with India, for India.' This milestone year began with the historic inauguration of Deakin's GIFT City Campus—the first international university branch campus in India. The initial cohort of students commenced classes in July and is now thriving in the dynamic environment of Gujarat International FT City, India's global hub for business and technology.
As a pioneer in building impactful collaborations and advancing academic excellence, Deakin's engagement aligns closely with the objectives of India's National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 – especially around developing a job-ready workforce for the ever-evolving workplace of the future. Looking ahead, Deakin aims to strengthen its strategic presenc.....
Nationally, housing values rose 1.0% in the September quarter, the lowest rise in the national Home Value Index (HVI) over a rolling three-month period since March 2023 when the market was moving through the early phases of the current upswing.
Demonstrating the diversity of housing conditions, four capital cities recorded a fall in dwelling values through the September quarter, led by Melbourne where values were down -1.1%. Canberra, Hobart and Darwin also recorded declines over the quarter.
Sydney home values have continued to rise however the 0.5% increase through the September quarter was the lowest growth result since the three months ending February 2023 when values were down -0.3%.
The mid-sized capitals, which have led the pace of capital gains through most of the upswing, are also losing momentum, although growth continues to significantly outpace other capitals. Pert.....
From today, early learning providers can apply for Commonwealth Government funding to deliver early childhood education and care workers a historic 15 per cent pay rise.
To be eligible to receive the Albanese Government’s funding for the wage increase, early childhood education and care services must agree not to increase their fees by more than 4.4 per cent between 8 August 2024 and 7 August 2025.
This is good for early childhood educators and good for families.
There will also be a limit on fee growth in the second year of the wage subsidy. The percentage limit on fee growth that will apply from August 2025 will be determined by a new ECEC cost index being developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This is an important condition that will keep downward pressure on out-of-pocket costs for families.
Services must also pass on funding in full to employees thr.....
The Albanese Labor Government today released the ACCC’s Supermarkets Inquiry Interim Report to ensure all Australians are paying a fair price for their groceries and our farmers are getting a fair price for their hard work.
When families are doing it tough, they need a Government that's on their side and a tough consumer cop on the beat – and that’s the important role the ACCC is playing.
In January, the Albanese Government tasked the ACCC to look into supermarkets, and today the Government has released the ACCC’s Supermarkets Inquiry Interim Report, which explores in detail issues including concentration and competition in the sector, rising prices and shrinkflation, supermarket buyer power and other consumer and producer concerns.
During its initial work, the ACCC received over 80 public submissions and spoke to more than 21,000 customers across Australia between Febru.....
The Albanese Government will increase the number of postgraduate psychology places at universities and provide more psychology internships and supervisors so Australians can access a psychologist when needed.
This will help remove barriers to studying and working in mental health, which is sorely needed while Australia faces a critical shortage of mental health workers.
The Albanese Government will support Australia’s leading universities to provide up to an additional 500 student places and grow postgraduate psychology courses over a four-year period.
Despite strong demand and interest from students, currently only 10 per cent will complete the required postgraduate course to become a registered psychologist due to the limited number of university places.
The following universities successfully applied for funding through the 2023–24 Postgraduate Psychology Incentive Pr.....
Meta is introducing Instagram Teen Accounts, a new experience for teens, guided by parents. Teen Accounts have built-in protections which limit who can contact them and the content they see, and also provide new ways for teens to explore their interests. It automatically place teens into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.
This new experience is designed to better support parents, and give them peace of mind that their teens are safe with the right protections in place. Teens will also get access to a new feature, made just for them, that lets them select topics they want to see more of in Explore and their recommendations so they can focus on the fun, positive content they love.
The new Teen Account protections are designed to address parents’ biggest concerns, including who their teens are talki.....
The Albanese Labour Government is delivering more than 13,700 new social and affordable homes across Australia to deliver the biggest investment in social and affordable housing in over a decade.
The first round of Labour’s Housing Australia Future Fund and National Housing Accord programs will deliver 4,220 social and 9,522 affordable homes, including 1,267 homes for women and children escaping domestic violence and older women at risk of homelessness.
“The first round of funding under our Housing Australia Future Fund will deliver thousands of social and affordable homes across Australia for those that need it most,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Housing Australia has recommended contract negotiations for 185 projects, with construction on almost 40 per cent of the 13,742 dwellings forecast to get underway this financial year.
Round one of the programs’ fund.....
August 27, 2024: The Albanese Government is strengthening the integrity and sustainability of the international education sector.
As part of this, the Government announced in May that it would set limits on the number of international students that can be enrolled by international education providers.
Today the Government has announced that, subject to the passage of legislation before the Parliament, it will set a National Planning Level (NPL) for new international student commencements of 270,000 for calendar year 2025.
The NPL is divided between the higher education and vocational education and training (VET) sectors.
This will bring the number of new international student commencements, across higher education and VET, back to pre-pandemic levels.
The Government is determined to strengthen the integrity of the sector and ensure it maintains its social licence.
O.....
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to host his Indian counterpart, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, at the Pentagon on August 23.
“The relationship with India remains one of great importance. It’s one of great importance to the Indo-Pacific as well. There’s a visit coming up and when we have more to share on that, we certainly will,” Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference here on Thursday.
During the meet, the two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, as well as ways to strengthen ties between the world’s two largest democracies.
Sabrina Singh did not share details of the meeting, saying “I’m not going to get ahead of the secretary or any meetings that he’s doing”.
“As always, we will have a readout of his meeting. I just don’t have more to provide on the front end, bu.....
New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the national gender pay gap is the lowest on record - today falling to 11.5 per cent from 12 per cent in November 2023, and 14.1 per cent in May 2022. Under the Albanese Government, women’s average weekly earnings have increased $173.80 a week since May 2022.
Labour came to government in 2022 with a commitment to drive action to close the gender pay gap. Since then, we have seen the gender pay gap drop to all-time lows over four consecutive reporting cycles.
“That’s not a coincidence, it’s because the Government has taken action like banning pay secrecy clauses, modernising the bargaining system, enforcing transparent gender pay gap reporting and delivering pay rises for aged care and child care workers,” says Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
Annual wage growth in the private sector was 4.1 per cent .....
The government on Monday said it will hold further consultations for preparing a fresh draft of the broadcasting bill, amid concerns in some quarters over restrictions on social and digital media space in the proposed law.
The draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, circulated by the government among a few stakeholders, drew criticism from media bodies such as DigiPub and the Editors Guild of India which claimed that digital media organisations and civil society associations were not consulted on the move.
“Ministry is holding a series of consultations with the stakeholders on the draft bill. Further additional time is being provided to solicit comments/ suggestions till 15th October 2024,” the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said in a post on X.
“A fresh draft will be published after detailed consultations,” the ministry said.
The ministry said it was work.....