Greek Minister of Economy and Finance Mr. George Alogokoufis with the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Mr. Kamal Nath during their meeting in New Delhi

poverty. Standard & Poor’s has warned it may cut the country’s credit rating to so-called junk status. “While growth in 2011-2012 has moderated significantly, headline inflation remains above levels consistent with sustainable growth,” the RBI said today. Inflation accelerated to 7.55 percent in May, the fastest pace in the BRIC group of largest emerging markets that also includes Brazil, Russia and China. The government’s projected fiscal deficit of 5.1 percent of GDP in the year through March 2013 is the group’s widest. India VIX, which measures the cost of protection against losses in the S&P CNX Nifty Index, sank 8.6 percent to 23.34. The Nifty shed 1.1 percent to 5,083.65 while its June futures traded at 5,075. The BSE200 Index (BSE200) fell 1 percent to 2,053.08. Combined trading volume on India’s top two exchanges was 694 million shares on June 15, compared with a 12-month daily average of 908 million.

In Positive Economic Move, Greece Sells Its Gods To India

Debt-ridden Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos sent waves of relief through the nation earlier on Friday, as he announced a deal to sell Greece’s Olympian Gods to India, a country known for its acceptance of innumerable deities. “With all our financial woes in recent years, we Greeks have become rather godless creatures anyway,” sighed Papademos. “Securing this deal with India could well prove to be the best thing to happen to us since our football team won Euro 2004.” Greece’s debts touched an astronomical 350 billion earlier this year, an astonishing 144.90% of their GDP, but this divine transfer fee, rumoured to be in the region of 220 billion, could go a long way towards easing Greek agitation. “It’s a win-win situation,” beamed Nikolas Gianakopoulos, chairman of the Association of Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses (AAGGG), in an exclusive interview with The Balkan Chronicle. “When I communed with the deities last night, they seemed really excited by the prospect of relocating to India, the land of elephants and Vijay Mallya (or is that one and the same?) Besides, they’re tired of listening to people’s complaints about the economy here in Greece.” Giana kopoulos seemed confident that the Olympian Gods and Goddesses would have no problems adjusting to life in India. “Poseidon has always been a huge fan of the cricket. These days, he’s been using pine trees as cricket bats, smashing enormous boulders all over Mount Olympus and causing plenty of trouble, as always. He’ll probably demand an IPL contract upon arrival, knowing that bloke. Zeus, on the other hand, was slightly taken aback when I told him they don’t serve meat in Indian temples, but a fellow named RamGopal-something rung in the other day, promising Zeus all the meat he could dream of, as long as he played a cameo role in an upcoming Bollywood