-The Hindu   Trinamool jumps on Opposition bandwagon, while Akali Dal backs move Cabinet clearance for Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail led to tumult and uproar in Parliament, with both Houses adjourning without transacting any business for the third successive day on Friday. Going by the Opposition's hostile reaction, there is a question mark over smooth conduct of proceedings when Parliament meets on Monday. Communist Party of India Parliamentary Party leader Gurudas Dasgupta has...

-The Hindu   The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday refuted the “specious explanations” on inflation given by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying his statement hid the government's failure to check price rise. Reacting to his November 22 suo motu statement in Parliament, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said: “It is nothing but an exercise in deception to conceal the utter failure of the UPA government in checking the relentless price rise.” While referring...

The audience, organisers, and fightersknow that sham wrestling is not to betaken seriously. But the World Economic Forum takes itself seriously. The comforting thing about the sham wrestling ‘championships' on television is that everybody knows they are a farce. Steroid-stuffed Cro-Magnons stomp the living daylights out of painkiller-primed Neanderthals. Good, unclean fun. The results are safely predictable. You should expect the 600-pound gorilla to overwhelm the 900-pound one in a staggering...

Recent events in south Asia have led to an unexpected reversal in the narrative of microfinance, long presented as a development success. Despite charges of poor treatment of clients, exaggeration of the impact on the poorest as well as the risks of credit bubbles, the sector can play a non-negligible role in reaching financial services to low-income households. In regulating the sector, there is need for caution in setting interest...

The state government has sought technical advice and assistance on its proposed plan to carry out mass vaccination ahead of monsoon next year in Gaya and adjoining districts to stop outbreak of Japanese encephalitis and acute encephalitis syndrome. Sanjay Kumar, the secretary of the state health department, said the state was keen on going for a mass immunisation and regular immunisation for Japanese encephalitis as a preventive measure next year. “We...