-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: The 13th Gujarat assembly, which is meeting for the first time on Tuesday, is the No. 1 crorepati club. While the present Lok Sabha has 58 per cent crorepati MPs and the Rajya Sabha 65 per cent, the state assembly has 74 per cent, or 134 of the 182 MLAs have assets of Rs 1 crore or more. The last state assembly constituted in 2007, had...

-The Hindu “People’s tastes have changed and there is no respect for us in society” Chennai: Thanjavur may be a land of classical music and dance, but in three places, particularly in – Vadakku Vaasal, Keezha Vaasal and Reddipalayam – many Dalit folk artists are on the verge of quitting their profession. Though people from all communities perform folk arts, majority of them are Dalits who migrated from Ramanathapuram district around 60...

-Reuters RANCHHODPURA, India (Reuters) - Working out of a tiny rented room furnished with a wooden table, small biometric authentication machine and shelf stacked with passbooks, Ganesh Dangi is a one-man bank for a village of 650 people in northwestern Rajasthan. A business correspondent, or local representative, for State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) in Ranchhodpura village, 40 km (25 miles) east of Udaipur, Dangi is racing to sign up villagers...

-Tehelka Edited Excerpts From An Interview NOTED ECONOMIST and Columbia University Professor Jagdish Bhagwati’s pro-free trade stance is well-known. A friend of the prime minister and his batch mate from Cambridge University, Professor Bhagwati feels the UPA’s departure from the stagnation of the past few years is a welcome change, and lauds the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail. In an interview to TEHELKA Business Editor Shaili Chopra, Bhagwati says more...

-Frontine Walmart’s disclosure that it spent huge amounts of money on lobbying in India and the allegation that it entered the retail sector through indirect means highlight the power of global capital in dictating the country’s policies. The world’s largest multi-brand retailer Walmart’s disclosure to the United States Senate that it had spent $25 million (Rs.135 crore) since 2008 on its various lobbying activities, which include enhancing access to the Indian...