-DNA Among the many government departments trying to subvert the sunshine Right to Information law by denying information on frivolous grounds, market watchdog Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) appears to be at the forefront of citing bizarre reasons for denial. Replying to an application filed by DNA in January 2010, Sebi said it could not furnish copies of board meetings’ minutes because photocopying them would damage the original records. “If there...

-Economic and Political Weekly The recent debate on the acceptability of foreign direct investment in the retail sector in India has been mostly political. It is necessary to look into the pros and cons of FDI in retail from a purely economic point of view. This article identifi es the safeguards that should be undertaken before allowing giant multinationals to function in the country. Abhirup Sarkar (abhirup@isical.ac.in) is with the Indian Statistical...

-The Indian Express Increasing provident fund contributions within a faulty system is not the answer The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is moving towards increasing the mandatory contributions made towards an individual’s provident fund (PF). Contributions to the PF are 24 per cent of basic wages. Earlier, employers would exclude allowances such as the housing allowance (HRA) to make the basic wage look smaller, and pay lower amounts. If the EPFO has...

-The Hindu Business Line Can you imagine many men who never donned domestic roles are now sharing household works in rural India? This is one of the findings of a national study, conducted on the impact of self help groups in the last two decades, which Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has released here.   Finance and managment The study, conducted by the National Network of Enabling Self Movement (Enable) in eight States...

-The Economic Times The results of the UN climate-change conference that closed in Doha, Qatar, last Saturday show once again that the international negotiations are progressing, albeit slowly. At the heart of these negotiations is the most challenging energy transformation the world has ever seen. Past energy transitions have taken a long time to unfold. Firewood was not displaced by coal until the 18th century. It took one century for oil to...