-The Hindustan Times A government-appointed committee that was looking into allegations of US retail major Walmart's lobbying activities to enter the Indian market has submitted its report to corporate affairs minister Sachin Pilot on Saturday. "The report has just been submitted, the minister would go through it," said a senior corporate affairs ministry. There were reports that the committee has given Walmart a clean chit but it could not be independently verified. The committee,...

-The Hindu   Supersession only in exceptional circumstances, not for extraneous considerations The Supreme Court on Thursday decried the tendency of State governments superseding elected cooperative societies for political or extraneous reasons. "Supersession of an elected managing committee/board is an exception and [can] be resorted to only in exceptional circumstances," said a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra. Sending a warning to the States, the Bench imposed Rs. 1 lakh in costs...

-The Hindu   An open letter from Madhav Gadgil says Kasturirangan panel report will rob the region of its biodiversity Dear Dr. K. Kasturirangan, J.B.S. Haldane, the celebrated 19th-century scientist and humanist who quit England protesting its imperialistic invasion of Suez to become an Indian citizen, once said: "Reality is not only stranger than we suppose, but stranger than we CAN suppose!" I could never have imagined that you would be party to a...

-The Hindu Farmers say they are ready to return compensation but in instalments Allahabad: Lathi maar maar ke utha lehale anshan wahe/ daktar sahib soochna pahuchain naye mukhyamantri se bataiye da/ hum aapan zamin na dewai/ hame na chahi kuch tumhara. (Police beat protesting farmers and remanded them/We heard a new CM is coming to hear us/Tell him we won't give up our land/We want nothing from you.) This in a mix...

-The Hindu Business Line It requires a change in mindset to reverse declining sex ratios. The state-wise child sex ratio (number of females per 1000 males in 0-6 years age group) in India during 2001-2011 declined except in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Mizoram, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu (see table). Interestingly, these are the same states that had recorded a significant fall in child sex ratio during 1991-2001. Adverse child sex ratio can have...