-Live Mint Consideration of land acquisition Bill deferred after opposition seeks more time to study new clauses India’s Parliament got down to business on Tuesday with the Lok Sabha passing two critical Bills, the Companies Bill, 2011, and the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011, although it deferred consideration of the land acquisition Bill. The new Companies Bill, when it is enacted, is expected to improve the quality of corporate governance by strengthening...

-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 Times of India Crest Cash transfers have been described as the world's favourite new anti-poverty device. As India gets set to implement it, TOI-Crest finds out if the politics will ever be divorced from the cash The UPA government's ambitious plan to introduce direct cash transfers (DCT) by January 1, 2013 reflects both the political desperation of a beleaguered government and the urgent need to reform India's inefficient and corrupt public...

-The Indian Express FDI in retail will bring competition to non-tradable services, and make Indian firms globally competitive India removed barriers to trade in goods in the 1990s. Removing protection brought global competition and raised productivity. But introducing global competition in services is harder. In certain services that are tradable, like legal or financial services, the removal of trade barriers can introduce competition and increase productivity. But these often involve complicated and...

-Outlook Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, has an outstanding loan of Rs 1.5 crore for purchase of a house in posh Greater Kailash locality here, according to an RTI reply. Ahluwalia, whose financial assets net of liabilities as of 31 March 2012 are Rs 3,85,82,450, has a loan of Rs 1.5 crore from Syndicate Bank for house purchase, the RTI reply says. Ahluwalia purchased the 500-square yards house at...