-The Hindu   In a bid to break the impasse over foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, the government made a vain attempt on Wednesday night to persuade the Opposition to tone down the wording of its motion. But it was told in categorical terms that the demand for a rollback of the decision was non-negotiable. The Opposition stance was conveyed by the Working President of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and...

-The Hindu   The encounter in which Maoist leader Kishenji was killed on November 24 was “staged,” Rahul Sinha president of the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party said here on Wednesday. “It is as clear as daylight that the encounter in which he was killed was staged,” Mr. Sinha said while addressing a party rally. Pointing out that had it been a genuine encounter there would not have been so many bullets...

-IANS   Shops and commercial establishments were closed in Himachal Pradesh's major towns Thursday as workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) as well as traders protested the decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail.  However, there was no report of traffic being held up due to the strike. There was also no report of violence anywhere, an official at the police headquarters here...

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be right in pushing for FDI in retail because reports have been pouring in, indicating that the economic downturn in India and abroad will worsen in coming weeks. 'I want money,' an agitated Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee reportedly told the Cabinet on Thursday, November 24, when coerced by colleagues from his Congress party for pushing 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in retail. The FDI issue is...

India has approved long-awaited proposals to open up the retail market to global supermarket chains. Food Minister KV Thomas said the cabinet has agreed to 51% foreign ownership of multi-brand retail stores, allowing groups like Wal-Mart and Tesco to open stores. Such operators currently can only sell wholesale in India and not directly to customers. A decision on the issue has been pending for two years. Mr Thomas told reporters that the cabinet decided...