-Outlook The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved a urea investment policy that is likely to incentivise fertiliser firms setting up new plants and expanding existing capacity. India imports over 30 per cent of urea requirement and the policy aims at reducing that. But, it is unlikely to have any impact on existing prices. "The new urea investment policy has been cleared," sources said after the CCEA meeting here. The policy, which...

-The Hindustan Times As both Houses of Parliament cleared the way foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, the mood of commercial real estate developers, who were facing a tough time building and renting out malls, is expected to look up. A revival of investment plans is on the cards. The supply of rental spaces across India recorded a drop of 65% in 2012 from the previous year, according to a report...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organization), which manages lifetime savings of 6.15 crore individuals, has just made life tougher for workers. Employees will now have to prove that their employers deducted the statutory dues while giving them salaries, a move that will further benefit construction companies and contractors in particular who often claim that they have paid salaries to thousands of workers without actually transferring...

-Tehelka Here are the gaping holes in the argument for FDI in retail. No smooth talk can pave over it TOUTED AS a cure-all for India’s economic ills, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail is at best an anodyne, and at worst, toxic. It is an attempt to lift markets by fabricating sentiment; signalling an economic turnaround without any concrete steps being taken to trim the fiscal deficit or boost manufacturing. All...

-The Hindu The direct cash transfer scheme launched a year ago in Kotkasim for providing kerosene subsidies has pushed legitimate beneficiaries out of the system The nondescript town of Kotkasim in the Alwar district of Rajasthan had its Peepli Live moment after it was chosen for a pilot experiment with “direct cash transfers” of kerosene subsidies. According to the district administration, the scheme led to net savings of 79 per cent in...