-PTI Employees of public sector banks have gone on two-day nationwide strike today opposing banking sector reforms and outsourcing of non-core activities, affecting operations. Several private sector banks, foreign banks and ATMs, however, continued to operate normally. The strike call was given by the United Forum of Bank unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine unions of employees and officers of PSU banks. They are protesting against banking sector reforms and unilateral implementation of...

-The Economic Times The government is ready to give up its monopoly over coal mining to meet the requirements of the economy, if BJP supports a long-pending legislation to amend the Coal Mine Nationalisation Act (CMNA). "We are ready to take up the bill and open up the coal sector to increase production. This is the only way forward and there is a consensus within the government on this. Once BJP comes...

-The Business Standard   One of Sewa's triumphs is formation of the Mahila SEWA Sahakari Bank In April 10 this year, SEWA, the Self-Employed Women’s Association, which prefers to describe itself as a cooperative or trade union rather than a microfinance institution (MFI) (though it straddles both spheres), with a membership of 1.3 million women, completed 40 years of its existence. This gives us an ideal opportunity to review its historic contribution to...

Two ways to advertise your modernity in India today: first is to carry an iPad, second is to declare that you are firmly on the side of 'reforms' There are two quick ways to advertise your modernity in India today. The first is to carry an iPad when you go for meetings, even if all you do with it is read email; and the second is to declare that you are...

The Left Front has started mobilising the support of non-NDA and non-UPA parties to garner support against the Congress-led UPA government's move to push its economic reforms agenda with three much-delayed financial sector legislations. The Left Front will reach out to regional parties, including AIADMK, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (Secular), Biju Janata Dal and Asom Gana Parishad, to gather numbers against the legislations. Despite reservations expressed by UPA ally Trinamool Congress,...