-The Times of India Heir apparent Rahul Gandhi on Friday said a successful 'direct cash transfer' can power Congress to victory in the next two elections. "If we get this programme right, we will win the next two general elections," Rahul reportedly told a meeting of Congress chiefs of 51 districts where the cash transfer scheme is to be rolled out. The remark provided the bluntest evidence that Congress is banking on the...

-The Nation The labor campaign confronting Walmart in the United States is planning an international escalation for tomorrow. In partnership with the global union federation UNI, the union-affiliated group Making Change at Walmart is supporting a “Global Day of Action,” with participation expected from Walmart workers in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, Nicaragua, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Zambia. The day’s main US protest will be a Miami demonstration featuring...

-Frontline Maharashtra’s sugarcane farmers are a worried lot as the State government backs out from the sugar pricing process.  Sangli & Kolhapur: KOLHAPUR and Sangli districts in Maharashtra form the heartland of Indian sugar industry. This time of year is generally the busiest, with itinerant labourers cutting sugarcane and loading it on to tractors that roar off to the more than 20 sugar factories in the two districts. In November and December,...

-Outlook The Election Commission has proposed putting up a ban on opinion polls in media but the issue needs to be discussed and deliberated upon before initiating any legislative measure, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said today. In written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, he said, "A proposal of the Election Commission for putting ban on opinion polls during election has been received." Since this issue has a direct bearing on the...

-The Business Standard Are these people expected to return to their villages and hometowns to hang around waiting for the Unique Identification Authority of India to set up shop?  Workers returning to their jobs in metros from remote villages in Bihar and Jharkhand have lately been complaining that they are barred from boarding trains unless they show sufficient identification, including proof of residence in cities. Whether this is a run-up to the...