-PTI   The CPI(M) today asked the Manmohan Singh government whether it had a "dual policy" on FDI in the retail sector.  "In Parliament the Centre said it would not move forward in FDI till a consensus evolved through discussions. In Davos Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told a Walmart representative that it had only pressed the pause button. Has the Centre a double policy on FDI in retail?" CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda...

In the initial months of governance by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, attempts appear to have been made to begin subverting the positive results of the land reform programme of the Left Front. What is happening appears to be the inevitable outcome of political rivalry, the hegemonic rule of one party giving place to another, with the citadel of power changing its colour, making the “red” one “green”. But...

Third report in three months to highlight lack of quality education in India; poses risk to knowledge hub hopes Nearly two years after the Right to Education (RTE) Act was introduced with the promise of providing free and compulsory education to all primary school children, the learning outcome in the country has actually deteriorated in terms of quality. In yet another wake-up call for policymakers, the 2011 Annual Status of Education Report...

After milk, salt - another most common food item - is under the Food Safety Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI) scanner. The FSSAI is collecting salt samples from across Metros to check iodine levels. The study aims to find out how much iodine is finally available in the salt when it is being sold to consumers. "We want to see how much iodine is being consumed through salt by consumers. The study...

US-based companies Google Inc., Facebook Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and others were issued summons by a Delhi court on Friday in connection with criminal charges for “objectionable” material hosted online.   Simultaneously, the Union government sanctioned the prosecution of the companies on its behalf.   Metropolitan magistrate Sudesh Kumar directed representatives of the global companies to be present in his court on 13 March. The summons will be served at their registered...