-The Hindu   As TRAI prepares to regulate ownership of news organisations to ensure pluralism, big media houses fear shrinking profits and state control by proxy Rahul Khullar, the straight-talking chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), listened attentively to the senior management executive of Bennett Coleman and Co. Limited, one of India's largest media conglomerates. The latter disagreed with the premise of the discussion - that there was a "problem,"...

-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today raised more questions on the appointment of contract or ad hoc teachers by some states, saying "a populist measure cannot destroy the fabric of education". It asked the Gujarat government to furnish by Monday a "long chart" explaining the rules, eligibility and qualifications prescribed for such appointments. "A populist measure cannot destroy the fabric of education. Unless you give us (details of) the selection process adopted, we...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: For a man who prides himself as being the "original reformer", PM Manmohan Singh did not mention the word "reforms" even once in his speech on the ninth anniversary of UPA. And, it was only once that he talked of inflation. It was hardly surprising given that reforms do not seem to be on his radar in view of the tough political environment and inflation is...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Finance Ministry today agreed to dole out a record Rs 100,000 crore towards diesel and cooking fuel subsidy in 2012-13 but wants pricing formula to be changed from current year to cut down the outgo. Finance Ministry, which had previously given out cash subsidy of Rs 55,000 crore, agreed to give Rs 40,000-45,000 crore more to cover for unmet revenue losses on fuel sale in the fiscal year ending...

-Frontline The Central government's proposal to hand over the supply of supplementary nutrition to NGOs in the name of "community participation" is surely an invitation for private profiteering on the back of this supposedly public scheme. ENSURING safe and healthy conditions for the reproduction of the population is obviously the most fundamental requirement of any society. So the progress of a society can be determined (and indeed is routinely judged) by the...