-The Business Standard   Political rhetoric dominated the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) annual executive committee meet today, even as two key faces of Mamata Banerjee’s administration reiterated the government’s stance of not acquiring land for industry. “Under no circumstances will the government acquire land for the industry,” Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal’s commerce and industries minister told the industry body. Also present at the event was state’s finance...

-The Times of India   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday flagged amendments to land acquisition law, allowing more foreign investment in retail trading and insurance and introduction of good and services tax (GST) as the key reforms agenda of the government. "I think the first thing is to sustain the momentum of growth that we have built," PM said during a meeting with a group of editors. But a key...

TODAY, India is considered around the world as a rapidly developing country posting economic growth rates of around 8-9 percent consistently over the last several years. Along with China, which is much further ahead, India is seen as a powerhouse of the global economy in the decades to come and already it is home to a very large number of dollar billionaires, perhaps the largest such number in Asia. In...

-The Hindu   Blocks not actually within the biodiversity-rich region, he says Stage-I forest clearance granted to three blocks in the region Ramesh over-ruled advice of his own Forest Advisory Committee to grant approval The bastion of Hasdeo-Arand has finally been broken. One year after saying that the coalfields of this heavily-forested, mineral rich region of Chhattisgarh would never be open to miners, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has finally granted a stage-I forest clearance to...

From the Middle East to Madagascar, high prices are spawning land grabs and ousting dictators. Welcome to the 21st-century food wars. In the United States, when world wheat prices rise by 75 percent, as they have over the last year, it means the difference between a $2 loaf of bread and a loaf costing maybe $2.10. If, however, you live in New Delhi, those skyrocketing costs really matter: A doubling in...