-IANS KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday came in for sharp criticism from within her party and the opposition after she suggested people to "smoke more" to provide compensation to victims of a chit fund scam. "Smoking is bad.. let there be tax on it. But am I responsible for what Sudipta Sen did? Why should I pay more tax on every cigarette I smoke? I haven't fleeced the...

-The Indian Express New Delhi/ Kolkata: Chit fund 'kingpin' names politicians from Bengal, Assam in letter to CBI. Sudipta Sen, promoter of Saradha Group, has claimed that Trinamool Congress's Rajya Sabha members Kunal Ghosh and Srinjay Bose assured him that his business interests will be protected "as they have a very close connection" with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In an 18-page letter to the CBI, Sen has alleged that a number of politicians...

-The Hindu Bangalore: Rajarajeshwarinagar MLA M. Srinivas has been booked by the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) for grabbing five acres of government land in Kaggalipura village, Uttarahalli hobli, in Bangalore South, which was meant for landless farmers. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, in the thick of his re-election campaign, allegedly sanctioned the land to his supporters as president of the Bagair Hukum Committee, said BMTF sources. The April 20 first information...

-The Indian Express Chit fund scams shine the light on the need to overhaul the financial regulatory architecture Cases of semi-regulated or unregulated entities making unrealistic promises to consumers are roiling the financial landscape. It is high time the government sees the pattern and undertakes fundamental change. The search for a solution must factor in two realities. The first is the failure of the formal regulated financial system. The breakdown of present...

-PTI Following direction from finance minister P Chidambaram, Banks have initiated the process of linking account with Aadhaar number for cash transfer of LPG and other subsidies. Banks have started informing customers through different mode of communication including SMS about linking of Aadhaar number with the account number to facilitate subsidy transfer. "For getting LPG, MGNREGA and other subsidies direct to your account, please get your account linked with Aadhaar number," Canara Bank...