-The Times of India   DEHRADUN: The Supreme Court monitoring committee formed by the ministry of environment and forests to study 24 proposed hydro projects on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers in Uttarakhand has published minutes of meetings on the MoEF website, and unanimously decided not to recommend 23 of the new projects, worth 2683.6 megawatts. The committee was set up in October 2013 after the SC took note of a Wildlife...

-The Hindu   Ideological labels are likely to mislead by channelling the debate into issues of capitalism and socialism and detract from the real problem George Santayana said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Having forgotten the license-permit-quota-raj that enveloped us from 1950 to 1980 and its ‘crony socialism,' many intellectuals, mediapersons and politicians have now discovered ‘crony capitalism.' The license raj consisted of stifling controls imposed on...

-The Business Standard FDI in multi-brand retailing could be reversed if the party forms govt; India Inc seeks review of manifesto The Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto decision to oppose foreign direct investment in supermarkets has made the sector more wary. The United Progressive Alliance' policy to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail in September 2012 could be reversed if the BJP comes to power at the Centre. "The policy can be...

-The Business Standard   Policy roadblocks holding back solar power The solar energy sector is beset with several problems that need to be sorted out to allow it to expand to its potential. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, which was set up in 2010, has largely failed to supercharge the sector. Its first phase aimed at creating 1,100 megawatts of new capacity; only 252 MW has been added. Its second phase...

-Live Mint   What explains the mystery of job growth slowing so drastically just when growth spiked up so rapidly? The health of the economy occupied the centrestage of the political battlefield this week, as the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) engaged in a spirited debate on India's economic performance. A major bone of contention was the slower pace of job growth in the UPA's 10-year...