-The Telegraph   The Trinamul Congress will oppose foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail and pension funds as well as changes in rules that will allow foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers. Mamata Banerjee has instructed her sole member of the cabinet — railway minister Dinesh Trivedi — to oppose the retail proposal at tomorrow’s cabinet meeting, the minister confirmed today. The Trinamul roadblock is being seen as an attempt to reaffirm its...

The state government has finally decided to compensate cotton growing farmers on the basis of their land holding rather than on the crop sold. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said it was not possible to compensate farmers on a per quintal basis — a demand by a few Opposition parties — because many farmers had already sold their cotton. However, Chavan said the state government had not yet decided on the...

-The Telegraph   Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today put responsibilities of governance before demands for payback by a section of civil society that described as “fascist” the denial of permission to hold a protest in the heart of the city to push for demands voiced by Maoists. “There are many who had supported me before the elections and have turned away since then…. It does not matter to me,” Mamata said today in...

The return of peace and normalcy in Kashmir is a reality. And to ensure a durable and lasting peace, a humane approach to handle the law and order situation may be required. In a vibrant, democratic country, authoritarian ways of suppressing people’s voices prove to be counterproductive. It may be recalled that the law and order situation in Kashmir worsened in the aftermath of unfair and rigged Assembly elections of 1987,...

Bill has provision for free meals, besides an allowance of Rs 6,000 to all pregnant women. Ahead of Assembly elections in seven states next year, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is planning a big push towards its social security agenda. For, its Cabinet note on Food Security Bill has incorporated a provision for free meals, besides a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 for six months to all pregnant women and...