-Live Mint Subsidized loans given to farmers through KCCs could very well be the next big source of NPAs for banks Mumbai: A surge in exposure to farm debt through Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) could emerge as a risk for India's state-run banks, according to experts. Subsidized loans are given to farmers through KCCs by state-owned banks. Until March 2012, the outstanding amount on such loans was`1.6 trillion through 20.3 million cards, as...

-Live Mint CERC calls for a variable ‘compensatory tariff' to be offered to Adani Power till fuel situation stabilizes In an unprecedented move, India's apex power sector regulator offered a bailout package to Adani Power Ltd in a late Tuesday order to offset losses on account of the unexpected increase in the prices of imported coal and the unavailability of domestic coal for the company's 4,620 megawatts (MW) thermal power project at...

-The Times of India In a major setback to special economic zone (SEZ) developers, finance minister P Chidambaram has turned down the commerce department's plea to cut the minimum alternate tax (MAT), which was imposed two years ago. A lower or no tax burden was cited as one of the main drivers for boosting investment in what were until recently duty-free enclaves. The commerce department had made a case for reversing Chidambaram's...

-The Hindu Natpurwa is a village where women have been forced into prostitution for centuries. And one of them is determined to help the others break free. Round faced, stout and dusky, Chandralekha, at age 15, was the most desired girl among the politicians, policemen and senior members of Eastern Uttar Pradesh’s civil society. “They always wanted plump women,” says Chandralekha, now 51 years old. Chandralekha was pushed into prostitution, by her...

-Frontline How far will the proposed women's bank help marginalised sections when women's SHGs get little support and find it hard even to open accounts in public sector banks? WHILE the recent announcement of a women's bank in the Union Budget has been touted as a progressive measure for the financial inclusion of women, no concrete measures have been forthcoming to make all existing public sector banks sensitive to the needs...