-The Economic Times If I say today that I am ready to supply onions, in an improvised form, at Rs 20/kg home delivered, and round the year, people may think either I have gone crazy or I am dipping into the general exchequer to pull off a massive subsidy scheme for onions. Wrong. I will make a cool profit of 15 to 20% in this deal, do a great service to...

-The Hindu The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a specialised arm of the World Health Organisation, has sounded an alert for policymakers with its conclusion that there is sufficient evidence now on outdoor air pollution as a cause of lung cancer. A separate evaluation of particulate matter in the air has led to its classification also as a ‘Group 1' pollutant, indicating firm evidence of cancer-causing properties. Given that rapidly...

-Down to Earth If any other cause was responsible for so many deaths and injuries as we see on our roads it would have been a state of emergency Sunita Narain-our colleague and friend-was seriously injured in an accident while cycling yesterday. A car hit her and fled. This cruel act of crime and heartlessness could have shattered our faith in humanity had it not been for the kind act of the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has given a clean chit to Wal-Mart, the world's largest supermarket chain, in a case related to alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema), a move that may pave the way for the US retailer to pursue its India investment plans more aggressively. Earlier this week, ED wrote to the RBI, saying a case of violation could not be made out as...

-The Hindu The Union Ministry of Labour has done well to raise the salary cap for availing Employees' State Insurance (ESI) to Rs.25,000. While the move is expected to expand coverage to an additional five million workers and their dependents, this is still small comfort in a country where barely three per cent of the workforce enjoys any social protection. The evolution of ESI has been characterised by an accent...