-The Hindu Building ‘capitalism with Indian characteristics’ means decisions cannot ignore concerns of voters and communities As the economy slows down and the rupee wilts, Manmohan Singh has bitten the ‘reforms’ bullet with both eyes on the credit rating agencies whose negative reports have done much to dampen the ‘animal spirits’ of investors, foreign and native. Last November, when the Congress party made a push to introduce foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail,...

-The Economic Times "Are we knowledge-proof?" asked the late Prof Raj Krishna. As memorable as his other coinage, the Hindu rate of growth, this question is relevant, given our current growth strategy. The SME sector is a vibrant part of the economy, accounting for 40% of manufacturing and generating jobson a scale second only to agriculture. The figures are similarly significant for handicrafts and handlooms. According to the Tenth Plan, GDP from handicrafts...

-The Hindu In an attempt to pressurise the Union Government to roll back the decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, an “anti-FDI” protest march was organised by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) at Jantar Mantar here on Wednesday. The protesters charged the Union Government with ignoring the interests of the working class and protecting the interests of the multi-national retail giants. NASVI president Arbind...

-PTI Foreign direct investment in the retail sector is likely to create as many as 10 million jobs in a span of 10 years, making it the largest sector in organised employment, says a report. According to Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), an apex body of the flexi staffing industry in India, FDI in retail can create around 4 million direct jobs and almost 5 to 6 million indirect jobs including contractual employment...

-CNN-IBN The Centre is considering a partial rollback of the cap on subsidised LPG. It is considering raising the limit on the number of subsidised LPG cylinders from six to ten cylinders per household per year, say sources. A section of the Congress and its allies - the Trinamool Congress, NCP and DMK have been demanding a rollback of the cap on LPG cylinders. Sources say Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Petroleum Minister...