-Economic and Political Weekly The Saradha group's collapse has possibly bankrupted lakhs of small investors robbing them of their life svaings, and has rendered thousands of its agents jobless. The scam highlights the failure of the government and its regulatory agencies to reign in the mushrooming chit fund companies in West Bengal. It also brings under the scanner the Trinamool Congress' proximity with the tainted group. In the wake of the...

-The Hindu The Saradha group's spectacular failure has inflicted severe pain not only on its gullible depositors and agents but in a real sense on India's financial regulators and the State government as well. There is a law and order problem in West Bengal. Very soon, public attention will shift to regulation or the lack of it. The crisis, it appears, will not be confined to one state. In the worst...

-The Telegraph Calcutta: Trinamul MP Kunal Ghosh's future in the party is expected to be decided after Calcutta High Court rules on two petitions by Saradha depositors seeking a CBI probe into the sham deposit-mobilisation scandal, party sources told The Telegraph. "Our leaders have been worried since the court indicated on April 25 that it was contemplating a CBI probe," a party source said. "(If action is taken now), Kunal may try to...

-The Times of India The National Advisory Council (NAC) on Friday approved mandatory public consultation on new laws and rules before they are brought to Parliament. This will for the first time provide an institutional structure for civil society representatives to express their views. The "pre-legislative process'' was brought in the wake of increasing dissatisfaction over legislations piloted by the government, especially the Lokpal Bill. The move was initiated by NAC...

-The Hindu     They say Supreme Court-appointed panel's recommendations reasonable Even as the final report of the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on open field trials of genetically modified crops is awaited, 51 independent international scientists with expertise in genetic engineering and biosafety protocols have approved the panel's Interim Report. The report has called for a 10-year moratorium on open field trials of Bt food crops until adequate regulatory mechanisms and safety...