-IANS Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday met Congress MPs after calling on party president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the standoff over the decision to allow foreign equity in retail.  The government's known troubleshooter held a brief meeting with Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence before meeting party MPs to allay their apprehensions on the decision to allow 51 percent foreign direct investment ( FDI) in multi-brand retail and 100 percent in...

Farmers, a holy-cow constituency considered more valuable than small traders to the political class, have begun to ask uncomfortable questions to those opposing foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail. Several farmer groups, some of them led by politicians with ties to the Congress, have asked why some parties are standing in the way of a measure that is expected to reduce the clout of middlemen and increase farm earnings. Although Prime Minister...

-The Times of India Promotion of organized retail and contract farming to improve farm production and modernize the agriculture supply chain as well as direct marketing initiatives are among the highlights of the report on consumer affairs prepared by a group of chief ministers chaired by Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.  In a report submitted to Prime Minister manmohan singh in March, the committee headed by Modi prioritized reducing farm gate to retail...

-The Economic Times   Stepping up Kerala's demand for a new dam at Mullaperiyar, chief minister Oommen Chandy said he will meet the Prime Minister manmohan singh in New Delhi on Thursday, even as the opposition leader VS Achuthanandan decided to go on a fast on December 7 on the issue.  In an attempt to find a solution to the vexing issue, Chandy would write to his counter part in Tamil Nadu about...

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be right in pushing for FDI in retail because reports have been pouring in, indicating that the economic downturn in India and abroad will worsen in coming weeks. 'I want money,' an agitated Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee reportedly told the Cabinet on Thursday, November 24, when coerced by colleagues from his Congress party for pushing 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in retail. The FDI issue is...