The government's decision to set aside a 20 per cent quota for SC/ST vendors in its purchases, if accepted by every sector on a wider scale, has the potential to makegrowth pro-poor and inclusive. The Central government has finally announced a policy reserving 20 per cent of its purchases for micro and small enterprises run by entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. The new procurement policy will...

Global retail chains looking to set up shop in India may face several challenges such as delay in the implementation of goods and services tax and restrictions imposed by the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, besides political opposition. These hurdles can be roadblocks in providing real benefits to farmers and consumers as intended by the government in opening the multi-brand retail sector to foreign direct investment. “GST (goods and services tax)...

The audience, organisers, and fightersknow that sham wrestling is not to betaken seriously. But the World Economic Forum takes itself seriously. The comforting thing about the sham wrestling ‘championships' on television is that everybody knows they are a farce. Steroid-stuffed Cro-Magnons stomp the living daylights out of painkiller-primed Neanderthals. Good, unclean fun. The results are safely predictable. You should expect the 600-pound gorilla to overwhelm the 900-pound one in a staggering...

-The Times of India   If the proposed Lokpal will cure administration, RTI will help it. Hence both were complimentary to each other, said Satyanand Mishra, chief information commissioner (CIC), government of India.  The government wants that the corporate houses should also abide by the Right to Information (RTI) Act, falling on then lines of the government offices.  Mishra said that India Inc will also have to accept transparency and for this they can...

-The Economic Times   Leading IT company Infosys today disapproved the idea of bringing corporates under the ambit of the Right to Information Act by saying that they were already accountable to several regulators in the country.  "We are reluctant (that) we should be included (under the Right To Information)," Infosys Executive Co Chairman S Gopalakrishnan said at a CII even here.  He was responding to a query on whether the Indian corporates should...