-The Business Standard The default approach to reform - minimalistic and confused - will lead India into crisis  It is encouraging that the Planning Commission has undertaken an innovative exercise in scenario building for the country as part of the Approach to the 12th Five-Year Plan. The results are available in a document titled “Scenarios: Shaping India’s Future”, which can be found on the Planning Commission’s website. The merit of the document...

-The Hindu A top official in the Haryana government’s land registration department was transferred hours after he initiated a probe into all the land dealings of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in four districts of the State neighbouring Delhi, The Hindu can disclose. The transfer order came on October 11, 2012 — even as the country was still digesting the allegations made by India Against Corruption of a nexus...

-CNN-IBN Kolkata: After Haryana ministers and Khap panchayats, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday gave her 'bizarre' reasoning for the increasing rape cases in the country. Mamata said that rape cases are on a rise in the country because men and women interact with each other more freely now. "Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded but now everything is...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: A khap panchayat in Haryana's Jind district has blamed consumption of chowmein behind the growing incidents ofrapes in the state saying it leads to hormonal imbalance. "To my understanding, consumption of fast food contributes to such incidents. Chowmein leads to hormonal imbalance evoking an urge to indulge in such acts," said Jitender Chhatar, a resident of Jind's Chhatar village and thua khap panchayat leader. "You also know the...

-The Times of India Union law minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday fiercely quarreled with reporters of a TV channel, disputing their claim that his NGO Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust had embezzled public funds meant for the disabled. The minister countered the allegation that his trust made fake claims of having organized camps for distribution of equipment among the differently abled. A spirited Khurshid, with wife Louise by his side, attributed motives to...