-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...

-IANS   Shops and commercial establishments were closed in Himachal Pradesh's major towns Thursday as workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) as well as traders protested the decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in Retail.  However, there was no report of traffic being held up due to the strike. There was also no report of violence anywhere, an official at the police headquarters here...

-The Telegraph   Trinamul Congress members today carried placards inside Parliament denouncing the decision to let foreign players enter the multi-brand Retail market, snubbing the government’s efforts to get ally Mamata Banerjee’s party on board. It was the first time since the FDI row erupted last week that party MPs waved placards that read “FDI hai hai” as they stormed the well of the House demanding that the government roll back its decision. According...

-The Times of India   Given the debate that's raging over opening the Retail sector to foreign direct investment, we bring you the government's view, the opposition's objections and TOI's take on the issue. Government argument * Huge investments in the Retail sector will see gainful employment opportunities in agro-processing, sorting, marketing, logistics management and front-end Retail. * At least 10 million jobs will be created in the next three years in the Retail sector. *...

With deep pockets and international sourcing capabilities, global Retail chains will outcompete domestic players, displace jobs, and undermine livelihoods. In predictable fashion, the Manmohan Singh government chose to ignore voices of opposition and implement its agenda of permitting foreign investment in the Retail trade. While Parliament was in session, the Cabinet met to approve the hitherto prohibited foreign direct investment in multi-brand Retail, with a cap of 51 per cent on...