The central government claims that allowing foreign direct investment into India’s retail sector will benefit small farmers, expand employment and lower food inflation. What has been the experience in India with organised retail so far and what has been the global experience with FDI? Sukhpal Singh (sukhpal@iegindia.org) is currently at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. After being under relentless attack for a week, the United Progressiv Alliance government was forced to...

Chances of a single answer to two opposing questions on the RTI Act means there is something to it which the rule-books don’t tell you about—but you can bowl googlies to them, too, when the system expects you to hold a straight bat to their bouncers Here is a single answer to two diametrically opposite questions—“Yes, you can file an application under the Right to Information Act of India 2005 (RTI...

-Times Now TV   It is allies versus the Congress over the draft Food Security Bill. Sources have told TIMES NOW that Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has expressed his reservations over the Food Bill over its huge financial implications on the Government as it proposes to increase food subsidy by over 30,000 crore on a Government already under massive financial stress and over the need for greater food grain procurement to...

-The Indian Express   The entire spectrum of opinion on the Lokpal bill was on display at the all-party meeting on the issue. Meanwhile, Anna Hazare and his comrades promise another round of agitation, an indefinite fast, a jail bharo campaign and protest outside the homes of Congress leaders, if the bill is not cleared in this parliamentary session, and insist that the session be extended until it is passed. So far, the...

Besides taking into account the different viewpoints of parties on modalities of inclusion of the office of Prime Minister in the Lokpal Bill and the scope of the proposed ombudsman over the CBI and the CVC, the Union Cabinet would take into consideration the ‘sense of the House' resolution adopted by Parliament in August committing itself to three specific issues raised by social activist Anna Hazare. On August 27, Parliament urged...