-The Financial Express Leading economists who fear that the cost of the food security law on the exchequer would be much higher than estimated by the government have a seemingly unlikely ally - farmers' groups. A couple of national-level farmers' organisations have opposed the National Food Security Bill, saying it would "lead to nationalisation of agriculture by making the government the biggest buyer, hoarder and seller of foodgrains". Farmers' representatives from a...

-The Hindustan Times In what seems set to provide fresh ammo to its political rivals, the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) is learnt to have raised questions about the valuation of 350 acres given by the Haryana government to realty major DLF Limited in Gurgaon through competitive bidding for setting up a recreation-cum-leisure project. The CAG, which examined the procedures and the competitive bidding route taken by the Haryana State Industrial and...

-Economic and Political Weekly The recent debate on the acceptability of foreign direct investment in the retail sector in India has been mostly political. It is necessary to look into the pros and cons of FDI in retail from a purely economic point of view. This article identifi es the safeguards that should be undertaken before allowing giant multinationals to function in the country. Abhirup Sarkar (abhirup@isical.ac.in) is with the Indian Statistical...

-Frontline Farmers protest against the Central clearance for coal bed methane exploration in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, as they fear it will devastate agriculture in Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts.  THE woes of the delta farmers of Tamil Nadu are far from over. While the Cauvery tangle continues unresolved, they fear the proposed multi-crore project for commercial exploration and exploitation of coal bed methane (CBM) in the Mannargudi block of Tiruvarur district will prove...

-The Economic Times Cash transfers will become a reality soon, and one area that the government is going to align with this mechanism is the Public Distribution System (PDS). While, prima facie, it appears to be a good idea, given that it removes quite a bit of inefficiency in the present system, there are certain issues that have to be addressed before we go in for the same as they could become...