-Reuters   India is assuming grain purchases at around 30 percent of output in plans to expand its welfare programme, the food minister said, relying on increased yields and lower wastage to cover extra requirements and keeping exports on the agenda.  "We have made the calculation (for the Food Security Bill) on the basis of the grains we can produce and procure. We will procure only 30 percent of our production, 70 percent...

-The Telegraph   The cabinet today unlocked the retail market for foreign direct investment, braving the Trinamul Congress’s objections but assuring Mamata Banerjee earlier in the day that state governments would have enough leeway to protect the interests of farmers. The most significant of today’s decisions is the clearance to 51 per cent foreign investment in multi-brand retail, which will allow the entry of giants that are already household names in a country...

-The Telegraph The CPM today described the operation that led to the killing of Kishan as an “achievement’’ on the Trinamul government’s part but added that it was made possible by the administration’s “course correction’’. “The Trinamul government was initially against the deployment of joint forces in Jungle Mahal. That provided a fillip to the Maoists, who gradually began regrouping in various parts of West Midnapore and Purulia,’’ CPM state secretariat member...

This is a saga of how the Hindu outfit saw the promise in Anna and pursued him for its gains. How often do we meet strangers on a flight and realise that it could possibly be the beginning of a lasting friendship? This is how yoga teacher Ramdev and super cop Kiran Bedi met in mid 2010 when both of them were on the same flight and Ramdev spotted her. Although fate...

-CNN-IBN As the Cabinet meets to decide on allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail, it remains to be seen whether the Prime Minister will bite the bullet. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left, UPA ally Trinamool Congress along with some Cabinet ministers Veerappa Moily and Mukul Wasnik have opposed it. While the BJP feels that FDI will lead to unemployment, the Left has said that it may lead...