-The Times of India JAIPUR/ALWAR: While people across the country buy gold and silver to celebrate Diwali and Dhanteras, in Rajasthan's Mewat region girls are "purchased" to mark the occasion. It is the grim reality of rampant human trafficking in the region, consisting of Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur districts. Girls bought before Diwali are married off to older men on the occasion of "Dev Uthani Ekadashi", considered an auspicious day — this...

-The Times of India The government may not agree to a resolution on FDI in multi-brand retail under the voting clause, reasoning that there was no precedent to put on vote an executive decision that did not involve any legislation. The UPA allies got together on Friday at a dinner hosted by the PM to discuss the strategy for the Parliament session in which the opposition has threatened to seek a division...

-The Telegraph The four Left parties today iterated the need for a debate and vote in Parliament on FDI in multi-brand retail, but suggested they might not press beyond a point if the government refused a vote, stressing that Parliament needs to function. “A decision of this nature is the right of the executive. But any major decision affecting a vast number of people must reflect the opinion of Parliament. If not,...

-The Hindu The wretched outcome of the 2G spectrum auctions, netting just Rs.9,407.64 crore against a Rs.40,000 crore revenue target, has evoked predictable reactions from the Congress party. Its leaders have indirectly mocked the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Supreme Court and the media for tying the government’s hands — instead of expressing concern about the impact of the failed auctions on investor confidence and India’s worrying fiscal deficit. Their gloating...

-The Times of India How can a right given under one Act be a criminal offence under another, members of a Parliamentary standing committee have asked officials from the Union environment ministry, raising concern about conflict between the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, and the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927. The House panel on science and technology and environment and forests headed by T Subbarami Reddy of Congress was gathering evidence on...