-The Times of India After years of debate, foreign direct investment in retail may soon be a reality with a panel of secretaries expected to approve the framework for allowing global retail chains to set up shop in India later this month. Government sources said the proposal has gained momentum, with both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee backing it, and chances are that the Cabinet could clear...
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Land acquisition, FDI in retail, insurance top PM's reform agenda
-The Times of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday flagged amendments to land acquisition law, allowing more foreign investment in retail trading and insurance and introduction of good and services tax (GST) as the key reforms agenda of the government. "I think the first thing is to sustain the momentum of growth that we have built," PM said during a meeting with a group of editors. But a key...
More »The New Geopolitics of Food by Lester R Brown
From the Middle East to Madagascar, high prices are spawning land grabs and ousting dictators. Welcome to the 21st-century food wars. In the United States, when world wheat prices rise by 75 percent, as they have over the last year, it means the difference between a $2 loaf of bread and a loaf costing maybe $2.10. If, however, you live in New Delhi, those skyrocketing costs really matter: A doubling in...
More »In India's grain bowl, farms face threat from MNREGS
-Reuters Sitting at the edge of fields in the heart of India's grain bowl, Gurdayal Singh Malik shakes his head in resignation about the lack of workers needed for his 60-acre farm, blaming the government's flagship welfare program, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), for the shortage. Ever since the start of the program, which guarantees 100 days of work a year for rural households, the flow of...
More »Behind the global scourge of child labour by Kailash Satyarthi
Its elimination is an international obligation, but there is a long way to go to meet the goal While governments and civil society commemorate the World Day Against Child Labour on June 12, over 20 crore children are still engaged as child labourers. More than half of them face the worst forms of child labour. Though India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of child labourers, this...
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