-The Hindu   Civil society groups have demanded an apology from the former Home Secretary of India, G.K. Pillai, for his “insensitive, sexist slandering” remarks on Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in a fake encounter in Gujarat in 2004. “Stung by the Special Investigation Team report, which concluded that Ishrat was executed in cold blood, Mr. Pillai — hard-pressed to defend his affidavit to the Supreme Court that Ishrat was a Lashkar operative...

-The Times of India   After debating the issue for over a decade, the government on Thursday threw open the multi-brand retail segment to foreign chains such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and others in a move to attract overseas investment and dispel doubts about the coalition's ability to push through big-bang reforms.  After nearly two hours of discussion on Thursday evening, the Union Cabinet decided to allow foreign retailers to hold 51% stake in...

-The Indian Express   A group of women activists on Thursday asked Union Home Secretary G K Pillai to apologise for his “sexist comments” in asserting that alleged LeT operative Ishrat Jahan’s conduct in checking into different Hotels with “another man” was definitely suspicious. In a statement issued by the Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association, the activists said Pillai made theses remarks since he was “hard-pressed to defend his affidavit to the Supreme Court...

-The Times of India   Should government-run companies invest in tobacco firms? This is the question that Voices of Tobacco Victims (VoTV), an NGO working for cancer patients, has raised after its recent query under the RTI Act revealed that the Life Insurance Corporation of India has invested up to Rs 3,500 crore in various tobacco companies. "It's the greatest irony that the government spends Rs 10,000 crore on treatment of tobacco-related illnesses...

The Planning Commission's Approach Paper to the Twelfth Plan sticks with the neoliberal agenda despite claims of inclusive growth. INCLUSIVE was one word that came up time and again in the early announcements of the Planning Commission on the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. “Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth” was the slogan coined for the Plan and there was the promise of widespread consultations as never before as part of the processes...