-The Hindu "We are trying to strengthen the humint component " Amid indications of no major headway in last week's blast outside the State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Bangalore, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday again pushed for the controversial National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) that would strengthen intelligence set up of the States. "We are trying to strengthen the ‘humint' (human intelligence) component in our intelligence agencies. That will...

-Live Mint West Bengal chief minister dashes Saradha depositors' hopes of any immediate state-assisted recovery Kolkata: What has gone, has gone," West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee told depositors of the Saradha Group, dashing their hopes of any immediate state-assisted recovery of dues from the floundering units of the group that collected the money. Banerjee launched two separate investigations and promised to introduce a new law to deal firmly with fraudulent financial...

-The Hindu Business Line Kolkata: Everyone knew that the bomb was ticking. But, there was not much action to curb the mushrooming ponzi schemes that were collecting thousands of crores from hapless investors across West Bengal since 2007-08. Some promised to grow money by 34 times in 25 years by investing in teak bonds. Others offered to double money in 15 months by investing in the potato trade. As a result, investments...

-The Hindu Left parties to press for referring land acquisition bill to panel VISAKHAPATNAM: Continuing her tirade against attempts by the UPA Government to adopt the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, in Parliament without addressing the concerns expressed by many, CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat on Sunday accused Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh of dancing to the tune of the corporate lobby. At a seminar on ‘Tribal...

-The Hindu     ‘Crorepati'-politicians wear their wealth like a badge of honour Bangalore: With the new breed of "crorepati"-politicians wearing their wealth like a badge of honour, the old slogans of "Garibi Hatao" (remove poverty) have become passé. The rise in the prominence of moneybags from real estate, the private education sector, and industry in the city's political landscape has not only deflected social issues but it has also changed the benchmark for a...