-The Telegraph   Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is sticking to her position on Maoist sympathisers and seems to be in no hurry to break the ice with writer Mahasweta Devi, who yesterday called her government “fascist”. “Mamatadi is concerned about the attacks on our workers in Jungle Mahal and, as an administrator, she feels those responsible should be brought to book. Supporting their cause can’t be allowed,” said a Trinamul Congress source. The source...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Unitech's Sanjay Chandra, Swan Telecom's Vinod Goenka and top Reliance ADAG executives Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara in the 2G scam case. The judgment was delivered by a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and H L Dattu on Wednesday morning. The apex court asked each accused to give a bail bond of Rs 5 lakhs with 2 sureties each. This is the...

Two months ago, Cabinet approved a draft law that seeks to create a better legislative environment to attract investments in mining and ease land acquisition through higher compensation to people displaced by projects. This show of goodwill could help the government win some hearts in troubled landscapes of Orissa and Karnataka.  But mining companies are not entirely convinced as they have to pay higher royalties and want changes to be made...

Poor spending on NREGS by Maharashtra - only Rs351 crore out of Rs668 crore - can be seen in two ways. One, apathy towards the poor and carelessness, and two, less money spent means less money stolen. All employment schemes are seen as doles, work is faked, ghosts are paid and the bucks swallowed by the establishment - politicians to petty bureaucrats - with the poor guy in the boondocks...

CHANDRAWAL, India—Satbir Sharma's wife is dead. His family lives in fear. His father's left leg is shattered, leaving him on crutches for life.   Sharma's only hope lies in a new law that gives him the right to know what is happening in the investigation of his wife's death. Most of all, he wants to know what will happen to the village mayor, now in jail on murder charges. He talks quietly, under...