-CNN-IBN The mahapanchayat of 200 villages that met on Monday to discuss the violence at Maruti's Manesar plant demanded a CBI probe into the incident. Fearing job losses, the mahapanchayat came out strongly in support of the Maruti management and against the workers who are accused of wreaking havoc at the plant. The mahapanchayat also suggested recruitment of more locals to avoid similar incidents in future.   Meanwhile, the auto industry has said it will...

-The Times of India The bloody and systematic attack on the senior management at Maruti's Manesar plant may have been the result of Naxal influence, according to sources within the government. Intelligence agencies have been asked to investigate whether Maoists are infiltrating trade unions in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt, which has witnessed serious labour trouble in the past few years, added the sources. The agencies are looking at a couple of trade unions...

-The Hindu MHA’s move prompted by violence that rocked Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant Large scale violence by workers that rocked Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant in Gurgaon last week has led the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to alert the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to probe whether there is any Maoist influence on trade unions in industrial belts in the National Capital Region (NCR). Senior MHA officials fear that Maoists might be trying to influence...

-The Economic Times This year's frail monsoon has depleted Indian reservoirs to alarming levels last seen during the devastating drought of 2009, threatening even winter-sown crops and making the country vulnerable to drinking water scarcity by February as India's grossly inadequate storage capacity magnifies the impact of weak rainfall. The situation is precarious because the monsoon has delivered normal rainfall to only one-third of the country. The total deficit so far this...

-The Hindu With sowing of kharif crops lagging by over 86 lakh hectares compared to last year, owing to an erratic southwest monsoon and the average water level in major reservoirs declining by 2 per cent (to 59 per cent of last year’s storage) over the previous week, the country faces a grim situation. The area under rice, pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals is less than what it was last year. Earlier, the...