-The Telegraph West Bengal: An agent of the Saradha Group fell ill in Siliguri today after a three-hour demonstration while investors hit the streets with placards asking the chief minister to give them back their money or provide them with poison. Dinabandhu Pal, who had collected Rs 16 lakh for the Saradha Group, was admitted to Siliguri subdivisional hospital after he complained of palpitation in front of Siliguri police station. His wife...

-Live Mint State govt says did not receive notice from SC before order was issued; SKS shares fall 19.63% in intra-day trade Mumbai: Andhra Pradesh, once the largest market for microlenders and home to India's lone listed such institution SKS Microfinance Ltd, said on Thursday it would challenge the Supreme Court's recent interim order allowing the company to resume operations in the southern state, driving the stock down by almost 20%...

-Live Mint Experts say private banks achieve lending obligations by buying out loans from non-banking entities Most private banks in India have not been able to meet the needs of farmers although they are expanding their rural and semi-urban branch network. This is why the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is insisting that at least one-fourth of the branches of the new banks that will be given a licence must be located...

-The Hindu Since 2005-06, taxes and duties for the corporate world and the rich have been written off at the rate of Rs.7 million a minute on average. Duties waived on gold and diamonds in the last 36 months equal the 2G scam amount Forbes has just added an “errata” to Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s budget speech. The Minister had found a mere 42,800 people in the country with a taxable...

-First Post In an interview with Firstpost, Ajay Chhibber, Regional Director of the UNDP, tells us why India ranks low on the Human Development Index, below China, Sri Lanka and Iran, what we need to do to improve our standing and why welfare schemes are not to be blamed for poor growth or inflation. Excerpts from the interview: * Why does India lag other BRIC countries in the HDI ratings? Compared to the other...