The new bribery revelations, a rigged process to import reactors and safety-related concerns must lead to the long-blocked scrutiny of the nuclear deal by Parliament. The world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl raises troubling questions about India's plans for a huge expansion of its nuclear power programme through reactor imports. Given its low per-capita energy consumption, India must generate far more electricity to economically advance. So it needs more nuclear-generated power....

Trade unions of all hues join forces in an unprecedented manner and present a charter of demands to the government. IN a rare show of unity, and for the first time since Independence, around one lakh workers affiliated to eight central trade unions and national industrial federations, including the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and the trade unions of the Left parties, came out on the streets of New...

Two key issues Budget-2011 is seen as having failed to address are inflation and mass hunger. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced in his budget speech that the long-promised National Food Security Bill would be moved in Parliament “during the course of this year” but failed to make any financial allocation to back up this statement. Against the backdrop of fresh warnings by experts that the outlook is grim given the...

The budget for the next fiscal is likely to step up the target for farm credit to 4,50,000 crore, up 20% from the current year's 3,75,000 crore. With the agriculture sector seen growing at 5.4% in the current fiscal, the government will push banks to disburse more to the sector to maintain the momentum, said a senior government official. The upheavel in the micro-finance sector will also necessitate greater lending by banks. "The...

THE boom in demand for apparel and mobile phones may soon be over as Indians plan to spend less on fun and entertainment to deal with rising food prices, a Nielsen study says. Indian consumers are extremely cautious about rising food prices and a sizeable section may defer purchases by 6-12 months, says the latest Nielsen global consumer confidence index released on Monday. Some companies, including LG Electronics and Future Group, agreed...