Politicians, business persons, civil servants, a range of professionals, including doctors and organisers of sports events, and even the judiciary have been in the media spotlight on charges of corruption, nepotism, sleaze and worse. It was to be only a matter of time before the media and media professionals came under public scrutiny for similar acts of omission and commission. The expose on paid news content in the media was...

The rural poor in Andhra Pradesh, a State showcased as a model for SHG-bank linkage, are caught in the vortex of microfinance. WITHIN a decade of their coming into operation, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have dealt a serious blow to the economy and the well-being of thousands of families in rural Andhra Pradesh. Harassment by their collection agents has allegedly driven at least 60 borrowers to death, and the number is...

A high-level working group of the Government of India has approved the idea of outbound foreign direct investment by Indians in the production of pulses and oilseeds aimed at meeting domestic demand. This is not a new idea. Since arable land in India is fast shrinking and efforts to lift the output of pulses and oilseeds, besides some other essential commodities, are not bearing fruit, investing in land elsewhere for...

They will be subjected to protocol and verification: Pawar India has an “open mind,” but for now, it has held back permission to the United States for accessing Indian markets for U.S. dairy products, which may be made from the milk of cattle fed with feeds produced from internal organs, blood meal and tissues of ruminant origin or those that may contain animal rennet. In recent bilateral talks during U.S. President Barack...

In what will be a first for an Indian company, the local unit of beverage giant Coca-Cola has applied to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for permission to use stevia, a natural sweetner, in its products. Coca-Cola, in a joint application with Malaysian company, Pure Circle, which specialises in extraction of natural goodness from plants, has requested for use of stevial glycosides (commonly called stevia) singly or...