-The Economic Times The central government has banned states from allowing sale or export of iron ore by Companies granted mining leases for own steel production. "The entire ore produced in the mining operation (of captive mines) shall be used exclusively for own consumption in iron or steel making and cannot be either sold in India or exported to other countries," the mines ministry said in an order issued on September...

-The Economic Times Where will India get its water from in the coming years? The water challenge is already grave and could get graver. By 2050, for instance, it is estimated that demand would go up to 1,180 million cubic metres, 1.65 times the current levels, a situation that would be made worse by fast dwindling fresh water resources. That's why desalination — removing salt from seawater to make fresh water —...

-The Guardian Allowing foreign chains such as Tesco to open in India will drive up unemployment and exploit small producers India's ruling coalition has been rocked after its second-largest partner withdrew this week. The latest round of political instability comes about because prime minister Manmohan Singh announced a number of economic measures without consulting his allies. The announcements – that diesel prices were to be raised, and that India's retail and domestic...

-The Times of India Public sector insurers are on course to increase medical insurance premium with Oriental Insurance saying that it will end the six-year freeze and raise annual costs by around 15% in the wake of higher costs. Other state-run Companies, which sell health insurance under the Mediclaim brand, too, are expected to follow suit, especially after the government prodded them to ensure that they run profitable businesses. The four Companies...

-The Indian Express DIPP officials cite regulatory issues, problems in checking inter-state transactions in e-commerce activities The new rules that allow foreign retail chains to pick up to 51% stake in Indian supermarkets will not apply to e-commerce Companies in the business-to-consumer (B2C) space. This means while the US-based retail firm Walmart can pick up a 51% stake in Bharti Retail, the JV firm cannot sell its products online through that entity....