-The Times of India Crest Cash transfers have been described as the world's favourite new anti-poverty device. As India gets set to implement it, TOI-Crest finds out if the politics will ever be divorced from the cash The UPA government's ambitious plan to introduce direct cash transfers (DCT) by January 1, 2013 reflects both the political desperation of a beleaguered government and the urgent need to reform India's inefficient and corrupt public...

-NDTV A day after the UPA government won Parliament's approval on its proposal to allow foreign direct investment or FDI in multi-brand retail, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said FDI will create a revenue model for farmers. "FDI has been passed by Parliament and it was strongly supported by organisation in Punjab. Agriculture and food retail business will be benefited by it, farmers and consumers will be benefited by FDI," the Prime...

-The Times of India The gridlock in Parliament over foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail is set to ease with the Manmohan Singh government - armed with ally DMK's support - dropping its resistance to a discussion under a rule that necessitates a vote. The detente over FDI could see fresh discussion between the ruling coalition and BJP over the winter session's legislative agenda with parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath expected to...

-The Hindu Property empire was built on soft loans handed out in unusual circumstances, documents show In February, as rumours of the ambitions of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law swirled amidst the heat and dust of the election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, her daughter Priyanka moved to scotch speculation about Robert Vadra’s possible political future. “He’s a successful businessman,” the younger Ms. Gandhi said of her husband, “who is not interested in changing...

-The Hindu The government’s claim that it will dampen inflation, bring higher prices for farmers and lower prices for customers may be somewhat exaggerated With the intention of signalling a strong commitment to reforms, the UPA government has announced a hike in the price of diesel and liberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, justifying the measures as growth-enhancing and inflation-dampening. They have been termed bold by India’s corporate sector...