-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With the general elections just four months away and rollout of UPA's flagship Food Security Act at stake, commerce minister Anand Sharma is facing a challenge that few of his eight predecessors who attended WTO ministerial meetings have faced. Already, there is a demand to block a compromise formula or a "peace clause" that will prevent any WTO member from seeking penalties against a developing country...

-The Business Standard Expenses such as employment guarantees and loan waivers are, in effect, subsidies that are classified differently in government accounts Over the last few years, the government announced many policy initiatives that purportedly help the weaker sections of our society. Schemes initiated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or the distribution of free and affordable food items under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are examples...

-PTI The presiding members of Lok Adalats must ensure that litigants are not "intimidated" or "misled" to give their consent to the decisions as they are final and cannot be appealed against, Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam said. Terming Lok Adalats as an effective mode of settling disputes, the CJI said they provide an "approachable" forum to the poor, weaker and less-informed sections and should not be allowed to be used...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: At a time when 16,000-odd trial courts, 21 high courts and the Supreme Court are battling with over three crore pendency, a nationwide simultaneous holding of lok adalats opened on Saturday by Chief Justice P Sathasivam achieved a world record by disposing of 35.1 lakh cases within eight hours. "What is important is that these cases will be settled and reach a finality without litigants going...

-Live Mint/ Bloomberg As much as better policies and better tax system, it's the humble toilet that can be an engine of future Indian growth On Tuesday, the United Nations marked its inaugural World Toilet Day, designed to draw attention to the fact that more than one-sixth of humanity still lacks indoor sanitation, and that the world needs new ideas and technologies to deal with one of the most basic...