-The Telegraph   Two prominent leaders of India Inc have slammed the way Parliament has virtually been locked down by “misconceived and unfortunate” protests against foreign Investment in retail — a decision they termed “an essential part of India’s growth story”. The concerns and an appeal to farmers, consumers and common people have been flagged in an open letter by Ashok Ganguly and Deepak Parekh. Ganguly, a Rajya Sabha MP, is a former...

-The Times of India   HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and Member of Parliament Ashok Ganguly have appealed to Corporate India to come out strongly in support of a besieged government, which is overwhelmed by opposition to its proposal to open up foreign Investment in retail.   The two senior business leaders are part of a group of 14 eminent citizens who came together to raise the issue of policy paralysis and later on the...

-The Times of India   Terming the government's attempt to allow foreign direct Investment in multi-brand retail as a miscalculation that lacked political consensus, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has warned that a looming slowdown needs urgent measures to remove supply side blockages. The former finance minister, who heads Parliament's standing committee on finance, said unlike in 2008, the government has no room to increase the fiscal deficit that is already above 5% while...

JANGU, 40, a Dalit labourer in Paraspur village in Gonda district, 120 km northeast of Lucknow, displays his job card in complete disbelief. “My job card was made three years ago and shows three payments. But I was never given any work, so how was the payment made?” he asks, puzzled. The first entry shows a payment of Rs 1,400 but he received a paltry Rs 100. He never went...

While the government may be finding it difficult to get its FDI in multi-brand retail pass the test of Parliament, India Inc has been pledging huge Investments in wholesale and retail trade abroad, including in countries like the US and the UK.   In the 2010-11 fiscal, Investments of Indian companies in wholesale and retail trade overseas went up 78% as compared to the previous year - up from $1,052 million in...