-The Economic Times   The row over opening up of the retail sector escalated on Monday with Congress' Kerala unit backing the rollback demand of 12 Opposition-controlled state governments and UPA allies DMK and Trinamool Congress.  The fissures within the ruling alliance and the potential of the issue to bring disparate Opposition groups together saw Congress president Sonia Gandhi intervening to cut political losses for her party. Sonia, who held consultations with Prime...

In opening up the retail trade to foreign equity last week, the Union government demonstrated uncharacteristic courage and conviction. While this policy measure might help dispel doubts about its ability to take decisions, it has raised a political dust-storm more intense and widespread than it had probably bargained for. No doubt, taking a view on the issue of liberalising FDI norms for multi-brand retail had been on the government’s agenda for...

-The Hindu   This is a major step towards providing liberation to farmers, says Sharma Ridiculing claims that opening of foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail will lead to displacement and unemployment, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Friday asserted that this bold move would lead to creation of 10 million jobs and billions of dollars in investments during the next three years. Brushing aside the criticism by the Opposition parties,...

-The Economic Times   With the entry of foreign supermarket players, farmers across India's six lakh villages stand to gain from greater market access, higher profits, better technology and direct linkage with consumers.  "Direct purchase from farms has hugely benefited small farmers like us who were not getting good returns by selling in the local mandi," said Abdul Majid, from Malerkotla in Punjab, who has been selling vegetables from his one-acre farm to...

-The Hindu   The Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) has strongly opposed the new National manufacturing Policy approved by the Union Cabinet recently and termed it as an attempt by the government to give back door entry to the so-called labour reform of ‘hire and fire' being pressed by the business houses. “The national manufacturing policy will create new islands of lawlessness with bountiful concessions to business houses and absolute jungle raj...