-NDTV The Union Cabinet is expected to meet this evening to consider a 7 per cent hike in the Dearness Allowance (DA) of Central government employees. Once approved, it will benefit over 52 lakh government employees. The Cabinet will also take a decision on computerisation of the Public Distribution System (PDS). A Food Ministry proposal seeks to digitise ration cards and fully computerise the PDS network especially at the back-end. Also, a bailout package...

-The Economic Times "Are we knowledge-proof?" asked the late Prof Raj Krishna. As memorable as his other coinage, the Hindu rate of growth, this question is relevant, given our current growth strategy. The SME sector is a vibrant part of the economy, accounting for 40% of manufacturing and generating jobson a scale second only to agriculture. The figures are similarly significant for handicrafts and handlooms. According to the Tenth Plan, GDP from handicrafts...

-The Telegraph Fifty-two thousand underprivileged children of Jamshedpur and Gamharia in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan went without midday meal on Thursday, a cruel fallout of the Bharat Bandh that forced Jharkhand to stay indoors on Thursday. The success of the bandh meant that either government or aided schools eligible for midday meals stayed shut or BJP Workers and other protesters on the road stopped drivers from ferrying food to cradles from the centralised kitchen...

-The Times of India The opposition-sponsored Bharat bandh demanding a rollback of the government's decision to hike diesel prices, cap subsidised cooking gas cylinders and allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail has evoked mixed response across the nation. Besides the NDA and the Left, the Thursday shutdown has the support of parties like the Samajwadi Party, the TDP, the BJD and many others. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK, which is an ally...

-Economic and Political Weekly  The Government of India is considering a proposal to notify farming as an essential service. This is ostensibly to bring drought relief to farmers suffering from a weak monsoon - a laudable goal indeed. However, if farming is deemed an "essential service", farmers and farm Workers could lose many of their political and civic rights because the government can then invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act to...