Following a move by the Central Government to further amalgamate regional rural banks (RRBs) in the country, employee unions are demanding the formation of a National Rural Bank of India (NRBI), by amalgamating all RRBs and de-linking of RRBs from the sponsor banks. Ministry view In a letter dated November 28 to the chairmen of sponsor banks of RRBs, the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, said that currently there are...

Thousands of people came out in support of Anna Hazare's day-long fast at Jantar Mantar. However, there was no dearth of dissenting views either.  The All India Confederation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Organizations protested near the venue, demanding representation for minorities in the Lokpal committee. Their views were echoed in the speeches of leaders of CPI (M) and Samajwadi Party among others, who participated in a debate organized by...

Policymakers have repeatedly said that commodity futures help farmers hedge their risks. But data from Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the regulator for the business worth Rs 106 lakh crore during April-October, paints a different picture. The share of agricultural trade is just a tad over 10% and within this, food products such as soya oil and chana accounted for less than 7% of the total value. Of course, the government itself...

Our democracy is creaking, but it works—nominally at least. What it needs is not dilution, but deepening. When “Too Much Democracy” Works     Pressure in parliament pushes PM Manmohan Singh to secure the resignation of telecom minister A. Raja in the 2G affair     The angst and trials of tribals in the Maoist bastion of Dantewada is sensed in Delhi after the media highlights their plight     People power at the sites of...

-PTI   Coming out in strong defence of Home Minister P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal today attacked the BJP-led NDA of attempting to "foist" culpability on him in the 2 G scam saying it was a desperate attempt to make parliamentary democracy dysfunctional. Sibal held a press conference to say that the government rejected all allegations against Chidambaram, Finance Minister at the time of spectrum allocation, and alleged that elements in the NDA were...