Manmohan Singh today refused to yield to pressure on the question of allowing foreign direct investment in retail and appeared ready for a protracted battle, including the risk of a vote in Parliament despite his government’s fragile majority. Somewhat reminiscent of his nuclear deal stand, the Prime Minister confronted those who had accused the government of taking a hasty decision on retail. “We have not taken this decision in haste, but after...

Conceding a major Team Anna demand, the Parliamentary committee examining the Lokpal Bill has decided to recommend that 57 lakh "Group C" central government employees - or the entire lower bureaucracy - be placed within the ambit of the anti-corruption ombudsman.  In a controversial decision, the panel also decided to exclude the prime minister from the Lokpal's jurisdiction as long as he holds office. This was at its final meeting to...

The battle for India’s retail market is being fought not just in the halls of Parliament and on the front pages of newspapers but also on the little stretch of road near my home in Mumbai, where Colaba Causeway peters out into Navy Nagar. The outsize name board, “Patel General Stores”, had proudly announced itself for as long as I can remember. Recently, however, I noticed that the board had been...

-The Indian Express   Government of India statistics show that apart from being the national capital, Delhi is also the rape capital, with the highest number of rape cases (414) being registered in the city-state last year. Now, figures tabled in Parliament show, the city also enjoys the dubious distinction of being second-highest when it comes to number of complaints by women relating to police harassment and police apathy. While Uttar Pradesh leads the...

Farmers, a holy-cow constituency considered more valuable than small traders to the political class, have begun to ask uncomfortable questions to those opposing foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail. Several farmer groups, some of them led by politicians with ties to the Congress, have asked why some parties are standing in the way of a measure that is expected to reduce the clout of middlemen and increase farm earnings. Although Prime Minister...