-The Business Standard If Mr Vadra had to count his friends in the real estate business, they would be Corporation Bank, the Haryana government and DLF  Robert Vadra, who is at the centre of a controversy over his property dealings with realty giant DLF and others, began investing in real estate five years ago, in 2007-08. He was already a wealthy man by then, not a struggling businessman who could Scrape only...

-The Economic Times The home ministry has sought the opinion of all states on whether offences like terrorism and organised crime can be treated as federal frames. It has forwarded the 5th Report of the second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) to states, asking for their comments on each of the 152 recommendations that relate to state governments. This report, submitted to the government in June 2007, is among the only two...

-The Times of India BHOPAL: The Lokayukta on Sunday raided the residence of a village school headmaster in Mandsaur and recovered undisclosed assets amounting to more than Rs 2.5 crore. The headmaster of the government middle school in Amlavad village, Ram Dayal Joshi (45), joined service in 1995. In 17 years since he became a school teacher, he amassed wealth including eight hectares of agricultural land, a huge plot in Urban...

-NDTV The Kelkar committee has said subsidies pose the greatest risk to the country's fiscal situation, while suggesting that the excise and service tax rates should be cut to 8% over the next few years. The panel calls for the need to step up disinvestment drive in state-run firms for fiscal consolidation. It says diesel should be deregulated by 2014 and all subsidy on cooking gas be cut by 2015. All subsidies must be...

-The Telegraph The enormity of the real challenge before Manmohan Singh is far higher than that posed by Mamata Banerjee. A “perfect storm” is gathering around the economy, according to a Centre-commissioned report packed with suggestions for a series of tough measures that will affect daily life and test the government’s resolve to wade further into unpalatable waters. The report presented by the Vijay Kelkar panel, which was asked to suggest a road...