-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With the general elections just four months away and rollout of UPA's flagship Food Security Act at stake, commerce minister Anand Sharma is facing a challenge that few of his eight predecessors who attended WTO ministerial meetings have faced. Already, there is a demand to block a compromise formula or a "peace clause" that will prevent any WTO member from seeking penalties against a developing country...

-The Hindu To the long list of 28 public sector banks in India, one more was added with the inauguration of the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) on Tuesday by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The bank is unique in more ways than one. It will focus predominantly on women, apart from being staffed largely by them. To the BMB will go the distinction of being the first-ever public sector bank to...

-The World Bank   Policy Interventions Can Turn the Tide, Says World Bank Report WASHINGTON: A new World Bank report warns that risky behaviors -smoking, using illicit drugs, alcohol abuse, unhealthy diets, and unsafe sex- are increasing globally and pose a growing threat to the health of individuals, particularly in developing countries. The report looks at how individual choices that lead to these behaviors are formed and reviews the effectiveness of interventions...

-Outlook Patna: The Bihar government would bear the interest rate above 7 per cent on loans taken by Self Help Groups (SHGs), Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today. The SHGs paying loan on time would be given incentive by providing loan at a lower interest rate of 4 per cent, Kumar said addressing a review meeting of "Jeevika" (Bihar state rural livelihood mission) here. Banks are at present providing loan to SHGs at...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The Naveen Patnaik government would soon invite applications from people wishing to be included as beneficiaries under the Food Security Act to be implemented in the state from July 2014. Application forms will also be available online. A six-member committee headed by the development commissioner would be constituted to chalk out the modalities for identification of the beneficiaries. Under the provisions of the act, each beneficiary would be entitled...