-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: With general elections due next year, the UPA has drawn up plans to project itself as a business-friendly regime, as investors are side-stepping India following criticism that the government has been unable to push through enough reforms to revive a stalling economy. A white paper on economic reforms, under preparation, lists out moves such as allowing FDI in multi-brand retail. Last week, global ratings agency Standard & Poor's...

-The Hindu Opinion polls should be regulated, not banned. Ideally, it should be self-regulation by pollsters and media organisations. The debate around the latest proposal to ban opinion polls is an opportunity in disguise. Beneath the familiar acrimony of partisan debates, a much-needed middle ground has emerged quietly. All we need is a group of stakeholders - pollsters, researchers, media heads and political leaders - to come together to turn this possibility...

-The Hindu Warsaw: Poland, the hosts for the U.N. Climate talks this year, and the EU came in for some harsh opposition from many developing countries, including India, for promoting the idea that the talks must deliver a new carbon market mechanism even before countries make their emission reduction targets. Carbon markets help developed countries take credit for reduction of emissions carried out by Poor countries by paying for the actions. The...

-The Indian Express Kolkata: The humble potato comes a Poor second to pricey onion in State matters. But that was before Mamata Banerjee wielded the knife. Over the past couple of days, the West Bengal Police, directed by the Chief Minister, has seized thousands of trucks carrying potatoes to neighbouring states such as Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar. Mamata's provocation was the rise in the price of the vegetable back home. However, while...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: The UPA government is set to toughen a key law that protects India's Dalits against discrimination by introducing several new provisions which will criminalise acts, such as denying them access to temples and forcing them to quit elections. The Social Justice and Empowerment ministry is likely to move the cabinet shortly to get the proposed amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,...