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...

-IANS Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday met Congress MPs after calling on party president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the standoff over the decision to allow foreign equity in retail.  The government's known troubleshooter held a brief meeting with Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence before meeting party MPs to allay their apprehensions on the decision to allow 51 percent foreign direct investment ( FDI) in multi-brand retail and 100 percent in...

-BBC   India's PM Manmohan Singh has defended the decision to open up the retail market to global supermarket chains, saying it will be good for both "farmers and the common man". Mr Singh was reacting to opposition demands to reverse the decision to allow 51% foreign ownership of multi-brand retail stores. Opposition politicians say the move will damage India's small retailers. Parliament has been in uproar and was forced to adjourn again on Wednesday. 'Better...

The prevalence is 18 per cent in South India, says UNAIDS report India houses half of Asia's HIV patients and is way ahead of China in disease burden. It also finds a place in the list of 22 countries prioritised for preventing mother to child transmission infection, according to the latest UNAIDS report, drafted jointly with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). About 48 lakh people...

The union cabinet is expected to decide on India's stance at the UN climate conference in Durban with environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan suggesting to adopt a hardline approach and shun flexi-approach of her predecessor Jairam Ramesh. In a cabinet note circulated, the environment ministry has sought reiteration of India's stance in 2010 that says no to a legally-binding climate treaty, demands a second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol, ensures climate...