-The Economic Times The cabinet will shortly consider a proposal to allow 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, as the government finally musters the will to implement the controversial policy measure that has been stalled for years. The commerce and industry ministry has prepared a note for the cabinet to allow 51% FDI in multi-brand retail and increase the limit on single-brand retail to 100% from the current 51%....
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Prices of 348 essential drugs to be controlled
-The Times of India The Centre on Thursday responded to the Supreme Court's concern over spiralling prices of essential medicines and promised to make all-out efforts to put under strict price control regime all the 348 drugs included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2011. A bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya had, in the last hearing, expressed concern over the shrinking list of medicines under...
More »For rich or for poor? by Ashok Kotwal, Milind Murugkar and Bharat Ramaswami
'Food subsidy is a massive burden…if so much is spent on subsidies, what is left for development?' agriculture minister Sharad Pawar recently asked. It is a legitimate question that is on the minds of many but seldom gets asked for fear of appearing callous. Are we prematurely trying to be a welfare State? In the developed world, safety nets like food stamps are regarded as humanitarian obligations toward the poor....
More »Rural Development ministry proposes to spend Rs 2 lakh crore on rural roads, skills training by Gunjan Pradhan Sinha
The rural development ministry has drawn out a plan to spend as much as Rs 2 lakh crore on two of its major schemes — Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and the Swarna Jayanti Gramin Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). The ministry, however, has left it to the government and the plan panel to decide the timeline over which these funds should be spent. The plan panel has indicated that it wants...
More »Things, not people by Prabhat Patnaik
The basic problem with the Approach Paper, as with its predecessor, is that its theoretical paradigm is wrong. WHAT used to be said of the Bourbon kings of France applies equally to the Indian Planning Commission: “They learn nothing and they forget nothing.” The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five-Year Plan gives one a sense of déjà vu. It is hardly any different from the Approach Paper to the previous Plan...
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