-The Times of India In a major setback to special economic zone (SEZ) developers, finance minister P Chidambaram has turned down the commerce department's plea to cut the minimum alternate tax (MAT), which was imposed two years ago. A lower or no tax burden was cited as one of the main drivers for boosting investment in what were until recently duty-free enclaves. The commerce department had made a case for reversing Chidambaram's...

-The Business Standard We need a food safety model based on societal objectives of nutrition, livelihood and safety My local vegetable vendor sells ordinary lemons packed in plastic bags. It has got me thinking if this is a sign of improving standards of food safety and hygiene. After all, if we go to any supermarket in the rich and food-processed world, we will find food neatly packed so that there is no...

-The Hindu Nationwide frustration arising from large-scale corruption by people in authority erupted in a wave of protests two years ago. Legislative remedies proposed as a response to public anger, such as the Lokpal and the Lokayuktas in all States, have still not become a reality. Adding to the aam aadmi’s sense of outrage, another important legislation that aims at ending administrative gridlock and corruption has run into political troubles. The...

-The Economic Times India may have policy of preferring free and open source applications, but still the world's largest software maker Microsoft and others, including Adobe, Norton and McAfee, have managed to weasel their way into some of the largest government purchases in the country's history. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are in the process of procuring over eight million laptops preloaded with proprietary software in clear violation of India's national...

-The Times of India It is budget time once again. Far away from the talk of lakhs and crores of rupees echoing from Parliament to television studios, a thin adivasi teenage girl stands in a queue at her hostel, her plate in her hand, waiting for her share of the gruel that she is given for lunch every day. Her family depends on the money from the minor forest produce her...