-The Times of India A middleclass dream that politics can be redeemed by means other than politics has just ended, with Team Anna’s decision to launch a political party and join the fray. Many of his ardent supporters and well-wishers have registered deep disappointment. Anna is becoming part of the problem, they cry. The problem was with the hope that gods out of the machine can serve up deliverance on a...

-Business Today "I want it back," says Sharada Begum. The 67-year-old woman is a member of one of the 100 households of Raghubir Nagar, a resettlement colony in west Delhi, chosen to participate in a pilot scheme that aimed to turn the public distribution system (PDS) on its head. Through all of 2011, these households had Rs 1,000 transferred every month to a woman member's bank account in lieu of rice, wheat,...

-The Guardian Higher disposable incomes, changing consumption patterns and the marketing might of powerful western brands are bringing fast food to India's children The camera pans in. The grins of smiling school children fill the frame. An enthusiastic teacher, played by a famous Bollywood actress, sits in the centre. The scene is a "remote picturesque setting". And all are munching happily on Domino's Pizza. The advert is typical of the marketing bombardment...

-The Times of India More than 30 billion apps were downloaded in 2011 and three-quarters of the world's inhabitants now have access to a mobile phone. India has 70 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, a new report from the World Bank says. "Mobile communication has arguably had a bigger impact on humankind in a shorter period of time than any other invention in human history," the "Information and Communications for Development 2012: Maximizing...

-The Economic Times This is the time of the year when the country's weakest spots are exposed; despite our high growth and emerging-economy status, we continue to depend on the rains to boost rural incomes and provide a cushion in a slow economy. All eyes are on rainfall in July, which is crucial for the kharif crop that accounts for about half the food grain output. The consequences on inflation are, of...