Finance ministry officials are of the view that current restrictions that prohibit FDI in multi-brand retail cannot be extended to franchise agreements between an Indian company and an overseas partner.
The rural development ministry has come in direct conflict with the communications ministry, which has refused to accept its request for disbursing wages under the rural job scheme through post offices without charging any fee.
Social sectors like health and education will get a leg up in the Eleventh Plan (2007-12), even as some other sectors may see a reduction in fund allocation.
The recent blacklisting of 600 NGOs by the Union rural development ministry was meant to stem the rot in the functioning of its autonomous body called Council for Advancement of People's Action And Rural Technology or Capart.
India's GDP growth is likely to slow down over the next couple of years as a result of restrictive policies -- manifested as higher interest rates and fiscal tightening -- aimed at curbing inflation, a World Bank report has said.
The Indian economy may match the economies of the Association of South East Asian Nations in size by 2015, but in terms of labour productivity it will trail this grouping of 10 nations by a little under 20 per cent
The government is planning to provide collateral-free loan up to Rs 1.50 lakh to farmers through the Kisan Credit Card scheme.
Apprehending a slowdown in the growth of the economy due to the hardening of interest rates, the appreciating rupee and falling tariffs, the government has decided to set up a group to discuss the impact of these changes.
Companies that have been reluctant to share their production and sales data with the government for calculation of various indices will now be forced to do so.
Rural Bihar appears to be doing much better than urban areas in the state, if one goes by a recent National Sample Survey Organisation report.
South Korean steel giant Posco's wait for a mining licence in Orissa has got a little longer.
Water or mines? The answer should be obvious, but thanks to the pots of gold that lie hidden in them, mines are robbing the countryside of its natural wealth.
The environment ministry has proposed to offer wasteland available with it to investors through multi-stakeholder partnership.
LN Mittal, who is a frontrunner for acquiring a 51 per cent stake in Sesa Goa from Mitsui and has announced plans for projects in Jharkhand and Orissa worth Rs 40,000 crore each, is planning a $2 billion (Rs 8,600 crore) foundation.
Global Subsidies Initiative describes itself as an honest broker of information on farm subsidies, which it says are killing the small farmer.
Most of Indian billionaires are shy of talking about the money they spend on charity.
The failure of the government to decide on the interest rate for provident fund is likely to hit around two million subscribers.
Pollution levels in the once-majestic river have gone up dramatically despite the capital spending around Rs 2,000 crore on sewage treatment plants and other facilities.
The government plans to increase the 2 per cent education cess in the coming Budget, but it is not going to mean more money for education.
A year after the launch of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, two sets of figures that it throws up are arresting.
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