Besieged BJP rallies behind Modi

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

With the Government gearing up for debate and voting in Parliament this week on allowing FDI in multibrand retail, most papers of the day highlighted the issues involved. The Statesman reports the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath as saying that the Government was confident of its numbers to win the crucial vote.

"Cash transfer: Govt asks banks to expand rural reach", under that headline Hindustan Times' Business page says that as the government prepares to roll out the direct cash transfer scheme, the public sector banks have been asked to focus on branch network expansion to bring all rural households under the banking net.

National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon's arrival in China for talks on the boundary question and strategic issues of common interest is widely covered. "Menon hold's key talks in Beijing today", reads a headline in The Asian Age.

To ensure fair and transparent use by India Inc. of their Corporate Social Responsibility funds, an independent mechanism may be put in place, with the Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot proposing an entity for monitoring the use of CSR funds, reports the Financial Express.

"Besieged BJP rallies behind Modi" says Mail Today. Hindustan Times writes that a day after Sushma Swaraj endorsed Narendra Modi as a possible Prime Ministerial candidate, more senior BJP leaders have come out in support and praise of the Gujarat Chief Minister.

'Are you ready for the new Cheque Regime?, quizzes Hindustan Times. Come January 1st, a new system will kick in, in which cheques will be cleared electronically, in a day. This will do away with the need for physical movement of cheques from a bank branch to a clearing house, reports the paper.

And finally, The Pioneer reports the findings of an intercontinental team of scientists that the forefathers of the European Roma gypsies were 'Doma' - a collective term for the ancient aboriginal populations of North Western India, also known as the 'Dalits'.