Huge election costs are among the root causes of corruption in the country. Greater financial transparency of political parties can certainly make a big impact in containing corruption.

In what is probably the last expansion of the UPA-II Cabinet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday inducted eight new faces in his ministry - four Cabinet-level ministers and four new ministers of state.

In recent times, before every general election, some regional party (or parties) throws up the idea of a Third Front all over again, excluding both the BJP and the Congress.  In the past week, two chief ministers - West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee and Odisha's Naveen Patnaik - have once more done so.

The flurry of reforms it has launched in the last few months have given the government confidence. The Congress is banking on populist measures such as the direct cash transfer scheme and the food security bill to further boost support for the party.

As the district emerges from the shadow of the Reddy brothers, it faces the sobering aftermath of illegal mining. But with the ban on new leases lifted, Bellary is readying for change.

Business tycoons were looking for clues to Rahul Gandhi's economic vision, but he did not go into specifics in his address to the CII.

Who makes a better choice as prime minister: Narendra Modi or Nitish Kumar? Examine their track records.

The UPA government will do its best to follow its economic agenda, but it will be naive to expect breakthrough reforms.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave,. he said that multi-member audit bodies have been successful in various countries.

Labour and employment minister Mallikarjun Kharge denies that there is a rift between his ministry and the Ministry for Human Resources Development on vocational qualification frameworks. In an interview with Business Today's Sebastian P.T., he says his ministry is moving in the right direction on achieving its targets.

If 2014 general elections throw up a hung Parliament, President Pranab Mukherjee could well play a critical role in deciding who forms the next government and Modi perhaps knows this.

For all the talk of the United Progressive Alliance government about the seminal step the proposed National Food Security Bill will be in eradicating hunger and malnutrition, Finance Minister P Chidambaram's budgetary allocation for it is paltry.

Unlike his predecessors Lalu Prasad or Mamata Banerjee, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal failed to lighten up the mood of the fellow parliamentarians during his budget speech. The opposition members also appeared to run out of ideas while attacking his proposals.

The National Food Security Bill has the backing of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and the government aims to table the Bill in the Budget session of Parliament.

Gujarat has been one of India's most industrialised states for decades and its people known for their enterprise. Chief Minister Narendra Modi, for his part, has been more successful than any of his predecessors in packaging the state's strengths.

Industry executives say the French automaker decision to go slow on its India plans will not affect Sanand's fortunes. Tata Motors is already making Nano cars at its factory, Ford is constructing a plant and several auto parts suppliers have also set up units.

While Gujarat plies big firms with incentives, its small businesses are grumbling about neglect. In recent years, the state has focused on wooing large-scale industries. The Gujarat Industrial Policy of 2009 offers incentives to projects with investments above Rs 10,000 crore.

In its 2011 Corruption Perception Index, Transparency International ranked India at 95 out of 183 countries. How can widespread corruption be curbed? Here are five suggestions.

Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai called for transparency in functioning of corporate entities in a discussion on 'inclusive governance' at the World Economic Forum on India in Gurgaon.

Following the October 29 Cabinet reshuffle, in all likelihood the last before the general elections of 2014, Business Today looks closely at the challenges before five of them, all holding key economic ministries.