Just around the corner

The Foreign Direct Investment debate continued to rage online well over 24 hours after the government's announcement. Journalist Nikhil Wagle, for instance, had a couple of questions: 'Should consumers tolerate the arrogance of the kiranawala? Will competition make him better? Will he stop cheating? Do we need modernisation of kirana?' Another journalist, Sucheta Dalal, weighed in with this: 'On retail, I don't think we should let our politicians fool us. More kirana stores are closing to make way for ATMs and courier companies already.' Natasha Adlakha shared this point of view: 'Comparing a kirana shop to a Walmart is like comparing a Govinda and Aamir Khan movie. Both have their own audience.' And from a third journalist, Rajdeep Sardesai: 'Tandoori chicken ran circles around Kentucky. Why can't the kirana shop survive even with a Walmart?'

Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa clogged timelines for a while after he was granted bail, the eleventh of 14 accused to be out. It prompted Dushyant K. Mahant to tweet: 'Delhi courts grant bail to Balwa in the 2G case. His first words should be, "I always believed in the judicial system".' Faking News tweeted: 'Balwa has been granted bail. Guess the real estate developer was needed to make the Walmart buildings.' And from a certain John Gancis: 'Shahid Balwa out, Kanimozhi out, Sukh Ram out, Balakrishna Pillai out. Why do we have jails and law and order if they had to be out?'

Assamese writer Indira Goswami, who played a key role in peace talks with separatist group ULFA, died on Tuesday morning after prolonged illness. Ranjib Mazumder tweeted: 'After Bhupen Hazarika, Assam has lost another giant to fate.'

A question that's clearly been bothering filmmaker Shekhar Kapur: 'No apple on a tree looks the same. But in supermarkets in the West, they are all the same. How?'