-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday referred the land acquisition bill to a joint committee of Parliament, paving the way for its passage in a joint sitting of Parliament after the monsoon session. Rural development minister Birender Singh moved the motion for sending the bill to the joint panel after a detailed discussion forced by the opposition. The discussion had Rahul Gandhi lead the Congress attack on the bill,...

-The Economic Times BENGALURU: To fend off an agrarian crisis similar to the one sweeping across parts of north India and prevent farmer suicides, Karnataka has begun to implement a scheme to monsoon-proof the farmer that could turn out to be a national solution. About 35,000 farmers across the state's 175 taluks are implementing the pilot programme by setting up polythene-lined water storage ponds in their fields to prevent water seep age...

-Business Standard Amendments skip key controversial issues The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has made nine amendments to its land Bill, tabled in Parliament on Monday. Most of these were cosmetic in nature, leaving the key elements of the original promulgation intact - the lack of need for consent and social impact assessment while acquiring land for private projects; public-private partnerships and government acquisitions. Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh did move two amendments...

-The Hindu Nine amendments have been adopted. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, popularly known as the land bill, was adopted by the Lok Sabha after debating it for two days. Congress and Biju Janata Dal walked out ahead of the voting, to protest the removal of a clause that makes it mandatory to get farmers' consent prior to the acquisition of land...

-The Hindu Government acccuses Opposition of creating confusion The Modi government sent out conflicting signals on whether it would blink on the land ordinance, even as ally Lok Janshakti Party joined two other NDA partners, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena, to oppose it in its present form. With a united opposition rejecting the controversial draft legislation, and perception having gained ground that the government's proposed changes are anti-poor, pro-rich, harried...