KEY TRENDS   • Section 105 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which provides for excluding 13 Central legislation, including Land Acquisition (Mines) Act 1885, Atomic Energy Act, 1962, Railway Act 1989, National Highways Act 1956 and Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, from its purview, has been amended for payment of compensation with rigours $ • The amendments have now...

EVEN though the Right to Information Act guarantees citizens their right to know and expose corruption in government offices, increasing attacks on RTI activists have put this most important right in jeopardy. The RTI Act was enacted after a long struggle by civil rights organisations. However, those who dare question the ways of the powers that be and expose them are eliminated in cold-blooded murders. The manner in which Amit...

The 2010 Seeds Bill that has been introduced in Parliament does address some of the major concerns in the aborted 2004 version, but strangely a number of important correctives – on regulation, consistency and punishment – that had been incorporated in the 2008 version (which lapsed in 2009) have now been modified or dropped altogether. What forces are pushing the government to act against the interests of India’s farmers? The third...

After a long wait, a legislation aimed at protecting whistleblowers will be taken up by the Cabinet on Thursday. The bill has provisions to prevent victimization or disciplinary action against those who expose corruption in government. The proposed law is expected to encourage disclosure of information in public interest and will cover central, state and public sector employees. According to the bill, if a person making a disclosure is victimized...

CBI feels constrained by need to get consent of States to probe offences in their jurisdictions Draft envisages panel for appointment of CBI Director as laid down by Supreme Court Often under attack from the Opposition parties who accuse the government of the day of misusing it, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has urged the government to replace the outdated pre-independence era Delhi Special Police Establishment Act that governs its functioning...