-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Indian roads were at their deadliest in 2014 claiming more than 16 lives every hour on average. Over 1.41 lakh people died in crashes, 3% more than the number of fatalities in 2013. The numbers of crashes and of people left injured were also the highest levels since the recording of such data started in India—at 4.5 lakh and 4.8 lakh respectively. According to the latest data...

-The Hindu Sixteen Indians died in road accidents every hour in 2014, a quarter of them on two-wheelers, and a majority of them as a result of overspeeding or reckless overtaking, new official data show. Tamil Nadu, and Chennai in particular, have high levels of road fatalities. The National Crime Records Bureau’s Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report for 2014 was released late on Friday. The numbers show a slight increase...

-Hindustan Times With the key Land Acquisition bill stalled by political differences with the Opposition, the Centre may change tack and get states to enact their own land legislation, enabling it to push along the economic reform process.   Finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday that the states that wanted speedy development could take the lead in framing such laws with the Centre's backing, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “political considerations”...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In an attempt to placate the belligerent opposition over the contentious land bill, the government is weighing the option of incorporating new provisions to protect agricultural land. According to indications, the changes could include largely exempting acquisition of irrigated multi-cropped land for developing industrial corridors or industrial hubs, building dams etc. Sources said the government is in favour of acquisition of such land only in 'extreme conditions'...

-Scroll.in Thanks to the law, workers have built roads where there were none, replaced scrublands with forests, levelled lands and made them cultivable. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act envisages that the works undertaken under it will strengthen natural resource management and address causes of chronic poverty like drought, deforestation and soil erosion, thereby encouraging sustainable development. However, the fact that it is not simply a work creation programme but...