The Noida-Greater Noida imbroglio will be instructive for the draft land acquisition Bill In The Works...     * Government to acquire land, “public purpose” to be redefined     * Land acquisition only after getting written consent of 80 per cent of landowners     * Monitoring authority to be set up at the Centre and states to ensure compliance     * Payment component split into part-cash-down and remaining in annuity for 33 years     * Post...

The government ignores the NAC, puts out a diluted draft Bill on food security As many as 46 per cent of the malnourished children of the world—of whom at least 75,000 die every month—are in India. Another alarming official statistic—36 per cent of Indians live on less than Rs 20 a day. One would think figures like this would act as a reality check for a government that proudly chants...

The National Advisory Council (NAC) member spoke on why the government’s food security Bill is a "disappointment" National Advisory Council (NAC) member Harsh Mander spoke to Outlook on why the government’s food security Bill is a “disappointment”. Excerpts: Did you expect the NAC’s draft of the food security Bill to be accepted by the government? There is a huge difference between what we suggested and what has been incorporated in the government...

Prakash Karat has decided to share a dais with civil society activists Prashant Bhushan and Aruna Roy, stirring debate in the CPM which largely considers NGOs and their members “anti-Left” and accuses them of furthering the “imperialist strategy”. Some in the CPM believe the general secretary’s presence at the public meeting against corruption will amount to extending legitimacy to the “action groups”, the party’s name for voluntary organisations. Others, though, see Karat...

A study on the Public Distribution System by a team led by National Advisory Council member and economist Jean Dreze found only 18 per cent of respondents in a survey, of 1,227 below-poverty line households over 106 villages in nine states, wanted cash in place of food under the system. The demand for cash transfers was highest in Bihar at 54 per cent, followed by 34 per cent in Uttar Pradesh...