The three partners of the Left alliance will agitate for implementation of the recommendations of the D Bandopadyaya Commission on land reforms. Releasing the manifesto of the CPM here on Wednesday, its state secretary, Vijaykant Thakur, said that the Left alliance would also ask the government to bring in drastic land reforms on the pattern on Tripura, West Bengal and Kerala. He claimed, "In our manifesto, the Left parties have given alternative...

State-owned trading firm MMTC Ltd, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (Iffco) and the conglomerate Bharti Enterprises plan to join the growing number of Indian entities engaged in commercial farming in Africa. Cheap land and labour costs in Africa are attracting a number of Indian firms with interest in agriculture. A large number of people in East African countries such as Kenya work in the cultivation of tea, coffee, corn, vegetables, sugarcane,...

In yet another blow to the Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Alumina Ltd , the environment ministry has decided to halt the company’s plans of expanding its Rs 4,600-crore Lanjigarh refinery in Orissa. The existing one million tonne Lanjigarh refinery will, however, continue to be in operation. The ministry has found the Lanjigarh refinery’s expansion to be “unauthorised” and in serious violation of environmental laws. It has decided to revoke the permission given...

Claims about the benefits of Posco's $12 billion integrated steel project to Orissa's economy and job market come from a study by an “independent” research organisation — but was paid for by Posco itself. In January 2007, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) published a report on ‘Social Cost Benefit Analysis of the POSCO Steel Project in Orissa,' which claimed that the project would directly and indirectly generate 8.7...

The members of the Meena Gupta Committee , who argued for cancellation of clearances for the Posco project in Orissa, on Tuesday began to mount pressure on the government to accept their view. Three members of the review panel — former director of the Forest Survey of India Devendra Pandey, civil rights activist and advocate V Suresh and tribal affairs expert Urmila Pingle — have submitted their response to the minority...