-The Economic Times rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has backed state intervention in acquiring land for public-private partnership (PPP) projects, going against the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee that scrutinized the bill. "The government must have a role in land acquisition," Ramesh told a news conference. "We must recognize that we are not at a stage of development where government's role can be 'eliminated." The minister said he did not support the...

-The Hindustan Times A day after a parliamentary panel sought to end state intervention in land acquisition for industry — both private and PPP, two cabinet ministers expressed their disagreement with its main recommendation. “State governments must have a role in land acquisition process — more so at a time when industrialisation and urbanisation have become inevitable and desirable,” minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh said. “Country has not yet reached...

The UPA II’s third anniversary on May 22 may witness a repackaging of old schemes, promises and achievements in the “Report to the people” as the government has little to show for 2011-12. Sources say the 13-chapter report struggles to contest the perception of policy paralysis by pointing out social-sector initiatives based primarily on welfare schemes launched during the UPA I regime or in the first year of UPA II. The government...

Cabinet clears change in divorce law: Women to get part of husband’s property In a move that could be a setback to land acquisition for commercial use, a parliamentary committee unanimously recommended that the government should not acquire land for industrial, commercial or for-profit enterprises or private companies. Instead, the panel, which has proposed legislation favouring landowners, recommends that private companies and public-private partnerships would have to buy land in the open...

-PTI Retail inflation shot up to the double digit mark at 10.32 per cent in April on account of substantial increase in vegetable, edible oils and milk prices. Based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the inflation for March was revised to 9.38 per cent from the provisional estimate of 9.47 per cent, as per the government data release here on Friday. Vegetable prices recorded the maximum of 24.55 per cent, followed by...