-The Indian Express Amendments to the contentious land acquisition Bill not only seek to hasten the acquisition process through tight time-schedules but also contain a provision that virtually allows the law to be applied retrospectively to cases that witnessed protests in the past. The union cabinet is due to discuss the amendments to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill on Thursday. The changes suggest that the new law will be applicable to...
More »SEARCH RESULT
FDI in pension: Central govt employees to go on token strike
-The Financial Express A Central employees' union will go on a token strike tomorrow to protest against the Pension Bill and the Centre's decision to allow FDI in pension. The Confederation of Central Employees and Workers said employees throughout the country were agitated over the government's fresh move to introduce the PFRDA Bill in this ongoing Parliament session. "It is surprising that even after findings of the Committee set up by the government...
More »States fail to spend Rs 30,000 crore allocated for rural schemes
-The Times of India Even as the government promised to dole out Rs. 99,000 crore for such schemes in the current fiscal, the states have failed to utilize nearly Rs 30,000 crore meant for various flagship programmes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). "In 2012-13, about Rs 99,000 crore are being given to the states for rural development programmes. The responsibility for spending money on these programmes is entirely...
More »No need for hype but certainly a hope-Jairam Ramesh and Varad Pande
-The Hindu The Direct Benefits Transfer Initiative is the real tool against corruption that will ensure that the welfare state doesn’t degenerate into a farewell state We are grateful to Narendar Pani (Editorial page, “Cashing in on schemes for poor,” November 29, 2012) and Bharat Bhatti and Madhulika Khanna (Editorial page, “Neither effective nor equitable,” December 4, 2012) for starting a useful debate on the United Progressive Alliance government’s Direct Benefits Transfer...
More »‘One Billion Rising’ campaign launched in Rajasthan -Mahim Pratap Singh
-The Hindu Jaipur: Twenty-five years have passed since Rajasthan witnessed its last known case of sati; it has been 20 years since Bhanwri Devi of Bhateri was allegedly gang-raped for raising her voice against girl child marriages; and it took 15 years for a gang-rape victim in the J.C. Bose hostel rape case to get justice. With these “landmarks” serving as a background, the ‘One Billion Rising’ campaign was launched in Rajasthan...
More »