-DNA The state government has strongly opposed the land acquisition bill proposed by the Centre, claiming that the rehabilitation cost of development projects will go up by at list four times if the provision in the bill comes into force. The government has stated that the monetary compensation given to the landholders would be higher than the profit from the project. Comparing the existing expenditure for land acquisition and rehabilitation with that of...

-ANI Humanity, harmony, good governance are ideals a democratic nation aspires to. As the world's largest democracy, India is no exception. Her lawmakers and administrators, often the BRIghtest of her citizens, vow to serve the people and govern them with integrity. These lofty ideals, hever, hold no ground in the face of the harsh pressures of conflict, now spreading rapidly across the country. I searched for and interviewed every single individual of a...

The popular impression is that starvation deaths happen mainly because the information about potential victims fails to reach authorities. But can it amount to murder if a starvation death is caused despite adequate warning? A recent Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) report tells us a story of corruption and negligence leading to starvation and death in Odisha. Worse still is the fact that many more villagers await the same fate...

-The Times of India India has foiled an attempt by a BRItish pharmaceutical company to claim a patent on using ginger for the treatment of cold. While Indians have been gulping down 'adrak chai' for generations as a home remedy, Nicholas John Larkins, London, filed a patent application (GB2436063) titled "Pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of excess mucous production" on March 16, 2006 at the BRItish patent office. The firm claimed a...

-The Telegraph   Dispur this evening formally invited the anti-dam groups for talks on January 5 while issuing a separate public appeal asking them to withdraw their blockade of supplies to the Lower Subansiri hydel project, in a bid to end the standoff that began on December 16. CMO sources said home secretary G.D. Tripathi this evening issued the formal letters to Lakhimpur-based groups through the district administration and to the Guwahati-based organisations...