-The Indian Express   Under attack from Team Anna over the UPA government’s Lokpal Bill, the ruling Congress at the Centre today couldn’t hide its glee at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar snubbing the former for criticising Bihar’s draft Lokayukta Bill. “His (Nitish’s) statement is self-speaking. At the root of his entire assertion is the fact that elected representatives owe their answers to the people,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said. “The essence of Kumar’s...

Judges are fierce in using the word [“independence”] as a sword to take action in contempt against critics. But the word is also used as a shield to cover a multitude of sins, some venial and others not so venial. Any lawyer practising before a court will, I am sure, have a rather long list of these. I have chosen seven. The first is the sin of “brushing under the carpet”,...

-The Economic Times   The government's bid to fast-track passage of the land acquisition bill seems to have run into trouble. A significant section of the standing committee of Parliament do not approve provisions on valuation and transfer of land. Chairperson of the standing committee vetting the bill, Sumitra Mahajan , has said that the bill cannot be cleared in haste and more consultations would be needed. The bill is unlikely to...

At BANCON (annual bankers' conference) 2011 in Chennai, financial institutions explored avenues for greater participation in agriculture and rural development. There are a few areas in need of additional attention and investment. Green Revolution technologies are scale-neutral but not resource-neutral. Inputs are needed for output; therefore market-purchased inputs become important in providing soil and plant healthcare for higher yields. Social scientists point out that small and marginal farmers will be excluded...

A revamped version of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the government's flagship social sector programme, will be unveiled on November 14. The makeover, crafted by rural development minister Jairam Ramesh and Planning Commission member Mihir Shah, promises to iron out administrative glitches that have dogged the six-year-old scheme, credited for boosting incomes but panned for stoking inflation. "We are ready with version 2 of MGNREGA. It will basically strengthen the...