The Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council is expected to recommend the “painless” Tamil Nadu model of land acquisition when it takes stock of the draft central law at its meeting tomorrow. The draft Land Acquisition Bill 2009 awaits Mamata Banerjee’s nod. The Centre was wary of introducing it before the Bengal elections, but with the polls nearing their end, the panel felt it was time to look at it. A panel source...

Says the Corporation in reply to a RTI query on ‘Antilia' The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai supplies nearly five lakh litres of water to Reliance industries' chairperson and managing director Mukesh Ambani's house ‘Antilia' every month, the reply to a question under the Right to Information Act has revealed. ‘Antilia' is Mr. Ambani's 27-floor house in south Mumbai. It, reportedly, is one of the most expensive personal residences in the world. Water...

Expectations of changes resulting from a movement bereft of a clear political and ideological thrust would be far-fetched. FROM the vacuum left by mainstream politics to the confusions of ideology and practice emerging out of half-baked socio-political engagement – the political trajectory of Anna Hazare's “anti-corruption” satyagraha movement demanding early introduction of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament can well be summed up thus. The wide support that the movement received from...

Government to promote its use to tackle anaemia Food Department to examine the possibility of supplying DFS through PDS Ministries of Women and Child Development and Health to launch media campaign The Union government will promote the use of iron fortified iodised salt (double fortified salt) to battle anaemia, one of the major causes of malnutrition, particularly among women and children. To begin with, the Ministries dealing with food and nutrition programmes such as...

The UPA-II government introduces with BJP support two anti-labour Bills, the Pension Bill and the Labour Laws Amendment Bill. ON March 24, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government managed to do what it had not been able to do in its first term – it reintroduced the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill in Parliament with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The objective of the Bill is...