The Mamata Banerjee government has begun to explore the possibility of modifying a land-ceiling clause to accommodate some concerns of industry. If the proposals are accepted, more industries will be exempt from the land-ceiling rule and transfer of land acquired for setting up industry would be allowed without diluting the new government’s hands-off policy. The land and land reforms department has sent a letter to four departments — commerce and industries, urban...

Consider this. Every time petrol prices rise, oil companies end up losing more money. How? The price differential between petrol and diesel increases further; people start buying diesel-powered vehicles so oil firms bleed more. Even worse, we all bleed because dieselisation adds to toxic pollution in our cities. This, in turn, adds to the health burden and costs. This is all very well accepted. Yet, nobody has done anything to fix...

-The Hindu   Greater the power to punish for contempt, higher the responsibility Fair reporting of court proceedings and fair comments on the legal issues do not amount to contempt, the Supreme Court has ruled. “The power to punish for contempt is inherent in courts of record and described as a necessary incident to every court of justice. The power is an alienable attribute of court and inheres in every court of record. This...

By the end of this year, one in every 10 Indians will be an Internet user, making the country the third-largest Internet market in the world after Chinaand the United States.  At the end of December, 121 million Indians will be accessing the Internet at least once a week to check emails, chat or log on to a social network, a survey has found. India is adding Internet users at the...

-The Telegraph   Mamata Banerjee today sprayed a cocktail of petrol price and other grievances on the Centre, warning that the Trinamul Congress could pull out of the UPA government if it “did not think about the masses” and listen to her party. Oil firms said they had little option but to roll back the price increase if the Centre issued such a directive. However, till late this evening, the Prime Minister appeared...