Mining operations in Vizag to be kept on hold After the bold action taken by the Union Environment and Forest Ministry against Vedanta's plans to mine bauxite in Orissa, the clutch of bauxite and alumina projects in Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh may now feel the heat. Already, there is lurking fear in the bauxite mining and alumina refining industry that their projects could be next in the firing line by the...

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Ajit Singh's draft for amendment in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 proposes a complete ban on acquisition of land for profit-making and commercial purposes. The acquisition rights for industry should be allowed only if necessary for national security. Besides redefining `public purpose' for which land is acquired, the draft wants the government to be advocate of farmers' right and not a real estate agent. The...

The Ministry of Environment and Forest’s decision to stall the Vedanta project in Orissa must be understood. The ‘story’ is about a powerful company breaking the law. But it is equally about a development puzzle in which the richest lands of India are where the poorest people subsist. The N.C. Saxena committee has indicted the mining conglomerate on three counts of breaking the environmental laws. One, it took over and...

It’s a silent epidemic that we’ve never been able to put a finger on. In debates on food security, the issues of hunger and malnutrition have always been add-ons. But for millions, getting the next meal is the difference between life and death. Four-year-old Akash Sahariya can barely stand up. His bleached hair, distended belly and matchstick arms are harbingers of certain death that awaits him. He is the fourth...

The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society, JeeVika, a state-led women’s self-help group, is active since 2007. Based on primary research, this article highlights the potential role of the individual rural woman – the didi – in driving the social and economic shifts necessary for sustainable poverty reduction in rural Bihar. The term didi is used to address an elder sister. It embodies the notion of respect. Traditionally, the term has remained...