-The Times of India     NEW DELHI: Dealing a huge blow to the steel industry, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered closure of 26 iron ore and manganese mines in Odisha to protect the environment. These mines account for nearly 25% of the national production of the two minerals vital for the sector. The green bench comprising Justices A K Patnaik, S S Nijjar and F M I Kalifulla said of the...

-PTI   The report said conditions in displacement camps remain dire across the country The United Nations: India at the end of last year had about 526,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), uprooted from their homes due to communal violence and armed conflict, according to a new UN-backed report.   "India continued to experience new and protracted displacement during 2013 as a result of communal violence and armed conflict with a total of at least 526,000...

-The Hindu The Polavaram multipurpose project has faced rough weather with non-compliance of environmental assessment and large-scale displacement The Union Cabinet's resolution last week - to clear the proposal for constituting the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) - has attracted cautious criticism from the Odisha Government. With the general election in full swing and Telangana set to come into being, it is obvious that political parties would leave no stone unturned to gain...

-Live Mint   Recent Maoist violence highlights the conflicts that centre around the model of India's economic growth   New Delhi: The deaths of nine people from violence related directly to the general election-occurring in and around polling booths-are an early warning to the next government that it must start thinking about how to balance economic growth with social justice and equity, experts said.   These deaths-mostly in areas hit by Maoist violence-highlight the conflicts that...

-The Business Standard SC may have lifted the ban on mining in the state but it will be a while before exports resume in right earnest A lot was riding on Goa's iron ore mines till the Supreme Court clamped down on them in September 2012. As much as 40 million tonnes of iron ore was being mined every year. Fifteen thousand people worked in these mines. Another 80,000 operated the...