-The Hindu Business Line The Congress law and the BJP's amended version both fail to address the lack of transparency in property deals A toxic mix of hypocrisy, amnesia, opportunism, ignorance, and paternalism has led to a mess on the land acquisition legislation. It seems certain that whatever law we end up with is going to be bad law. It will not serve the primary purpose of any eminent domain law -...

-The Hindu Rural women sew their way to empowerment, thanks to the Silai Schools. Saroj Namdev, 36, of Satlapur village, Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, is a housewife and mother of three. She struggled to provide her children food and education on her husband's small income. Then he lost his job and the family was reduced to penury. This pushed her out of her cocooned existence to become an entrepreneur. Saroj,...

-The Hindu The parliamentary stand off over the Indian government's effort to ease procedures to acquire land for "public purposes" continues, with the government deciding to re-promulgate the ordinance amending the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Besides concern about the impact that this would have on the farming community and those dependent on it, another cause for the controversy is the...

-ABPLive.in In the midst of the widespread damage to standing crops from unseasonal rains, a National Crop Income Insurance Scheme has been introduced on a pilot basis. What is being perceived as a long-term solution to the prevailing agrarian crisis, and is being pushed as an insurance against weather-related disasters as well as provide an assurance against any income shocks will only end up acerbating the crisis. The cure being suggested is...

-The Indian Express The government's attempt to amend the UPA's land acquisition law is facing stiff resistance in Parliament and outside. The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013, combined three different approaches to resolve conflict over land. One is to let money speak. It increased compensation amounts significantly. The second is to let farmers speak. Projects involving private companies had to earn the consent of 80 per cent of...