-Outlook A new land acquisition bill readies for budget session. How will it fare? Bill Of Blights     Defines “public purpose” too broadly, allows govt to acquire land for PPPs     Less landowner consent required for PPPs than private-only projects     The bill’s compensation norms likely to face strict challenges in the courts     States have been given R&R powers but could lead to arbitrary outcomes     Doesn’t consider govt projects where compensation, R&R are neglected *** The...

-Outlook The sorts of corruption that matter are a purview of privileged     “An intellectual man can be a good man but he may easily be a rogue. Similarly an intellectual class may be a band of high-souled persons, ready to help, ready to emancipate erring humanity, or it may easily be a gang of crooks or a body of advocates of narrow clique from which it draws its support.”     —B.R....

-Kafila.org This release was put out yesterday by the RIGHT TO FOOD CAMPAIGN On the second day of the “Right to Food dharna” convened by the Right to Food Campaign, hundreds of poor women from across the country braved the morning cold and rain to assemble at Jantar Mantar and voice their concerns,  including the demand for a universal PDS, universalization with quality of ICDS, universal maternity entitlements, universal pensions for single...

-Deccan Herald Cash transfer for public schemes is a “terrible lie”, said activists at a meeting held at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat said that if one compared India with African countries, India would beat them in terms of poverty. “The government is not willing to tax business tycoons and is making the common man suffer by cutting down subsidies,” she said. Karat added that her...

-The Financial Express Mumbai: On Tuesday, the RBI said the path of inflation will be shaped by two sets of counteracting forces. On the downside, slower growth and excess capacity in some sectors will help moderate core inflation. “Stable, or in the best case scenario, declining commodity prices will reinforce this tendency. An appreciating rupee will also help to contain inflationary pressures by bringing down the rupee cost of imports, especially of...