-IANS Both Houses of Parliament were disrupted on Monday as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members noisily demanded that black money stashed abroad be brought back to the country. In the Rajya Sabha, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu raised the issue when zero hour began. Criticising the government, he said: "Even the CBI director has raised the issue, which shows the seriousness of the issue. With that money we can solve several problems...

-Tehelka Activists say that the agricultural land should not be acquired for non-agricultural purposes A group of activists on Tuesday 7 August raised concerns about the land acquisition bill in its new form. The activists have demanded a white paper stating the extent of land acquired by the government. The new bill, called the Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement and Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill, is at odds with the recommendations...

-The Economic Times The government has made key changes to the proposed legislation for land acquisition, making it more attractive for industry by easing some of the stringent conditions, a person privy to the draft told ET. The rural development ministry has proposed to not implement the legislation with retrospective effect, besides relaxing the requirements of consent from landowners, and tightening the definition of market value. The amended Bill has been rechristened 'The...

-The Hindustan Times With the pressure off on the government for setting up the lokpal, the law ministry has joined its various counterparts and departments in opposing many key provisions of the anti-graft bill, rendering its future uncertain. Interestingly, the ministry had drafted and given legal clearance to the bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on December 27, 2011. It has conveyed its views to the Rajya Sabha select committee, which is examining the...

-The Economic Times Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao has said the proposed elimination of fuel subsidy can lead to a massive 2.6% spike in inflation, an assessment that makes it even more difficult for the government to bite the bullet. While a hike in diesel and cooking gas prices may be long overdue, the government is hard-pressed to contain inflation ahead of crucial assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh...