-The Economic Times   The government has defended its new land acquisition bill as industry-friendly, refuting criticism that provisions contained in the legislation were retrograde and would push up costs for state-run and private companies. Industry groups had slammed the new Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill (LARR) 2011, cleared by the cabinet earlier this week and tabled in parliament on Wednesday, saying it was "burdensome" and "anti-development". But Rural Development Minister...

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on Wednesday introduced the politically crucial land acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha, less than two months after the ministry of rural development began drafting it. The National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011, aims to address rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) by providing safeguards for both landowners and livelihood losers while clearly defining the “public purpose” for which land can be acquired...

-IANS   Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said the draft land acquisition bill is a "political bill which strikes a balance between social benefit and economic growth" and gave the "entire credit" for it to Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Referring to the recent agitations over land acquisition in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Ramesh said Rahul Gandhi made "key contributions" in the draft Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill,...

-The Times of India   Farmers along the national highway 8 (NH-8) in the district are up in arms against the land acquisition for the expansion of the highway. The highway is being made into a six-lane highway and land has been acquired around it in the district. The farmers in the district who have been taking up land acquisition issues under the banner of the Ekta Gramin Praja Vichar Manch (EGPVM)...

-The Times of India   The government plans to bring forward legislation to implement key transparency measures in procurement, exploitation of natural resources and electoral reform in the winter session of Parliament. A meeting of the group of ministers (GoM) on corruption on Tuesday evening decided to move forward on anti-graft measures that it has been considering for some time now. The Vinod Dhall and Ashok Chawla committee recommendations on procurement and natural...