-The Telegraph New Delhi: Greenpeace India today claimed the Union home ministry had interpreted the environmental group's "unintentional clerical errors" as violations of foreign funding laws and portrayed its campaigns for clean air, water, and energy as anti-national activities. In a response to the ministry - which has suspended Greenpeace's access to foreign funds and frozen its domestic bank accounts - the NGO has claimed it neither violated the Foreign Contribution (Regulation)...

-Tehelka Agrarian policies are proving to be an albatross around the neck of ordinary farmers Amon Singh Kevat, 70, a small farmer in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, spent three long days in April waiting for his harvest to be picked up from an open plot that served as a mandi (procurement centre for agricultural produce). In need of money for a marriage in the family, Kevat didn’t even go home for meals. But...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The environment ministry has said the consent of tribal and forest-dwelling populations isn't necessary before deciding on diversion of forest land for projects, possibly putting the government on a collision course with the Supreme Court. The ministry's move seems to ignore the court's April 2013 order making it mandatory to obtain such consent before diverting forest land. It also seems to infringe upon the authority of the...

-IANS A resurgent Rahul Gandhi and the suicide of a farmer at an AAP rally in the capital seem to have made the NDA government re-think its strategy on the land acquisition bill and put it on the backburner - at least for now. Desperately trying to fight the "anti-farmer" tag, the government, which went into a huddle soon after a farmer committed suicide at the April 22 rally of Delhi chief...

-The Hindu A properly designed and implemented procurement law is long overdue. It can improve financial management, and bring large financial and governance benefits Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s 2015-16 budget speech signalled the government’s commitment to formally legalise India’s public procurement system as a part of its continuing reforms in public financial management. Following this, the Ministry of Finance is seeking suggestions to refine the Public Procurement Bill of 2012, introduced by...