Business was derailed in Parliament for the tenth day on Thursday as Opposition and the Treasury benches vociferously raised matters of corruption leading to adjournment of both the Houses, causing the public exchequer well over Rs 60 crore in the Winter session till now. Amid pandemonium, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Thursday were adjourned for an hour barely a minute after they met and later adjourned for the...

Jharkhand is one of seven states of India having large number of illiterate persons. The other states, where large number of illiterate persons resides, are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Mrs. D. Purandeswari, the union Minster of state for Human Resource Development, informed rajya sabha during the Winter session in reply to a member’s question from Mr. Parimal Nathwani. These seven states of India have as...

Soon after the monsoon was over, rains made unseasonal comeback in Nashik and nearby areas again on Diwali day. As days passed, the initial surprise turned into shock as it rained night after night, and by Sunday it had rained 525mm in November. Heavy showers and thunderstorms all over the district damaged the crops so much that nothing of the rabi (Winter) crop remains. Vineyards have thrown away young berries at...

Frequent and unrelenting protests against land acquisition seem to have compelled political parties to take the issue seriously. The Centre has promised to introduce a redrafted land acquisition Bill during the Winter session of Parliament. As per official pronouncements, the Bill will provide for higher compensation to the affected parties. Besides, acquisition for private companies will be restricted to less than 30% of the total land required for the project. However,...

In a bid to stall the contentious Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, the Trinamool Congress has demanded a detailed discussion in the Lok Sabha before the legislation and the accompanying Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill are taken up for consideration in the Winter session. The Trinamool Congress, which has expressed major reservations on the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, put forward this demand at a meeting of Lok Sabha Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on...