The past couple of months have seen a renewed attack on the National Advisory Council (NAC). The NAC has been decried as an unconstitutional, undemocratic, “super-cabinet” where unaccountable “jholawalas” hatch harebrained schemes guaranteed to run the government aground. Another line of criticism has focused on the process of the formation of the NAC, its space within the Indian Constitution, and its capacity to influence policy. The two criticisms merge with...

-The Hindu   The Right to Food Campaign on Tuesday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to set aside the government draft of the food security bill which “minimises government's obligations, restricts people's entitlements and is devoid of any accountability”. Rejecting the government's draft Bill, the Campaign gave a national call for action. In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the Campaign said the draft Bill approved by the Empowered Group of...

States are expected to take responsibility for this, but the Bill ignores the nutritional crisis altogether K V Thomas Minister for Food The inclusion of iron supplements, protein, dairy supplements and vegetables can be done gradually - this Bill is just the beginning The food security bill will certainly ensure nutrition but it is the states that have to take steps for that. The draft Bill approved recently by the Group of Ministers is...

-The Hindustan Times   Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has said he fully supports the proposed food security legislation, but without the right strategies, it could cook up a food fiasco in the long-term. Pawar’s concerns — his ministry is responsible for ensuring farm output is enough to keep the legislation going — could put off the draft food security bill until the winter Parliament session, sources said. Even as the food ministry’s draft legislation...

The Centre today unveiled a draft land acquisition bill that seeks to replace a 117-year-old law, prohibits the acquisition of multi-crop irrigated land and includes in the definition of “public purpose” plots for companies. The government posted the draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, on four websites, seeking comments from the public and all stakeholders. (See chart) The draft makes it clear that the government is not amending...