KEY TRENDS   • Section 105 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which provides for excluding 13 Central legislation, including Land Acquisition (Mines) Act 1885, Atomic Energy Act, 1962, Railway Act 1989, National Highways Act 1956 and Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, from its purview, has been amended for payment of compensation with rigours $ • The amendments have now...

Increasingly erratic rainfall patterns related to climate change pose a major threat to food security and economic growth, water experts have said, arguing for greater investment in water storage. In a report by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), experts said Africa and Asia were likely to be hardest hit by unpredictable rainfall, and urged policymakers and farmers to try to find ways of diversifying sources of water. The IWMI...

The World Bank has approved a $220 million credit to support rebuilding efforts in areas affected by the devastating Kosi floods in Bihar. The Bihar Kosi Flood Recovery Project will finance flood recovery efforts through the reconstruction of about 100,000 houses, 90 bridges and 290 kilometres of rural roads, the World Bank said in a statement. It also aims to reduce future oriented risks by strengthening flood management capacity, restoring livelihoods...

The government is ready with a revised Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill 2010 that has kept the interest of farmers and landowners in mind, officials today asserted in the backdrop of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi’s strong pitch favouring a pro-farmer policy on the contentious issue. Officials in the Rural Development Ministry today hinted that the revised Bill may contain provisions that will allow for better and adequate compensation for those whose land...

Underlining that acquisition of land was necessary for new industry and infrastructure, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said care should be taken to ensure this does not result in loss of fertile, productive tracts. “New industry and new infrastructure cannot be built without acquiring land. This is obvious. But land acquisition must be done in a manner that does not result in the loss of large tracts of fertile and productive...