-The Indian Express The immediate effect of the Supreme Court Order has been that it has cleared the legal cloud over the nuclear power reactors at Kudankulam. But the real significance of the judgment lies in the manner in which it has dealt with the subject of harnessing nuclear energy for public good. In the most comprehensive verdict yet on the subject, it addresses almost every issue that is raised against...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to ban the production, stocking, distribution and sale of tobacco products such as gutka and pan masala in the state. The decision came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's remarks in a case recently, seeking to know the action taken by state governments in curbing the use of tobacco and its products. The order will be passed in a...

-The Hindu   A concern about the Food Security Bill is that legal entitlement has been weakened to mean a passive right to receive whatever the state gives The hallmark of the National Food Security Bill 2011 is that if implemented it will translate into India's first ever right to food legislation, guaranteeing food as a justiciable, legal entitlement to its people. However, in its current form, the Bill fails to evolve a...

-The Hindustan Times Passage of the UPA's flagship food security bill, a potential vote-winner, is at risk of being delayed with the BJP disrupting Parliament as it seeks the heads of two scandal-tainted ministers and key government ally Sharad Pawar demanding a full debate on the legislation. The food bill aims to give about two-thirds of Indians, or over 800 million people, a legal right to cheap food, and is a programme...

-The Indian Express SC has usefully separated valid safety concerns from generalised fears of nuclear power In clear and ringing terms, the Supreme Court has backed the operationalising of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Nuclear energy is necessary for the larger public interest, for "present and future generations", it stressed, while ordering the government to comply with all safety measures. The court had been hearing a string of petitions that said the...