-Frontline Interview with Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development. THE passage of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013, is being perceived as a major achievement by the United Progressive Alliance government. The Bill that has replaced the colonial Land Acquisition Act, 1894, went through several changes in order to arrive at a middle path, a term coined by Union Minister for...
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Over 30% live in one-room houses in capital, reveals govt handbook
-The Indian Express The disparity in living conditions in the capital was starkly revealed by the data released in the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2013. According to the handbook, over 30 per cent of Delhi's population lives in one-room dwellings, while three per cent resides in more five-room accommodations. As per the report, 32.2 per cent of the population - both rural and urban - stays in single-room dwellings followed by 29.6 per...
More »This perverse rage against the poor-Harish Khare
-The Hindu With the economic boom petering out, those who benefitted from it are angry with the government for the Food Security Bill because it is paying attention to the needs of the underprivileged for a change This week's received wisdom insists that the Indian economy has irretrievably collapsed because on Monday, the Lok Sabha passed the National Food Security Bill (NFSB). The Hindu Business Line headline (Aug.28, page 1) said it...
More »BIMARU States Are Progressing, Says PM
-Outlook New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said rural per capita consumption has increased four times faster than earlier due to enhanced Economic Prosperity in rural areas and BIMARU states have witnessed progress. "Many states which had been considered backward for a long time, with some of them being called BIMARU are now progressing," Singh said in his Independence Day address to the nation. The BIMARU states are four northern Indian states...
More »Irrational poverty figures -Devinder Sharma
-Deccan Herald My house help asked me the other day: "Sahib ji, TV news tells me those earning more than Rs 1,000 a month are not poor. How can this be true? Although I am earning Rs 5,000 every month working at your home, I mop up your floor and wash your dishes. If I was rich why should I be doing cleaning job here?" Mohan used to be a helper in...
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