-Reuters KHAMMAM (India): It was a deal struck almost 40 years ago by a poor, illiterate Indian farmer, driven by desperation after a drought wiped out his crops and left his family close to starvation. The agreement: 10 acres of land, the size of four soccer pitches, for a mere 10 kg (22 lbs) of sorghum grains. "My father-in-law pawned the land for food," said Kowasalya Thati, lifting the hem of...

-The Hindu Both documents extensively discuss need for competitive bidding for scarce natural resources The fate of the Ashok Chawla Committee report on the allocation of natural resources suggests a wider government unwillingness to accept competitive bidding, auctions and market-linked pricing for scarce, natural resources lies at the heart of its 2G review petition. The Committee was set up on January 31, 2011, at the peak of the 2G scam expose and just...

-The Times of India   Bihar seems to be becoming a pensioners' paradise with the state spending the highest amount on account of pension among all states, 48% of its revenue earnings. Along with some north-eastern states, Bihar's expenditure on pension, administrative services (salaries etc) and interest payments adds up to more than its total revenue generation.  According to budget documents of state governments, Bihar is the only one among non-special category states...

-The Telegraph From July 1, TV viewers in the four metros will for the first time have a choice over which channels to watch and not have it decided for them by multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators. Also, they will have to pay only for channels they have chosen. The rest of India will have this choice by December 2014 when the digital transmission of cable TV signals becomes mandatory...

A group of villagers, affected by the stalling of the Him Urja Vidyut Pariyojna at Nandprayag and Vishnugad Vidyut Pariyojna at Pipalkoti, staged a symbolicchakka jam on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway at Pipalkoti on Sunday, threatening self-immolation if the government didn't order the resumption of construction work there. Unhappy with the government for first promising power and revenue generation opportunities to the affected villagers while taking away their lands, and later scrapping...