-The Economic Times   NEW DELHI: Signalling clearly that the rural develpment ministry, virtually somnolent under minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, was set to go ballistic politically, minister Jairam Ramesh who took charge here on Wednesday spelt out deadlines for the three most important issues including the land acquisition bill, poverty count and stringent monitoring of UPA II's flagship programme the MGNREGA. Jairam, who earned a lot of attention in his earlier charge,...

A host of steel-manufacturing units are keen to set up plants in Karnataka, and all want captive mines. SOUTH KOREA'S Posco is not the only steel-maker keen to do business in Karnataka. The State's estimated 9,000 million tonnes of good-quality iron ore reserves, which is the second largest in India, the State government's assurances on a smooth land acquisition process, the availability of water and the promise of speedy regulatory clearances...

There will soon be a new set of glass doors at Krishi Bhavan. The newly elevated Cabinet Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh plans to bring the doors — a signature element of his interior décor right from his early days at the Commerce Ministry — to his new office. Over the last two tumultuous years at the Environment Ministry, those doors have symbolised the transparency and accessibility he claims...

-The Hindu   West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday urged the Maoists in the Jangalmahal region that spans parts of three districts in the southwest of the State to lay down their arms and sit for talks with the State government. She assured them of compensation and rehabilitation package if they did so. Ms. Banerjee was addressing public meetings on Tuesday in Paschim Medinipur district on the first day of...

  THERE is money on offer, but the farmers of Halligudi, a hamlet of 5,500 people in Karnataka's Gadag district, are hardly happy at the prospect of 3,382 acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare) of farmland being acquired for a Rs.32,336-crore steel plant south of National Highway 63, which runs between Karwar and Bellary. The plant is to be set up by the Indian subsidiary of the South Korean steel major Posco...