-The Hindu In an agreement with Jan Satyagraha, Centre promises to initiate land reforms Thousands of landless poor aborted their march to Delhi on Thursday, accepting the government's promises to initiate land reform and the possibility of statutory backing for the right to shelter, homestead and agricultural land. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh signed a 10-point agreement in Agra — barely 10 days after refusing to sign a similar deal at the march’s...

-The Indian Express Giving a pointer to the much-awaited Bill on land acquisition reforms, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said the government will not dilute the provisions which restrict the acquisition of multi-crop and single crop agricultural land for non-farming purposes. “We will ensure that acquisition of high-yielding farmland is not allowed for non-agriculture purposes. This is a serious issue and the government is concerned about it. One should not be...

-PTI The government should only in exceptional cases permit acquisition of farm land for non- agriculture purposes like setting up of industries and housing projects, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday. Mr. Pawar, who heads the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Land acquisition bill, said there is a pressure on farm land because of rising population. He said the government would ensure agricultural land having high yields is not allowed for...

-The Hindu Property empire was built on soft loans handed out in unusual circumstances, documents show In February, as rumours of the ambitions of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law swirled amidst the heat and dust of the election campaign in Uttar Pradesh, her daughter Priyanka moved to scotch speculation about Robert Vadra’s possible political future. “He’s a successful businessman,” the younger Ms. Gandhi said of her husband, “who is not interested in changing...

-The Economic Times A new book by Bibek Debroy on Gujarat looks at how this much-talked about state has performed in economic terms. The author argues history, luck and administrative clarity have been the determining factors. There has been a discernible pickup in Gujarat's growth performance since the 10th Plan (2002-07), the five-year Plans being natural periods for breaking up the timeline. It's tempting to argue that there is nothing exceptional in...