The $12 billion Posco investment in India was supposed to be the biggest FDI project in the country. After six years that still remains on paper Horangineun jugeumyeon gajugeul namgigo, Sarameun jugeumyun ireumeul namginda (When tigers die, they leave behind leather. When people die, they leave their names behind) —Old Korean Proverb The news flash from Press Trust of India came on July 10, 2011. Posco, the $32 billion South Korean steel giant had decided to...

-The Telegraph   It’s a move that will unwittingly rub salt on the wounds of around 36 lakh families in Jharkhand living below poverty line. With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently withdrawing 25 paise coins from circulation, the state government has been forced to shed its friendly face and revise its decision to sell salt at 25 paise per kg to BPL families, commonly known as the lal-card holders. The Arjun Munda...

Not a comprehensive draft, says Medha Patkar The first major opposition to the draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 will be in the form of a three-day dharna here beginning on Wednesday by the project-affected people. Various peoples' movements under the banner of SANGHARSH have decided to stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar protesting the new draft and demanding that the government come up with a comprehensive National...

The proposed land acquisition bill unveiled by the Centre today will not override provisions of two landmark laws that seek to protect the interests of tribal landowners, thereby addressing a serious concern of states like Jharkhand where bulk of the land being eyed by industry is in forests inhabited by tribals. On a day the Draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011, was put in the public domain,...

-The Telegraph   All 208 tea gardens in the Terai and the Dooars today put up notices, saying it would be difficult for them to disburse wages and rations in the coming weeks if the embargo on the despatch of tea continued. The Progressive Tea Workers’ Union, the labour wing of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, has been stalling the despatch of tea from gardens since Tuesday to demand a hike in...