-The Indian Express   Three weeks before Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai was stopped from travelling to London where she was to speak on the alleged violation of forest rights of tribals in the Mahan coal block area of Madhya Pradesh, the Ministry of Environment and Forests asked the Ministry of Coal not to auction the block as it is "located in inviolate forest area". Pillai was stopped at Delhi airport on January 11...

-FirstPost.com Abhijit Sen, part-time member of the Planning commission, has openly criticised some of the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, particularly with respect to the ones on sharing of taxes to state governments. The dissent note was carried in the report of the commission tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. "The recommendations regarding devolution and revenue deficit grants are bound to disrupt existing plan transfers, with likely very serious effects in the...

-NDTV Lucknow: Some of India's biggest politicians contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh. But eight months later, they have not spent anything from their Local Area Development Fund (MPLAD). On the list of high-profile MPs from Uttar Pradesh who have spent not a rupee yet from their constituency funds are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi,...

Following the recommendations of the Shanta Kumar Committee report on restructuring of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), there are signs that the Central Government is in a hurry to replace the Public Distribution System (PDS) with cash transfers. The Government's intention has been revealed in two official letters (one dated 10 February 2015 and another dated 11 February 2015) that were sent from the Joint Secretary at Department of...

-Hindustan Times The Narendra Modi government has decided to introduce the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, in Lok Sabha today. The controversial Bill seeks approval of Parliament for changes brought in the law through an ordinance or emergency executive order in December 2014. The Bill will lapse on March 20, if it is not passed during this budget session that began...