-The Hindustan Times A day after a parliamentary panel sought to end state intervention in land acquisition for industry — both private and PPP, two cabinet ministers expressed their disagreement with its main recommendation. “State governments must have a role in land acquisition process — more so at a time when Industrialisation and urbanisation have become inevitable and desirable,” minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh said. “Country has not yet reached...

Speaking at an international workshop on Equity and Climate Change, held on April 12, the minister for environment and forests, Jayanthi Natarajan, sought to build a consensus on the inter-relationship between equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in the Climate Convention, and the nature of the obligations they entail in the new arrangement that is to be negotiated. By focusing on a technical definition of equity the approach...

35.4 p.c. families walk more than half a kilometre for precious liquid The State's much-hyped development through Industrialisation seems to have brought little qualitative change in lives of people in rural regions. If one goes through figures of the house-listing and housing census-2011, the statement holds true. The census finds increase in number of families those walk more than half kilometre distance to fetch drinking water during past one decade. According to the...

Parliament must use budget session to discuss key pending bills The budget session of Parliament begins today. The last few sessions have been characterised by disruptions and consequent loss of productive time. To see one indicator, the 15th Lok Sabha, half-way through its term, has lost 30 per cent of scheduled time — the worst ever. As a result, many important bills have been pending. It is to be seen whether...

-Reuters The Indian government has no plans to buy farmland abroad or help private companies do so, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said on Monday, after a local media report said New Delhi was debating the issue. “There is no government proposal. The ministry has not taken up this proposal,” Pawar told reporters. The Economic Times had in its Monday edition quoted the ministry’s top civil servant, farm secretary P K Basu, saying it...