People in Anini are up in arms, seeking clarification from the Block Development Officer-cum-District Project Coordinator regarding the implementation of MGNREGA in Dibang Valley district. It has been alleged that recently some local people, on behalf of the BDO Anini, are going around the district taking signatures on a paper known as the ‘muster roll’ in official parlance. Reportedly, persons employed to get the signatures are not even official employees...

-The Business Standard   Allaying miners' apprehensions, Coal India today said the 26% profit sharing clause in the proposed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act will help mining firms ensure more production. "The proposal had some impact on the stocks. But, people have now realised that with this, land availability will go up and with that, production," Coal India Chairman NC Jha said. Coal India, the country's largest coal miner, is expected...

There is no gainsaying that corruption breeds cynicism which undermines the democratic foundations of our polity. There is no gainsaying, too, that corruption results in a net shift of resources away from the poor. There can therefore be no two opinions about the need for controlling corruption through an appropriate lok pal bill. But the impression is unavoidable that the current hullabaloo about ‘corruption’ constitutes a case of mistaken identity:...

The new Land Acquisition Bill is unlikely to set a threshold for government intervention in land purchases, leaving it to the states to frame policies on this politically volatile subject. The Bill will, however, eliminate any scope for discrimination by specifying the same rate of compensation for all affected for land acquired by private developers or the state on their behalf. It will also put the onus of compensation on the...

Two of India’s biggest tea companies, Goodricke Group Ltd and Duncans Industries Ltd, said they may plunge into losses as workers, backed by key political parties, agitate for more pay. The labour unions reject this contention. The two companies are the main plantation owners in West Bengal’s Dooars region and do not have too many gardens elsewhere. Between them they produce about 34 million kg of tea a year; Goodricke is...