KEY TRENDS   • Section 105 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which provides for excluding 13 Central legislation, including Land Acquisition (Mines) Act 1885, Atomic Energy Act, 1962, Railway Act 1989, National Highways Act 1956 and Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, from its purview, has been amended for payment of compensation with rigours $ • The amendments have now...

In an attempt to expedite the implementation of the RTE Act (Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act), the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved revision of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which is regarded as a flagship programme to universalise elementary education across the country. A revised SSA that is aligned with the RTE norms is expected to be the main vehicle for the...

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the expansion of the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Livestock Health and Disease Control’ by adding four new components and enlarging the scope of the existing Foot and Mouth Disease Control Programme from 54 Districts to 221 districts. The new components to be added are: (i) National Animal Disease Reporting System (ii) National Control Programme on Peste des Petits Ruminants, (iii) National Control Programme on Brucellosis and (iv) Establishment and...

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Thursday approved the restructuring of a centrally-sponsored rural self-emeployment scheme as a National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) given past experiences, shortcomings pointed out by research studies and recommendations by various committees. Home Minister P. Chidmabaram said that NRLM will function in a mission mode for target-based delivery of outcomes. It will follow a demand driven approach which would allow the states to formulate...

The government on Tuesday approved a a proposal to draw a loan of $100 million (about Rs 450 crore) from the World Bank to promote microfinance in the country. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared the proposal for on-lending to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), which -- in turn -- would disburse the funds to the microfinance sector. “The fund will be used to promote responsible and...