-The Hindu Most of the acquisitions by the Central government and public sector companies in the country's resource-rich State are under laws that bypass the new land Bill The UPA has claimed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Bill 2013 passed by both Houses will reduce forcible acquisition and help tackle Naxalism in mineral-rich areas. But with Coal Bearing Areas Acquisition and Development (CBA)...

-The Hindu India should take its cue from Brazil and invest in ethanol as a viable commercial substitute for costly petrol The public and media were outraged recently after a suggestion that petrol stations could be closed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. to curb consumption. Oil import is the heaviest burden on India's foreign exchange, at $144 billion last year. The situation could get worse, given the potential for an increase...

-The Telegraph Jorhat: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India, will implement its CSIR 800 mission at Kaliabor in Nagaon district. The council, which is the largest publicly funded research and development institute in the country, in a change of role has launched CSIR 800 to give a better quality of life to 800 million people of India through scientific and technological intervention. The mission will be launched in 28 clusters of...

-The Hindustan Times Investors say the new land acquisition bill approved by Parliament this week has made things more difficult. Pro-farm civil-society advocates say it hasn't gone far enough to protect farmer interests. If both sides are unhappy, an inside joke goes, it must be a pretty good legislation that has struck the right balance. The debate over land acquisition, however, is no laughing matter. In a country where half the people live...

-The Business Standard The process prescribed in the law is so cumbersome and time consuming that neither industry nor landowner will benefit Fast economic growth in the last two decades has increased demand for land from many sources, such as infrastructure, industry, mining, and urbanisation, including real estate. Even when these activities are funded privately and are driven by profit motive, they serve a social purpose since employment generation per unit of...