After sliding a mile backward into a morass, Karnataka'smining sector has just been shoved a metre forward. Since it has taken an almighty effort by the judiciary and a quasi-judicial body, the Lokayukta, to accomplish even this much, what hope is there for a sector that is vital for Karnataka's and India'sindustrial development?? Will the sector - represented by mining firms, traders, transporters, government agencies - slide back deep into...

Anna Hazare has called the cabinet-cleared version of theLokpal bill a "deceit on the nation". That kind of rhetoric pretty much indicates Anna and Co's future plans. If they stick to those kinds of plans (Jantar Mantar protest theatre redux), this group of prominent people would miss a great opportunity - the opportunity to demonstrate their maturity. Yes, the cabinet has cleared a Lokpal bill that differs in important respects with...

If Rajiv Gandhi were alive, he would have been delighted to see his view on leakages confirmed by a research study on the public distribution system [How Can Food Subsidies Work Better? Answers from India and the Philippines by Shikha Jha and Bharat Ramaswami (http://www.adb.org/documents/working-papers/2010/economics-wp221.pdf)]. The ADB study showed that the deserving poor in India received only 10 per cent of the benefits from the system. Nearly twice accrues to...

For five years, they controlled the administration in impoverished Bellary, even flattened state boundary markers to excavate iron ore—while insisting they had no mining interests in Karnataka. Now, the reign of the rulers of the “Republic of Bellary”—as the unofficial influence of two Bharatiya Janata Party​ (BJP) ministers and a milk federation chief, collectively called the Reddy brothers—appears to be at an end. As the Supreme Court on Friday banned all mining...

The Centre today unveiled a draft land acquisition bill that seeks to replace a 117-year-old law, prohibits the acquisition of multi-crop irrigated land and includes in the definition of “public purpose” plots for companies. The government posted the draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, on four websites, seeking comments from the public and all stakeholders. (See chart) The draft makes it clear that the government is not amending...