The absence of a law regulating surrogacy makes India, especially Anand, a top destination for couples from abroad. UNTIL about 2008, the future looked bleak for Sharadaben Solanki. A landless daily-wage worker in Anand, Gujarat, she earned a paltry Rs.600 a month. Her husband earned an equal amount working as a construction labourer. Together the couple supported three children and their parents. That was when she heard from Maganbhai, the owner of...

-The Hindu   They were objecting to ‘forcible' land acquisition for power project At least two dozen farmers were injured when the police resorted to a baton charge in the early hours of Thursday to break up their agitation against land acquisition in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office at Gobindpura of Punjab's Mansa district. The farmers, owing allegiance to 17 organisations, were protesting against what they called forcible acquisition of Fertile Land across...

Hard To Ignore...     * Farmers of East Godavari and West Godavari districts in Andhra Pradesh have declared a crop holiday this kharif season     * No paddy will be sown across 1.5 lakh acres in the two districts     * Farmers are demanding better minimum support price and subsidies on inputs     * They say the rising cost of inputs causes farmers to lose Rs 10,000-15,000 per acre     * If the farmers stick...

-The Times of India   Posco officials and police faced a major stumbling block at Gadakujang village, the site of the company's proposed steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district, as a large number of irate villagers prevented their entry into the area on Thursday. Many agitated villagers prevented the entry of police forces by blocking the road at Gadakujang. Last week, the Posco authorities had started land-leveling works after acquiring about 1,980 acre land...

• Without a clear definition of ‘public purpose’, the land acquisition bill is meaningless • The bill’s definition of ‘Fertile Land’ can potentially harm the agriculture sector • Government’s role in defining land will create economic and political problems in future As Parliament debates this month it will, hopefully, move beyond issues of corruption in high places to important economic legislation. Two such pieces of legislation are the land acquisition bill and...