-The Telegraph New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes that the biggest losers of the deadlock over the Centre's land acquisition bill would be Bengal, Odisha and Bihar, sources close to him have said. Whether the bill is blocked or passed in a watered-down version, it will hobble his ambitions of bringing the eastern states on a par economically with the western states, they explained. If the Modi government fails to evolve a...

-Business Standard Ruling party MPs suggest changes to six of the nine amendments proposed by govt to the 2013 Act The government is set to relent on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015. On Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members of a parliamentary joint committee on the Bill suggested amendments that effectively bring back the social impact assessment and consent clauses,...

-Outlook Freelance journalists, especially in small towns, are paying dearly for speaking up Ground Down * Uttar Pradesh: Jagendra Singh burnt in his own house ‘by policemen’ after he reported against the state’s PWD minister * Madhya Pradesh: Sandeep Kothari abducted after reporting on illegal mining. Burnt body found in Maharashtra * Uttar Pradesh: Haider Khan beaten, tied to a bike and dragged in Pilibhit after reporting on land-grabbing * J&K: Javed Malik assaulted by...

-IPS News NIYAMGIRI: As the rhythmic thumping of dancing feet reaches a crescendo, the women offer a song to their forest god for a bountiful harvest. Then, with earthen pots on their heads and their spiritual creatures – a pigeon and a hen – in tow, they proceed in single file on a long march away from their village of Kadaraguma, located on the Niyamgiri mountain range in the Rayagada District of...

-Business Standard State governments granted 401 reconnaissance permits and 920 prospecting licences between November 2007 and December 2014 Only one-fourth of companies with reconnaissance permits or prospecting licences have submitted mineral exploration data to the government in the last seven years, according to the ministry of mines. State governments granted 401 reconnaissance permits and 920 prospecting licences between November 2007 and December 2014. Of these, 186 holders of reconnaissance permits and 151 prospecting...