The proposed liberalisation of the mining and minerals sector is an assault on the rightful owners of the land and its resources. Tribal and indigenous communities across the world have been asserting their rights to the mineral wealth often found under the land they own or possess or have traditional rights to. They have been historically denied even a share of that huge wealth, leave alone legal rights of ownership. Under...

-The Indian Express India's wholesale price inflation accelerated 7.23% in April, compared with 6.89% in the previous month, as food and manufactured items turned dearer, heaping pressure on the central bank against any dovish approach to monetary easing despite shrinking economic activity. The government has revised up the inflation figure for February to 7.36% from 6.95% estimated earlier, according to the data released by the industry ministry on Monday. Prices of food articles...

-The Hindu Both documents extensively discuss need for competitive bidding for scarce natural resources The fate of the Ashok Chawla Committee report on the allocation of natural resources suggests a wider government unwillingness to accept competitive bidding, auctions and market-linked pricing for scarce, natural resources lies at the heart of its 2G review petition. The Committee was set up on January 31, 2011, at the peak of the 2G scam expose and just...

-Herald PANJIM: The major issues faced by farming community due to run offs from the mining rejects are likely to be taken care of in the State Mining Policy, which will take shape by May end. Highly-placed sources stated that the State government is yet to take a call on whether to go ahead with the draft Mining Policy formed in 2008 or draft a new policy. The newly-inducted state government has...

Imagine you are a citizen racing across newspapers rapid fire. As you flip the pages you run across events like the Vedanta mining case, the Koodankulam nuclear controversy, the debate on poverty and reports about climate change. Each of these can be a life-threatening event and none of them have a life support system of knowledge which allows them to be debated in the open. The basic information comes from...