It will be tabled in the budget session of Parliament: Kharge Manmohan's nod obtained for amendment 17 amendments to impose higher penalties In a move that will benefit 55 lakh workers in the mining sector in the country, the Union Labour and Employment Ministry is amending the National Mines Act 1952. The Amendment Bill would be tabled during the budget session of Parliament. Announcing this at a press conference at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress...

Scores of farmers staged a protest in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi city on Tuesday to protest against the government's acquisition of their lands. The agitating farmers also demanded proper compensation for their lands. "We want proper compensation for the lands that have been taken by the government, the lands which have been snatched from us. They have taken our wells, our tress; we want compensation for that or else give us land in...

Nearing the four crore mark in providing jobs under MGNREGA , re-launching the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas scheme and reinforcing social audit in programmes on complaints of irregularities were the foremost tasks of the rural development ministry in 2010. While 3.9 crore households were provided employment, the share of women beneficiaries under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act went up to 51 per cent, with...

Farm labourers and sharecroppers stopped work at the site of a Rs 5,000-crore fertiliser plant in Burdwan’s Panagarh claiming they had not been paid their share of the land compensation and demanding construction jobs. The political links of the protesters at the 500-acre plot acquired by the government and handed over to the Mumbai-based Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd last year were not immediately clear. But Bengal industries minister Nirupam Sen,...

The Indian economy is moving back into the fast lane, with agriculture playing a leading role. A new financial review presented by the government in mid-December anticipated economic growth of up to 9% for the year to March 2011, and forecasters believe double-digit expansion is on the cards for later in the year. "Faster growth is expected to continue as agriculture recovers sharply from last year's drought and inflation starts to...