-The Indian Express In a major course correction, the 153 amendments that Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh is likely to introduce to the Land Acquisition Bill in Lok Sabha on Tuesday includes a watered-down retrospective clause. The cabinet, which met last Thursday, had established the sanctity of awards declared for ongoing land acquisition processes under the existing Land Acquisition Act, 1894 across the country. This was a rejection of Jairam’s proposal to...

-The Hindu The Betul tragedy shows that the state does not consider emotional or intellectual maturity important in a person who teaches children Picture a small boy facing two adult men. They are furious over something they suspect he has done, so they start hitting him. They feel they have the authority to do so because they are teachers. The boy is absolutely helpless. It hardly matters for this picture whether he...

-The Economic Times The environment ministry has simplified the procedures for granting clearances to special economic zones as it seeks to shed the anti-industry image. A recent order issued by the environment ministry states that the environmental clearance process for SEZs will now follow the system laid out for National Industrial and Manufacturing Zones under the National Manufacturing Policy 2011. Under the new system, the central and state governments will delegate power to...

-The Business Standard The Bill will negatively impact new projects, with land acquisition cost going up by as much as 150%, say industry captains After the initial euphoria, leaders of India Inc are realising that the proposed Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill will not make their lives easier. Instead, it will negatively impact new projects, with land acquisition cost going up by as much as 150 per cent, making large projects...

-The Times of India In a country already frequently accused of centralising decision-making in its capital city, new data on the Supreme Court now shows a disturbing Delhi bias in litigation too. Litigants who live closer to Delhi are significantly more likely to appeal in the Supreme Court, according to the first detailed analysis of recent apex court data by a legal researcher. Nick Robinson, a visiting fellow at the Centre for...