-The Indian Express Stepping in to resolve the row between the National Highways Authority of India and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) over forest clearance to linear projects, the Prime Minister’s Office Tuesday worked out a formula to end the embarrassing stand-off between two arms of the central government. A meeting called by the PMO decided the MoEF will submit a clarification delinking environmental clearance from forest clearance for linear...

-The Indian Express The growing influence on policy issues of activists who call themselves “civil society” is a worrying trend and needs to be objectively analysed. Two recent policy pronouncements will illustrate how government seems to be yielding to their pressure. It is well established that absenteeism of teachers and poor quality of outcomes in government schools is the main factor behind the popularity of private schools with poor infrastructure that cater...

-Oxfam Blog As Oxfam’s two week online debate on the future of agriculture gets under way, John Ambler of Oxfam America imagines how it could all turn out right in the end. It is now 2050.  Globally, we are 9 billion strong.  Only 20% of us are directly involved in agriculture, and poor country economies have diversified.  Yet we all have enough food.  Technological innovation has played its part, but increased production...

-PTI Chidambaram’s proposal to fast track projects approved after renaming Seeking to remove investment bottlenecks and promote growth, the government on Thursday decided to set up a Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) to accord single-window approval to mega projects of over Rs 1,000 crore. CCI will be headed by the Prime Minister. “The proposal to set up the Cabinet Committee on Investment, headed by Prime Minister, to fast track mega projects of over...

-Outlook The Union Cabinet today cleared the proposal to set up Cabinet Committee on Investment under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to accord expeditious approval to projects of over Rs 1,000 crore. "The proposal to set up the Committee to fast-track mega projects of over Rs 1,000 crore was cleared", sources said. The high-powered body for giving speedy clearance to infrastructure projects was initially mooted by Finance Minister P Chidamabram. He...