-The Hindu The draft law on acquisition strikes a balance between development and justice for those who will be displaced in the process India is a rapidly industrialising economy and society with intense demands for better infrastructure from its people. The last 20 years have seen a great acceleration in this process, with India becoming one of the world’s fastest growing economies. However, for those whose lands were acquired for these purposes...

-Frontline A study finds that institutional support alone cannot help reduce maternal mortality in India.  THE high rate of maternal mortality in India has been a cause for national concern, especially on account of the focus on reaching the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Although there is a growing realisation that it will be difficult to meet the MDG targets by that deadline, there is a renewed interest in the...

-Live Mint The current policy on compensating landowners could adversely affect character of India’s future growth The Parliament is currently considering a land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement Bill (LARR Bill), as are various state legislatures. These are likely to affect the pace and character of future growth in India in a significant way.  Setting up new industries, service establishments and real estate development will inevitably require land to be acquired from rural areas....

-The Hindu An important bill that seeks to protect women, including domestic workers, from sexual harassment at workplace was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday, even as the House witnessed din and disruption over coal blocks allocation for the ninth day. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2010, was passed without discussion, as BJP members stood in the well, shouting slogans demanding the resignation of...

-The Telegraph In a primary health centre in eastern Jharkhand, the angry shouts of a nurse punctuated the occasional wails of a woman in her early-20s who was in labour pain and only minutes away from delivering her baby. Each time a uterine contraction evoked a yell or a wail or the woman sought a more comfortable position during labour, the nurse or other health workers admonished her, asking her to shut...