The UPA-II has used the Budget to again play politics with hunger. But it has paid no heed to the ticking time bomb of growing social tensions as 58 million Indians living off agriculture slide deeper into poverty. The Economic Survey says more than half the population is dependent on a sector whose share in the economy is shrinking. The urban-rural income divide is therefore steadily widening, a tinder box that...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Kudankulam stalemate over, what next for the protestors? by G Pramod Kumar
Almost a month ago, when the Jayalalithaa-appointed state expert panel gave a clean chit to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), Firstpost had stated that the agitation was practically over. It was only a matter of time before the protesters were either asked to vacate the plant site or were forcibly removed. Since then, the PMANE (People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy) and the local struggle committee were essentially waging a losing...
More »UPA’s elbow room to push crucial reforms may shrink
-The Indian Express The Samajwadi Party’s sweep in India’s biggest state, Uttar Pradesh, and Congress’s defeat in Punjab and Goa will further shrink the elbow room the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre has to push through key initiatives such as foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, pension reforms and legislation such as the goods and service tax (GST) that require support from states. The Centre had postponed some of these...
More »Companies Bill: arrest power for SFIO
-The Financial Express Corporate fraud investigation body SFIO will have the power to carry out arrests once the new Companies Bill is passed by Parliament, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily said today. "SFIO shall have the power to arrest in respect of certain offences of the Bill which attract the punishment for fraud. Those offences shall be cognisable and the persons accused of any such offence shall be released on bail subject...
More »Soon, national body to procure, distribute organs by Kounteya Sinha
After allowing swapping of organs, India is working on another landmark step in organ transplantation: a single apex national organization that will procure and distribute human organs. Union health ministry is setting up the autonomous National Organ Procurement and Distribution Organization (NOPDO) at the Centre and 10 State Organ Procurement and Distribution Organization (SopDO) under the country's new National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP). Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, West Bengal, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh,...
More »