Proposes that the percentage of land to be acquired by state agencies should be decided by their governments. The modified Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill is likely to suggest giving state governments the power to determine their roles in acquiring land for industry. Also, in a positive for farmers, the Bill proposes that if the land remains unused for five years, it should be automatically returned to them. If sold to a third...

The Centre has decided to cut down the grants to the State under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). It has also asked the State government to follow certain instructions with regard to the effective implementation of the scheme. The State will be receiving Rs 1,972.97 crore for 2011-12, as against Rs 2,107.93 crore last year. The State had asked the chief executive officers of the Zilla Panchayats to...

To protect the interests of students seeking admission, the Centre is planning a law to check unfair practices in schools, ranging from donations and nexus with coaching centres. The proposed “The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Schools and Intermediate Colleges Bill, 2011” aims at promoting transparency through mandatory self-disclosure in the prospectus and on the website, and provide adequate and accessible recourse for remedial action arising out of non-adherence to self-disclosed...

The rural development ministry has proposed that farmers should get 80% of the profits from resale of land bought from them for development, much higher than that suggested by a Sonia Gandhi-led panel. The National Advisory Council had pegged the compensation after resale at 25% of the profits made by private developers. The proposal, aimed at giving farmland owners a better deal, follows protests in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida last month over...

-Catholic Online   Poverty guidelines for one of world's most populous nations draw criticism The nation of India is second only to China in terms of population - and the vast majority of Indians live in unimaginable poverty. Starvation is a very real concern for India's many millions, and countless Indians have no place to lay their heads other than the ground every night. However - guidelines recently submitted by India's Planning...