Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda on Monday announced during the Budget Session that his Government was working to enact a law safeguarding the rights of the Scheduled Tribes on their ancestral land and property. Munda added that recommendations of a sub-committee of the Tribal Advisory Committee would be taken under consideration before any such exercise. Replying to a question of raised by AJSU MLA KK Bhagat, in which he raised the issue...

The State government of the day spares no occasion to make a mention of the “shambles” the 34 years of Left rule has left West Bengal in. The Economic Review presented in the State Legislative Assembly, however, tells a different story. It highlights several areas where the State's performance has been “impressive over the last few years”. Mention is made of progress in agriculture, industry, Rural Development, industrial relations and rising...

The Centre on Monday revised the wage rate under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and has decided to amend the Act to remove the existing disparity in minimum wage, even as the matter is scheduled to come up before the Supreme Court on April 9. The revision in the wage rate indexed to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour (CPIAL) will come into effect on April 1...

The sharp drop in poverty estimates in the latest count has been attributed largely to the high growth over 2004-2010, but disaggregated state-level data does not seem to provide conclusive evidence. The national poverty count dropped to 29.8% in 2009-10 from 37.2% in 2004-05, but in states such as Bihar, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and even Punjab the decline was much less even though they reported a visible improvement in economic growth...

The proposed amendments to marriage laws lack the detail to guarantee women their full due   The cabinet’s decision to clear a bill providing for amendment to marriage laws has evoked mixed reactions within women’s organisations. While the introduction of the notion of matrimonial property within Indian family laws is a welcome move, the manner in which it is being done seems hasty and without due consideration of its implementability. There is...