-The Indian Express   Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013. The proposed law, which will replace the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 that suffers from various shortcomings, including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced, stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70 per cent of landowners for acquiring land for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects...

-The Indian Express Censuring the government for "clumsily" drafting laws and "inviting problems", the Supreme Court Wednesday stood by its landmark ruling that MPs and MLAs will be disqualified immediately if convicted in a criminal case by a trial court. A Bench of Justices A K Patnaik and S J Mukhopadhaya, however, agreed to reconsider whether a person in lawful custody also stands disqualified from contesting polls. "There is no error apparent...

-The Hindu "Doing away with Social Impact Assessment for irrigation projects not acceptable" The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) on Wednesday hit out at the United Progressive Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance charging them with "colluding" to dilute some of the progressive provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013. Alleging a "quid pro quo" between the UPA and the NDA for...

-The Hindu Government figures on suicides are higher than those reported by activist groups Nagpur: Anil Marope swallowed poison on July 17, leaving behind a distressed wife, a water-logged field and four children. Just a month before his death, the 40-year old from Vidarbha's Yavatmal district had sowed his 5-acre field and was hopeful of a good cotton harvest. But heavy rain washed away his crop, forcing him to sow seeds for the...

-PTI KOLKATA: A lamp which produces high quality light and doubles up as a device to cook food without causing pollution has been invented by a team of engineers in Maharashtra. Suitable particularly for rural households which lack clean cooking fuel and electricity, the device, aptly named Lanstove (lantern combined with cook stove), has been developed by researchers from Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in Maharashtra's Phaltan. IIT graduate Anil Rajvanshi, who led...