-The Indian Express Law on land acquisition will reduce distortions in the use of a scarce resource Land records are in a mess in most states. While satellite imagery can yield an authentic image of the plots, it cannot determine ownership. The land acquisition issue is nearing the end of its first phase. With the government accepting key BJP demands, a consensus has been evolved and the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill...

-NDTV As Parliament continues to be disrupted by Opposition protests against the government over a slew of issues- mainly coal-gate and the JPC report on the 2G scam -- the ruling UPA is considering moving an ordinance for two of its key bills on land acquisition and food security. The government introduced amendments to the Food Security Bill in the Lok Sabha yesterday, but could not get it passed as...

-IPS News India's planners worry about ‘jobless growth', but perhaps nothing illustrates this phenomenon better than a policy of handing over the collection and disposal of the capital's refuse to large private corporations, leaving close to 50,000 ragpickers unemployed. For decades ragpickers provided a service to this city, scavenging waste for recyclable plastic, aluminium, glass and other materials, and earning a livelihood by selling their pickings to contractors with equipment to process...

-NDTV Thiruvananthapuram: For the first time, a drought has been declared in every single one of Kerala's 14 districts. The worst-hit areas are in districts of central Kerala, bordering Tamil Nadu. A weak monsoon dealt the first blow. Then, the main source of water in this region - the Aliyar dam - is running low. Tamil Nadu says severe drought in its own districts is the reason behind the release of less...

-Live Mint Almost two decades after the Panchayati Raj Act was notified, a key aim of the legislation remains unfulfilled Papapatti/Madurai district: S. Muruganadam, 38, is the Dalit president of the Papapatti village panchayat in Madurai district and a post-graduate in political science. His term ends in 2016 and he has made up his mind not to run for re-election. "I think a panchayat president's post is an important post because only...