The ever-energetic Jairam Ramesh has unveiled a new land acquisition policy for discussion. He has taken on the difficult task of changing an old law whose implementation has led to a sorry mess in Nandigram, Singur and Noida, to mention only a few of the recent cases that have hit the headlines. India’s policy regime for managing land rights and land transactions is totally dysfunctional. Greedy politicians in state governments have...

-PTI   With silver prices almost doubling in last one year, the supply of a crucial drug for burn injuries, with this metal as a component, has seen a dip. The prices of the white metal have almost doubled from Rs 28,550 per kg last year to Rs 58,900 per kg, affecting the supply of Silver Sulpohurdizene (SSD), a drug used to prevent and treat infections of second and third degree burns. Following the...

The centre of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) scam has shifted from Suresh Kalmadi to Sheila Dikshit, the high-profile Delhi Chief Minister who brought the Congress electoral victory three times consecutively in the capital. And it’s not only because the BJP is demanding her head in return for offering BS Yeddyurappa’s in Karnataka. Two reports on the conduct (or misconduct) of the Commonwealth Games — one by VK Shunglu and another by the...

-The Times of India   The unveiling of the draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill is better late than never. All over India, industrialisation and infrastructure are hobbled by land-related strife. Whether it's Singur in Bengal or anti-Posco protests in Orissa, such stirs are impeding development and spooking investors. Bringing in a set of predictable rules - any rules - is welcome in such a context. The Bill...

A host of steel-manufacturing units are keen to set up plants in Karnataka, and all want captive mines. SOUTH KOREA'S Posco is not the only steel-maker keen to do business in Karnataka. The State's estimated 9,000 million tonnes of good-quality iron ore reserves, which is the second largest in India, the State government's assurances on a smooth land acquisition process, the availability of water and the promise of speedy regulatory clearances...