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...

India is today the world's largest importer of arms. These include fighter jet planes, missiles and radar systems for strategic partnerships and geo-political power. India is also investing in security and surveillance to combat foreign threats and resistance from its own people in places like the Kashmir valley, and the North East and tribal regions of Central India. This provides tremendous opportunity for multi-national corporations to sell and invest in...

The Empowered Group of Ministers is likely to meet soon to consider a proposal from the Agriculture Ministry to allow wheat exports in the wake of bumper production. "The EGoM is expected to meet in a week or 10 days," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said here today. The ministers panel is headed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and comprises Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar , Commerce and Industry Minister...

India has so far failed to get any assurance from the European Union to reconsider the ban on herbal medicines, even though the issue has been raised with the EU several times. The ban came into effect on May 1, 2011, following a new EU regulatory procedure approved seven years back. According to the EU Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive, a herbal medicine company needs to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of...

Archaic labour laws are not affecting India's manufacturing sector as much as problems related to land, water, licences and clearances, a government panel's study shows. With the findings of the Planning Commission study, changing rigid labour laws, so far suspected to be the main hurdle before the manufacturing sector, is likely to drop on the government's list of priorities. The sector contributes 15% to India's GDP. "Against popular perception, we...