-Frontline THE newly christened Right to Fair Compensation in Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill, 2012, which was due to be passed in the Lok Sabha with amendments, has been deferred to the Budget session. Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh spoke to Frontline on the present status of the Bill and the debate on it within Parliament and outside. Excerpts from the interview: * What were the reasons for the...

-The Hindustan Times Jaipur: Indian women are speaking out against violence, enraged by the gangrape of a 23-year-old inside a moving bus in Delhi. But past records show that women – especially in the hinterlands – who dare to speak up usually fight a lone battle against the system. Hindustan Times profiles a few courageous rape victims in Rajasthan, who are still awaiting justice. Bhanwari Devi (Bhateri, Jaipur district) Bhanwari Devi was gangraped in...

-DNA The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials involved with the probe in the murder of RTI activist Satish Shetty, have said that the scrutiny of call records of the people they are examining and the analysis of data retrieved from the hard disks of their computers, has revealed information that could lead to the fresh arrests. Shetty, who hails from Talegaon Dabhade, in Pune district, was stabbed and killed on his...

-The Business Standard The Bill will negatively impact new projects, with land acquisition cost going up by as much as 150%, say industry captains After the initial euphoria, leaders of India Inc are realising that the proposed Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill will not make their lives easier. Instead, it will negatively impact new projects, with land acquisition cost going up by as much as 150 per cent, making large projects...

-The Hindu Jaipur: Twenty-five years have passed since Rajasthan witnessed its last known case of sati; it has been 20 years since Bhanwri Devi of Bhateri was allegedly gang-raped for raising her voice against girl child marriages; and it took 15 years for a gang-rape victim in the J.C. Bose hostel rape case to get justice. With these “landmarks” serving as a background, the ‘One Billion Rising’ campaign was launched in Rajasthan...