In 25 years, the Narmada Bachao Andolan has introduced an alternative development discourse in India. ON the full moon night in October, hundreds of people from all over India gathered at Bhilgaon, one of the many tribal villages in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, in the foothills of the Satpura mountain range and on the banks of the river Narmada. The place resounded with jingles, revolutionary folk songs and strains of...

If you think canned rasgullas are a better option than khoya-based sweets this Diwali, think again. The mouth-watering sweets sold by big brands at high prices have been found to have micro-organisms that can cause diseases. Also, it has been found that most of the canned rasgullas have a higher percentage of syrup than prescribed. It's claimed that in one of the cans weighing a kilogram, the drained weight of rasgullas...

Even as railway minister Mamata Banerjee opposes government’s role in acquiring land for private companies , the contentious land acquisition (amendment) bill figures in the list of business for the winter session of Parliament beginning next week. The bill has been hanging fire in the wake of opposition from the Trinamool Congress leader, who recently skipped a meeting convened by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to evolve a consensus within the ruling...

In a major revision of the policy for rehabilitation & resettlement of landowners framed in 2005, the Haryana government has almost doubled the land acquisition rates in Gurgaon and substantially increased those in other parts of the state. Announcing this at a Press conference here today, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that Haryana has been divided into five zones - instead of the earlier three - for the purpose...

There has been a significant pick up in credit flow to industry, services and personal loan segments during the current financial year. However, credit flow to agriculture has declined further, data released by the Reserve Bank of India as part of Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments Second Quarter Review 2010-11 shows. While credit flow to industry was highest at Rs 1,07,386 crore, credit flow to agriculture contracted by Rs 13,481 crore during...