The Orissa government suspends the land acquisition for the Posco project in the face of stiff opposition from the people. SIX years ago, when the South Korean steel giant Posco arrived in Orissa with the biggest ever foreign direct investment that had come the country's way, it was expected to help rid the economically backward State of its ‘poor' tag and bring prosperity. Posco had won the $12 billion deal at...

Greenpeace India's ongoing campaign, “Fools for forests”, has received a tremendous response from people from diverse professional backgrounds primarily due to wholehearted support from the who's who of Bollywood. The campaign has attracted more than 30,000 people who have pledged their support to it. According to Bollywood actor Vinay Pathak who is renowned for his wisecracks, he is extending support to the campaign not to gain mileage but because he feels strongly...

The episodes of violence in land acquisition by the government, as witnessed recently in Bhatta-Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh and in other states earlier, occur because patterns of violence are inbuilt into the process. Despite a bill pending in Parliament since 2007, there has been little effort by political parties to evolve a consensus on acquisition of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. The law as at present and also the provisions...

Only 400,000 jobs a year were generated during UPA-1, compared with 12 million annually during the NDA’s tenure Key economic data released by the government on Friday shows that the first stint of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) generated a mere 400,000 jobs a year, compared with 12 million jobs annually during the tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). During the period 2004-05 to...

-The Economic Times   Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has approved two mining proposals - one by Iifco and the other by the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam - on the fringes of the Hasdeo-Arand forest region in Chhattisgarh. Ramesh set aside the recommendation of the statutory body of the environment ministry, the Forest Advisory Committee , to reject the proposals. With Thursday's order, coal mining will be allowed in Tara, Parsa...