-The Business Standard   It is not pro-farmer, provides for too many committees and too many approvals, says Amitabh Kant The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will press to the next government for redrafting the recently enacted Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act. "The new (land acquisition) Act is extremely bureaucratic, with the introduction of a social impact assessment. It is not pro-farmer; it provides for too many committees and too many...

-The Hindustan Times   New Delhi: The absence of an elected government in Delhi has seemingly slowed down the pace of several infrastructure, development and social welfare projects in the Capital. While the administration - under the Lieutenant Governor - has taken control of the day-to-day affairs and has managed to carry out "routine" work with ease, sources confirmed that several development projects, which require constant direction, coordination and monitoring, have lost pace. Construction...

-The Economic Times     There is a narrative that the UPA's rule at the Centre led to an economic disaster, especially in the second term. In contrast, Gujarat has prospered, thanks to Narendra Modi's good governance. We have several problems with this. First, through UPA's first term and about halfway into its second, many economic indicators critics like to harp on were much better than those during the NDA days. This is true...

-The Hindu   Bachchon Ka Ghar, the oldest orphanage in Delhi, is in desperate need of funds New Delhi: While a few children are busy playing hide and seek, others are glued to computers and some get ready for the evening (asr) prayers. This is a usual scene at Bachchon Ka Ghar - a home for orphans at Darya Ganj. However, the oldest orphanage in the Capital, built in 1891 by acclaimed Unani...

-The Hindu   Ideological labels are likely to mislead by channelling the debate into issues of capitalism and socialism and detract from the real problem George Santayana said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Having forgotten the license-permit-quota-raj that enveloped us from 1950 to 1980 and its ‘crony socialism,' many intellectuals, mediapersons and politicians have now discovered ‘crony capitalism.' The license raj consisted of stifling controls imposed on...