The UPA government has come under severe criticism for trying to hurriedly pass the Land Acquisition (amendment) and the Resettlement & Rehabilitation Bill during the ongoing Parliamentary session. Both the bills have been dubbed as anti-poor as their provisions are seen to promote forced dispossession of farmers’ land as well as large scale displacement of rural people. The haste with which the two Bills are being promoted could be assessed...

The introduction of free meal programmes not only ensures children are fed, but are crucial to keeping the poorest and most vulnerable in school while providing a boost to learning and health, according to a United Nations report released today. The new report from the World Bank and the World Food Programme (WFP) noted that although most countries offer meals to their students, poor nations face a double obstacle of...

With the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen just 13 days away, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has highlighted the need to ensure that the energy needs of developing countries are central to any new climate agreement, after a new report found that almost a quarter of the world’s 6 billion people live without electricity. The majority of the 1.5 billion people who live in the dark are in the...

FIVE HOURS’ bus ride from Kolkatta, just past the railway crossing at Beldanga, is a dilapidated concrete structure covered in half-torn posters variously advertising a Marxian utopia, films for red-blooded adults and bedroom advice for couples intent on children. Inside, in a tiny, dank room behind a desk, sits someone the Queen of England knows by name &NDAsh; and you should too. Lanky, awkward and at 16, the possessor of...

Upset with Bihar’s NDA government for its decision to amend the Right to Information Act, social activists in the state are preparing to challenge the decision in Patna High Court. Opposition RJD-LJP too is opposed to the amendments. “We are now left with no option other than challenging the arbitrary amendment to the Act in Bihar,” senior RTP (Right to People) activist, Praveen Amanullah said on Saturday. “We will also launch a...