-The Hindu Thanks to the caste system, India has always been an unequal society. What is even more worrying is that inequality appears to have deepened in the past two decades The Boston Consulting Group’s 15th annual report, “Winning the Growth Game: Global Wealth 2015”, has received extensive coverage in the Indian media. The report comes on top of the Global Wealth Databook 2014 from Credit Suisse, which provides a much more...

-PTI The Prime Minister on Thursday launched three missions on Smart Cities, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, and Housing for All. States and Union Territories will have a greater say in implementation of the three flagship schemes for urban development launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, as per the guidelines issued. Operational guidelines for implementation of Smart Cities, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Housing for...

-The Hindu The country is ranked third in the South Asian region. India figures in the top 50 countries in the world for an effective criminal justice system, according to a new study that ranks countries on how the rule of law is experienced by citizens. However, the study finds that it is among the worst performing countries when it comes to civil justice. The Rule of Law Index 2015, released by the U.S.-based...

-CaravanMagazine.in On 31 December 2014, the government issued an ordinance, amending the Right to Fair Compensation & Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR). The ordinance brought in several changes, of which the following was the most far-reaching: an amendment to Section 10(A) that exempted land acquisition for sectors such as defence, infrastructure—including public-private partnership projects—industrial corridors, private health and educational institutions and affordable housing, from the requirement...

-The Indian Express The debate over the land acquisition bill is increasingly marked by political tone deafness and legislative hubris. The government has offered minor amendments. But most of them are designed to display its consistent ability to be too clever by half rather than its ability to address deep issues. The 2013 bill had been framed in the context of several issues. The now much-maligned Land Acquisition Act of 1894...