-The Hindu The long-pending Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday night after Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh assured the House that the measure allowed enough room for State governments to implement it as per their requirements. The Bill is only setting a bottom line for fair compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement in the case of land acquisition and State governments were free to further...
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This perverse rage against the poor-Harish Khare
-The Hindu With the economic boom petering out, those who benefitted from it are angry with the government for the Food Security Bill because it is paying attention to the needs of the underprivileged for a change This week's received wisdom insists that the Indian economy has irretrievably collapsed because on Monday, the Lok Sabha passed the National Food Security Bill (NFSB). The Hindu Business Line headline (Aug.28, page 1) said it...
More »Poverty reduces brain power: US-India study
-Reuters LONDON: Poverty and the all-consuming fretting that comes with it require so much mental energy that the poor have little brain power left to devote to other areas of life, according to the findings of an international study published on Thursday. The mental strain could be costing poor people up to 13 IQ (intelligence quotient) points and means they are more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions that amplify and...
More »PMO reveals graft complaints against CJI, AG -Manoj Mitta
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a remarkable instance of transparency, the Prime Minister's Office made public under RTI a complaint which had been given to it leveling allegations of corruption against, among others, chief justice of India P Sathasivam, his predecessor Altamas Kabir and attorney general G E Vahanvati. The PMO's disclosure on August 23 of these as-yet unverified allegations complied with a statutory safeguard. The RTI reply specifically said...
More »Populism unites parties, helps land bill sail through Lok Sabha
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Concerns of industry took a backseat as political parties, spurred by the oncoming election season, joined hands in Lok Sabha on Thursday to pass the land acquisition bill that enshrines consent of landowners and steep hikes in compensation. As when the food security bill was passed earlier this week, competitive populism took centrestage with Congress toasting Rahul Gandhi as the inspiration behind the legislation and BJP...
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