Thousands of people here today attended the last rites of the farmer who was allegedly killed in the police lathi charge at Kot Dunna village last evening. The farmers were protesting against the acquisition of their land for a thermal plant at Gobindpura in Mansa. The district administration has agreed to give Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the family of the deceased farmer, besides recommending a job for one member...

-The Business Standard   Among the many initiatives and innovations being considered to improve returns to farming, the creation of producers’ companies deserves closer policy attention than has been the case so far. A farmers’ company, registered as a corporate entity with the registrar of companies, under the Companies Act, can help farm producers come together and derive economies of scope and scale. A group of farmers in Andhra Pradesh has reportedly...

-The Hindu   The longstanding demand to correct anomalies in the Land Acquisition Act (1894) and check its misuse, and the impending Uttar Pradesh Assembly election have compelled the United Progressive Alliance government to come up with a much-improved piece of legislation. In speedily reshaping the proposed Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, which has been placed in the public domain as part of a pre-legislative consultative process, Jairam Ramesh, the new...

Not a comprehensive draft, says Medha Patkar The first major opposition to the draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 will be in the form of a three-day dharna here beginning on Wednesday by the project-affected people. Various peoples' movements under the banner of SANGHARSH have decided to stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar protesting the new draft and demanding that the government come up with a comprehensive National...

The implementation of the landmark legislation to provide free and compulsory education to children between six and 14 years of age this year onwards has become a tough task for the administration. The Right to Education (RTE) Act mandates private educational institutions to reserve 25 per cent seats for children from weaker sections of the society. But a state human resource development (HRD) department report has revealed that none of the...