Carbon Copy A freshly passed amendment to the Forest Conservation Act has created a stir among ecologists, parliamentarians and stakeholders. With several contentious provisions, the amendment reveals an afforestation push where rights and justice take a backseat to commercial interests. This week, amidst a raucous monsoon session, the Indian Parliament saw the passage of several consequential pieces of legislation in quick succession. Among them was the contentious amendment to the Forest Conservation...

The recently concluded Parliament session saw the passage of the highly controversial “Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023” amid wide protests and without much discussion. The bill is aimed to amend the erstwhile Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Among the changes suggested, the below preamble was inserted into the act, and the “Forest (Conservation) Act” is substituted by “Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam” in the principal Act. While the Environment Ministry claims that...

-PTI/ The Telegraph Senior govt official says consultations are going on with various stakeholders and changes are expected to be finalised in coming weeks New Delhi: The government is preparing to amend the insolvency law as it looks to reduce the time taken for the completion of the resolution process of stressed assets and prevent significant erosion of value of the assets, according to a senior official. Amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy...

-PTI/ NDTV.com The ministry also said that the recent changes in India's rice export rules "have helped keep a check on domestic prices" without reducing the availability for exports. New Delhi: Domestic rice prices are showing an upward trend and it "may continue to increase" due to low kharif production forecast and 11 per cent jump in export of non-basmati rice, the food ministry said today. The statement was made in the fact...

-PTI/ The Hindu Chief Election Commissioner suggests a slew of Amendments to RP Act to increase transparency and accountability on part of candidate The Election Commission has proposed reducing anonymous political donations to ₹2,000 from ₹20,000 and cap cash donations at 20% or at a maximum of ₹20 crore to cleanse election funding of black money, sources said on Monday. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar has written a letter to Union Law...