Joyita Ghose on the land acquisition laws in the country and the changes that the NDA government's controversial bill in Parliament makes to the land acquisition act, 2013 brought in by the United Progressive Alliance government.
'Most of the agitations are staged by the Opposition to disturb the peace of the state.'
Here's a recap of moments captured in India in the past 48 hours.
The government's largesse was widely expected after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lost power in the recent assembly polls in three Hindi heartland states, where rural distress was cited to be one of the reasons for the defeat of the saffron party.
When faced with problems, this IAS officer came up with innovative solutions.
The average land given to the rural landless is small and falling, from 0.95 acres in 2002 to 0.88 acres in 2015 - a 7.4 per cent drop over 13 years-and a slowdown is evident in the process of taking land away from rich landlords, the RTI data reveal.
'In the last 55 years India and Pakistan have gone to wars, but nobody spoke about scrapping the Indus Waters Treaty.'
Congress party in Maharashtra has its hopes pinned on a 'newly recharged' vice-president Rahul Gandhi for its revival.
At least 155 people have lost their lives and over 80 lakh people affected in fresh floods due to excessive rains in worst-affected Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Odisha.
Ten trade unions to go on strike to protest against changes in labour laws
The farmers of Khentia are now working in tandem with the IIT team.
In spite of Budget's rural focus, the government has consistently stumbled in agriculture, says Shreekant Sambrani.
Sources said while the Janata Dal-Secular will have nine new ministers, the Congress will have nearly 12 of its legislators inducted into the cabinet. Lone Bahujan Samaj Party MLA N Mahesh will also be a part of the cabinet expansion and will be given a key portfolio.
According to BJP strategists, PMJAY and the PM Ujjwala Yojana will form the nucleus of the Modi government's re-election campaign.
Political stability and a couple of big projects are pluses, but focus on medium and small industries is still missing.
Several SP leaders fear Muslim voters may shift loyalty, which will benefit rivals like the BJP.
Metal stocks also had a good session, with JSW Steel zooming by 7%, and Tata Steel and Nalco gaining about 3% each.
Fourteen ministers are from the Congress, nine from its ruling coalition partner Janata Dal-Secular and one each from the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party.
Clauses on land return, action against officials diluted
The definition of affected family includes farm labourers, tenants, sharecroppers and workers in the area for three years prior to acquisition.
Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar speaks to Prasanna Zore/Rediff.com.
The wars of the future will be fought over water and if they occur on large scale, will be far more devastating than any we have seen yet.
The IMD has said temperatures in most parts of the country from March to May would be 'above normal'.
If the Ganga manages a rebirth, so will the country.Roy
The total rainfall till now is not only deficient, but is also erratic in terms of both geographical spread and timings.
Instead of a consumption stimulus the government must address the NPA issue with a war footing and invest in infrastructure, affordable housing and exports, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
The IMD came out with a dismaying prediction.
Studying wolves' howls could reveal how human language evolved.
Six villages in Maharashtra that are within the drought affected area have remained water secure even in an extremely bad year.
'More people will come out of the BJP. You just wait and watch.'
Recent investigations into the telecom spectrum and coal scams have made bureaucrats very wary of taking decisions.
'In the last 55 years India and Pakistan have gone to wars, but nobody spoke about scrapping the Indus Waters Treaty.'
Protests over "politics of vendetta" continued in Rajya Sabha for the second day on Wednesday, with Congress members forcing two adjournments of the House till noon by storming the Well and raising anti-government slogans.
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India's hydroelectric power generation grew 17.5 per cent to 7.5 billion units in January this year from 6.4 billion units in the same month of 2012.
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The power of a nation is directly related to the revenues it realises from its citizens. But India loses a gargantuan Rs 5.8 lakh crore, as the IT department drags its feet over recovering uncollected taxes in time or holding up files in appeal cases, says Mohan Guruswamy.
The government will announce minimum support prices for kharif.
The fund allocated for pulses buffer is more than 40% of entire farm ministry's 2016-17 budget.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that it is imperative to maintain high growth rates.
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At least 16 people have died in flood-related incidents in Odisha, where the situation remained grim even as major rivers were receding on Saturday. Two deaths each were reported from Bhadrak, Jajpur and Nayagarh districts while in worst-hit Ganjam district it remained unchanged at six and four in Jagatsinghpur, Special Relief Commissioner P K Mohapatra told reporters here after the situation was reviewed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
'You cannot judge a government within a month. Give us five years' time.' 'At times, strict economic decisions have to be made for the good of the poor in the long run.' Dharmendra Pradhan, one of the Modi government's stars, speaks exclusively to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com about why the government is forced to roll out 'bitter medicine.'
