New Delhi: The highly contentious Land Acquisition Bill was discussed at length on Monday with the Union Cabinet meeting and giving it a formal nod. It is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. With land disputes turning violent, the government finally decided to change the 117-year-old law to acquire land. The Union Cabinet met for over an hour-and-a-half to clear the land acquisition and rehabilitation bill on Monday....
07:32 AM, Sep 06, 2011
New Delhi: Real estate developers on Monday said the Land Acquisition Bill passed by the Cabinet would make land costlier by up to 80 per cent, adversely affecting the housing development in the country. Expressing disappointment over the Bill, which will now be introduced in Parliament on Wednesday, apex realtors body CREDAI NCR President Pankaj Bajaj said, "Farmers' interest have been protected, but the housing requirement of middle class have...
11:59 PM, Sep 05, 2011
Catch all the major stories and events of the day on India @ 9 with Rajdeep Sardesai. ...
11:17 PM, Sep 05, 2011
The Government should not come up with this Bill to Parliament within two days of Cabinet clearance, said Patkar. ...
07:48 PM, Sep 05, 2011
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared the Land Acquisition Bill which will be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. The Bill's draft makes consent of at least 80 per cent landowners mandatory if acquisition is for private projects. Public purpose has been defined as land use for strategic purposes, infrastructure and industry. But the consent is not mandatory when land is acquired by the government for its own use....
06:56 PM, Sep 05, 2011
The new draft of the Land Acquisition Bill will be discussed by the Union Cabinet on Monday evening. Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh has laid the groundwork and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, circulated the draft to all the chief ministers, and met all the Cabinet ministers personally. The key features of the Bill: 1) Consent of 80 per cent of people mandatory except...
04:08 PM, Sep 05, 2011
New Delhi: The long awaited Land Acquisition Bill could be cleared by Union Cabinet on Monday. The Bill's draft makes consent of at least 80 per cent landowners mandatory if acquisition is for private projects. Public purpose has been defined as land use for strategic purposes, infrastructure and industry. But the consent is not mandatory when land is acquired by the government for its own use. Urgency clause is to...
01:40 PM, Sep 05, 2011
New Delhi: Industry body Ficci has suggested that the proposed land acquisition act should apply to the private companies only if they buy 500 acres of land or more, instead of the 100 acres as suggested in the draft law. "The industry feels the threshold of 100 acres is very low for projects, especially in rural areas and this may only encourage smaller and fragmented holdings particularly in the mining...
10:58 AM, Sep 04, 2011
Bangalore: US IT company IBM is buying Toronto-based risk analytics software firm Algorithmics for $387 million in cash to enhance its financial services capabilities. IBM said the deal, expected to close before the end of October, expands its business analytics capabilities by helping clients manage financial risk. Algorithmics' risk analytics software, content and advisory services are used by banking, investment and insurance businesses to help assess risk, address regulatory requirements...
04:30 PM, Sep 01, 2011
San Francisco: CNN has acquired Zite, an iPad service that learns about readers' tastes and customises a digital magazine with stories from hundreds of different websites. CNN, a cable news channel owned by Time Warner Inc., has no plans to change Zite's format, said KC Estenson, general manager of CNN's digital division. "This is a product that people love," Estenson said. "It just needs to be in the hands of...
12:59 PM, Aug 31, 2011
New York: Skype is expanding even before it gets absorbed by Microsoft Corp. The online communications service said Monday that it plans to buy GroupMe, which provides group text messaging. Skype lets users make calls, conduct video chats and send instant messages over the Web. Its basic services are free, while users pay for services such as calling regular phones from a computer. The acquisition brings Skype into the quickly...
07:11 AM, Aug 23, 2011
New Delhi: Anna Hazare's fast demanding a strong Lokpal to tackle corruption crossed 100 hours on Saturday, with Anna expanding ambit of his fight to include electoral reforms and a farmer-friendly land acquisition law. As his fast entered the fifth day, his team said they were ready to talk to the government but no such communication channels have been opened so far but insisted the August 30 deadline set by...
08:35 PM, Aug 20, 2011
San Francisco: Hewlett-Packard Co. is buying Autonomy Corp. to expand its lineup of business software products as it lowers its profile in consumer electronics. The acquisition, announced Thursday, comes amid a flurry of other dramatic moves that will reshape HP, the world's largest technology company by revenue. The shake-up will sharpen HP's focus on selling products and services to businesses and government agencies, instead of making gadgets for consumers. Buying...
12:53 PM, Aug 19, 2011
Allahabad: A judge heading a bench specially constituted for hearing scores of petitions challenging acquisition of land in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Wednesday recused himself from the case. Justice RK Agrawal, who was heading the bench which also comprised justices Ashok Bhushan and VK Shukla, recused himself when the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday morning. The matter has been, thereafter, referred back to the Chief...
01:35 PM, Aug 17, 2011
New Delhi: In the backdrop of controversies surrounding procurement of land, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday promised enactment of a "forward looking and balanced" law on land acquisition soon to prevent tensions over the sensitive issue. Taking note of the tensions caused in some parts of the country because of acquisition of land for industry, infrastructure and urbanisation, the Prime Minister said the government will ensure that "no injustice...
09:05 AM, Aug 15, 2011
NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad said the situation turned out to be so violent that police had not other option. ...
11:10 PM, Aug 11, 2011
Sagarika Ghose examines issues of land acquisition and price rise. ...
12:21 AM, Aug 11, 2011
Maval: Three people were killed after police opened fire on protesting farmers on the Mumbai-Pune expressway on Tuesday. The farmers were opposing a proposed water tunnel project that will divert water from the Pawna dam to Pune's satellite towns. Besides, they said building the tunnel would lead to land acquisition. 29-year-old Shyam Tupe was killed in Tuesdays police firing. The villagers, who have already had their land taken away for...
10:34 PM, Aug 10, 2011
New Delhi: Popular perception of the state of economy, as recorded by the CNN-IBN-CNBC-TV18 State of the Nation Poll in association with Forbes India conducted by the CSDS, confront the "aam admi" government with many reasons to worry. Unlike corruption, the message is not loud here. Years of survey research have demonstrated that Indians tend to be positive and optimistic when it comes to their economic conditions. One needs to...
07:03 PM, Aug 10, 2011
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled government has to strictly comply with the twin conditions of acquiring land for "public purpose" and adequately fulfilling the "compensation" claim to the oustees. "Public purpose is a pre-condition for deprivation of a person from his property under Article 300A and the right to claim compensation is also inbuilt in that Article and when a person is deprived of his property, the...
10:48 PM, Aug 09, 2011
