The Centre has decided to revise the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011. The Bill was introduced in the Parliament in 2011. It generated significant debate and controversy the [ ... ]

In view of the tight economic situation, the Government on May 18, 2012 came out with a number of austerity measures to reduce spending through the Public Offices. In this regard, the Government has  [ ... ]

On May 19, the official data on retail price level were released. The data reveal a fresh spike in prices. As per the CPI (Consumer Price Index) data: Retail inflation crossed the double-digit mar [ ... ]

Lately, the Central Government has taken several measures to ensure that the river Ganga maintains continuous and unpolluted flow. Some of these measures are as follows. In an unprecedented move, [ ... ]

A legislative election was held on 6 May, 2012 in Greece to elect all 300 members to the national legislature. The election was due to be held in late 2013, four years after the previous election. Howe [ ... ]

Recently, the main political parties in Nepal reached an agreement on the major contentious issues related to the future of the state structure. The parties arriving at agreement are: The Unified  [ ... ]

Mr. Francois Hollande was on May 15, 2012 officially inaugurated as the 7th President of France's Fifth Republic. This marks a return to the left governed polity after 17 years of conservative rule. M [ ... ]

Concerned over for the falling rupee, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has intervened yet again with fresh measures to shore up the Indian currency. The RBI has directed all exporters to sell half of t [ ... ]

Recently the Exim data for the month of April 20012 were released. The data reveal that: The Indian exports have been hit by the poor global economic conditions, registering a growth of 3.2% in Apri [ ... ]

Context Algeria is located in North Africa. It is the largest (area-wise) nation in Africa. With a population of 35 million people, its economy is mainly driven by oil resources. Recently, Algeria's [ ... ]

The IIP (Index of Industrial Production) data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on May 11, 2012 revealed that for the first time in five months, industrial production contracted 3.5% in M [ ... ]

After a few months’ respite, inflation levels are rising again. Recently, the data for WPI (Wholesale Price Index) of April 2012 were released, which reveal that: The headline inflation in April 2 [ ... ]

India and Germany are celebrating 60 years of their diplomatic engagement. In this context, the Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Shri Anand Sharma represented the Prime Minister of In [ ... ]

The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) was held in New Delhi on 7 May, 2012. The JCC was envisaged in the Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development sign [ ... ]

The Government of India had constituted a Committee on Human Resources issues of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) under the Chairmanship of Dr. A.K. Khandelwal. The Committee has submitted its report. The [ ... ]

Commerce Secretary Mr. Rahul Khullar has been appointed as the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) with immediate effect. Mr. Khullar is a 1975-batch IAS officer. He took over [ ... ]

The U.N. has adopted global guidelines to defend the land rights of poor farmers and recognise informal indigenous claims. Because these proposals are guidelines, they will act as voluntary rules. Ba [ ... ]

Myanmar's military junta last year handed power to a nominally civilian Government that surprised the world with a series of sweeping political and economic reforms, including releasing prominent polit [ ... ]

The telecom regulator TRAI has suggested that the Government increase the price of spectrum by at least 10 times, raising fears of an increase in mobile tariffs. While recommending auction as the sole [ ... ]

In a move that will increase the number of FM radio channels in the country, content variety and business viability, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended that the minimum ch [ ... ]

On April 19, 2012, India successfully test-fired for the first time its most-ambitious strategic missile - the 5,000-km+ range Agni-V.  This was India’s first ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Mi [ ... ]

Background The RBI, on April 17, 2012, announced the Annual Policy for 2012-13. This policy statement is set in a challenging macroeconomic environment, the main features of which are as follows.  [ ... ]

The World Bank recently chose Korean-born American health expert Jim Yong Kim as its new President. This selection has maintained the US’ grip on the job and has left developing countries questioning [ ... ]