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FeaturesInside the SEZ cauldron Our correspondent reports on the “historic” referendum in 22 villages of Raigad district, Maharashtra, where on September 21 over 6,000 landholders voted against the acquisition of their lands for an SEZ. The farmers insist they want to continue farming. But will they hold out when the compensation package is upped? And will the promised waters from the Hetavane dam flow into their fields before they sell out? More... Goa: How the battle was wonRecently, Goa became the only state in India to openly declare that no more Special Economic Zones (SEZs) would be set up on its territory. This was a result of relentless pressure from almost the entire state -- villagers, educated middle class, professionals, activists, the church and media More... Farmer suicides rampant in MP, Chhattisgarh tooA study by the Madras Institute of Development Studies puts the number of farmer suicides in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh at well over 2,000 a year. But both state governments are choosing to ignore the facts. In this report, farmers tell their own story More... The SEZ versus the 'unrewarding' small farmKakinada farmer Narasimha Murthy’s 5-acre farm supports 50 people, each living on around Rs 800 a month, more than twice the official rural poverty line.Why would farmers like him in 16 villages in Andhra Pradesh want to give up this livelihood for the Kakinada SEZ? What does the SEZ offer them anyway? More... Stalemate at SingurA year after 1,000 acres of land were acquired by the West Bengal government, Singur is quiet but simmering. "We are land people, we live on land and with land," say locals in this update. Only 300 of the 1200 landowners have accepted compensation More... The growing revolt against disposabilityWith governments backing out of land acquisition for SEZs, the land mafia is taking over. But resistance is growing too. In Jhajjar district of Haryana, where a 25,000-acre SEZ is planned, a Kisan Jagrukta Samiti is protesting actively More... 'India is the last giant market left in the world; protect it'Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is poised to enter the Indian market. Campaigner Wade Rathke warns against the predatory practices of Wal-Mart, whose business model, he says, is notorious for driving out competition and slashing labour costs More... Protecting vanilla farmers against global cartelsSet up to protect the interests of vanilla-growers in India, Vanilco is a model for farmers who face volatile market conditions and monopolies within the market More... R&D-shy Indian firms may trip over drugs patentsIndia is introducing new patent laws that will stop its drugs industry from making cheap versions of patented drugs. What this means for India's poor, and other developing countries dependent on India for inexpensive medicines, is uncertain. What is clear, though, is that India's companies are unlikely to start developing new drugs themselves - the cost is just too high More... |
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