Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on September 29 allayed the fears expressed by the Indian industry that the new Land Acquisition Act would make projects economically unviable. Ramesh said in Mumbai that the new act applies only to the land acquired by Central and State authorities for any public purpose, while there is no bar whatsoever, on purchase of private land.    He said that industry must look beyond land acquisition by Government and explore land purchase opportunities. In fact, in 20 years from now, there should only be land purchases and no land acquisition.    Reiterating his stand that land acquisition should become an act of last resort, Ramesh said his Ministry has been working towards improving land records management in the country and promoting transparency in land sales.    He informed that Rs 1,000 crore National Land Record Modernisation Programme is being implemented with focus on computerisation of land records, digitization of maps and resurvey. He said Maharashtra has progressed well but is yet to catch up with Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tripura.