Highest priority to social services sector

The Planning Commission today approved a Rs 27,072-crore Annual Plan for Haryana. The outlay includes Rs 7,513 crore for state public sector enterprises (PSEs) and Rs 1,559 crore for local bodies to be met from their own resources. The net State Plan outlay, excluding the PSEs and local bodies, comes to Rs 18,000 crore, an increase of 24 per cent over last year’s Rs. 14,500 crore.

The Asian Development Bank will maintain its lending rate to India of about $2 billion per annum for the next three years, which will be invested in power, transportation, water and sanitation, the multilateral bank’s president Takehiko Nakao said on Sunday.

Nakao added that the bank had identified some projects where the money may be invested in, but declined to specify in detail. “At this point, it is not a good idea to say what projects we are thinking because it is subject to discussions in the board of directors, but of course we are looking at specific projects. Our investment to India is very broad-based.

At the meeting to be held between the Assam Government and the Planning Commission on May 7, the State Government will seek Rs 16,050 crore as Plan allocation for the fiscal 2013–14.

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) has obtained global Carbon Neutral certification for the hosting of the 6th South Asia Economic Summit in Colombo.

In a relief to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the government’s proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail trade (MBRT) saying the move did not suffer from any unconstitutionality, illegality, arbitrariness or irrationality.

A three-judge bench of Justices R.M. Lodha, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph said “consumer is the king and if that is the philosophy working behind the policy then what is wrong in it.” The Bench referred to the Centre’s counter and said the decision to allow FDI in retail has a legal basis – FEMA 2000.

Awardees include profit and not-for-profit firms in M.P., Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand

The World Bank Institute awarded $2 million (Rs. 10.74 crores) to 20 organisations working in the sectors of financial inclusion, trafficking, health, education and livelihood. The grant of $ 100,000 (Rs. 53.7 lakhs) per project is to help these social enterprises expand in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The awards were given by World Bank’s country director Onno Ruhl and Programme Lead (Development Marketplace) Drew von Glahn, at the 2013 India Development Marketplace held at the Indian Institute of Forest Management, here on Wednesday.

The European Union will ban three of the world's most widely-used pesticides for two years because of fears they are linked to a plunge in the population of bees critical to the production of crops

The average car sold in the EU in 2012 was 9% more fuel-efficient than the average three years before, according to a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA).