Some projects under the Smart Cities Mission would not be able to meet the June 30 deadline and the respective state governments would be responsible for completing them thereafter, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs. In its report on the …
The Environmental Conservation Levy Bill, which provides for the government to charge an Environmental Conservation Levy, was passed in Parliament yesterday without a debate. The new Bill also proposes the setting up of a National Adaptation Fund, in keeping with a proposal made at the UN Global Climate Change Summit, …
After the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations for Central employees, the Government is set to put in place a commission to determine salaries, allowances and perks of Members of Parliament. The Cabinet is expected to clear a proposal to this effect at its meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Since the new arrangement …
A parliamentary panel has asked the MoEF to serve closure notices to industrial units discharging their effluents into rivers if they do not install treatment plants within a specific time frame. The committee in its report tabled recently in the Rajya Sabha said the ministry should look seriously into such …
There is an indifferent attitude, almost of a colonial type, in the mainland of India towards NE. This needs to be changed through an arrangement so as to remove the feeling of alienation that afflicts the psyche of the NE people and thus to save the integrity of the country. …
Media attention is routine stuff for film star Hema Malini. But in August 2007 the spotlight was on her for a question she asked in Parliament as a Rajya Sabha member The film star, who is also a brand ambassador for a leading RO water company, asked the minister of …
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Tuesday said the decision to close existing airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore, after the opening of the new airports, would be reviewed. "As per the contractual agreement, existing airports in the two cities are to be closed, but we will review it,' said the …
Paving the way for setting up of an authority to regulate food items across the country, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a Bill to amend the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill will replace the
The Rajya Sabha witnessed noisy scenes today over the government's reported proposal to give pre-cooked food to children at anganwadi centres under the Integrated Child Development Scheme. Referring to media reports, CPM member Brinda Karat questioned whether the government was pushing for a proposal to give ready-to-eat meals to children …
THE Right to Education bill seems to have run into rough weather yet again. Instructions from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh notwithstanding, the government , it seems won't be able to introduce the Right to Education bill, 2008, in Parliament, before it goes into recess on March 20. The delay is …
THE BJP has demanded that the Centre demonstrate that it was serious about ameliorating the condition of farmers by preparing a ten-year action plan for the revival of the sector. The BJP has promised that it would reduce the interest rate for loans to the farm sector to 4%, given …
civil society groups have asked the union government to table the long pending hiv-aids bill at the next session of parliament. The ngo, Indian Network of People Living with hiv - aids says that the failure to pass the bill will derail efforts to check the spread of the disease …
IN the empty courtyard of Sajabhai Bodat's hut, there is nothing but a white, plastic chair propped against a mud wall in faded green. The chair holds a framed photograph of Sajabhai, who was recently killed by a police bullet. On the cow dung lined floor under the chair are …
Underestimates can result in the problem being ignored, says PAC report Inflated figures may take resources away from other health programmes Hopes ICTCs will act as a single window service to cater to all clients NEW DELHI: Raising doubts over the reliability of the new data on HIV/AIDS prevalence in …
The Cabinet decision last week to bring the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2008, before Parliament is a step that should have been taken at least six years ago. For, it was in 2002 that the Supreme Court directed the government to set up a Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) and a …
Issues relating to protection of the planet continue to capture media headlines and provoke public and political debate. The United Nationsʼ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has referred to global warming as a ʻweapon of mass destructionʼ (IPCC, 2007). However, global warming is not the only earth-threatening issue – there …
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday witnessed noisy scenes with MPs, cutting across party lines, targeting the Government on the issue of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). They accused it of allowing corporate and industrial houses to grab land from farmers and ignoring violation of the SEZ Act by developers. Though the …
The economic growth rate is likely to be 8.7 per cent in the review year 2007-08 as per the Economic Survey report presented in the Parliament. Finance Minister, P Chidambaram expressed concern over continuous rise in inflation. The expected growth rate of 8.7 per cent is as per the trend …
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 is a law whereby: any adult who is willing to do unskilled manual work at the minimum wage is entitled to being employed on local public works within 15 days of applying. It aims to enhance the livelihood security of people in rural …
Germany continues to invest in brown coal mining, despite ambitious climate targets. Requirements for carbon capture and storage could eventually make the fuel unprofitable. March 2008
