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 Ministry of Health suffered huge embarrassment yesterday when the parliamentary panel examining the feasibility of establishing an overarching health regulator rejected the Bill in this regard. Seldom does a department-related standing committee of Parliament - health in this case - return a government Bill asking it to redo the …
Europe is set to quash a precedent-setting initiative designed to tackle a disturbing side effect of common drugs — their impact on aquatic life. Nature has learned that landmark regulations intended to clean Europe’s waterways of pharmaceuticals are likely to be dead on arrival when they reach a key vote …
Sri Lanka has spent US$ 138 million so far on oil exploration with the belief of natural gas resources were available, Petroleum Resources Minister, Susil Premajayantha told Parliament today. He made this observation Monday during the committee stage of the third reading of the Budget 2013 in Parliament. The Sri …
Amidst talks of a no-confidence motion or a vote on the FDI issue, the government has lined up key financial sector Bills including long-pending legislations for pension and insurance sector as well as the supplementary demand for grants for the forthcoming winter session of Parliament that begins on Thursday. But …
The Climate Parliament India, a group of young Parliamentarians, will write to the Prime Minister, seeking a review of the policy on usage of the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF). The NCEF has an estimated corpus of Rs 3,000 crore and a large part of it remains unutilised. Since “at …
New DelhiThe Land Acquisition Bill, which has been surrounded by controversies, is set for further delay as the Cabinet is unlikely to take it up at its meeting tomorrow despite the group of ministers (GoM) approving it. Sources said the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, is not on …
RIL had sought, inter alia, to restrict KG-D6 block audit to accounting books and records Refusing the demands of the Mukesh-Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has stated that the operator’s “restrictive conditions” for carrying out an audit of the KG-D6 offshore block “impinge upon …
The Environment Ministry is now under the scanner of a parliamentary committee that has reportedly directed it to “properly monitor green clearances given to coal mining firms, particularly in states like Goa”. This comes after a month since the ministry suspended the green clearance given to 93 mines in Goa …
In a major setback to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, a Parliamentary Committee has rejected a Bill which seeks to provide a mechanism to regulate standards of medical education in the country citing “serious apprehensions” raised by various stakeholders, including State governments. In its report, the Parliamentary Standing …
New Delhi Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan, who has raised objections to the proposed National Investment Board (NIB), on Monday said that she would speak to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue. “We will speak to the PM about the reservations we have on the issue. Whatever I have to …
So far, the govt has de-allocated 10 blocks and forfeited bank guarantees of 13 firms on the basis of recommendations made by an IMG The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged the Centre was being selective in cancelling coal block allocations. “The government is only de-allocating blocks with small reserves, …
Bill during winter session of Parliament; only two-thirds of landowners will have to agree before land can be acquired After three rounds of vigorous debate, a Group of Ministers has approved the controversial Land Acquisition Bill, with few changes from the version presented to the Union Cabinet last month. This …
BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Justice MB Saha Commission is investigating the illegal mining activities, the Ministry of Coal has asked the State Government to submit a report on the action taken to curb illegal mining and theft of minerals in the State. Expressing concern over the low rate of conviction …
The government today approved changes to the Companies Bill, 2011, introducing a provision to compel all companies to spend on activities related to corporate social responsibility (CSR). A company not doing so or spending less than the required amount would have to explain why. The revised Bill is expected to …
Responding to the presidential reference arising out of its 2G licences verdict of February, the Supreme Court Thursday ruled that “auctions are not the only permissible method for disposal of all natural resources across all sectors and in all circumstances” since this mode was merely an economic policy and “not …
Govt Must Decide What Best Serves Common Good New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said auction could not be the sole method for allocation of natural resources, a judicial determination which was immediately seized upon by the government as a rebuttal of its criticism for allocating spectrum and coal …
In Separate Opinion, Justice Khehar Stresses Bidding Route For Coal Blocks New Delhi: The Supreme Court, while answering the presidential reference on 2G judgment, took note of the Coalgate scam that stalled Parliament and said whatever be the mode of allocation of natural resources, it can never be intended to …
Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Monday said that Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by him to consider the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill would clear the legislation in a week’s time. The GoM’s clearance may enable the land bill to be tabled in the Parliament in the …
The Novartis case highlights the need for innovation in the public interest. The Supreme Court has commenced final hearings on a case brought before it by the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis. The case disputes the denial of a patent on Novartis’s anti-cancer drug Glivec. Novartis’s position is that incentives to …
Even as Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) gears up to take up the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on coal block allocations tomorrow, the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) reviewing the allocations today recommended cancellation of two more blocks with private companies, including one in which the son of former Corporate …
