Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
Bhubaneswar: In a glaring instance of step-motherly attitude, the Centre has ignored the repeated requests made by the Odisha government to release a special package of Rs 4,500 crore for Special Plan for backward Kalahandi, Balangir and Koraput (KBK) region. On the other hand, it has granted a package of …
* To meet requirement of holy town up to 2040 JAMMU: The work on Rs 47.42 crore water supply scheme for Katra town recently sanctioned by the Central Government on the recommendations of the Special Task Force for Jammu region, is beginning within another one month and it will meet …
Coal mine A committee headed by Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi has asked for incentives to states for faster ecology clearances for coal mining. It has suggested a larger share of power from the Centre’s unallocated quota, a larger allocation of coal blocks and higher special plan grants. The …
New Delhi A group of ministers (GoM) led by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday recommended bringing urea, a commonly used fertiliser, under the nutrient-based policy, raise its price by 10% immediately and partially decontrol the commodity from the next fiscal. Even after the price decontrol, there will be some …
New Delhi In what could be India's largest hydropower project, NTPC is exploring the possibility of setting up a 10,000 mw project over the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh at an estimated cost of R1 lakh crore. “We have been asked by the Planning Commission to examine the possibility of …
With China in mind, India is embarking on a major infrastructure drive in Arunachal Pradesh, with plans for three railway lines in the border state, including one to connect the strategic Tawang plateau with Assam. While the Defence Ministry has traditionally been discreet about its infrastructure projects in the North-East, …
Mandatory permits and a cess on groundwater use to irrigate cash crops, run industry or for mining are among the measures proposed by the Government in a draft Bill that aims at conserving groundwater. The Model Bill for the Protection, Conservation, Management and Regulation of Groundwater — which was discussed …
There is no major difference in views between the West Bengal government and the Centre on the draft Land Acquisition and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill 2011 though there is need for clarity on some points, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said here on Sunday. Mr. Ramesh discussed the draft …
Sustainable mining is an oxymoron. Environmentalists will tell you this. Mining – from coal to limestone – destroys forests, devastates mountains and leaves the land pock-marked. It also destroys people’s livelihoods and displaces them. Worse, modern, mechanised mining hurts livelihoods based on land but does not replace them with local …
Upset with milk prices continuing to spiral high, the government has finalised an ambitious Rs 8,000-crore national dairy plan to increase per cow milk production through artificial insemination. The plan to be implemented from the next financial year with the help of the World Bank, aims at providing financial incentives …
New Delhi After series of discussion with the National Advisory Council (NAC) and the Planning Commission, the government on Friday unveiled the National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, for wider public consultations. While ruling out acquisition of multi-cropped and irrigated land, the Bill, however, has allowed the …
Six years of investigations into irregularities in connection with the Larji hydel project have ended with a whimper. The 126 MW Larji hydel project — taunted as the country’s costliest hydro-power project — will not see any head rolling for its cost shooting up to Rs 1461.33 crore, instead of …
The UPA government has decided to consult all the Chief Ministers, political parties and other stakeholders after posting on the web the draft land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement Bill by Saturday. Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh told journalists he would be sending a copy of the draft …
Says ‘Go, No-Go’ concept not legally tenable, should be abandoned Agovernment panel has said the ‘Go, No-Go’ concept of forest area classification for clearances to coal blocks is legally not tenable and should be abandoned. The environment ministry’s ban on mining in areas of thick forest cover has locked away …
New-look programme to be rolled out in 2,000 most backward blocks within a year As part of a coordinated and aligned initiative, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, a re-energised Union Rural Development Ministry and the Planning Commission are working in tandem to make up for the time and money …
Chennai The much-touted National Food Security Bill aimed at providing foodgrains at subsidised price to the poor may be be introduced in Parliament by December this year said, K V Thomas, Union minister of state for consumer affairs and food. The empowered group of ministers had approved the draft Bill …
The annual Plan for Kerala for 2011-12 was finalised at Rs.12,010 crore at a meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Wednesday. The outlay is about 20 per cent higher than last fiscal's Plan size of Rs.10,025 crore. Initiating the discussion, …
The Planning Commission has pulled up the power ministry for the poor performance of its two major schemes: the Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (APDRP) and the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), for the absence of a monitoring mechanism. In its recent presentation for the power sector, the …
The census of India’s poor began on June 29 in Tripura, in the Northeast, with a methodology Jairam Ramesh, who was made Union rural development minister in the recent reshuffle, didn’t get a chance to contribute to. It has some improvements over the method followed in the previous census, but …
