Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
New Delhi Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan may have objected to the creation of a National Investment Board (NIB) for its potential to undermine her ministry, but the finance ministry has no doubt that the biggest hurdle to investors right now is posed by Natarajan’s ministry. In an internal note meant …
New Delhi With the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) readying a new set of FIRs this week, the coal scam probe is hot again. The agency is preparing to register four fresh cases in connection with its probe related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of captive coal blocks between …
It was one of the seven allotments axed by the government last month as part of an exercise to review the progress of 195 captive coal blocks JSW Steel Ltd might take legal recourse against the government’s recent decision to cancel the allotment of a coal block to the company. …
Former MP and member of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Surinder Singla has asked Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai to revisit his report on coal in the wake of the Supreme Court’s opinion on the Presidential Reference, which confirmed the Constitutional position that policy making power lies within the …
PPPs in infra are on the cusp of disaster. The country needs a different strategy to build public services infrastructure Growth is back on the agenda, says the government. It is hoping that with pushy announcements foreign and Indian investment will miraculously start pouring in and infrastructure will be the …
The ministry of environment and forests on Wednesday granted forest clearance to the Mahan coal block spread over 1,082 hectares of prime forest in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh. This coal block was denied clearance four times by the Forest Advisory Committee, who had cited the presence of a …
The Supreme Court on Monday said the CAG has full powers under Constitution to comment on the efficiency and economy of an expenditure done by the Centre and states. Dismissing a PIL which sought to rein in the CAG from commenting on policy issues, the Supreme Court on Monday said …
The recent Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and, more broadly, on nuclear safety regulation has highlighted many serious organisational and operational flaws. The report follows on a series of earlier CAG reports that documented cost and time overruns and poor performance at a number …
New Delhi: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has put its foot down on the government’s move to get the performance of its showcase Andhra offshore gas field scrutinized by the federal auditor. In a September 18 letter to the ministry, Reliance said the contract with the state did not have …
Expanding the scope of the investigation into the Coalgate, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday began a probe into alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks between 1993 and 2004. It has registered a ‘preliminary enquiry’ against companies that got blocks during that period and the government officials who …
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 …
Court says auction not the only permissible method In a major relief to the Centre, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court today virtually gave it a free hand in the allocation of natural resources, clarifying that the judgment mandating auction was restricted to the 122 telecom licences the SC …
The massive cost escalation of irrigations dotted across Konkan, Vidarbha, Marathwada, North Maharashtra and western Maharashtra, which works up to Rs26,000 crore, have proved to be a nightmare for Ajit Pawar, who quit as the deputy chief minister on Tuesday. The NCP leader held the portfolio of water resources minister …
INDIA-: ONGC, IOC, Oil India bid for Conoco Canada oil assets A trio of state-controlled oil companies on Monday said it has bid $5 billion for stakes in Canadian oil sands assets owned by ConocoPhillips , in what could be the next major test of Canada's appetite for foreign investment …
If inquiry hints at allocation blunders during NDA regime, it will provide govt with ammunition to counter criticism by Oppn In a new twist in the investigation of the alleged coal scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will start an inquiry into the allotment of 195 coal blocks to …
MARGAO: Asserting there should be no place for illegal mining in Goa, South Goa MP on Monday said he would soon convene a meeting of the Parliament Estimates Committee to discuss the mining issue plaguing the state. “As Chairman of the Parliament’s Estimates Committee, I would convene a meeting of …
The Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on Thursday recommended de-allocation of two more coal blocks and deduction of bank guarantee (BG) of two more blocks. Thursday’s action concludes the IMG scrutiny of 29 blocks in the first phase. The blocks deallocated on Thursday are: Bhaskarpara, allotted to Kumarmangalam Birla-promoted Grasim Industries and …
New Delhi: Can the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), while auditing accounts and expenditure, comment on the manner of functioning of a statutory body, the Supreme Court asked on Thursday. A bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra posed this question during the hearing on a petition seeking …
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 …
The Planning Commission on Tuesday pitched for privatisation of coal mining, saying the government should have a consistent policy for the energy sector, as third-party sale is allowed for petroleum and natural gas in the country. “To my mind, the logic is very clear that it should be allowed (for …
