After intense discussions with the government, India Inc is set to get some concessions in the implementation of mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) norms as laid down in the new Compan

All public companies whose paid-up share capital exceeds Rs 100 crore or which have in aggregate outstanding loans or deposits exceeding Rs 200 crore may soon be required to have one-third independ

Accused of supplying sub-standard coal at high prices, the country’s largest coal producer, Coal India (CIL), is planning to make third-party inspection of coal samples mandatory for all future fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with the user industries in the power, steel and cement sectors.

Sources privy to the development told FE that the move would restrain companies from levelling accusations against the coal PSU as the tests on coal samples would be undertaken by an independent agency whose selection would be mutually decided by CIL and the user companies.

India is set to join a select group of countries having a specialised agency mapping its shale gas potential. A proposal to this effect has already been worked out by the oil ministry. The proposed agency will fall under the central government. It will have the mandate to map the presence of shale gas across various states in the Gangetic plain, Assam, Rajasthan and many coastal areas.

The agency will conduct studies on the basis of geological, geophysical and geochemical aspects of shale gas exploration, micro-seismic imaging, drilling, completion and production technologies and environmental hazards in shale gas exploitation.

Coal India Limited (CIL) has strongly defended its position on the allegation of “abuse of dominance” levelled by Maharshtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) and the Association of Power

The new Land Bill — cleared by the Union Cabinet last week — gives the government an ‘option’ to return the acquired land to its original owners if it remains unutilised for 60 months.

Land owners can then transfer such land acquired by the government for its own use or PPP projects involving public purpose to any private entity/individuals. At its earlier deliberations, the rural development ministry, the nodal body for the land Bill, had rejected the suggestions of a Parliamentary panel for returning the unutilised land to original owners.

New Delhi: Thanks to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s intervention, the land Bill will see two important changes before it is cleared by the Cabinet and introduced in Parliament.

New Delhi By defining “public purpose” very broadly in the relevant legislation, the government will ensure private investors in state-controlled infrastructure projects almost always receive its help in mobilising the land required.

The land Bill vetted by a group of ministers earlier and set to to taken up by the Union Cabinet after Diwali will contain an exhaustive list of 29 infrastructure areas as involving public purpose. This means that the government can acquire land for public-private partnership (PPP) projects in these areas, provided the projects are majority-owned by the government and two-thirds of the land owners give their consent. Such public-purpose PPP projects are also eligible for some concessions from state governments, which could reduce the cost of acquisition.

New Delhi Despite the relevant parliamentary standing committee’s unequivocal ‘No’ to government acquiring land for projects involving private money, Jairam Ramesh’s rural development ministry plans to seek the Cabinet’s nod for a proposal to allow such acquisition with caveats: The project should be in “public interest”; 80% of affected families must give their consent; and post-acquisition, land ownership must rest with the government.

The move — which aims to make more land available for projects in a country where public funds don’t match investment needs — is likely to be hailed by industry as “pragmatic”

New Delhi In order to give a major push to the low-cost housing for low and middle-income groups, the Centre is set to give a relief in the form of 1% interest subsidy on housing loans of up to R15 lakh where the cost of house is up to R25 lakh. As a result, the burden on the government is expected to be to the tune of R500-600 crore.

“The Cabinet will take up the issue on Tuesday,” a senior official said. The decision is expected to benefit borrowers by providing a relief of around R15,000 per annum on loans up to R15 lakh. Till last year, the limit of subsidy for an individual borrower was up to R9,990 on a loan of R10 lakh