Chances of the food security Bill becoming a law in the near future have dimmed with Parliament’s standing committee on food not submitting its recommendations in the winter session, which ended on Thursday.

“There is no possibility of submitting the report in the winter session of Parliament, as all the evidences are not yet ready with us,” Vilas Muttemwar, chairman of the committee, said.

In its first meeting, the 14-member panel discussed eligibility criteria for coal block applicants

An inter-ministerial panel today discussed the mechanism for allotting coal mines to public sector firms. The 14-member panel, headed by Coal Secretary AK Srivastava, in its first meeting also discussed the eligibility criteria for coal block applicants. "The Inter-Ministerial Group [IMG] met for the first time today after its formation under the chairmanship of coal secretary. During the meeting it was discussed on how to evaluate the applications [of government firms] and what should be the criteria for allotting mines," a government official said

The irony was not lost on anyone when Meerut, part of the ancient Harappan settlement renowned for its sophisticated drainage systems, was promised a decent sewerage system under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JNNURM) as late as 2005. The city seemed poised for a facelift after centuries of decrepit waste disposal infrastructure but, alas, that was not to be.

Seven years hence, even this modest project seems to have ground to a halt. With heaps of garbage lining its choked and dug-up roads, the project — expected to be commissioned by March 2012 —looks far from complete, adding to the city’s miseries.

New Delhi: Seeks halting of work on 1,980-MW plant in coal-bearing area of Jharkhand

The coal ministry has contested the suggestion made by a group of ministers (GoM) to allow NTPC to set up a 1,980-MW power plant in the coal-bearing area of North Karanpura in Jharkhand. Moving a Cabinet note, it has sought directions to the PSU to halt work on the project and move to a non-coal-bearing area in the state. The ministry has also approached the PMO for necessary directions.

New Delhi: In a move that could trigger a fresh controversy over the valuation of natural resources, the Power Ministry has sought that the reserve price of coal blocks to be offered through the competitive bidding route be set at 90 per cent discount on the intrinsic value of the mine.

The demand comes as the Coal Ministry gears up to auction about 54 blocks following the controversy over “notional losses” because of blocks being offered without auctions during 2004-09.

The coal ministry is likely to move a cabinet note seeking permission for Coal India to extract coal bed methane (CBM) in its leasehold areas, the chairman of the state-run miner has said.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today took a slew of important economic decisions, clearing a proposal to set up a Cabinet Committee on Investment to expedite approvals t

The contentious National Board on Investment (NIB) got the Cabinet nod today, albeit in a new avatar-Cabinet Committee on Investment.

With this body, the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure will be wound up, officials said. The Cabinet Committee on Investment will be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and will fast-track approval to projects of over Rs 1,000 crore, initially infrastructure ones. The committee assumes importance as India's economic growth slipped sub-six per cent for three quarters in a row till the second quarter of the financial year. Stepping up investment rate assumes importance to make the economy grow faster.

While the charges against then NCP minister Ajit Pawar may have forced the Maharashtra government to release a white paper on its delayed irrigation projects, an RTI reply shows that 120 of the 159

The Union Cabinet will on Thursday take up the proposal to set up the National Investment Board (NIB), a body mooted by the finance ministry to fast track project clearances and ensure their timely