The government today said a decision to free diesel prices from government control will depend on the inflation situation. "We had announced last year that the decision would be taken at an appropriate time to deregulate diesel, the g
After the budget 2011-12, falling sick has become an even costlier proposition. For example, centrally air-conditioned hospitals with over 25 beds will now charge a five percent service tax from the patients on all services provided. This
Lack of transparency at the gram panchayat level is the biggest undoing of the MGNREGA. With the sarpanch being the all-powerful entity in the implementation of the scheme, it suits him/her to withhold information such as the number of works sanct
Sixty-three persons, including promoters and CEOs of 10 telecom firms have come under its scanner in the 2G spectrum case, the CBI on Tuesday told the supreme court which expressed satisfaction over the ongoing probe. The central governmen
The DMK government in poll-bound Tamil Nadu today announced a three per cent cut in sales tax on petrol that would make it cheaper by Rs 1.38 a litre. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi made the announcement a day after the presentation of the U
The evacuation of Indians from strife-torn Libya is going smoothly and over 3,500 people would have returned home by tomorrow, external affairs minister S M Krishna said here today. "The evacuation of Indians who are wanting to come b
The supreme court on Tuesday set aside a Calcutta high court order for registration of murder case against prominent industrialist Ashok Kumar Todi and some police officers in the mysterious death of computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rahman.
The DMK government in poll-bound Tamil Nadu today announced a three per cent cut in sales tax on petrol that would make it cheaper by Rs 1.38 a litre. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi made the announcement a day after the presentation of the U
Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi has recused himself from the JPC into the 2G Spectrum scam taking the plea that he had appeared for cellular operators in the court as a senior advocate. "I had appeared as a senior advocate in the cou
The government on Monday earmarked a substantial amount to the urban development ministry for spending on extension of Metro networks in Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai in the Budget 2011-12. While the equity to Delhi Metro is Rs 452 c
After a grueling month of negotiations and agitations to ensure remittances of salary and parity of pay with Air India pilots, the pilots of the erstwhile Indian Airlines are finding themselves faced by the same grievances that they thought had be
Different NGOs working with children are uhappy with the budget for having failed to earmark anything towards safeguarding child rights. The budget has precious little for children other than the marginal increase of funds for the educatio
Eleven convicts in the Godhra train burning case were today handed down death sentence while 20 others were given life imprisonment by a special court in the 2002 incident that left 59 `karsevaks` dead and triggered riots which claimed over 1200 l
While offering some populist sops to the social sector, the union budget for the next fiscal year has failed the aspirations and concerns of the citizens, says the New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Budget and Government Accountability (CBGA).
I read a news report in Times of India on Monday, headlined “Congress responsible for 99 percent corruption in India: Baba Ramdev”. I am very happy that fellow-activist Arv
ImagIndia Institute launched a pan-Indian campaign to clean cities and peri-urban areas across the country on February 28. The campaign was kicked-off at the national capital at Raj Ghat. All photographs by Governance Now photojournali
In a major policy shift, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has proposed direct cash transfer of subsidies for fertilizer, kerosene and LPG to the BPL families. Food subsidy, which has been a contentious issue because of the huge pilferage in the d
An introduction of service tax on the healthcare sector will make it more difficult for the public to afford healthcare, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), an association of doctors, said here in a press release on Monday. An additiona
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Union Carbide Corporation, Dow Chemicals and others on a Centre`s plea seeking enhancement of compensation to the victims of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy from Rs750 crore to Rs7,700 crore. The a
Opposition parties on Monday came down heavily on General Budget 2011-12 dismissing the exercise as “very disappointing and directionless” and said it has failed to address the problems of unemployment and price rise affecting the comm
