Few would disagree with the chief election commissioner SY Quraishi’s demand for absolute financial autonomy for the election commission. In fact, he hit the nail in the head when he said, at a discussion in New Delhi on March 15, “Any
Government enjoys stability with "good" support from outside and there should be no "wavering" on that, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said on Friday. "We have good stability, there is good suppo
Here is an indicator of the progress India has made from the ancient times to the modern. A city, considered the best in terms of fortification and urban planning in those days, is now the best example of all that is wrong with urban planning of o
The most visible impact of Budget 2012 is a surge in fertiliser stocks, swooshing up on finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s promise to give the sector a big boost in the next five years. The fertiliser lobby has much to celebrate in terms of
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed disappointment with the union budget saying it was presented by a `lame duck` government at the Centre and would lead to price rise due to hike in excise and service taxes on various goods. &
The government on Friday proposed to increase the Plan expenditure for 2012-13 to Rs 5,21,025 crore, up around 18 per cent from the Budget estimates for the current fiscal. However, the jump in the Plan expenditure for 2012-13 is 22.13 per
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the budget was aimed at giving boost to "growth with stability" and there was a "determined effort to regain the path of fiscal consolidation." "This is a budget for
Against the backdrop of stiff opposition by UPA constituent Trinamool Congress to FDI in retail and rail fare hike, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said the government will consult allies and take them on board whenever "tough" deci
The Indian airline industry on Friday got a major relief with the government allowing it to raise capital through external borrowings worth USD one billion for a year, as it planned to allocate Rs 4,000 crore to ailing Air India. In a bid
BJP Friday slammed the Union Budget as "anti-people" and said it would lead to further price rise hitting the common man. BJP`s vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "The budget will lead to further rise in prices that wi
Following are some of the key highlights of the Union Budget 2012-13, presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Parliament Friday: *Tax burden for individuals to come down: Income tax exemption limit raised from Rs 1,80,
Threatening to launch a "big protest" for a strong Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare on Friday said the government will have to go if it does not bring a strong anti- corruption law. He said he will campaign for a strong Lokpal Bill till
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre, States and Union Territories on a petition alleging that over one lakh children have mysteriously disappeared from their homes across the country between 2008 and 2011. A bench o
The ruling Congress cut a sorry figure in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly as a united Opposition launched a ferocious attack on the "tainted ministers" issue for the fifth successive day on Friday. The tame defence and the "lame
Amid the uncertainty over his continuation, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Friday attended the meeting of the Union Cabinet. Chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the cabinet meeting was held to finalise the General Budget proposal
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has not only refused the Z-plus cover recommended to him at a state security review meeting here, but has also decided to either scale down or strip all other ministers of the elite blanket, officials said on Fr
The Election Commission has withdrawn its proposal for creation of an autonomous body to impart electoral training to professionals of other countries, Government said on Thursday. The proposed setting up of IIDEM as an independent autonom
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presents General Budget 2012-13 in Lok Sabha amid uproar. Cabinet approves Union Budget for 2012-13. Expect smaller current account deficit GDP to grow by 6.9 percent in 2011-12, say
Two-year-old battered baby Falak, whose harrowing ordeal shocked the country, died at AIIMS on Friday night following a cardiac arrest after fighting a grim 58-day battle for life. The abandoned child, who was admitted to the AIIMS on Janu
Companies keen on measuring their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from now on have two new standards to go by. World resource institute (WRI) and the world business council for sustainable development (WBCSD), launched the green house gas protocol
