A hike in diesel and domestic LPG prices has been deferred for now, but an increase in petrol prices later this week looks imminent. An Empowered Group of Minister (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was to meet on Wednesday to consider raising the diesel price by Rs 3-4 a litre and domestic LPG rates by Rs 20-25 per cylinder, but the meeting was deferred without assigning any reason. "No new...
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Bid to restrict subsidised LPG use by R Suryamurthy
The government plans to restrict subsidised domestic LPG cylinders to six per household every year. For additional cylinders, consumers will have to pay the market price. Data show 65-70 per cent of households use 5-6 cylinders (14.2 kg) a year, while the remaining use more. In Calcutta, PSU oil marketing firms suffer a loss of Rs 329.73 by selling an LPG cylinder at Rs 365.10. A senior oil ministry official said the proposal...
More »One less mouth to feed by Shyamal Majumdar
A fortnight ago, Moin was beaten to death by his uncle who was the owner of the factory where the 10-year-old worked. Very few would have cared but for television, which brought the horrific images of his battered body into middle-class living rooms. But it’s doubtful if anybody would remember Moin’s tragedy once the TV cameras shift elsewhere. This has happened many times. Just a year ago, an engineer couple was...
More »BPL's dividing line by Moyna
Government undecided on criteria to identify families below poverty line A survey by the Indian government in 2002 to determine households below poverty line (BPL) left out many poor families. Nearly a decade later, the Union Ministry of Rural Development (MORD) is trying to set the wrong right. But it is unable to decide on the criteria for identifying poor households. As a consequence, the BPL survey that was to...
More »Aruna Roy, MKSS activist and member of the NAC interviewed by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta
WHILE maintaining her support for a Lokpal institution, Aruna Roy, a prominent civil rights activist and a member of the National Advisory Council, took a critical position in respect of the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by the activists of the India Against Corruption campaign. A recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership in 2000, she heads the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (a trade union of workers and peasants)...
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