-The Hindu Health officials on a mission to check illegal use of scanning machines under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and prevention of misuse) Act 1994 Kochi (Kerala): Is there a potential link between the high number of scanning machines in the private medical institutions, many of them allegedly without proper records, and the dipping child sex ratio in Kerala? Since the health officials don't want to misread the situation, they have been...

-Down to Earth Mining ministry opposes cap on iron ore production; environment ministry disregards recommendation to cancel licence of firms encroaching forestland The Central government has rejected a key recommendation of justice M B Shah Commission, that of putting a cap on iron ore production in Odisha. The commission has been probing illegal mining across the country. In its first report released recently, it had pegged the loss to the Odisha government...

-The Hindu Proposals formulated in response to Shah Commission report The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has prepared its response to the Justice M.B. Shah Commission report on illegal mining in Odisha. But its proposals to address the violations flagged by the Commission will now be put on the back burner as the Cabinet has decided to refer the matter to a Committee of Secretaries. In most of its proposals, accessed by...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Union Cabinet on Thursday referred the MB Shah commission of inquiry report on illegal mining in Odisha to the committee of secretaries (CoS) to suggest further action which may include recovery of nearly Rs 60,000 crore from the miners and a CBI probe into roles of public servants in allocating mines to private companies. The commission has severely indicted both the Centre and the Odisha government...

-IANS They added that the price hike would be an intolerable burden on the people The CPI-M Thursday denounced as "totally unjustified" the hike in prices of unsubsidized gas cylinders and asked the government not to link LPG supply with Aadhar cards. The Communist Party of India-Marxist said the price hike of Rs.220 on every unsubsidized liquefied petroleum gas cylinder by oil companies "will be an intolerable burden on people". "Since there is a...