-The Economic Times With its draft report alleging a coal scam, duly leaked to the media, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is making a habit of choosing sensation over sense. Its allegation of loss to the exchequer in allocation of 2G spectrum colours the public discourse on the subject, but was discarded by the CBI court in the telecom case as the basis for a formal charge.  Its assumption that the...

Against Auctions for concessions, wants PSU reservation to stay and Centre's veto on mining rights to remain The Supreme Court might have made a case for auctioning of natural resources, but voices within the government do not seem in conformity with the apex court directive. The Union steel ministry has raised serious objections over the auctioning route proposed as the key reform measure in the new mining legislation. The Bill is being...

Last month, the turmeric farmers of Maharashtra's Sangli district found themselves in a desperate situation. Oversupply had resulted in prices crashing in the local turmeric market, Asia's biggest, threatening their livelihood. And with several thousands growing the commodity across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, any meaningful strategy to halt the price crash meant involving a sizeable number of farmers.  That's when local farmer Atul Salunkhe, 31, had a brainwave. How...

-The Times of India Amid growing worries about the repercussions of the Supreme Court order cancelling 2G licences for business sentiment, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked for an analysis of the judgment.  Sources said Singh has asked attorney general G E Vahanvati to brief him on all possible implications of the judgment.  The PM's curiosity about the ramifications of the judgment coincides with the view in a section of the government that...

-The Economic Times A panel set up by the Supreme Court to investigate Karnataka's illegal mining mess has made some important recommendations. It says 49 licences are patently illegal and should be scrapped.  Another 72 mining companies should be fined for operating outside sanctioned areas. It also asks for Karnataka's iron ore output to be capped at 30 million tonnes, down a third from its 45-million-tonne level till the court banned all...