-PTI The government has decided to put on hold allocation of mines having minerals other than coal in view of the Mines and Minerals Bill pending before Parliament. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) sent a directive in this regard to the Mines Ministry about two months back, sources said here today. The Mines Ministry was advised that since the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Bill 2011 had not been passed by Parliament...

-The Economic Times The government is ready to give up its monopoly over coal mining to meet the requirements of the economy, if BJP supports a long-pending legislation to amend the Coal Mine Nationalisation Act (CMNA). "We are ready to take up the bill and open up the coal sector to increase production. This is the only way forward and there is a consensus within the government on this. Once BJP comes...

-The Hindu Even as UPA-II and the Opposition are bracing themselves for confrontation in and outside Parliament over coal blocks allocations during 2004-09, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Coal Ministry are ready with their defence: the policy imperative was to augment production by supplementing Coal India’s efforts with private participation within the parameters of law. According to documents available with The Hindu , the arguments, which the government hopes to present...

-The Times of India The estimate of Rs 1.86 lakh crore mentioned in the CAG report on Coalgate as "windfall gains" to private players who bagged coal mines allocated by the government without bidding is not sacrosanct, according to senior sources in the auditing agency. "We have never claimed that our estimate is not open to debate," sources said, adding that even the expression "windfall gains" was not that of the auditor....

-The Hindu The Bharatiya Janata Party and other opposition parties are crying foul over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s alleged involvement in the coal blocks allocation scam but the BJP-led Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan governments themselves were among the strong opponents to a transparent process of competitive bidding, and pitched for continuing the policy of allocation of coal blocks. Documents with The Hindu show that the BJP governments were against putting in place an...