Faced with a massive public outcry and fierce opposition from tribals, the government has, in a landmark move, decided to give tribals and other affected populations a share of the profits made from exploiting mineral resources from their land. The Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday finalised the contours of the draft for a new mining bill, which makes it mandatory for mining companies to...

Mahitosh Sarkar came here from his distant village in West Bengal 12 years ago looking for a better life, and he found it. He abandoned the penniless existence of a subsistence fisherman to become a big-city vegetable seller. His wife found work as a maid. Their four children went to school. Their tiny household, a grim but weather-tight room in a dilapidated tenement, had a color TV and a satellite...

With the government-Opposition standoff over a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam entering its 14th day, supplementary demand for grants amounting to spending of Rs 45,000 crore were passed without debate by Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid noisy disruptions. Both sides blamed the other for massive spending being decided without debate, with a repeat expected in the upper House on Thursday. Supplementary demands related to railways are expected...

Nirani convened it in Alamatti on Monday The farmers' meeting at Alamatti convened by Large and Medium Industries Minister and district in-charge Murugesh Nirani on Monday failed to arrive at a consensus on the compensation to be fixed for the land to be acquired for the Kudagi thermal power plant proposed to be set up by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) at Kudagi in Basavana Bagewadi taluk of Bijapur district. Demands As soon...

The Environment Ministry on Friday issued a show cause notice for revoking environment clearance to Jindal steel and power plant in Angul in Orissa for violating green laws. The Ministry issued the notice under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for revocation of environmental clearance in view of Jindal not obeying its conditions. The Ministry, while giving environmental clearance to the 6 million tonnes per annum (MMTA) integrated steel...