-Press Information Bureau The official Wholesale Price Index for ‘All Commodities' (Base: 2004-05 = 100) for the month of December, 2013 declined by 1.3 percent to 179.2 (provisional) from 181.5 (provisional) for the previous month. INFLATION The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 6.16% (provisional) for the month of December, 2013 (over December, 2012) as compared to 7.52% (provisional) for the previous month and 7.31% during the corresponding month...

-The Hindu The decision of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to revalidate the environmental clearance issued to South Korean Steelmaker Posco for the proposed Steel plant in Odisha is based on a piecemeal approach, rather than a comprehensive and cumulative assessment of all parts of the project. It cannot claim to rely on sound judgment. What distinguishes the proposal from the welter of projects before the Ministry is its...

-Outlook Bhubaneswar: Optimistic about progress of Posco's Rs 52,000 crore Steel project, Odisha government today said it would sign a fresh tripartite agreement with the South Korean Steel major as the validity of the original MoU lapsed three years ago. "The state government will sign a fresh agreement with Posco and Posco-India for setting up the proposed mega Steel mill near Paradip," Steel and Mines minister R K Singh said while describing...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The state government today reacted sharply to the Centre's decision to reject Vedanta's plan to mine bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district. Mining of bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills was to be carried out by the state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and Sterlite Industries Limited, a Vedanta group subsidiary. Steel and mines minister Rajanikant Singh said: "It is really unfortunate. The UPA government is not serious about the...

-The Hindu     Environment Ministry rejects Vedanta's plan to mine Niyamgiri The Union Environment Ministry has taken a decision in two high profile cases, rejecting the forest clearance for Vedanta's bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha, and renewing the stand-alone environmental clearance for Posco's eight million tonnes per annum Steel plant. The rejection of Vedanta's proposal to dig in the Niyamgiri hills came after 12 village councils of Dongriya Kondh tribal groups...