-The Times of India BANGALORE: Union minister for petroleum and natural gas M Veerappa Moily on Saturday said the Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme is necessary to reduce leakage of subsidy. However, he didn't say whether the government is going ahead with making the linkage compulsory as a related case is pending before the Supreme Court. On the prevailing confusion about the scheme due to a recent apex court...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The comptroller and auditor general (CAG) is finalizing a report on yet another instance of massive loss to the state exchequer because of favours shown to private parties by the political establishment. The CAG's audit report on the Taj Expressway project could also find place among India's biggest scams, with successive Uttar Pradesh governments being accused of causing loss of thousands of crores to the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government is considering a ban on opinion polls with the notification of Lok Sabha elections in line with the views of the election commission. The proposed ban may be implemented before the dates of the parliamentary elections, likely to be held in April-May, are announced. In its draft legislation on debarring charged MPs/MLAs from contesting elections, the law ministry has included a provision that provides...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party's rejection of the "VIP culture" and its trappings and the public sentiment it has drawn, seems to have forced a rethink on use of red beacon. The central government is considering pruning the list of those eligible to use red beacon on their official vehicles, source said. However, there is also an opinion that the government shouldn't act in haste...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court today overruled the Centre and directed it to set up a national regulator to deal with the mandatory environmental impact assessment processes for forest-related projects that can range from mining to industrial ventures. The implications of such a watchdog for industry were not immediately clear in the absence of specific modalities but a clearance logjam blamed on the environment ministry was seen as one of...