-The Hindu The Finance Ministry proposal to create a National Investment Board with extraordinary authority to supersede individual ministries and decide the fate of expensive infrastructure projects is a retrograde measure that strikes at the root of democratic governance. The basic tenets of all law-making include public participation, equity and justice, more so when it comes to the environment and welfare. India’s laws on protection of the environment, forests, wildlife and...

-The Business Standard A decision has been taken to gradually initiate Aadhaar and non-Aadhaar based LPG subsidy Transfer through the OMCs  Having capped subsidised LPG cylinder to six, the government plans to move to a single price for domestic LPG by directly Transferring subsidy to consumers with or without Aadhaar number. A committee of officials from ministries of petroleum, banking, expenditure, finance and UIDAI will prepare a white paper on the modalities...

-The Hindu Farmers’ protest against the proposed 1,980-MW power plant in the trans-Yamuna Karchhna tehsil of Allahabad district entered its 777th day on Tuesday. While the district administration recently served a month’s ultimatum on the farmers to return the compensation they had received for land acquisition, the farmers told The Hindu that they would not be able to repay the amount, regardless of the ultimatum. Meanwhile, they say they will continue agitating at...

-The Hindu Proposed NIB would be illegal, she says Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan has expressed “very serious concern” at the setting up of a National Investment Board to fast-track clearances of major infrastructure projects, saying the “concept is unacceptable,” documents exclusively obtained by The Hindu reveal. In a five-page letter sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 9, Ms. Natarajan said the proposal would upturn established procedures...

-The Business Standard Government taking steps to offer cooking gas to all rural households  India plans to provide affordable electricity to all households in the next five years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today. "The Government of India aims to provide 24x7 electricity to all households in the country and affordable access to electricity in the next 5 years," he said inaugurating an International Seminar on Energy Access organised by the Ministry of...