The showpiece proposed iron and steel project in Orissa by South Korean steel major POSCO faces a huge cloud of uncertainty with an expert panel set up by the Environment Ministry alleging violations of environmental laws. Three of its four members today recommended that all initial clearances to the project be cancelled. The lone dissenting voice was that of former Environment Secretary Meena Gupta who argued that there was no need...

The Supreme Court has dismissed a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to make ‘right to property' a fundamental right under the Constitution. Though the ‘right to property' was deleted by the 44 {+t} {+h} Constitution Amendment in 1978, it was challenged only in 2007 in the context of acquisition of large extents of land for Special Economic Zones, and the court issued notice to the Centre. It was contended in...

The accumulated interest collected by microfinance institutions (MFIs) on loans shall not exceed the principal amount, according to the much-awaited ordinance promulgated by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan here on Friday to put a check on their activities. However, the interest rate chargeable by the MFIs finds no mention in the ordinance as the government is of the view that this falls under the purview of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according...

Chief minister Arjun Munda today chaired his first all-party meeting that resolved to meet the Prime Minister and request him for a package to help the state execute drought Relief measures, signalling an effort to build consensus among his allies and the Opposition on serious and contentious issues facing Jharkhand. Attended by all ministers, except deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto, who is away at Vaishno Devi for a pilgrimage — Chandra...

Very soon, finger prints would become the key to foodgrains at the public distribution system (PDS) outlets in Jharkhand. Having given its nod to induct about 12 lakh new families in the list of people below the poverty line (BPL), the Jharkhand Government has decided to go in for high-tech mechanism for distribution of foodgrains to the beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) across the state. In keeping with the modules...