-The Indian Express Imphal: After some 80 years of unregulated mining, mostly coal and limestone, the northeastern state of Meghalaya is set to adopt a mineral policy that aims to organise the lucrative sector and boost its performance. The state cabinet approved the Meghalaya Mineral Policy 2010 last month and it is due to be introduced in next month’s state assembly winter session for approval. The state government was forced to act...

-The New York Times Blog The strength and direction of the Indian economy may be up for debate, but one remarkable fact is not: There has been massive growth in the number and wealth of billionaires in India since the economic liberalization measures in 1991. The phenomenon has often been compared to the United States’ experience in the latter part of the 19th century. This was a period evocatively described by Mark...

-The Hindu Maharashtra government was well aware of these irregularities in 2010, but chose not to act   The Maharashtra government was well aware in 2010 of the gross irregularities in Vidarbha’s irrigation projects after a damning report by retired Water Resources Secretary Nandkumar Vadnere, who examined 11 major dams, 27 medium ones and 53 small projects as part of a one-member inquiry committee. In the second part of his report, Mr. Vadnere...

-The Hindustan Times India's ailing economy has found a new scapegoat - environment and forests. For most things that go wrong these days, from power shortage to slow growth, the blame is tossed at the door of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), the paradigm being that forests, wildlife and green laws are hurdles to development. So much so, that a Group of Ministers established to 'rationalise' coal mining in forests...

-The Times of India The Supreme Court, while answering the presidential reference on the 2G judgment, took note of the coalgate scam that stalled Parliament and said whatever be the mode of allocation of natural resources, it can never be a handout for private players. Justice JS Khehar agreed with the majority opinion of the constitution bench on the reference that auction could not be termed as the only constitutionally permissible mode...