The government plans to hike diesel prices by up to Rs 3 a litre soon after the assembly elections in five states are over next week, while an equivalent steep increase in petrol rates is also on card. "An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to meet on May 11 to mull on a hike in diesel prices," a top government official, refusing to...
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Confusion over RTI persists by Ruhi Kandhari
Do PPP ventures come under RTI Act? Planning Commission says not its call THE Planning Commission of India has disowned any responsibility for bringing companies involved in public-private partnership (PPP) projects under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Commission said individual ministries which have tied up with private companies are responsible for these projects. There were several RTI applications filed seeking information on PPPs but the RTI Act is not...
More »Dr Arvind Virmani, Affiliate Professor (& Distinguished Senior Fellow), George Mason University (School of Public Policy-CEMP), and Executive Director, IMF interviewed by TCA Srinivasa-Raghavan
Given a positive regulatory environment, banks and other financial intermediaries will certainly be interested in using the smart card opportunity. Dr Arvind Virmani, with a Ph.D. from Harvard and 30 years of professional experience, is one of the most valued economists in the Government. Before he retired as Chief Economic Advisor in 2009, he had served in the Finance Ministry and the Planning Commission. A researcher par excellence, his research papers...
More »Team Nilekani to shape model for direct susbidy transfer
In a bid to check wasteful fuel and fertiliser subsidy and reach it to the intended beneficiaries , the government has set up a task force to suggest a suitable mechanism of direct transfer of subsidy to the consumers. The task force will be headed by Nandan Nilekani , Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India ( UIDAI )) and has been asked to submit an interim report within four months....
More »Nilekani to head task force on direct subsidies
In a move aimed at a focussed targeting of subsidies for the country's poor, the government on Monday announced the setting up of an inter-ministerial task force under Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekani. It will work out a suitable mechanism to provide direct subsidies on kerosene, cooking gas (LPG) and fertilizers for the intended beneficiaries. In a statement here, the Finance Ministry said the task force was set...
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