-The Business Standard Govt cannot delay increasing diesel, LPG prices Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy, speaking after a ministerial-level meeting on inflation on Monday, said that the government had no immediate plans to raise the administered prices of diesel, kerosene and domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). This comes after oil marketing companies raised the price of petrol last week by Rs 7.50 per litre, an increase of 12 per cent. Mr Reddy’s...

India has achieved a major victory at the just concluded 65th World Health Assembly as it managed to push through a resolution on mental health, asking member-states to acknowledge the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response to addressing mental disorders from health and social sectors at the country level. The delegates recognised these measures which include programmes to reduce stigma and discrimination, reintegration of patients into workplace and society, support...

Mamata Banerjee today said private investors “are staying away from Bengal because land is not available for them”. However, she laid stress on the importance of public sector projects — the state has attracted some — saying “public sector Investment is also Investment”. The chief minister, whose government’s hands-off policy on land acquisition has so far acted as a deterrent for private industry, said at a railway programme in Hooghly’s Dankuni: “The...

The policy deep-freeze and land acquisition woes have resulted in over 500 projects, mostly power and steel, being shelved or put on hold during 2011-12, entailing a total Investment of over Rs 5,00,000 crore. According to CMIE estimates, during the year Rs 1,70,000 crore worth of Investment projects had been abandoned by project developers, and another Rs 3,30,000 crore worth were stalled on account of various procedural issues. The core sectors, led...

-PTI With key UPA ally Trinamool Congress averse to FDI in retail, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the Centre is trying to build a consensus on it and other contentious issues. "We are working to build a policy consensus on a number of pending issues such as introduction of Goods and Services Tax, further liberalisation of FDI, including in retail, and deepening and strengthening of financial markets for long term Investments,"...