-The Times of India The estimate of Rs 1.86 lakh crore mentioned in the CAG report on Coalgate as "windfall gains" to private players who bagged coal mines allocated by the government without bidding is not sacrosanct, according to senior sources in the auditing agency. "We have never claimed that our estimate is not open to debate," sources said, adding that even the expression "windfall gains" was not that of the auditor....
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Fix responsibility, don't nitpick, says CAG official-Shalini Singh
-The Hindu Real intent of auditor’s work is to end crony capitalism On a day Parliament was forced to shut down over Opposition calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s incriminating report on coal blocks allocation, the CAG itself held firm against increasingly ferocious attacks by the United Progressive Alliance. An official close to the CAG and the preparation of the controversial...
More »Food, the new crisis-CP Chandrasekhar
-Frontline A recession-hit world is only just waking up to the prospect of the coming food crisis resulting in a period of political turmoil with unexpected consequences. For the third time in five years, the world is braced for another food crisis. Bad weather conditions are leading to projections of major production shortfalls in some of the world’s leading food suppliers. Substantially reduced access and sharp price increases are, therefore, expected to...
More »Maharahstra, TN account for 36% of sub-standard drugs -Kounteya Sinha
-The Times of India Almost one in three drugs (36%) found "not of standard quality" from across India last year were from Maharashtra (23%) and Tamil Nadu (13%) alone. Around 9.2% of the rest of the sub-standard quality drugs were from Kerala, Gujarat (8.5%), Karnataka (7.2%), Uttar Pradesh (6.9%), Jammu & Kashmir (6.08%) and Rajasthan (5.8%). Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Tuesday that of the 48, 082 drug samples tested...
More »CAG challenges government to identify specific breach of constitutional mandate-Shalini Singh
-The Hindu Not only has the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) defended its position vis-à-vis allegations that it is exceeding its constitutional mandate, it has also been vindicated by the then former Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee. At an Economic Editor’s Conference in 2011, he said, “I am making it clear that I do not think the CAG is exceeding its jurisdiction, because the basic responsibility of the CAG is to identify...
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