Yet-to-be-made public report dismisses environmental concerns The high-level committee set up by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to study the socio-economic and ecological impacts of the proposed bauxite mining in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam district has submitted its final report  favouring mining. The committee concludes mining will not have any significant negative impact on the ecology. At the same time it recommends settling all claims under the Forest Rights...

-The Pioneer In what could puncture the Government’s defence that there were no irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks when the Coal Ministry was under the charge of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has specifically asked the CBI to look into the role of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Screening Committee of the Coal Ministry. The CVC has also asked the agency to probe why auction...

-The Times of India State-run fuel retailers on Saturday reduced petrol price by Rs 1.68 per litre, excluding state taxes. This means consumers in Delhi would pay Rs 2 less per litre at pumps from midnight and will see an additional 92 paise reduction next week after the local government notifies a reduction in the value added tax (VAT). In other states, the extent of decline would vary by a few paise...

-PTI In their first joint appearance on a public platform in the past one year, Anna Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev will sit on a day-long fast here tomorrow in a bid to intensify their anti-UPA protests. Tomorrow's protest at Jantar Mantar is also likely to see Ramdev announcing his strategy with regard to the 2014 General Elections. The one-day fast to demand bringing back blackmoney stashed away abroad and against corruption and...

-PTI A whopping 70% of maladies in India are waterborne owing to poor water quality: study Water purifier market in India is likely to touch Rs 7,000 crore by 2015 from the current level of about Rs 3,200 crore, an Assocham study has said. Water purifier segment in India is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 25% and is largely driven by rising sales of low-cost variants triggered by...