The fertiliser ministry is mooting a proposal to raise urea prices by 10%. With this proposed revision, which will have to be endorsed by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, urea prices will go up from Rs 5,310 per tonne to Rs 5,841 per tonne.  This will help the government to reduce its annual subsidy burden by around Rs 2,000 crore. At present , the annual urea subsidy bill is in...

UPA-II's plans to replace the existing fertiliser subsidy regime with direct cash transfers to farmers will be delayed as the fertiliser ministry is likely to scrap an intermediate phase where the subsidy was to be rerouted from companies to retailers this summer. This puts paid to the fertilizer industry's expectation that very soon it would be out of the subsidy mechanism which locks up precious working capital. "We are rethinking the original...

India's output of e-waste has jumped by eight times in the past seven years and the open yet illegal incineration of massive quantities of such trash may lead to serious public health hazards, a government report says. According to the latest annual report of the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF), by the end of 2012, India would have generated a whopping eight lakh tonnes of e-waste - up eight...

-The Telegraph The Mamata Banerjee government today took “baby steps” in easing its seemingly inflexible stand on land. It has allowed more industries to hold land in excess of the ceiling with prior approval. Also, in the clause that allows government-owned companies to lease out land for townships, prior approval is not mentioned. The amendments to the land and land reforms act do not hold any big surprises but by passing them today,...

Raj Kumar Agarwal will go down in history for alleged association with the first-ever cancellation of elections to the Rajya Sabha after votes had been cast, following allegations of horse-trading. In his hometown Jamshedpur, he is better known as a “self-made man” from a “humble background” who had links cutting across political lines, and who had lately forged another identity: as supporter of “anti-corruption activists” Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev. Agarwal,...