-The Economic Times   India's new mining Bill has provisions which seek, rightly, to shovel money from mining companies to rural people affected by mining, but the devil could lie in the detail. The proposal has three defects. One, it seeks differential treatment for coal and other Minerals - coal miners would share 26% of their profits, while miners of other Minerals would give additional royalty payments. Pray, why? Two, it exempts...

The Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill, 2011 approved by the Union Cabinet on Friday aims to ensure transparency, equity, elimination of discretion, effective redress and regulatory mechanisms along with incentives encouraging good mining practices, which will lead to technology absorption and exploitation of deep seated Minerals. The menace of illegal mining in Karnataka and Goa continues unabated despite strong outrage against it. As many as 82,000 cases were...

-The Times of India   The Union Cabinet is set to approve a new law that will provide more rights to tribals in commencement and end of mining activity besides providing Rs 10,000 crore annually to 60 tribal-dominated districts. The bill for the new mining law and the repeal of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 is on the agenda for the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Friday. The bill, expected...

-The Hindu Business Line   Input subsidy expenses not contributing to boost productivity The World Bank has said that South Asia's foodgrain stock management, especially in India, needs to improve to tackle inflation. In its focus on food inflation in South Asia, the bank said that high stocks have led to high wastage due to inadequate storage capacity and technology. According to World Bank's estimates, the Food Corporation of India lost 10-16 million tonnes...

Karnataka finds large-scale violations of state laws in its three districts. Karnataka has imposed Rs 140 crore in penalties on 13 iron ore mining companies in Tumkur for encroaching on government land and dumping mineral waste, thereby causing damage to the environment. “We have conducted a suo motu joint survey with the departments of mines and geology, forest and revenue in Tumkur district and found that 13 iron ore mining companies have...