-Down to Earth Says Union environment ministry does not have powers to overrule Supreme Court which cleared the project The Orissa Mining Corporation Limited (OMCL) has questioned the validity of the Union environment ministry’s decision, rejecting the company’s application to mine bauxite from Niyamgiri Hills in Kalahandi district of Odisha. The company has said in the Supreme Court on November 23 that the ministry does not have the power to reject the...

-PTI The Central Vigilance Commission has recommended action against 136 officials working in various government departments for their alleged involvement in corruption. Of the total, a highest of 32 are working in Department of Telecommunications, 17 in State Bank of India, 11 in Ministry of Railways and nine in Bank of India among others. Besides, seven officials working in Central Board of Excise and Customs and four officials each in Bharat Sanchar Nigam...

-The Times of India A once-a-week medicine for diabetics — a disease that affects nearly 63 million Indians — could soon become a reality. Studies on diabetes have seen a global upsurge, with the latest data showing that bio-pharmaceutical research companies across the globe are busy developing 221 innovative new medicines. The drugs, which will help around 347 million patients include new therapies that target key abnormalities of pancreatic cells, increase insulin secretion...

-The Hindustan Times Millions of parents and their children may soon no longer have to bear the risks associated with unregulated playschools with dubious teaching methods and crumbling infrastructure that often charge high fees but fail to deliver on promises. The human resource development (HRD) ministry, headed by newly appointed MM Pallam Raju, on Thursday got state governments to agree to expand the Right to Education Act (RTE) to cover preschools. Under...

-The Hindu Legislative Assembly panel gives clean chit for transfer of Rogda reservoir land to private power company While there is an outcry in Maharashtra over disappearing irrigation water, in Chhattisgarh, an entire reservoir — the lifeline of four villages — has vanished. The 131-acre rain-fed reservoir has been leased out by the government to a private power company. However, an Assembly committee, recently constituted to investigate the ‘transfer’ of the reservoir, in...