-Rediff.com Opposition parties on Tuesday raised the issue of Planning Commission reducing the number of people living below the poverty line dubbing it as a ploy to deceive the poor. Soon after the Rajya Sabha met for the day, members from Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal-United, Bahujan Samaj Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam and the Left parties were on their feet seeking a discussion on the issue. Chairman Hamid Ansari said...

-PTI   Planning Commission today faced criticism inside and outside Parliament for its description of poor and resultant fall in people below the poverty line with Opposition parties saying it was making a "dishonest" attempt to conceal reality through "fraudulent" estimates. BJP hit out at the government and the Planning panel for the conclusion that the number of people living below the poverty line has fallen by seven per cent, alleging that the...

Parliament has the power and jurisdiction to clarify, enact law or bring amendments to a law with retrospective effect to remove the basis or defects in a judgment, say legal experts. Under the proposed amendment to the Income Tax Act announced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the budget, to come into effect from April 1, 1962, all persons, resident or non-resident, having business connection in India will have to incur...

-PTI   Amidst mounting pressure from ally DMK and other parties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said India was "inclined to" vote in favour of a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN which meets "our objectives" with regard to the future of ethnic Tamils. Responding to strong concerns of political parties, Singh told the Lok Sabha that India was yet to receive the final text of the draft resolution moved at...

Allocation of funds for the science and technology sector in the Union Budget for 2012-13 appears far from adequate, considering that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had just over two months ago emphasised the need for a major increase in investment in research and development. Inaugurating the 99th annual session of the Indian Science Congress on January 3, he had lamented that the current spending on R&D was “too low and stagnant”...