-The Business Standard   Mining companies have warned of a price spiral in commodities once the new mining law provisions are in place. The industry sees the government decision of mandatory profit and royalty sharing impacting it by an estimated Rs 15,000 crore every year. This would include a Rs 12,200-crore hit on non-coal mining companies and Rs 2,800 crore on coal miners. “The provisions of this Bill will affect the industry badly,”...

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...

An inspection of 60 schools – most of them located in East Delhi and Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituencies – by over 15 organisations under the Delhi Right to Education Forum has revealed “complete lack of hygiene” in most of them. As per Joint Operation for Social Help (JOSH), which had filed a complaint with the Central Information Commission about the state of schools in Delhi, the inspection was undertaken in accordance...

-The Hindustan Times   With India accounting for 58% of all open defecations in the world, the government on Sunday sought active involvement of all parties concerned including women panchayat representatives to sensitise the people in creating awareness about public hygiene. "On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, I would like to mention one such case which is a shame on all of us. No other country in the world where about 60% women...

The Planning Commission's laughable estimates of the ‘poverty line' follow from a mistake in method that it made 30 years ago and has clung to ever since. The affidavit that the Planning Commission recently submitted before the Supreme Court stating that a person is to be considered ‘poor' only if his or her monthly spending is below Rs.781 (Rs.26 a day) in the rural areas and Rs.965 (Rs.32 a day) in...