State-owned banks in India have been accused of discriminating against the country's Muslim minority. India's minorities watchdog has received a record number of complaints from Muslims who say they have been prevented from opening bank accounts. India's Muslim community is among the poorest in the country. Some bankers say it is not so much their religious background, but their economic status that makes it hard for Muslims to get banking facilities. The National Commission...

With the government readying to introduce a Bill in Parliament to modify the powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to include public-private partnership (PPP) projects, many project managers are close to gagging. The main reason behind why the public sector has not performed, they argue along with several in government, is the fear of the 3Cs — the CBI, the CVC and the CAG. Since almost...

Pawar asks FCI to take corrective measures Lack of godowns major problem With the proposed National Food Security Bill on the anvil, the Food Ministry has cracked the whip to eliminate damage to foodgrains stocks stored in the open, under monsoon conditions. Based on the findings of the Ministry's inspection team, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) on Wednesday suspended senior officials and sought explanation from top executives for improper handling of and...

Indian Railways has come to Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) rescue in flood-hit Punjab and Haryana, where part of its foodgrain stocks have been rotting due to heavy rains. The national transporter has given a discount of 35% to the public sector food procurer to carry grains from northern India to other parts of the country. The railways also expects to boost its own revenue by transporting a large volume of...

Government on Thursday sanctioned funds for the second phase of the ambitious scheme to allocate unique identity numbers to 10 crore of the country's population. The Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the commencement of Phase II of the scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 3023.01 crore. "Of this, an amount of Rs. 477.11 crore would be towards recurring...