-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Pan masala, gutka and several other tobacco products that are sold in pouches are set to get expensive as the government on Monday increased excise duty in a last-ditch effort to boost revenues. A statement issued by the finance ministry did not specify the extent of increase in excise but said the levy will now be linked to the capacity of production, which has increased due...

-PTI The CIC cannot leave the disposal of complaint filed by an RTI applicant on the public authority as it is obligatory for the panel to decide on merit of the plea, Delhi High Court has held. Hearing a complaint filed by an activist, Justice V K Jain said it was obligatory for the Central Information Commission to decide a complaint on its merit instead of simply directing the Central Public Information...

-Live Mint Govt reiterates it will crack down hard on tax evaders, defends steps introduced in Finance Bill to check evasion The government on Tuesday reiterated its intention to crack down hard on tax evaders and defended some of the stringent provisions introduced in the Finance Bill last week to check evasion, including granting wider powers of arrest to taxmen and making certain offences non-bailable. Finance minister P. Chidambaram, in his budget speech...

-Outlook The CPI(M) today castigated the government for foregoing over Rs 5.73 lakh crore as tax revenues by granting tax concessions to the rich, saying the amount was Rs 53,000 crore more than the fiscal deficit. "The budget proposals will further enrich the rich and impoverish the poor," senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters while reacting to the 2013-14 Budget. Quoting data presented in the budget, he said the aggregated revenue foregone...

-The Hindu Unless the government regulates the growth of the private sector and makes it accountable, the worn-down public health infrastructure cannot be revitalised The absence of a well thought out policy framework for strengthening the health system is the most important issue facing the health sector in India. In the government, there is no clarity on what the nation’s health system should be 10 years hence. Should it be a public...