Through every stage of environmental clearance, the Prime Minister's Office and the finance ministry tracked the Rs 54,000-crorePosco integrated steel plant with keen interest even as the environment ministry sidestepped its own reservations to let the project pass, records with TOI show. The records accessed from the environment ministry do not show any interference from the two quarters but the PMO and the finance ministry followed the case from 2007...

As Anna Hazare was being whisked away in a SUV, a Rajouri Garden trader turned to the hassled cops, who had wrestled with him and thousands of others to ensure smooth passage for the activist's vehicle, and pleaded with folded hands "Thank you so much sir". Red-faced, the cops looked away. Delhi rediscovered Gandhigiri on Tuesday when the West is veering towards violent protests and their aggressive stifling. For instance, last...

-PTI   In the backdrop of controversies surrounding procurement of land, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today promised enactment of a "forward looking and balanced" law on land acquisition soon to prevent tensions over the sensitive issue.Taking note of the tensions caused in some parts of the country because of acquisition of land for industry, infrastructure and urbanisation, the Prime Minister said the government will ensure that "no injustice is done to anyone...

-IANS   The government will lay emphasis on health in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) and funds will not be a constraint in the areas of education and health, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday. "I have often referred to the 11th Five Year Plan as an education plan.  We will lay the same emphasis on health in the 12th plan as we laid on education in the 11th plan. I will...

-The Hindu   The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday urged the Government to reconsider the present design of Below Poverty Line (BPL) census expressing apprehension that the current format would result in “undercounting” of the poor. Referring to the Independence Day speech of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat found it “objectionable” that Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh called the BPL census design “non-negotiable.'' “I find...