Ministers in the Narendra Modi government have been busy making presentations on their 100 days of work. But what these presentations do not mention is that decisions by ministers have been few, with plenty of papers and files moving to the Prime Minister's Office, which is increasingly emerging as a centralised clearance point, even for routine and ordinary issues. Though policy paralysis was a term used freely for the United Progressive Alliance regime, questions are now being raised about pending decisions across ministries and whether at least some ministers have turned redundant.
The move is part of a larger initiative by the government to speed up work in the highway sector.
Since the court had earlier questioned distribution of mining rights through the screening committee route, experts say the solution worked out would be weighed on the basis of legality.
Friendlier government policies, greater demand and better supply of coal have fuelled investor interest.
The former coal secretary opens up in a free-wheeling interview.
Some 74 projects from Odisha and another 51 projects from Chhattisgarh have lined up before the Project Monitoring Group.
Despite facing tough times for a while now, a May 2014 press release of Prakash Industries said it had added capacities in its steel melting and ferro alloys divisions.
According to officials aware of the matter, restarting the project could mean inviting the court's 'contempt' as the case -- in which the Supreme Court has held that biometric identification cannot be a criterion for a citizen's access to welfare -- has still not been closed yet.
The idea is to set up renewable energy generation capacity, including both solar and wind, along with the associated evacuation infrastructure, at a mega scale in the four Indian deserts -- Thar in Rajasthan, Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, Lahul & Spiti in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir.
It's a middle path for labour reforms.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal is keen to revive the energy sector.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal is keen to revive the energy sector.
When criticism mounted about projects coming to a standstill last year, the Manmohan Singh government sacked one of its Cabinet ministers. The buzz was that the minister had been sitting on clearances and refusing to approve the projects.
The ministry has also noted the controversial proposal of opening up the coal sector and restructuring of CIL.
Instead of only government departments and state-owned undertakings, the CAG can now audit private companies, too.
Senior government officials said the company would be allowed a harmonious exit.
Amid a spate of government proposals at its door, the Election Commission has asked all Union government departments to route their proposals through the Cabinet Secretariat.
To proceed with a Cabinet proposal to grant the relaxations to RIL, the Election Commission's approval will be sought.
If the EC decides to put on hold a gas price revision for RIL, it would set a precedent for pricing decisions of the government and policy decisions taken but undergoing procedural delays.
India's hydroelectric power generation grew 17.5 per cent to 7.5 billion units in January this year from 6.4 billion units in the same month of 2012.