With indications that government is keen to allow foreign airlines buy stakes in Indian carriers, a Group of Ministers (GoM) is likely to meet next week to decide on the investment cap by them, official sources said on Friday.
The Group of Ministers on Telangana is set to discuss the draft bill for the creation of Telangana on Saturday.
Home Minister P Chidamabaram said that the Group of Ministers on Bhopal Gas leak disaster will finalise its report on Monday."The GoM will have two sessions on Saturday and Sunday, the Home Minister said.
The Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, met on Monday for discussion with Union ministry secretary-level officers.
The Group of Ministers constituted for the creation of a separate state of Telangana on Wednesday discussed the sharing of river water and irrigation resources in Andhra Pradesh after the state's bifurcation, but failed to arrive at a resolution.
The Union Cabinet is set to discuss the Group of Ministers' report on Telangana and also consider the Telangana Bill clause by clause.
In a move aimed at insulating the Central Bureau of Investigation from political interference, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved recommendations of a Group of Ministers which include setting up of a panel of retired judges to oversee the investigations of the agency, besides increased financial powers of its director.
A Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukhejree is likely to meet on Monday to vet London-listed mining group Vedanta Resources' $ 9.6 billion acquisition of Cairn India.
Government may effect only minor changes in functioning of the CBI as the Group of Ministers constituted for empowerment of the agency would finalise on June 24 its affidavit to be submitted to Supreme Court, with no presentation from the CBI so far.
Fast tracking of corruption cases against public servants and amendment to the Constitution to provide for summary proceedings in cases of grave misdemeanour involving bureaucrats would form part of the terms of reference of the Group of Ministers formed to tackle the menace.
"Yesterday's GoM meeting was inconclusive as two ministers were not present. We did discuss some proposals and I hope the GoM and government will find a solution (to the spike in crude oil prices)," Petroleum Minister Murli Deroa told reporters in New Delhi on Friday.
The five-member Group of Ministers (GoM) also include Agriculture Minister Sharad Paward, Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Chemical and Fertiliser Minister M K Azhagiri, official sources said.
FinMin had objected and wanted existing cost-plus method retained.
The Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, has completed the process of discussions with various stake holders and will submit its report to the Union cabinet as early as possible to pave way for tabling Telangana Bill in the winter session of Parliament.
Sharad Pawar says final draft will go to Cabinet before Tuesday.
The Group of Ministers on caste census on Thursday failed to reach any decision on the politically sensitive issue and decided to meet again.
The Group of Ministers headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram, after three-day long deliberations, submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. The GoM was constituted by Dr Singh to make recommendations on relief, rehabilitation and remediation issues and legal options in the wake of the recent trial court judgment in the case.Sources in the Congress say that the GoM has given a clean chit to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel has been included in the Group of Ministers to tackle corruption, a development which assumes significance against the backdrop of recent complaint by the United Progressive Alliance ally that its voice was not being heard in government functioning.
In Monday's meeting, some ministers also demanded to retain the original clause of seeking consent of 80 per cent of people (land owners) for acquiring land.
A court in New Delhi on Thursday extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1 in the excise policy case.
The meeting of the GoM, according to sources, will be attended by several senior ministers, including Home Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister A K Antony, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and Telecommunication Minister Kapil Sibal.
Overhaul of the goods and services tax (GST) structure, including possible changes in the tax slabs, may now be taken up only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, given the number of states that are going to the polls in its run-up. "No major overhaul of tax rates is expected in GST until the end of next fiscal year. One major reason for this is that some members of the group of ministers (GoM) - mandated to look at rate rationalisation by the GST Council - are from poll-bound states. Later, this may lead to reconstitution of the panel," a senior government official told Business Standard. Besides, both the Centre and states are not in favour of frequent changes in the tax rates amid inflationary uncertainties; they believe any major change should be brought in after extensive deliberations, according to the official.
A bill, which seeks to make punishment for crime against women more stringent, was on Tuesday referred to a Group of Ministers for further consultations after differences erupted in the meeting of the Union Cabinet on certain provisions, including lowering the age of consensual sex to 16 years.
The beleaguered organizing committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi met Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, who also heads the group of ministers for Commonwealth Games, but what exactly transpired in the closed-door meeting was not known.
The panel of state finance ministers is likely to recommend a uniform GST levy of 28 per cent on online gaming irrespective of whether it is a game of skill or game of chance, sources said. However, it is likely to suggest a revised formula for calculating the amount on which the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be levied. Currently, online gaming attracts 18 per cent GST.
Four Telugu desam Party members of Parliament on Saturday gheraoed Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde outside his North Block office and demanded inclusion in the GoM on Telangana of representatives from the joint action committee protesting against the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
More than a year after its constitution, a Group of Ministers that examined reports of the prime minister-appointed High Level Committee on alleged Commonwealth Games related irregularities, is in the process of finalising its findings. The GoM, under the leadership of Defence Minister A K Antony, was constituted on August 2 last year and asked to submit its report within three months.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday claimed before a Delhi court that Aam Aadmi Party leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was involved in "large scale destruction of digital evidence to impede investigation" into the Delhi excise policy case and had changed and destroyed 14 phones.
The Congress Core Committee met on Thursday evening to discuss the Bhopal gas leak and to give directions to the Group of Ministers who would be meeting on Friday afternoon to find a way of breaking the impasse created by the court verdict in handing out punishment to the guilty, said highly placed sources.
The empowered group of ministers on Friday deferred a decision on the appointment of a financial consultant for privatisation and modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports.
The meeting of the empowered Group of Ministers on Dabhol Power, scheduled for October 8 to discuss ways and means of reviving the troubled 2,184 MW power project in Maharashtra, has been postponed.
The Telangana Group of Ministers on Friday reviewed the progress made by the Andhra Pradesh government with regards to the bifurcation of the state on various fronts.
The ministerial group is to look into pricing of some essential commodities, including petrol, diesel, domestic cooking gas and PDS kerosene. The GoM also includes Defence Minister A K Antony, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister T R Baalu and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar.
Kejriwal has been asked to be present at the agency headquarters at 11 am to answer queries of the investigating team.
The GST Council has set up a Group of Ministers, chaired by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, to suggest required changes in the law for setting up the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, had last week decided to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) to address various concerns raised by states in relation to constitution of the GSTAT. As per the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the GoM, the panel would recommend required amendments in the GST law to ensure that the legal provisions maintain the right federal balance and are in line with the overall objective of uniform taxation within the country.
Gahlot says he has no knowledge of Nair living in his official accommodation, AAP's Goa activities
Amid a furore over 26 per cent profit-sharing with locals under the proposed new mining law and demands for watering down the provision for PSUs, the Mines Ministry said its final draft will go with the recommendations of the Group of Ministers.
The GoM has proposed to cap prices of these medicines at the weighted average price of drugs with a minimum of one per cent market share, officials aware of the development said.
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