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.
In a surprise move, the Ministry had on October 10 moved a note to the Empowered Group of Ministers opposing a hike in price of RIL's KG-D6 gas before April 2014 even though the company itself was not seeking a revision before that date.
Analysts had said next year could see an election-year Budget.
The Ratnagiri Gas and Power Project, earlier known as the Dabhol project, will be dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coming year, chairman of the Empowered Group of Ministers said.
Multiple disputes to ensue; auction begins today, but will do little to quell uncertainty.
According to sources, as per the new schedule given by the agency which will operate the auction process, the bidding for the airwaves can be started only by early November.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has constituted a Group of Ministers to monitor the operations to provide relief and rehabilitate the violence-displaced persons in Assam in the wake of the government asking the violence-hit to return to their villages from relief camps by August 15 in view of 'improvement in security scenario'.
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accepted recommendation of the empowered group of ministers that all existing mobile phone companies must pay one-time spectrum charge.
An Empowered Group of Ministers on drought headed by Sharad Pawar on Friday sanctioned Rs 480 crore as immediate relief to Gujarat for rural drinking water and also announced increase of man days under MGNREGA from 100 to 150 per person.
As of now, monsoon rains are deficient by 21 per cent across India, affecting sowing of kharif crops. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and West Rajasthan have been the worst-hit regions this year.
Incumbent operators can retain 2.5-MHz spectrum in 900-MHz band, rest to be refarmed decision final.
The group also said that the companies will have to pay a market price if they merge or acquire another company, which was allocated spectrum at old price of Rs 1,658 crore.
Pawar said the Union Cabinet has already decided last week to reschedule crop loans of farmers in the affected drought areas with reduced interest rate of 7 per cent.
Even when there is a law or a government rehabilitation policy, there is no guarantee it would be implemented. The 50 men and women standing in chin-deep water in the fish-infested Narmada, near the Omkareshwar dam project, would vouch for this.
Key point under deliberation remains the requisite number of people whose consent is required for acquisition of land by govt.
In his letter dated October 11, written before the last EGoM meeting, Ambani has said the government would incur a loss of at least Rs 35,000 crore if the EGoM had decided to charge for excess spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz only prospectively from 2012, and not from 2008.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will head the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on the effective management of issues related to drought.
Govt to bear Rs 12k-cr cost of spectrum retention but without any cash outgo put up for Cabinet nod.
Operators say no option but to challenge it in court, decision on refarming deferred
The Bill will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament later this year.
Monsoon, the life-line of Indian agriculture, has been deficient by 13 per cent so far, affecting the sowing of kharif crops, particularly coarse cereals and pulses.
While it gives clarity on one regulatory issue, the financial burden increases for the sector.
The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on telecom headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday decided to impose a one-time fee on incumbent operators prospectively for spectrum beyond 4.4 MHz in GSM and 2.5 MHz in CDMA.
The meeting of the EGoM, the first after Pranab Mukherjee resigned as the Finance Minister to contest Presidential election, was to decide on auction of telecom spectrum.
Migration option scrapped for incumbent telecom operators; EGoM meets under Pawar today.
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.
After successfully blocking construction at the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation's 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro-electric Project at Gerukamukh in Dhemaji district of Assam, the anti-dam brigade comprising several organisations were on Thursday called for negotiation by the Assam government in Guwahati.
With a high-powered ministerial panel on fuel pricing being scrapped, a cabinet committee may consider raising the prices of diesel, LPG and kerosene, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy indicated on Wednesday but refused to say when the issue would be taken up.
In a move that could hold a flicker of hope for telecom operators, who have been opposing the high base price for the auction of 2G spectrum, the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) has quietly modified the key objective of the auction. The text of the objective has been tweaked from "revenue maximisation" to "maximising revenue but within set parameters" determined by the government.
Corporate affairs ministry note for ministerial group says can't keep banking, telecom out of CCI purview as RBI, Trai enable but not regulate competition
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.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is upset with the prime minister's office for not including DMK's M K Alagiri in the Empowered Group of Ministers on drought.
Talks are on with a German firm for disposal of toxic waste left at the Union Carbide plant in the aftermath of the 1984 disaster after Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra declined to allow its destruction in their territory, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday.
A final meeting of the Group of Ministers on setting up a coal sector regulator will be held in another week or ten days, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said on Monday. He said the proposal to set up the regulator is already before the GoM and its final meeting will be held in another week or ten days.
According to sources, DoT has been asked to prepare a matrix of various levels of reserve price and spectrum usage charge at every Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) difference in descending order and the impact that would have on tariffs for end-consumer and the revenue accrued to the government.
A group of ministers, constituted to look into pricing and utilization of natural gas produced from new fields like the KG-D6 of Reliance Industries, is likely to hold its first meeting on August 27.
Reacting to reports that Home Minister P Chidambaram may be appointed as head of the Empowered Group of Ministers on telecom, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said, this is a "cruel joke" on the nation and goes against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's claim of maintaining a high level of integrity.
In a move indicative of a hardening of stand against the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling Congress has decided to cock a snook against the BJP. Renu Mittal reports.
In a move indicative of a hardening of stand against the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling Congress has decided to cock a snook against the BJP. Renu Mittal reports.
The government on Tuesday approved the disposal of nearly 350 metric tonnes of Union Carbide toxic waste in Bhopal by a German company. The approval was given following recommendations from a Group of Ministers on the Bhopal gas tragedy, chaired by Home Minister P C Chidambaram, officials said.
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