Reversing the burden of evidence means that the principle of innocent until proven guilty does not apply. It is exactly the opposite: Guilty as charged, until you can convince the judges of the contrary, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'All regulatory agencies must be made Constitutional bodies like the Election Commission, the Supreme Court, and the CAG.' 'That way they will become independent of the minister,' recommends T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea has decided to defer payment of additional adjusted gross revenues of Rs 8,837 crore dues by a period of four years. The company in a late night filing on June 22, said that the DoT on June 15, has raised adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demand for additional two financial years beyond 2016-17, which were not covered under the Supreme court order on the statutory dues. Vodafone Idea (VIL) in the filing said that its board of directors "has approved the exercise of the option of deferment of the AGR related dues by a period of four years with immediate effect, in accordance with the said DoT Letter.
Hardik Pandya has been on the road to recovery after going under the knife following a lower-back injury five months ago. Hardik slammed eight fours and 10 sixes in his sizzling innings
"How many more lies will be peddled to sustain a sinking dynast? India, certainly deserves better," Jaitley said.
The CAG said the strategic missile system, which were to be deployed on the China border, procured from the state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd were deficient in quality.
The CAG report, tabled in Parliament, states the interest on the short payment stood at Rs 1,052.13 crore for the period up to March 2016.
While the likelihood of these states going the Lanka or Greece way may be an alarming assessment, the financial situation of some states such as Punjab and West Bengal is indeed quite weak.
ONGC, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil and Oil India listed the spending as part of their mandatory CSR commitment, but CAG noted that the Sardar Patel statue did not qualify for CSR funding.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday pitched for using the USO Fund to subsidise smartphones for select groups to help penetrate the digital revolution and said India should make the rollout of 5G or the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks a national priority. As much as 5 per cent of the licence fee paid by telecom operators goes to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund, which was set up in April 2002 for achieving universal service objectives by providing access to telephone services in rural and remote areas and creation of infrastructure for mobile services and broadband in these areas. However, according to the CAG, less than half of the funds so collected are transferred for the said purpose.
This alternative is being planned as the existing projects continue to be delayed due to land acquisition troubles. The ministry is thinking of adding new track lines to its existing eastern and western DFCs passing major areas in the proposed stretches, senior officials said.
The Congress, which was not a petitioner before the apex court, wants the Rafale deal to be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into the price arrived at by the BJP government versus the one negotiated by the previous UPA regime, as also how billionaire Anil Ambani's group with virtually no experience in manufacture of fighter jets was selected as an offset partner for the deal.
This year, eight eminent individuals are being given Padma Bhushan and 54 are being conferred with Padma Shri awards, besides the two Padma Vibhushan recipents.
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PAC Chairman K V Thomas, however, remained non-committal over these demands.
State owned public sector undertakings have turned into white elephants for one of the most poor states.
Journalists acting in a manner prejudicial to the country's "security, sovereignty and integrity" as well as "public order, decency or morality" will lose their government accreditation, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has said in its new guidelines.
She would also have a separate meeting with the defence secretary every day.
A fresh public interest litigation was Monday filed in the Supreme Court claiming that the appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was arbitrary and made without any transparency.
Head coach Thomas Dennerby was a witness to the 'incident' and it was he, who immediately informed the AIFF.
A meeting of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday witnessed a verbal slugfest between its chairman Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and MPs from the ruling National Democratic Alliance as the Congress leader sought to raise the issue of COVID-19 vaccination drive for discussion in the panel, sources said.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, whose reports on irregularities in coal block allocations and 2G telecom spectrum had created a major political storm, deprecated the "brazenness" with which the decisions were being taken, calling it "appalling".
With Digvijay Singh causing a flutter by targeting Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai and suggesting that he has a political agenda, the government on Friday said there was no need for Constitutional authorities to be "touchy and sensitive" about criticism.
This comes on the heels of the department of telecom appointing private auditors to look into the books of telcos after it was detected that some of the operators were diverting revenues in segments which attracted lower licence fee.
With the Opposition targeting the government over Comptroller and Auditor General report on coal allocation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is geared up to rebut in Parliament the charges, contending that there were 'inaccuracies' in the 'misleading' assessment of loss of Rs 1.85 lakh crore.
The crucial service records of Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai are not traceable with the Personnel ministry, an RTI reply has revealed.
Tax consultants and chartered accountants have started receiving a flurry of calls from their clients - both corporate and individuals - seeking clarity over changes in the reassessment regime made during the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament. Tax experts apprehend the amendments may lead to the income-tax (I-T) department sending out more notices. The new provisions, effective from April 1, have extended the scope for tax sleuths to reopen the past assessments.
Bogged down by kickback charges, the Scorpene submarine deal has now come under criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General for the delay involved and financial "advantage" given to the French company. In its latest audit report tabled in Parliament on Saturday, the Comptroller and Auditor General came down heavily on the Defence Ministry for the nine-year delay.
Jaitley said the CAG report has reference to the shortage of ammunition in relation to a point of time.
Every twist and turn in KMC's civil service career is attributed to serendipity, an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. He plays down his capabilities, which took him to the top of the civil service as the Cabinet Secretary or his misfortune in losing a daughter in her prime and suggests that his career was indeed serendipitous, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
An expert committee has recommended to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that supply of equipment need not be blocked even if bribery charges emerge.
The BJP said the email purportedly by an Airbus executive referred to a helicopter deal and not Rafale.
Asking the Central Bureau of Investigation to respect the line that divides between policy making and policing, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday came down heavily on investigating agencies and Comptroller and Auditor General for "overstepping" their limits by attempting to convert bonafide executive decisions into either crimes or abuse of authority.
Amidst a debate on controversies surrounding some of the Comptroller and Auditor General reports, the high level committee that went into the Commonwealth Games related projects, has suggested changes in the functioning and structure of top audit and vigilance bodies like the Comptroller and Auditor General making it a three-member body.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari objected to Roy's elevation, arguing that the MLA, who had crossed over to the ruling Trinamool Congress last month after winning the polls on a BJP ticket, cannot be considered a legislator of the saffron camp.
'People should realise that what we are fighting for today is actually for tomorrow, for future generations.'
Vinod Rai, a 1972 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, took oath on Monday as the country's new Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Rai, who replaced V N Kaul, was administered the oath of office by President Pratibha Patil at a brief function at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony.
His appointment will be effective from the date he assumes charge of his office, an official statement said on Monday. An Indian Administrative Service officer of Kerala cadre, 1972 batch, Rai will take over from V N Kaul.
For the first time in its history, the department of the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) has conducted a cleanliness audit for the Indian Railways.
