The oil ministry has stopped making fresh allocation of natural gas from domestic fields to the city gas sector, threatening the viability of Rs 2 lakh crore investment planned in the sector besides leading to a hike in CNG and piped cooking gas prices to record levels, sources said. Despite a decision of the Union Cabinet to give 100 per cent gas supply under 'no cut' priority to the city gas distribution (CGD) sector, current supplies have been maintained at March 2021 demand level. Besides, the process of allocating gas on a six-monthly average drawl also is punishing the CGD entities driving growth.
Since arraignment under money laundering is a tougher offence, the CBDT hopes it will also overcome its dismal score sheet to prove satisfactorily to the courts that these cases were genuine ones of tax evasion.
Was Adani able to clinch this loan merely as a result of his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?
At a virtual press conference to launch the report, Inger Anderson, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme, said, "Climate change is here and now. No one is safe. Despite warnings from so many years, the world did not listen. We need to act now. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will not only limit climate change but also reduce air pollution."
Though the current National Democratic Alliance government has not endorsed the figure, it has not even repudiated it.
The Rs 56,000-crore (Rs 560 billion) Adani Group on Monday received a major blow from the Gujarat High Court, which ordered a shutdown of 12 units in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), located in Mundra, Kutch district, with immediate effect.
What will the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government do to answer the queries and fears of investors who will want to be doubly sure they would not be harassed at a later date, as has been happening to Sterlite, should be interesting to watch, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Each cyclone has its own identity and its own behaviour based on the environmental conditions in the ocean and in the atmosphere.'
'Let reservations be decided on the basis of the economic status of a family or person.' 'Give 30 per cent reservations to those whose yearly income is below Rs 200,000, and the remaining 19 per cent to those whose family's annual income is between Rs 200,000 and Rs 400,000.'
The challenge was launched by Mackay Conservation Group in January.
At present there is virtually no dialog between votaries of different various versions of economic democracy.
The Supreme Court asked the Union environment ministry to review six specific hydroelectric projects on the upper Ganga basin in Uttarakhand.
The approval was announced by Environment Minister Greg Hunt, who said "after undertaking a thorough assessment and consideration under national environment law, I have approved the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project, subject to 36 strict conditions".
Banning meat is cruel demonetisation. It is stealing from the poor, nothing less, writes Sunita Narain.
More and more CSR is being defined by how a company runs its operations and makes its profits; and just firms donating money to charities.
India's negotiating posture at the multilateral negotiations should be aligned with a significantly transformed development strategy domestically.' 'The positions the country takes at the negotiations will then carry credibility, says Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary and India's chief negotiator on Climate Change 2007-2010.
Experts consider Sebi's takeover code in its present form to be on a par with any foreign code governing public mergers and acquisitions.
The threat of landslides and mudslides remains high in the earthquake-hit Nepal in the coming weeks, and the risk is likely to increase when the monsoon rains arrive this summer, scientists have warned.
The Tata Nexon and Mahindra Marazzo ace the safety ratings, but what about other Made in India cars? How safe is the car you drive?
The arrival of summer in India may have raised hopes that hot and humid weather could slow the COVID-19 progression but virologist Naga Suresh Veerapu believes that outbreak and pandemic occurrences often do not follow seasonality.
In the 'Additional guidelines for quarantine of returnees from abroad/contacts/ isolation of suspect or confirmed cases in private facilities', released on Thursday evening, the ministry said there are large number of facilities such as hotels, service apartments and lodges which are "unoccupied due to impact of COVID-19 on travel and tourism".
Candidates need to be agile to understand the situation, be receptive to unlearn and learn and adapt accordingly, advises Sanjeev Verma, vice president-HR, STT GDC India.
India is capable of developing GM crops, Randy Hautea, global coordinator for International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, tells Kanika Datta.
The new ordinance on land acquisition will allow land grabbers to deprive millions, destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves to extract minerals as well as ground water, without replenishment at a pace that will not leave anything for the next generation, warns activist Medha Patkar.
'A sustainable growth rate of 8 per cent is evidently some distance away,' says T N Ninan.
For the remaining projects, it is difficult to arrive at an estimate.
But he is actively pursuing greenfield steel plants in Karnataka and Jharkhand; ultimately, only one of these might come up.
'They are acquiring agricultural land almost free of cost promising an illusory rise which is worse than a chit fund scheme.' 'When I went there on a fact-finding mission, we found that one third of the land they plan to acquire is the best agricultural land in the country.'
If Volkswagen's sales were to plunge in North America in the coming months, this would not only have an impact on the company, but on the German economy as a whole.
'The Indian state is very benevolent when it comes to corporates,' says Tom Thomas, chief executive officer of Praxis, and convenor of CRW India.
The Commerce Ministry earlier this week commissioned a study to assess the impact of free trade agreement with South Korea, with which India had a trade deficit of about $9 billion in 2012-13.
Australia's green political party on Wednesday warned the government for approving India's Adani group's plan to expand a major coal port on the fragile Great Barrier Reef coast, saying it will hasten the death of the natural wonder, a World Heritage site.
'Tiger reserves were created to protect areas from developmental activities.' 'If we go ahead with these projects, then it is a complete mockery of our institutions and our laws, it is against everything we have stood for, our Forest Conservation Act, our Wildlife Biodiversity Act.'
Creating many more half-decent jobs for the 10 million plus new entrants to the labour force each year must surely constitute the primary development challenge for India today.
Projects in other developed countries, such as Canada, and even in developing nations like Mozambique and Indonesia are also in limbo
Modi government is pushing GM food crops without adequate safety assessment and transparency, claim activists.
'The number of deaths attributable to warming is likely to rise in the future.'
The uproar over 'dams' following the Uttarakhand disaster is ill-informed & potentially counter-productive, says Anand Sankar
The Supreme Court has directed a series of actions to clean the Taj, including bringing in compressed natural gas (CNG) to replace dirty coal.
'Success will require political skill, not just economic expertise'
