The Coal Ministry has decided to constitute a six-member panel for valuation and assessment of the 42 running coal blocks which were deallocated by the Supreme Court.
'No one is propagating RSS ideology as a government officer.'
The Supreme Court order has created a new legal framework for coal mining by ruling that only the Union government and its entities can do it.
Govt to issue ownership rights of 15 coal mines on Mar 23.
In 11 out of 29 coal mines successfully e-auctioned, a number of qualified bidders in the e-auction stage were from the same company/parent subsidiary company coalition/joint venture, CAG said.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said it's a pity that since switching sides, Scindia has adopted the Modi government's "uncaring attitude" to the public.
Government will start to auction the rights to up to 70 diamond and gold exploration zones to mining companies this year
The Modi government's e-auction policy for coal, meant to shield the consumer against hike in electricity charges, has already led to serious allegations of cartelisation among the bidding corporates. Matters came to such a pass that the government at one point last week was considering inviting the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the matter, reports Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
Favours stricter impact mitigation rules, monitoring.
The Government of India has decided to launch a massive rural public works scheme, 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan', to "empower and provide livelihood opportunities to the returnee migrant workers and rural citizens". Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch this scheme on June 20 through video conference in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
In a bid to break the monopoly of public sector over coal, the government proposed to introduce legislative changes allowing for private mining while liberalising norms for allotment of captive blocks permitting trading of coal.
India offers policy stability, transparency and consultative process of governance to incubate investment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday as she invited investments in prospecting energy resources in the country. Stressing that there is a need for investments in coal, she said, "We need greater investments also to help in gasification of coal. I invite all of you to energetically participate in the (sixth round of commercial mines) auction processes which have been launched today and keep your options also further extended for greater extraction of minerals in India." During this 'Amrit Kaal', India needs all the basic minerals as the country is in the process of rapid growth, she added.
The mines ministry has put a conditional offer to offload 10 per cent stake in Nalco, saying that the money accrued from such a sale would be invested in the PSU.
The new mining policy must be rock solid
The Environment Ministry was hit by controversies in the year gone by which saw clearances for two big ticket projects -- POSCO and Lavasa -- and exit of Jairam Ramesh as the green minister.
'The prime minister's comment on 'revdi culture' was welcome. But I am disappointed he did not follow up on that.' 'All political parties, including the BJP, have been guilty of this.' 'Now, Modi's guarantees, the Congress's 'nyay' path and both ruling and Opposition parties are vying with each other for freebies in my home state Andhra Pradesh.'
After six years of probe, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed the closure report before a special court last week as it could not find enough evidence in the case to proceed with prosecution, the officials said.
Sourcing bauxite from other states to add Rs 600 crore to cost.
After one stop-work order on the Rs 54,000-crore Posco project, a four-member panel appointed by the Union ministry of environment and forests has dealt a body blow to yet another big-ticket investor in Orissa, the London-based Vedanta Resources Ltd.
The mines ministry has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in bailing out aluminium giant Nalco of the acute paucity of coal, which has forced the PSU to close down two of its captive power plants.
With this the only minister without a portfolio is Oscar Fernandes
The bill has now been sent to the Mines Ministry for fine tuning and the final draft is to be placed before the group of ministers at its next meeting.
Coal industry expert Sunjoy Joshi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com that the NDA's e-auction of coal blocks will not solve the fundamental problems that dog the industry.
Dual methodology for e-auction to introduce price ceiling for power sector
The next auction for bauxite blocks in Odisha may see heightened interest with Adani Group charting an entry into alumina refining and existing players looking to boost capacity. Hemant Sharma, principal secretary, Odisha industries department, said that three bauxite blocks have been scheduled for auctions this year. Adani Group - which will be setting up a 4-MMTPA alumina refinery and may enter aluminium production - is expected to bid for mines, though raw material linkages shall be available from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).
The demand for minerals, boulders and sand is so great that it has fueled a black market and the goons who control this trade do not hesitate to kill law enforcement officers and reporters who have tried to expose them.
Top Indian golfer SSP Chawrasia has lashed out at the Indian Olympic Association and Sports ministry for not yet receiving the full amount of promised Rs 30 lakh earmarked as preparatory money for the Rio Olympics. Both Chawrasia and fellow golfer Anirban Lahiri are yet to receive the allocated amount from the Sports ministry. A livid Chawrasia termed the shoddy treatment by IOA officials at the Rio Games as if they were "servants".
PSUs will get direct allotment.
The state government had recommended prospecting licence in favour of Posco-India thrice, but was unable to get them through.
The government can auction 100 blocks that have been identified by the Geological Survey of India or exploration.
'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
India's industrial production slipped to an 18-month low, contracting by 0.8 per cent in August, mainly due to a decline in output of the manufacturing and mining sectors, according to official data released on Wednesday. The data showed that the previous low in industrial output growth was a contraction of 3.2 per cent in February 2021. Factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 13 per cent in August 2021. The IIP grew by 2.2 per cent in July this year.
'All those who participated in the agitation were branded as anti-nationals.'
The central government is expected to complete the auction of the 5.9-million tonne (mt) lithium reserves discovered in the Reasi district of the northern Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) by the end of this calendar year, Union Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said on the sidelines of the launch of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) report on 'New-Age Energy Minerals' on Tuesday. "Auction will be over by the end of this year," said Bharadwaj, adding, "We have already recommended a transaction advisor to the J&K government for the auction of lithium reserves." However, the exact timeline for an auction will be decided by J&K authorities, Union mines minister Pralhad Joshi said in Parliament last month.
India's industrial production growth decelerated to a four-month low of 2.4 per cent in July, mainly due to poor showing by manufacturing, power and mining sectors, according to official data released on Monday. The data showed that the previous low in industrial output growth was recorded at 2.2 per cent in March this year. IIP grew 6.7 per cent in April, 19.6 per cent in May and 12.7 per cent in June.
The development comes in the wake of a high-level panel formed to address issues impeding mega projects in the steel sector, reviewing the stalled projects this month.
India's industrial production grew in double digit for the second month in a row at 12.3 per cent in June mainly due to strong performance by manufacturing, power and mining sectors, according to official data released on Friday. However, the data showed that the industrial output growth is lower than 19.6 per cent recorded in May this year. It was 6.7 per cent in April.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US is expected to see discussion on India's possible entry into a US-led global alliance on critical minerals, officials told Business Standard. In June last year, the US, the European Union, and other G7 partners launched the Minerals Security Partnership to ensure that China did not further strengthen its grip on supplies of critical minerals the world over. Various ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, have communicated to the Ministry of External Affairs to explore the possibility of India joining the partnership, officials said.
There was buzz of Piyush Goyal being elevated to Cabinet rank but only Prakash Javadekar made the cut.
