Besides Mukherjee and Deora, the EGoM would have power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, fertiliser minister M K Alagiri, law minister Veerappa Moily and Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The EGoM headed by Defence Minister A K Antony was scheduled to meet on Tuesday to consider abolishing the priority ranking in natural gas allocation so that fuel currently consumed by urea plants can also be diverted to fuel-starved power plants.
Dismantling a legacy of United Progressive Alliance rule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has abolished all the 30 GoMs and EGoMs and told ministries and departments to take decisions on pending matters.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will head the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on the effective management of issues related to drought.
The finance minister's office had sought the Cabinet Secretary's opinion whether Mukherjee should remain part of the EGoM in the wake of his presidential candidature.
Home Minister P Chidambaram has taken a major share of the pie of the Empowered Group of Ministers and Group of Ministers after the exit of Pranab Mukherjee.
Telecom Commission has recommended that existing mobile operators vacate airwaves in the 900 MHz band at the time of renewal of licences in 2014 -- a move that GSM players say would cost them over Rs 66,000 crore (Rs 660 billion) in replacing infrastructure.
The high-powered panel, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, which was to discuss the roadmap for auction of unsold GSM spectrum in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Karnataka, has been deferred twice last month.
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.
PMO to have direct say in decision-making through MoS Narayanasamy.
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.
Official sources said Chidambaram's name tops the list of ministers who will be part of the EGoM from whose chairmanship Pawar recused earlier this week citing attempts to drag him into controversies.
Government sources on Thursday confirmed that the EGoM would meet on August 27. The EGoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is likely to discuss various issues, including the amount of 3G spectrum to be auctioned, annual spectrum charges, the number of operators in each telecom circle and the reserve price for 3G and broadband wireless services, sources said.
Pawar, who postponed Monday's scheduled meeting of the EGoM, saying he was busy, sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to relieve him as head.
eGOM is likely to reconsider the 5000 hectre SEZ land ceiling limit in the coming month.
The meeting of the empowered group of ministers on special economic zones could not reach any firm view on on Monday while the government will take the rehabilitation policy to the Cabinet next month.
The ministerial panel is now likely to meet on June 24 or 25.
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.
Limiting the supply of subsidised LPG cylinders is likely to save the government over Rs 12,000 crore in subsidy outgo annually.
According to a study, the change in frequency for transmitting mobile signals could cost the telcos over Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion) cumulatively.
The decision had been communicated to the department of telecommunications, a senior official of the department told Business Standard.
After poor response to last month's 2G spectrum sale, a ministerial panel on telecom on Friday decided to lower the base price by 30 per cent for radiowaves in 1800 Mhz band in four circles, which attracted no bidders, for fresh auction this fiscal.
A committee of secretaries is already looking into the issue of pricing, which companies like RIL, British Gas and British Petroleum have said should be market-determined.
This decision will come as a relief to Essar's multi-product port-based SEZ project in Hazira as well as of Adani Group's zone in Mundra, which the revenue department felt was not built on vacant land when it was notified, and hence it had violated the law. Both the zones are in Gujarat.
Ahead of the much anticipated meeting of a high power panel of ministers, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy on Friday said his ministry has made no specific proposal on increasing auto and cooking fuel prices.
A high-powered ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday"tentatively resolved" all issues concerning a proposal to levy one-time fee on existing telecom operators, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said.
In a relief to telecom operators, the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) is believed to have suggested setting a 20 per cent lower base or bid start price at Rs 14,111-15,111 crore for the proposed spectrum auction.
An Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, will seek legal opinion from Attorney General on its decision to charge around Rs 27,000 crore one-time spectrum fee from existing telecom operators.
The empowered group of ministers, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, met in New Delhi to finalise the notice inviting applications from the potential operators to participate in the forthcoming auctioning for 3G spectrum.
With the government making a distinction between the privately-run Reliance Natural Resources Ltd and the government-run NTPC Ltd in relation with the gas dispute with Reliance Industries Ltd, the ministry of power is likely to take up NTPC's case with the Empowered Group of Ministers.
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.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has sought reconstitution of an empowered group of ministers to decide on allocation of gas from RIL-operated KG-D6 fields to new customers. Deora, who met T K A Nair, principal secretary to the prime minister on Sunday, has formally written to the Cabinet secretary for reconstitution of the eGoM on the lines of the previous ministerial group headed by the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Adani, Reliance Industries, DLF, Omaxe and Singapore-based Ascendas Group had plans to set up mega multi-product SEZs, with some of them having infrastructure like ports and air-cargo complexes.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia supports operators' plea. He tells the finance minister that existing players should not be charged for the remaining licence period.
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.
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.
The empowered group of ministers has been reconstituted after Pranab Mukherjee, who was heading it, resigned as Finance Minister to contest the Presidential elections.
The Telecom Commission (TC) on Saturday put the onus of deciding the contentious issue of the base price for auction of 1,800 MHz of 2G band spectrum on the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
They will take call on the number of telecom circles in which spectrum to be auctioned.
If approved, many proposals will have a significant impact on the SEZ policy, which came into force in February 2006. A crucial finance ministry proposal -- to be discussed by the group -- is imposing an export obligation in excess of 50 per cent on developers and units that will be eligible for duty and tax benefits.
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