'Every delay directly increases the cost burden on developers. Land holding charges, financing costs, and compliance expenses escalate as approvals drag on.'
Ahead of the key meeting called by the steel ministry with the industry captains on Monday to discuss the impact of rising steel imports, companies have raised the issue of cheaper 'substandard' inflows from China, Vietnam, and South Korea, saying they are setting the benchmark for domestic prices and squeezing the profitability of Indian producers.
The Supreme Court of India has refused to interfere with a Madras High Court order quashing notices issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) against Isha Foundation, founded by Jaggi Vasudev. The notices were issued for alleged violation of environmental norms in the construction of a yoga and meditation center in Coimbatore. The court, however, emphasized that its order should not be seen as a precedent for regularizing illegal constructions and that Isha Foundation must comply with all environmental norms. The foundation had argued that its facilities fall under the education category, which exempts them from needing environmental clearance.
The Supreme Court has ordered authorities not to take coercive action against owners of diesel vehicles over 10 years old and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi-NCR.
The advisory features a ban on taking or sharing photos and videos of the sacrifice rituals on social media platforms.
'Even if tariffs are reduced, non-tariff may still remain a challenge.'
Even though Nepa, composed entirely of specialists, is envisaged as a statutory body free of the control of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, critics say this will not bring about a fundamental change in the way projects are assessed and cleared.
The Centre has increased the area granted to individual players by more than four fold in order to boost mining of critical minerals. Issuing an order on Tuesday, the government said, for mining leases, the area has been expanded from the current limit of 10 sq km to 50 sq km. For prospecting licences (granted in the case of composite licence), the limit has been increased from 25 sq km to 100 sq km.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan made the observation while rejecting the plea of a man who had chopped down 454 trees in the protected Taj Trapezium Zone.
Taking possession without an OC can lead to legal complications, denial of utilities such as water and electricity, hurdles in availing home loans or reselling the property, and even eviction.
A consumer forum in Lucknow, India, has halted the construction of actress Sunny Leone's restaurant-cum-bar, citing concerns about "unauthorised activity" and potential security threats to the neighboring high court premises and the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. The commission deemed the allotment of the society's community center to a commercial establishment as inappropriate and raised concerns about the Lucknow Development Authority's approval of the project. The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 19.
'Who gave the Tatas the right to discontinue technically sound practices related to safety and security?'
Stock exchanges' levy of penalties, ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, on public-sector undertakings (PSUs) for lapses in board composition for the 2024-25 October-December quarter has brought forth issues of governance. Last month, 16 PSUs requested bourses to waive these penalties, arguing that these lapses were neither due to negligence nor within their control, as the appointment of directors is managed by the government.
The DGCA directive called for a series of specific checks before each flight's departure from India, including inspection of fuel parameter monitoring systems, cabin air compressors, and electronic engine control units.
According to the report by Swiss firm IQAir released on Tuesday, India's annual average PM2.5 level in 2022 was 53.3 g/m3, slightly lower than the 2021 average of 58.1.
The central government's Great Nicobar development project, proposed around an unprecedented transhipment port, will be executed to keep environmental impact minimal, and is essential as it is of national importance, the government has said amid calls to abort the controversial project due to ecological concerns, the Centre said in an official statement.
The Indian government has stated that the water in the Ganga river at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj was fit for bathing during the recently concluded Maha Kumbh, citing a new report from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The report, however, contradicts an earlier CPCB report that found high faecal coliform levels at several locations in Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh. The government also highlighted measures taken to ensure water quality during the event, including the installation of sewage treatment plants and the use of advanced oxidation techniques to treat wastewater.
In 2025, India's tech job market is thriving, with tech professionals seeing a 9.5% salary increase and roles like AI/ML architects earning up to Rs 95 lakh annually.
Air quality index (AQI) soared past 350 level in parts of Delhi on Thursday and experts cautioned that as weather turns colder it may breach the 400-mark ceiling and enter the 'severe' zone soon, notwithstanding the incidents of stubble burnings which have nosedived from 17,529 in 2020 to 4,262 this year.
In the shadows of a sliding rupee, India's knitwear hub Tiruppur is weaving a success story. While the domestic currency edges closer to the 86 mark against the US dollar, triggering concerns for many sectors, this textile town in Tamil Nadu is finding opportunity in adversity: Between April and December alone, Tiruppur's exports reached Rs 26,000 crore, almost eclipsing last financial year's total of Rs 30,690 crore.
'If the BJP detoxifies the nuclear liability law, it will bring economic, environmental and, most of all, strategic benefits.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this Budget promise is met soon -- ideally, before Mr Modi heads to his first meeting with Trump 2.0,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
India's e-commerce market alone is projected to reach $200 billion by 2026, making it a prime industry for ambitious entrepreneurs, explains rediffGURU Harsh Bharwani.
Workplaces of 2025 will be defined by a deep focus on people-first values, inclusivity, and sustainable growth, foresees Sonica Aron, founder of Marching Sheep.
Businesses across the country may soon be required to issue electronic invoices, or e-invoices, directly to consumers for the sale of goods and services. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its forthcoming meeting on Monday, is expected to discuss extending the e-invoicing mandate to cover business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. Currently, e-invoicing is compulsory for businesses with a turnover of Rs 5 crore and above, but only for their business-to-business (B2B) transactions.
'The dakiyas will be our partners, receiving credit proposals from micro-enterprises at the grassroots level.'
'Today, environment has become an issue of political debate. It has become a media issue. I think that is a good development.'
Dengue has become a major public health concern in India with 289,235 cases reported last year. This year there were 19,447 cases of dengue which resulted in 19 deaths till April 2024.
Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation.
It aims at tackling issues such as child labour, mistreatment of workers, and denial of basic wages, among others. There will also be penalties for non-compliance.
Indian Railways has managed to improve its freight volumes each year since the pandemic. However, its inability to add new industries and goods will pose a challenge for the national transporter in the wake of it setting an ambitious target of 45 per cent share in the national logistics by 2030. According to officials, the ministry of railways achieved 114 million tonnes (mt) of miscellaneous goods (classified as balance and other goods) in 2023-24.
The notification issued by the Union Environment Ministry also exempts projects pertaining to the expansion of terminal buildings at airports (without an increase in the existing area of the airport) from seeking green nod.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said pollution levels declined in the national capital due to government initiatives as he announced a 15-point winter action plan to curb pollution.
The National Green Tribunal has directed the Ministry of Jal Shakti to hold a meeting within a month to consider the issue of regulating extraction of ground water for maintenance of play grounds.
For IT services companies, ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) metrics are becoming a crucial component in winning deals as clients are considering sustainability a top priority and are keen to work with partners who are on the same page. "Sustainability is becoming an important part of the client's evaluation. "There is a tremendous focus across the world on sustainability, and it is becoming one of the top five business priorities.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice G S Kulkarni said while it was not going to order a ban on bursting of firecrackers, a balance needs to be struck considering the deteriorating air quality index (AQI) in the metropolis.
'ESG is actually a concept which cannot be applied effectively in the very short run.'
Sources privy to the meeting told PTI that the top brass and other senior commanders of these forces were asked to keep a strict vigil against any illegal encroachment taking place in their respective areas of operations.
The Indian Space Research Organisation said it successfully carried out an "extremely challenging" controlled re-entry experiment of the decommissioned orbiting Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT-1) satellite.
'Marginal rates will definitely affect the consumer's decision in entering a new transaction, but in reality, they don't affect much because banks/financial institutions have come up with step-up EMIs: 50% of home loans which exceed 15 years in India are prepaid, within 7-8 years.' 'This doesn't happen anywhere in the world.'
Coca Cola has got a clean chit from TERI for eco compliance. Its report said Coke meets with all Indian regulatory requirements.
