The Oil Ministry will raise the cap on supply of subsidised cooking gas (LPG) to 9 cylinders per household in a year provided the Finance Ministry agrees to give an additional Rs 3,000 crore in 2012-13.
The output has dropped after hitting a peak of about 62 mmscmd in August, 2010.
Power Minister Veerappa Moily informed the Rajya Sabha, on Monday that steps are being taken by the government to bridge the gap between demand and supply of power in the country.
Jaipal Reddy, who has been given the science and technology ministry, is deeply upset by his transfer from the petroleum and natural gas ministry and did not come to handover charge to new minister Veerappa Moily.
Power is a very crucial sector, as it fuels growth; one per cent increase in power generation leads to one per cent increase in gross domestic product, says Veerappa Moily.
Assuring the nation that massive power outage due to transmission grid failure will not recur, Power Minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said he has called a meeting of chief ministers of some of the affected states on August 6. "Now there is absolute normalcy, 100 per cent restoration has taken place and I can reassure the entire nation that what has happened all these two-three days will not recur. Nothing will happen again," Moily said.
Taking a jibe at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks that the National DemocratiC Alliance would come to power in the next general elections, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily on Tuesday wondered whether the Bharatiya Janata leader would return to power in his own state.
In January, India allowed fuel retailers to raise the price of subsidised diesel every month and asked bulk buyers to pay market rates.
OIL, which had paid a total dividend of 190 per cent in 2011-12, in January declared an interim dividend of 110 per cent for the current fiscal.
Petrol price was hiked by Rs 1.50 a litre and diesel by 45 paisa a litre.
The former Union minister also slammed Shashi Tharoor for his statement that praising the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for doing the right things would lend credibility to the opposition's criticism of him.
The corporate affairs ministry has mooted the idea.
The letter was not a challenge to leadership but a parchment of action to strengthen the party, Congress MP Vivek Tankha asserted, while former union minister Mukul Wasnik said those who saw the letter as an "offence" will also soon realise that the issues raised are worth consideration.
The RBI governor, who made a presentation about the state of the economy as well about the world economy to the 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, stayed clear of controversial questions like government invoking special powers.
Controversial Jairam Ramesh was on Tuesday elevated to Cabinet status and shifted from the high-profile Environment Ministry and Veerappa Moily replaced by Salman Khursheed as Law Minister in a substantive reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers, in which several ministers continued to hold additional charge of some key portfolios.
Without making big-ticket changes in the economic ministries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday shifted Law Minister M Veerappa Moily to the ministry of corporate affairs and inducted young Milind Deora in his council of ministers.
Moily had last week rejected Vedanta's proposal to mine the Niyamgiri hills after 12 village councils of Dongriya Kondh tribal groups opposed the project in their forests.
He says current arrangement is working fine.
'Can governments which consistently let their lawyers down, be trusted to uphold the rights of their people? How much longer will the State fight against its own citizens, inside and outside court?' asks activist Nandini Sundar.
Regretting that the concept of voluntary CSR has not picked up in India, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said the new Companies Bill would make it mandatory for corporate to earmark part of their profit for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Civil society members of the joint committee on Lokpal will seek a referendum on the points of difference with government representatives including the issue of bringing the prime minister and the higher judiciary under the ambit of the anti-graft ombudsman.
A reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers is scheduled for Tuesday evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The swearing-in has been fixed for 5 pm. Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi is likely to get the railways portfolio. The portfolios of a number of ministers are likely to be changed, including civil aviation, currently with Vayalar Ravi, and law, which is with Veerappa Moily. Minister Beni Prasad Verma from Uttar Pradesh is likely to be promoted to the Cabinet rank.
The government will take a decision in the next "two to three days" on the resignation of Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium who has so far refused to reconsider his decision despite being asked by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Against the backdrop of rising protests from farmers over acquisition of their land, the Centre has decided to bring in a new legislation governing the exercise with a focus on farmers' welfare, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said on Saturday.
Who's calling the shots in the party, asks Aditi Phadnis.
Contrary to Anna Hazare team's description of government's Lokpal Bill draft as a "very big hoax", Swami Agnivesh, an associate of the Gandhian's anti-graft campaign, on Friday termed the latest draft as an "improvement" of its 2010 draft.
The Telangana issue assumed centre stage on Thursday night as Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily held consultations with Congress members of Legislative Assembly and members of Parliament. Though a lot of hope was pinned by the Telangana leaders on this meeting there was absolutely no decision taken on issue of statehood, say insiders. However, the mass resignation programme by these elected representatives will be put on hold till the assembly elections in five states.
Amid the growing chorus against black money and the government's efforts to pull the plug, Union Law Minster M Veerappa Moily has suggested Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to completely overhaul the tax administration.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi's absence was felt during the Anna Hazare agitation as she has always given us a way out, Union Minister Veerappa Moily said on Thursday.
Senior Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh G Venkataswamy, who caused a flutter demanding the resignation of Sonia Gandhi as party chief, could be shown the door. Indications to this effect were available with Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who is in charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, saying that his "viciousness" in attacking Gandhi and his "arrogance" certainly warranted action.
Rights activist Binayak Sen, released on bail while serving a life sentence for sedition and links with Maoists, on Monday night asserted he is not a 'traitor' and said the Supreme Court observation in his case will have 'deep political implication.'
Friends, family members and Union ministers on Friday hailed the Supreme Court order granting bail to activist Binayak Sen, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition by a Chhatisgarh trial court.Union ministers P Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid expressed happiness over the court's decision to release Sen, who was convicted and sentenced for helping Naxals set up a network against the State. Law Minister M Veerappa Moily termed it as an "eye opener".
Despite a massive decline in crude oil prices since 2012 -- Modi has been prime minister in six of these eight years -- petrol in Delhi has become 10 per cent costlier and diesel 97 per cent, as of July 2.
After blaming "vested interests" for his shifting from the Law Ministry, new Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said he is "very happy" with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi for entrusting him with the new job.
Congress on Saturday doubted the veracity of a 'WikiLeaks' cable, which said that a section of the party leadership was seen playing religious politics after one of its leaders, A R Antulay, raised suspicion on the truth behind Anit-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare's killing during 26/11 attacks.
Anjanappa, chief of the Chikkaballapur unit of the party, has alleged that several crores of rupees were involved in the alleged scam and hence a probe had to be initiated.
Government on Thursday ruled out sending two drafts of Lokpal bill to the Union Cabinet in the wake of strong differences with the civil society which it accused of 'obstructing' the fight against corruption.
Contradicting Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas's counsel Wills Mathews said that Thomas has not resigned from his post. "It is incorrect. Thomas has not resigned."Citing the provisions in the CVC Act, Mathews said he can be removed only by the President or alternatively he can resign.
Congress leader Veerappa Moily will meet the party's pro-Telangana members of Parliament and legislative assembly at 9 pm on Thursday. Moily's meeting comes in the wake of Andhra Pradesh Endowments Minister Jupallu Krishna Rao's decision of sending his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. But pro-Telangana activist are upset about the fact that Rao didn't send his resignation to the governor, as per protocol.
Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas resigned from his post on Thursday following the Supreme Court verdict which quashed the appointment of the former bureaucrat.
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