Taking a jibe at Yashwant Sinha, the finance minister said that he doesn't have luxury of being former finance minister.
The murder of ace crime reporter J Dey has once again put Maharashtra's nefarious oil mafia under the scanner. Through various criminal acts, the men behind the racket have proved that they are no strangers to violence.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal brought the government into another stand-off with the Bhartiya Janata Party, accusing it of stalling Parliament in the winter session to prevent the cover up the National Democratic Alliance regime's lapses.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Finance Ministers play a key role in shaping the economy of a country.
Bankers' committee suggests banks lend to meritorious students without collateral.
During Vajpayee's tenure, he was there as an indispensable insider, witness to every action that had an impact on history: Pokhran-II (nuclear tests in 1998), the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan, the Indo-Pak Agra Summit in 2001, intense engagement with the United States on nuclear issues besides the Kandahar hijack.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan visited late additional collector Yashwant Sonawane's family to offer his condolences.Talking to reporters after meeting the family, Sonawane said, "We have arrested the accused in this case and the investigations are going on. This cannot happen in Maharashtra, we will stop this." Chavan had earlier announced a compensation of Rs.25 lakh for the Sonawane family.
With the Opposition blaming Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal in the killing of additional district collector Yashwant Sonawane, state Home Minister R R Patil on Thursday said name of no politician has come across in the probe.
Meanwhile, Popat Shinde, the prime suspect who also suffered burn injuries in the gruesome incident, has been shifted to Nashik Civil Hospital.
Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday asked the government to supply 25 million tonnes of food grains to the markets from 65.5 million tonnes stored in its coffers.
"The fourth quarter results of GDP data showed a phenomenal 7.7 percent growth rate and has established India firmly as the fastest growing global economy. This trend, according to experts, is likely to continue for the next few years," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
Many in party believe that Advani will be left out as the group of veterans supporting him will not stick together for long.
Some of the accused in the Yashwant Sonawane murder case have alleged in statements to the police that the slain officer had demanded a 'bribe' to settle the matter when he spotted oil adulteration near Manmad on January 25. The police, however, said such counter-accusation by the accused are common. The investigating officers have recorded statements of the ten accused, who are in police custody, while main accused Popat Shinde's statement is yet to be recorded, police said.
As the Maharashtra government cracks down on the oil mafia in the wake of the gruesome murder of Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane, a 15-year-old report on curbing oil adulteration menace prepared by a former IAS officer is gathering dust at the state secretariat.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the gruesome murder of Nasik Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane. "It is surprising why new Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is shying away from a CBI enquiry. The state police enquiry won't be able to reveal who was protecting the accused Popat Shinde and others," BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said.
Two days after a local oil mafia in Maharashtra burnt alive an additional collector, the government on Thursday unveiled steps including re-introduction of a chemical marker in kerosene to reduce opportunities of the subsidised fuel being diverted for adulteration.
Authorities launched a massive crackdown on the oil adulteration mafia across Maharashtra on Thursday, raiding 200 places and arresting nearly 180 people, after an official was burnt alive by the oil mafia.Over 80,000 gazetted officers in Maharashtra also ceased work for the day to protest the killing of Malegaon Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane by suspected members of the oil mafia at Manmad in Nashik district, nearly 260 kms from Mumbai, on Tuesday.
Seven persons were arrested in the murder of Additional District Collector of Malegaon district Yashwant Sonawane who was burnt alive by suspected members of a local oil mafia, as the victim's family demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the incident.
An additional district collector was on Tuesday burnt alive, allegedly by members of the petrol and diesel mafia, at Manmad in Maharashtra's Nashik district. Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane was accompanied by his personal assistant and driver when the shocking incident took place at a roadside dhaba near Manmad town, nearly 260 km from Mumbai. Preliminary reports say Sonawane had gone there to conduct a raid on the petrol and diesel mafia.
Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Rajiv Shukla says there is "nothing wrong" with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by Yashwant Sinha, summoning its president, Shashank Manohar, and Indian Premier League chairman Chirayu Amin to reply to questions on financial transactions related to the Twenty20 league.
Several Indian companies might have to set aside 2 per cent of their average net profits during the preceding three years to meet corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending requirements. A parliamentary standing committee on finance, which vetted the Companies Bill, 2009, said in its report that the ministry of corporate affairs has agreed to the suggestion.
Vajpayee had travelled to Lahore in a bus from India in 1999 and started a peace initiative with Pakistan in 2004.
'The first clear cut call for 'engagement with all stake holders including separatists' came, not from the political class but the men in uniform,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished observer on Kashmir.
Popat Shinde, prime accused in the murder of Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane, died in Mumbai on Monday at a state-run hospital while undergoing treatment for burn injuries. "Shinde died on Monday afternoon. After conducting a post-mortem, the body would be handed over to the police investigating the murder case of Sonawane," said P P Lahane, dean at J J hospital.
Two other ministers Swantradev Singh and Mohsin Raza also took oath.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday rejected the demand of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee for an inquiry into the killing of Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad. "Please tell me under which law the Centre should initiate an inquiry into the encounter killing of Maoist leader Azad, I am asking my non-lawyer friend (Bharatiya Janata Party leader) Yashwant Sinha," Chidambaram said while replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha.
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Chairman Yashwant Sinha wants the government to first introduce goods and services tax (GST) at the central level and set example for states to implement the indirect tax reform.
'As a seasoned politician I know how to talk and understand the opinion and sentiments (of other political leaders).'
Food inflation was the worst form of taxation on the poor, he said. The finance minister could have spared the rise in diesel prices and increased petrol prices more, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.
While reserving the verdict, the apex court had said that the pricing details of Rafale jets could only be discussed after it decides on whether to make it public.
Yashwant Sinha on Elections 2009 and Narendra Modi's rise in the BJP.
BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde has been appointed Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a post vacated by expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Thursday said she was considering BJP's breach of privilege notice against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for announcing outside Parliament the rejection of the demand for setting up of JPC in the IPL and phone tapping issues.
Charges and counter-charges over links with Maoists flew thick and fast between the Opposition and the government on Thursday as the Lok Sabha began discussion on the Dantewada Naxal attack.
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of the appointment of controversial Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission chairman Anil Yadav, who was accused of turning the state's highest recruitment body into a private fiefdom by handpicking largely Yadavs for all top jobs.
The trio also accused PM Modi of single-handedly changing the parameters of the deal.
Vikram Kothari took a loan of Rs 485 crore from Mumbai-based Union Bank of India and a loan of Rs 352 crore from Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank. A year later, Kothari has reportedly not paid back either the interest or the loan.
Former Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi is likely to become the next chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee while Yashwant Sinha will replace him as head of the Standing Committee on Finance, BJP sources said.
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