New Delhi: The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Thursday opposed scrapping of the provision which requires the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to seek government's permission for probing bureaucrats in corruption cases. The DoPT raised the issue during a power-point presentation at the maiden meeting of the Group of Minister headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram which discussed the issue of giving greater autonomy and more financial powers to the agency, official sources said.
The GoM was set up in the wake of strong observations by the Supreme Court on the functioning of the CBI which was described as a "caged parrot". The apex court had also suggested to the government to consider ways to make the CBI independent and free from any interference of the political executive.
The DoPT, which is the nodal body governing the CBI, came out strongly against any proposal to scrap Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act which requires the agency to seek permission of the central government before intitiating a probe against an official of the rank of Joint Secretary and above in a corruption cas, the sources said.
The proposal giving more financial powers to the Director of the CBI did not find much support in the meeting, which was attended by Chidambaram, Law Minister Kapil Sibal, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy, the sources said. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde could not attend the meeting as he
10:44 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Faced with the Supreme Court rap on the independent functioning of CBI, the Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday discussed ways to give greater autonomy and more financial powers to the agency. The GoM, at its first meeting, was given a power-point presentation by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in which it opposed scrapping of the provision which requires CBI to...
09:24 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Malayalam will soon be granted the status of a classical language. The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Thursday approved classifying Malayalam as a 'Classical Language', Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters. The benefits extended to Classical Languages include, two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence and setting up of a Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages. Other...
08:50 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday sought to assuage the stock market, after it declined by over 350 points, by asserting that there was no need for any "nervousness" and the participants should read the situation correctly rather than be influenced by external developments. "There is no need for any kind of nervousness. I am looking forward to June and the second quarter with much greater confidence. I...
08:41 PM, May 23, 2013
Chennai: Days after the Supreme Court's interim relief to Tamil Nadu Cricket Association expired on May 14, Chennai Corporation officials on Thursday sealed three stands at the MA Chidambaram stadium here. On a petition by the TNCA after I, J and K stands were sealed by the Chennai Corporation, the Supreme Court had directed the civic body to de-seal three stands. The Chennai Corporation had, on May 12, sealed the...
07:29 PM, May 23, 2013
The rupee recovered from a more than 8-month low hit earlier on Thursday, as exporters took advantage of a spike in the dollar to sell the greenback and on fears the central bank would intervene to stabilise the local currency. The rupee still posted a fifth day of falls to mark its longest losing streak in over three months as worries about a potential pullback in the US monetary stimulus...
06:39 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The Group of Ministers formed by the PM to review the SC observations on the CBI met for the first time on Thursday in New Delhi. Union Ministers P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and MoS PMO V Narayanasamy were in attendance. However, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha, who was one of the special invitees to the meeting, did not attend it. Coming out of the meeting, Sibal said...
05:11 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The first meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) to ensure greater independence for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will take place on Thursday in the Finance Minister's office. The government had set up the GoM after the Supreme Court had pulled it over the lack of functional autonomy to the CBI. The Supreme Court in its order has asked the government to bring a law which...
02:20 PM, May 23, 2013
Dubai: Seeking to enhance bilateral trade and cooperation, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday held discussions with Qatar's Emir and the Minister of Economy and Finance, as he asserted the robustness of the Indian economy and its vast potential for the gulf country's firms. Chidambaram, who is on an official visit to Qatar, met with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and the country's Minister of...
12:14 AM, May 20, 2013
New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate a two-day conference of top Income Tax department and CBDT officers later this month in the national capital and discuss efforts to maximise revenue collection. The annual conference of Chief Commissioners and Directors General of the I-T department will be held on May 28 and 29. A host of challenges being faced by the department like illegal chit fund companies, ponzi schemes,...
09:55 AM, May 19, 2013
New Delhi: A delegation of MPs and MLAs from Delhi on Saturday met Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and requested him to release water to the national capital from Munak Canal in his state. The Munak canal was constructed by Haryana with financial assistance of around Rs 400 crore given by Delhi government on the condition that the national capital will be supplied 80 MGD water from it. But...
01:57 AM, May 19, 2013
London: Finance Minister P Chidambaram's reform push to revive Indian economy and restore investor confidence was on Thursday lauded by British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who said he has done a great job. "When it comes to India, I think Mr Chidambaram has done a great job at telling and showing the world that India is open for business," Osborne told select Indian journalists after his meeting with...
02:20 AM, May 17, 2013
Thrissur: JPC Chairman PC Chacko has said it will be "unconstitutional" to summon former Telecom Minister A Raja, prime accused in the 2G spectrum case, before the Joint Parliamentary Committee to take evidence, as it would be an "infringement" of Article 20 of the Constitution. "Article 20 (iii) of the Constitution clearly states no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself," Chacko said....
01:26 AM, May 16, 2013
A week after the Supreme Court pulled up the Government over its control on the functioning of the CBI, the Prime Minister on Tuesday constituted a Group of Ministers to review the SC's directives on CBI autonomy. The GoM is headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and will include V Narayanasamy, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Manish Tewari. ...
07:14 PM, May 14, 2013
Bhubaneswar: Terming as shocking and unfortunate Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's reported statement favouring special category status to Bihar before report of a sub-committee, ruling BJD on Monday accused Congress of working against the interest of Odisha. "As far as I know (about) backwardness of Bihar, I am sure it will qualify to be a special category state by the sub-committee to be appointed under the chairmanship of Raghurama G...
02:25 AM, May 14, 2013
Sources said on Monday that a section within the Congress wanted Manmohan Singh replaced as PM before Parliament's monsoon session. ...
10:57 PM, May 13, 2013
Sources said on Monday that a section within the Congress wanted Manmohan Singh replaced as PM before Parliament's monsoon session. ...
09:19 PM, May 13, 2013
Patna: With his visit to Congress office with Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram triggering speculations of JD(U) getting closer to Congress, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday downplayed the incident saying he was just being a good host. "I just played a good host to a guest (Chidambaram) who had come to Bihar on Saturday," Kumar, who dropped Chidambaram at the gate of state Congress headquarters 'Sadaquat Ashram' in...
08:16 PM, May 13, 2013
New Delhi: A section within the Congress party is keen on replacing Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, sources said on Monday. According to the sources, the leaders want Singh replaced before the monsoon session of Parliament. While there is no consensus yet on the alternative name, sources said that Defence Minister AK Antony and Finance Minister P Chidambaram could be considered. Meanwhile, a few leaders are in favour of...
06:13 PM, May 13, 2013
Patna: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said that Bihar will be accorded special category status after the change of criteria. "I hope that new criteria will determine status of backward states. Bihar will certainly qualify for special category status under new criteria for it," said Chidambaram. "The central government is reviewing the new criteria for special category status to backward states like Bihar," he told mediapersons in Patna,...
08:02 PM, May 11, 2013
