The Delhi High Court warned social networking site Facebook India and search engine Google India that websites can be ‘blocked’ like in China if they fail to devise a mechanism to check and remove objectionable material from their web pages. ‘Like China, we will block all such websites,’ Justice Suresh Kait said while asking counsel for Facebook and Google India to develop a mechanism to keep a check and remove “offensive and objectionable” material from their web pages.

On December 30, 2011, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs spoke to the media and gave a detailed account of the Bills that were passed in one or both the Houses and the Bills that are pending for consideration. Of these, only the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill and the Whistle Blowers were passed by the Lok Sabha and are now before the Rajya Sabha. One Bill has been reported by the Standing Committee and other Bills are with the Standing Committee.

The Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that he is confident that moderation in inflation would continue in the coming months, though softening in the prices of manufactured goods, despite the rapid decline in non-food primary inflation, may be more gradual.

Retirement fund body EPFO may lower the interest rate on deposits to 8.6 per cent for over 4.7 crore subscribers for 2011-12 to match it with the rate of public provident fund (PPF) scheme. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had provided 9.5 per cent interest rate to its subscribers for 2010-11 after it found Rs 1,731 crore surplus in its books of account.

Government had constituted a Committee for drafting the National Competition Policy with a view to achieve highest sustainable levels of economic growth, entrepreneurship, employment, higher standards of living for citizens, protect economic rights for just, equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic and social development, promote economic democracy and support good governance by restricting rent seeking practices. The Committee has already given its report. The salient features of the policy proposed by the Committee are as follows: -

20 Proposals of Foreign Direct Investment Approved Based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting held on December 23, 2011, Government has approved 20 Proposals of Foreign Direct Investment amounting to Rs. 1935.24 crore approximately.

In an effort to protect the interests of pre-paid mobile services users, telecom regulator Trai today said they can now get an itemised bill from service providers on request and at a price not exceeding Rs 50. The consumer can also get details of his tariff plan, available balance in his account and details of any value-added service activated on his telephone number at any time from the service provider, free of charge.

The Government has introduced Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2011, in Lok Sabha on December 16, 2011, to facilitate quicker disposal of cases and to widen and amplify the scope of some of the provisions of the Act. The enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, was an important milestone in the field of consumer protection. [...]

To protect consumers from unscrupulous jewellers, the government today approved a proposal making hallmarking of gold mandatory. The hallmarking of gold, which is voluntary in nature at present, is a purity certification of the precious metal. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under the Consumer Affairs Ministry, is the administrative authority of hallmarking.

The Union Budget will be presented after the completion of elections in five states, but the government has not yet decided the final date of presentation, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today.