In a Friday verdict, the Supreme Court invalidated an Orissa High Court order which had annulled the State government's January 2009 recommendations in favour of granting an iron ore mining licence to South Korean steelmaker Posco.

The decision by the Supreme Court may pave the way for Posco to get the necessary go-ahead for a much-awaited preferential access to iron ore for the $12 billion project which the company has planned in Orissa.

World's fourth-largest steel producer, POSCO of South Korea has said that it welcomes the latest order by the Supreme Court of India, in which it said that the government will decide on giving preferential access to iron ore to the company.

The authorities in the state of in Odisha are acquiring land for the Posco steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district even as protestors gather to prepare for protest against the project.

Hundreds of angry villagers including large number of women gathered to protest against the land acquisition work in the Jagatsinghpur district, where the authorities have been deploying security arrangements to speed up the process of land acquisition work for the Posco Project.

The Odisha government on Friday termed some women's semi-nude protest during anti-Posco agitation as `unfortunate,' and alleged that certain vested interest groups had pressed innocent women to strip.

Health & Family Welfare Minister Damodar Rout, who also holds small & medium enterprises portfolio, said in the Assembly that some rival political parties as well as NGOs were backing up the protests without knowing the ground realities.

Hundreds of angry villagers including large number of women staged a new protect against the presence of police at Gobindapur village in Jagatsinghpur district, which has been deployed to speed up the process of land acquisition work for the Posco Project.

South Korea's Posco on Friday moved a step forward in the direction of setting up its ambitious $12 billion steel plant in Odisha after the administration took over the required land from farmers.

As farmers of Gobindpur village in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district continued their protests against the planned steel plant, Posco India expressed hopes that it would be able to get the required land soon.

Bhubaneswar/ Jagatsinghpur/New Delhi, Feb 4 : Irate protesters from the Left Front agitated against the Odisha Government on Monday against its drive to remove local tribals from the site of the proposed POSCO steel plant project.

Odisha Police forcibly evicted the tribals demonstrating against the proposed steel plant near Jagatsinghpur on Sunday.

In response, supporters of the left parties organised a protest rally in Bhubaneswar city today.

India's union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has said today that the government will review the plans by South Korean steel major Posco to invest Rs. 52,000 crore in plants in the state of Odisha.

Sharma said that the government is committed to ensure that the project takes off smoothly. He also told the visiting South Korean Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukwoo Hong that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is monitoring the project.

South Korean electronics giant, Posco has launched a bid to acquire steelmaker and iron ore miner Arrium Limited in association with commodities trader Noble Group.

The two companies have launched a bid at 75 cents per share with a combined value of around $1 billion. The value is about 39 per cent premium above closing price on Friday when the shares closed at 54 cents. The board of the Arrium has said that it will not accept the value because it undervalues the shares of the company.

An expert panel constituted by the Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF) on Tuesday toured various villages in Jagatsinghpur district near Paradip of Odisha, and discussed with local people about Posco's proposed steel plant in the state.

The National Green Tribunal has said that it will not give clearance to the Rs 50,000-crore Posco steel plant in Odisha in its current form and said that the project s to remain suspended until the union Environment Ministry revives it.

The Tribunal said that the memorandum of understanding signed between the state government of Odisha and Posco Steel of South Korea was for 12 million tonnes of steel per annum (mtpa), however the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was done for only for 4 mtpa, a third of the total proposed capacity.

Posco-India, the Indian unit of the global steel giant, has announced its decision to jointly set up joint committee with Paradip Port Trust (PPT) authorities to determine if it can use the existing facilities at Paradip.

The joint committee comprising six members will carry out the study between April 2 and 14. Representatives of Posco-India held a meeting with PPT officials including Chairman G Jagannath Rao to discuss the project.

The government wants the state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) to partner South Korean steel giant, Posco in its proposed $12-billion steel plant in the Indian state of Orissa.

Mr Beni Prasad Verma, the Steel Minister informed Posco officials here on Wednesday that it wants SAIL to become a part of the project, which has faced severe hurdles and delays. Y. W. Yoon, Chairman and MD, Posco India Pvt Ltd has said that he will convey the government's intention to the board of Posco.

The Pohang Iron and Steel Company’s project, also known as POSCO has been adjourned by the Orissa government due to the objection shown by the local personnel and the heavy rains.

The POSCO has proposed US$12bn steel plant in the state. Since past six years, this proposal by the South Korea's POSCO, the world's third-biggest steelmaker company has been in theory and the villagers protest is again a setback for the company. The contract of the project was signed in 2005 and the project was facing a lot of examination. However, the Environment Ministry in New Delhi has given it a clean chit.

Bhubaneswar, April 14 - An anti-displacement group Thursday here rejected the claim of the Orissa government that there were no tribal inhabitants or other traditional forest dwellers in the proposed site of the $12 billion POSCO steel project in the state.

The POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), which has been spearheading the movement against the project in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur, said the state government has for the third time submitted false information.

On Thursday, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma with his South Korean counterpart has said that the issues which are interrupting the Posco project in Orissa would be soon resolved.

South Korean trade minister Kim Jon-Hoon has said on Thursday that both countries should work together to locate a solution if there are any environmental concerns. He is in India to join in the India-Korea joint meet.

There are some issues and very soon the problems will be removed. The necessary clearances will appear and the remainder issues will get settled as stated by Sharma.

In a major event that took place in the country, the Posco review panel ahs recently submitted a split verdict in regards to the South Korean steel maker's Orissa project.

While a dominant part of the verdict viewed the revoking of environmental and coastal regulation zone clearances, a source in the government said that the reworking of the proposal may open new gates for the project in the coming times.

The much -awaited decision on the South Korean steel major Posco’s project in Orissa is expected to come out from the door of the environment ministry during the next month.

It is to be mentioned here that the environment ministry committee submits its report on October 11 and a decision on the same is expected to be come out soon. For the uninitiated, the activities at the Posco Rs 54,0000-crore project in Jagatsinghpur was suspended in the month of August after a stop-work order by the environment ministry arrived at their doorstep.

When asked about the progress of the Posco steel plant, Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Orissa, was very confident as he declared that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as Jairam Ramesh, the Environment Minister have guaranteed to facilitate speedy clearance for the Posco venture worth Rs 54,000 in the state.

In a totally new twist, Korean steel maker, Posco's plant in Orissa has got a red signal from the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests.

The ministry has asked the state government to stop all the work related to the steel plant as they are in direct violation of the forest rights law.

This ban is also implemented on land acquisition. Said minister for environment Jairam Ramesh that the, state government has already been given the orders.