Revoke duties, excise on diesel: M Karunanidhi

Diesel, petrol prices turn dearer by around Rs3 per litre today A day after appreciating the union budget, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi requested the central government to revoke the basic duty reimposed on diesel and increased central excise on diesel, which have pushed up its price. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Karunanidhi said inflation is pinching the common man and the increased petrol and diesel prices are an additional burden on the people. Read More...

Afghan foreign minister speaks to Krishna after blast

Blasts kill atleast 17, including nine Indians in Afghanistan; Taliban claims responsibility In the wake of the terror attack in Kabul that killed 17 people, including nine Indians, Afghanistan told India it would take more security measures for the safety of Indian nationals while New Delhi assured that it would carry on its reconstruction activities in the terror-ravaged country. Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul called up his Indian counterpart SM Krishna and said his country will take more security measures for the safety of Indian nationals in the wake of the terror attack.

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Worst over; India set for high, inclusive growth: Pranab

First challenge is to quickly revert to 9 pc growth; need to make recovery more broadbased Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget 2010-11 in Parliament on Friday. He said that the worst is over for the Indian economy after two hard years and the country will return to a high growth path with renewed confidence and even log double-digit expansion.

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Worst over; India set for high, inclusive growth: Pranab

New Delhi, Feb 26: The worst is over for the Indian economy after two hard years and the country will return to a high growth path with renewed confidence and even log double-digit expansion, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday while presenting the Union Budget 2010-11 in Parliament.

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Pranab set to present Union Budget 2010-11

Pranab will address twin issue of bringing down prices while ensuring higher overall growth Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the Union Budget for 2010-11 in the Parliament on Friday. Pranab is under pressure to roll back, albeit gradually, the $37-billion stimuli announced since December 2008 to help India weather the global economic slowdown.

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Now Maruti decides to recall 'A-Star' for faulty fuel pump

Fuel pump gasket and ring being replaced for around 100,000 cars
It seems to be a season of recalls for the automobile industry with Maruti Suzuki now deciding to call back some 100,000 A-Star cars from the Indian market for a faulty fuel pump. "In November 2009, we came across an anomaly reported in the fuel tank in some of the vehicles and by December 2009, we started contacting the customers through letters," the company said in a statement.

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Abjure violence and we are prepared for talks, says Chidambaram

I shall consult PM, colleagues & respond promptly, once I receive Maoists' statement: PC The government wants an explicit statement from the Maoists that they would stop violence, Home Minister P Chidambaram said and also gave out a fax number, a day after the rebels offered talks if all security operations were stopped. "I would like a short, simple statement from the CPI Maoist saying 'we will abjure violence and we are prepared for talks'. I would like no ifs, no buts and no conditions," Chidambaram said.

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Maoists attack police camp soon after truce offer, one dead

Local television news channels report three casualties; police finds only one body Maoists attacked a camp housing security personnel in West Bengal, just hours after their leader Kishenji offered a 72-hour ceasefire to the government. One suspected Maoist was killed in the ensuring gunfight, police said. According to police officials, Maoists attacked the camp housing local police and paramilitary forces at Katapahari in West Midnapore district around 10.30 pm.

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India to grow 7.5 per cent this fiscal: President

Govt to pay special attention to infrastructure, agriculture, rural development, education & health sections President Pratibha Patil kicked off the budget session of parliament on a positive note, saying the country not only faced the global financial crisis with strong policies but was also poised to grow at 7.5 per cent this fiscal. "At a time when industrialised countries have experienced negative growth, India has continued to grow at an impressive rate," the president said in her customary speech in the central hall of parliament.

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Court frames charges against Congress MP Raj Babbar

Court to start recording the statements of prosecution witnesses on July 1 Pelting stones at a policeman during a protest march proved costly for Bollywood actor and Congress MP Raj Babbar as a city court framed charges against him and others for the incident. "I charge you that you along with co-accused on May 9, 2000... in furtherance of your common intention formed an unlawful assembly and restrained complainant Sub-Inspector Mahender Singh and other policemen from performing their duties by throwing stones," thecourt said in an order passed earlier this week. Read more

Australian, English shooters knock off security fears

In India, we are extremely safe with the security cover provided to us, say the players The Australian, English and New Zealand shooters here for the Commonwealth Shooting Championship have sent out a strong message to their governments that they are extremely happy with the security cover provided to them. The Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range was like a fortress what with over a thousand security men keeping it out of bounds for general public and 200 CCTV cameras prying on every visitor and vehicle entering.

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Gadkari targets Rahul, says there is no dynasty in BJP

I was a simple worker of a party & today I am its prez, this can happen only in BJP: GadkariIn an obvious attack on Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari said that his party did not believe in dynastic politics. In his first presidential address at the BJP leadership meet, he thundered that neither his father nor grandparents were prime ministers.

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Maoists attack Bihar's Phulwaria village, kill ten

Bodies of 10 villagers found; guerrillas abduct more than half a dozen villagers
At least 10 people were killed in a Maoist attack in Bihar's Jamui district, police said on Thursday. According to a police official, more than 150 armed Maoists attacked Phulwaria village in Jamui, about 150 km from here, late on Wednesday, and killed 10 villagers. Read More...

Chidambaram assures all security to sportspersons

No one would be allowed to dictate terms to us, says the home minister
Assuring security to sportspersons visiting India for the Hockey World Cup and the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, Home Minister P Chidambaram said that militants would not be allowed to dictate terms. "All security would be provided to players," Chidambaram said in response to a question on the Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami warning sportspersons against visiting India. The message from Illyas Kashmiri, a HuJI commander in Pakistan having close ties with the Al Qaeda, was sent to Asia Times Online on Monday, two days after the Pune bombing which killed 11 people.

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Fostering terror across border affecting bilateral ties: India

I hope Pakistan govt takes action to control infiltration from across border: Pallam Raju
As India and Pakistan prepare for foreign secretary-level talks on February 25, Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju said that "fostering" terrorism across the border was not helping bilateral relations. "We anticipate infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir as the snows melt. It happens every year. It is unfortunate that conscious fostering of terrorism from across the border is not helpingbilateral relations," Raju told reporters on the sidelines of a naval seminar at Defexpo 2010. Read More...

Unknown Pakistani terror group owns up Pune bombing

Be it India or Pakistan, we will fight against any ally of America: LeT Al Alami spokesman An unknown Pakistan-based terror group, the Lashkar-e-Taiba Al Alami, claimed responsibility for the bombing in a Pune eatery that killed 10 people on Saturday evening. A man identifying himself as Abu Jindal, the "spokesman" of the group, called Islamabad-based Indian journalist Nirupama Subramanian, and claimed that the group carried out the attack because of "two reasons".

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Common admission test for medical, engineering courses by 2013

A common entrance test will smoothen admission process in these courses: Sibal
The Human Resource Development ministry is expecting to introduce a single entrance examination system for admission into all professional educational institutes like engineering and medical colleges in the country. "By 2013 we should have in place a common system for common admission into professional institutions in the country,"Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said. Read More...

Two nabbed for Pune blast, toll rises to ten

Police hunt for prime accused; important breakthrough expected very soon
Two people have been arrested in connection with the February 13 bombing, police said as the toll in the terror attack rose to 10 with a 24-year-old college student from Uttar Pradesh succumbing to his injuries. Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said two people had been nabbed on Monday night but declined to give details.
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CCTV footage may give clues about Pune bombing

Investigators getting the footage closely examined; may get some clues
Investigators looking for clues in the Pune terror attack were examining CCTV footage from a luxury hotel opposite the German Bakery, where a blast killed nine people on Saturday, an official close to the probe said. The footage shows images of two potential suspects enteringthe German Bakery, a popular restaurant in the upscale Koregaon Park in Pune, the official said. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and National Investigation Agency are monitoring the video. Read More.

Indian Mujahideen link suspected in Pune bombing

RDX, ammonium nitrate and pattern of blast point towards IM's modus operandi: sources
A sleeper cell of the Indian Mujahideen, a home-grown Islamist terrorist group, is strongly suspected to be behind the Pune bombing that has come days after the arrest of one of its top operatives. The attack – on a "soft target" like the German Bakery – is a "copycat strike" of what the group had used in carrying out bombings earlier in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and New Delhi in 2008. Read More..

No intelligence failure in Pune: Chidambaram

Jewish Chabad House and Osho Ashram surveyed by LeT operative David Headley
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday denied that intelligence failure was to blame for the Pune terror attack that killed nine people and called the bakery that was bombed a "soft target". "This particular area has been on (the) radar for some time," he said, about the upscale Koregaon Park area where the devastating blast occurred on Saturday evening.
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BSF officer suspended over Kashmir teenager's killing

Three bullets were fired by a BSF trooper, one of which hit Zahid on the chest
A senior Border Security Force (BSF) officer in Jammu and Kashmir was suspended on Saturday and a court of inquiry ordered after allegations that the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy on February 5 took place on his orders. The suspension follows a statement by an arrested BSF trooper that he had fired at the teenager on Birdi's orders. Kumar was suspended by the BSF following an in-house enquiry which found him involved in the shooting of Zahid Farooq Sheikh.
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Telangana shuts down to protest Srikrishna panel guidelines

Joint Action Committee to meet later Sat to take a decision on mass resignations
A day-long shutdown began in Hyderabad and nine other districts of Telangana region on Saturday in response to a call by the Joint Action Committee of students to protest the terms of reference of the Srikrishna panel on the issue of carving out a state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. Shops and business establishments remained closed while state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation suspended bus services in the region.
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'MNIK' – first day but no first show in Mumbai

Fun Cinemas screen the movie with a 'House Full' sign; extra security deployed
There was no first show of Shah Rukh Khan's much discussed "My Name Is Khan" here on Friday as theatre owners shied away from exhibiting the film following violence by the Shiv Sena. But by noon some of the multiplexes started screening the film and others are expected to do the same later in the day.
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Balasahab, Udhav misconstrued my words: Shah Rukh

Don't want mayhem, anger and violence because of our beautiful film, says Shah Rukh
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is extremely upset that Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and his son Udhav Thackeray "misconstrued" his comments and are now protesting against the release of his film My Name Is Khan. The actor, who has been under attack from the Shiv Sena for his comment on the inclusion of Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament, is taking help of the social networking site to clarify his stance once and for all – so that his movie releases without any hindrance. Read More...