This Budget, the finance ministry may consider a proposal for a seed fund that would provide financial support to states willing to sell items other than foodgrain, sugar and kerosene through the public distribution system (PDS). The move, experts believe, will help reigning in food inflation that remains in double digits, despite moderation.
To fund infrastructure projects in the public-private-partnership model, the forthcoming Budget could lay down some broad contours on the setting up of debt funds, which will provide investment for the core sector.
As a bonanza to southern states, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to allocate funds worth Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) for Chennai and Bangalore Metro rail systems in the forthcoming Budget.
Officials said the proposal and funding could be included in the coming budget and preliminary discussions have been held with finance ministry officials.
According to agencies, the government is now checking whether they have the technology to monitor emails when they get briefly stored in an enterprise server.
While auto sales in the US have plunged, vehicle sale in China has more than doubled since 2005, rising near 13 million units this year.
The court also hit Microsoft with a $287 million fine.
A huge explosion outside the Indian embassy in Kabul killed at least five people, reports said. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. Though there are no immediate reports of any Indian being injured, TV reports suggest the embassy embassy wall has been severely damaged.
Heavy rains and surging flood water continued to batter Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, claiming 194 lives and inundating vast swathes of land.
At least 60 persons either committed suicide or died of shock after hearing the news of Chief Minister YSR Reddy's death in a chopper crash.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Shourie on Monday asked the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) to take over the BJP's control and described the party's president Rajnath Singh as "Humpty Dumpty".
Banga's exit is being seen as a blow to Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, who said in a speech this week that the bank would look abroad for growth as the US economy slows. At MasterCard, he will be responsible for key business operations, including customer relationships globally, products, services, marketing, technology and operations.
Bharat Borge, the mechanic whose timely discovery that there were pebbles and mud in the gear box of Anil Ambani's helicopter, was found dead beside railway tracks in suburban Andheri in Mumbai under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday spoke to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who is on an indefinite fast in support of his demand for immediate ceasefire in the Sri Lankan army's offensive against the LTTE.
The Satyam Computer Services board is expected to induct former managing director of Tata Chemicals Homi R Khusrokhan on the company's board of directors as Executive Director and former chief financial officer of Murugappa group Partho S Datta as Director (Finance).
Taking a hard knock in the recession-hit US and other major markets, India's exports nose-dived by 22 per cent in January, dashing all hopes of a recovery riding on the December figures.
Members of the Beijing Special Armed Police Unit (BSAPU) used a helicopter and ropes to get 10 metres down to the ground. They then shot targets of swaying eggs 15 metres away within 1.5 seconds to practice "killing" terrorists. After breaking through windows, police rescued the "hostages."
Football icon Diego Armando Maradona arrived to a rousing welcome by thousands of frenzied fans who remained awake till past mid night waving Argentina's national flag of white and sky blue for first glimpse of the legend at the city airport here.
According to the package, the dues will be cleared in six monthly instalments by March 2009. Current ATF purchases will get 90 days' credit, supported by bank guarantees. Also, jet fuel price revisions will henceforth happen every fortnight. Praful Patel on Thursday admitted in the Lok Sabha that it may take another two months to make the recently-opened third runway at the Delhi airport fully operational.
One person was killed and six people injured in an explosion in Modasa town of Gujarat's Sabarkantha district on Monday night.
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