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Residents of Bhavnagar will now pay property tax on the basis of carpet area assessment of their properties. Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities said the new system be enforced from this financial year. It is part of the reform agenda to have a uniform tax assessment system across the state.Deputy municipal commissioner Dilip Dave said BMC carried out a survey of 2,17,000 properties between 2006 and 2008 before it decided to switch over to the new system."All these properties will be issued special notices-cum-bills on the basis of carpet-area assessment. With a view to help taxpayers, an arrangement has been made to appoint 20 appellate officers who will consider objections and suggestions and will dispose off cases at the earliest. If the taxpayer has no objection to the property assessment, he or she can pay the tax straightaway," he said.Bhavnagar will be the seventh municipal corporation to adopt this system of tax assessment. Except Rajkot, all municipal

K K Mehrotra, chairman-cum-managing director of Mecon, visited the Central Ordnance Depot (COD) at Jabalpur on Wednesday to review the progress of modernization work of the depot being carried out by the organization. During the visit, the commandant of the depot Brigadier Tiwari, along with other senior officers expressed satisfaction at the progress of modernization work, especially for the quality of engineering work and for the promptness of the services provided. Mehrotra assured the commandant that Mecon will take every step needed to complete the work on schedule.Mehrotra also visited the artillery and small arms depot where a demonstration on the operation of field guns and assault rifles and other small arms was organized. After the visit to the artillery shop, Mehrotra inspected the construction site and appreciated the hard work put in by Mecon engineers. 3 locals held for Delhi metro thefts Three youths hailing from Jharkhand were arrested in New Delhi on Wednesday for a

K K Mehrotra, chairman-cum-managing director of Mecon, visited the Central Ordnance Depot (COD) at Jabalpur on Wednesday to review the progress of modernization work of the depot being carried out by the organization. During the visit, the commandant of the depot Brigadier Tiwari, along with other senior officers expressed satisfaction at the progress of modernization work, especially for the quality of engineering work and for the promptness of the services provided. Mehrotra assured the commandant that Mecon will take every step needed to complete the work on schedule.Mehrotra also visited the artillery and small arms depot where a demonstration on the operation of field guns and assault rifles and other small arms was organized. After the visit to the artillery shop, Mehrotra inspected the construction site and appreciated the hard work put in by Mecon engineers. 3 locals held for Delhi metro thefts Three youths hailing from Jharkhand were arrested in New Delhi on Wednesday for a

Trivenipuram Apartment, which comprises 600 flats with at least 3,000 people living in them, does not have a 'No Objection Certificate' from the fire department.Residents said the building does not abide by fire safety rules. There are no fire extinguishers and even the lifts were not working properly.Abhilasha Trivedi, a homemaker who lives in a flat in the Kaveri block, said, "After seeing the flames, I ran out of my house. But as the lifts were not working, I had to take the stairs. There is no arrangement for fighting fire in the buildings."When TOI enquired about fire fighting measures, project manager Gajendra Pandey said the apartments were well-equipped for emergency but remained tight-lipped about obtaining an NOC.The highrise, which was constructed in 2004, has no fire extinguisher on any floor, the electric wiring is substandard and lifts are non-functional.But Trivenipuram is not the only complex that is flouting fire safety norms. About 80% of residentia

The first round of the bitter confrontation between Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik and municipal commissioner R A Rajeev has gone to the bureaucrat: An illegal gymnasium in the refuge area of the floor on which the politician lives was demolished after the municipal corporation served a notice. But the flamboyant MLA has now levelled fresh charges against Rajeev, alleging that he unlawfully diverted water from an adjoining river to his 12-acre farmhouse at Badlapur. The municipal commissioner had sought the removal of the treadmills, indoor cycling machines and weights occupying on the eighth floor of Vasant Lawns complex, adjoining Sarnaik's five-BHK apartment, with immediate effect. Civic officials said Rajeev, who had withheld the Occupation Certificate of the building citing illegal use of refuge space, finally granted the OC to the builders after the area was cleared of the exercise machines, wooden floor panels and glass walls last Wednesday. They said the OC was granted after ver

The Shramik Mukti Sangathana, Murbad, and project-affected persons have slammed the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) for its 'short-sighted' decision to clear Kalu dam in Thane district involving 1,000 hectares of forests in the Western Ghats. The FAC under the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has gone back on its April 2, 2012 decision of rejecting forest clearance to Kalu dam. It reconsidered the project and in its last meeting on April 3-4, 2013, and recommended the project for forest clearance (FC). "The FAC has done it when all the illegalities and irregularities from the project proponent still stand entirely unaddressed today," said Parineeta Dandekar, co-convener of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRAP). The project falls within 10 km from Kalsubai sanctuary. The project proponent states that only 89,177 trees will be felled, but this is a big number in Western Ghats. In a submission to union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan

River Tapi stinks because of release of untreated sewage water into it by many government and other offices. Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) had found Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), income tax department, government circuit house and police among those responsible for releasing sewage waters directly into Tapi.Of the 6,411 locations inspected by SMC, at least 1,543 illegal sewage drainage connections were found connected to storm water drainage which pollutes Tapi. Of the 1,543 illegal connections, 190 are of government offices, senior SMC officials told TOI.These details came to light during a study done by SMC in 2012. The survey cost SMC Rs 33 lakh, but the civic body is yet to stop the sewage flow into the river.This has affected the quality of water. The dissolved oxygen is reported 'zero' in Tapi near Ginger Hotel, Sardar Bridge and Ved Road. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) level is 315 milligram per litre as against the standard limit of 30 mg per litre. The

Instead of finding a solution to the incessant re-carpeting of roads, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has started raising the height of the guard stones and divider blocks between the roads which had disappeared under the layers and layers of tar. report in TOI dated May 1, 2013, had highlighted the problem created by layers and layers of tar. It has said that re-carpeting has raised the level of city roads in the walled city and other areas leading to waterlogging in low-lying houses and commercial establishments.Sources said ideally the re-carpeting of the city roads should be done after removing the guard stones and then placing them again as per the height of the road. But, the traffic department of the civic body has found an easy way out. The department has given orders to construct guard stones on the old ones. "The guard stones dividing the road were not serving traffic purpose as they were almost submerged in the layers of tar. Commuters were finding it easy to drive t

The state electricity regulatory commission on Tuesday spared domestic consumers using up to 40 units of power per month from the tariff hike. Over 25 lakh families are expected to benefit from this decision.The tariff hike in the domestic category is up to 12%. While the commission made no changes in the tariff for power to traditional agriculture sector, it hiked the rates for industrial and commercial consumers by an average 7%. It also introduced a new tariff category for the IT and ITES sector, including Akshaya centres.Of the projected revenue gap of Rs 2,759 crore for 2013-'14, the commission approved a revenue gap of Rs 1,050 crore. With the changes in tariff, the board is expected to rake in an additional Rs 650 crore. The commission did not accept the board's demand for increase in fixed charges.Under the non-telescopic tariff, if the monthly power consumption of domestic consumers crosses 300 units, they will have to pay Rs 5 for every unit of power consumed. The ra

The state electricity regulatory commission on Tuesday spared domestic consumers using up to 40 units of power per month from the tariff hike. Over 25 lakh families are expected to benefit from this decision.The tariff hike in the domestic category is up to 12%. While the commission made no changes in the tariff for power to traditional agriculture sector, it hiked the rates for industrial and commercial consumers by an average 7%. It also introduced a new tariff category for the IT and ITES sector, including Akshaya centres.Of the projected revenue gap of Rs 2,759 crore for 2013-'14, the commission approved a revenue gap of Rs 1,050 crore. With the changes in tariff, the board is expected to rake in an additional Rs 650 crore. The commission did not accept the board's demand for increase in fixed charges.Under the non-telescopic tariff, if the monthly power consumption of domestic consumers crosses 300 units, they will have to pay Rs 5 for every unit of power consumed. The ra

The architect of Western Ghats Expert Ecology Panel (WGEEP) report, Madhav Gadgil, on Tuesdaysaid Kerala needs to take a lead in developing publicly accessible information on India's environment.He urged the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) to involve school and college students to collect data and prepare a comprehensive directory of different aspects of environment in Kerala."The state should prepare a comprehensive database of forest, streams, rivers, quarries, orchards and variety species in the state. Kerala should take advantage of the fact that it has been made mandatory for class XI and XII students to undertake a major project on environment as part of their curriculum,''' he said.He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day seminar organized by KSSP to commemorate the golden jubilee year in the state capital through video conferencing."The government should strictly enforce laws such as air and water acts to control pollution and provide teeth

A resident of Waghodia area was arrested by Panigate police for molesting a five-year-old girl on Wednesday afternoon. The accused, identified as Kalidas Rajput, is an autorickshaw driver and was known to the victim. He lured the girl and four other children by offering them to give a ride in his auto. The girl was rescued due to alertness of a passer-by and a security guard of a farmhouse in Varnama taluka.The five kids live in Bhatojinagar in Waghodia area. "The kids aged between three and five years of age were playing outside their home when Rajput approached them. The kids, which included four boys and the victim, boarded his auto," Panigate police inspector J D Waghela said.Rajput then sped off towards outskirts of the city without informing the children's parents. "When the mother of one of the boys came home after a while she couldn't find her child. Soon, mothers of three other children, too, realized that their kids were missing. They panicked and bega

A resident of Waghodia area was arrested by Panigate police for molesting a five-year-old girl on Wednesday afternoon. The accused, identified as Kalidas Rajput, is an autorickshaw driver and was known to the victim. He lured the girl and four other children by offering them to give a ride in his auto. The girl was rescued due to alertness of a passer-by and a security guard of a farmhouse in Varnama taluka.The five kids live in Bhatojinagar in Waghodia area. "The kids aged between three and five years of age were playing outside their home when Rajput approached them. The kids, which included four boys and the victim, boarded his auto," Panigate police inspector J D Waghela said.Rajput then sped off towards outskirts of the city without informing the children's parents. "When the mother of one of the boys came home after a while she couldn't find her child. Soon, mothers of three other children, too, realized that their kids were missing. They panicked and bega

Eight years ago she picked up the table tennis racquet at Bal Bhavan in the city and never looked back. Eighteen-year-old Bhusha Mehta made the city proud when she was awarded the Sardar Patel Junior Sportsperson of the Year 2013 award by the state government. Mehta, who is ranked number one table tennis (TT) player in junior, youth and open categories, was given the award by the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) for her consistent performance.She was awarded a cash money of Rs 25,000 for her achievements along with another Rs 50,000 in Shakti Dut Scholarship from SAG for the year 2013. Playing with TT Centre managed jointly M S University and Table Tennis Association of Baroda (TTAB), Mehta has showed signs of a promising player soon after she began participating in professional tournaments. During initial phase of her career, she was coached by Vishnu Sharma, Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach and later by Vismay Vyas, SAG coach. "Mehta won three gold medals and one silver m

Women and girls venturing out on roads carry a few additional accessories in the summer to help them in avoiding the scorching sun. Gloves are one of them.On a cursory glance, one could see a number of hands covered with gloves in different hues. With the onset of summers, hosiery shops are flooded with gloves as the demand increases with the intensity of sun.''We start bringing stocks of these gloves by the end of March and in April, the demand starts to rise. The customers are college and working girls. Sometimes boys demand it too but for them we have shorter gloves unlike full hand gloves for women,'' said a hosiery owner in Maidagin.''We cannot afford to move out in the sun without gloves. While driving two-wheeler, hands are the exposed body parts and when we get stuck in traffic jams, gloves are the saviours. Most of the girls are obsessed with fair skin,'' explains Juhi, a college student.Skin colour gloves are most, common followed by white one

Women and girls venturing out on roads carry a few additional accessories in the summer to help them in avoiding the scorching sun. Gloves are one of them.On a cursory glance, one could see a number of hands covered with gloves in different hues. With the onset of summers, hosiery shops are flooded with gloves as the demand increases with the intensity of sun.''We start bringing stocks of these gloves by the end of March and in April, the demand starts to rise. The customers are college and working girls. Sometimes boys demand it too but for them we have shorter gloves unlike full hand gloves for women,'' said a hosiery owner in Maidagin.''We cannot afford to move out in the sun without gloves. While driving two-wheeler, hands are the exposed body parts and when we get stuck in traffic jams, gloves are the saviours. Most of the girls are obsessed with fair skin,'' explains Juhi, a college student.Skin colour gloves are most, common followed by white one

Protest against mysterious death of a youth, who was allegedly tortured under police custody on April 26, led to unruly scenes at Hansrajpur as after attacking the local police outpost, an angry mob of locals set the jeep of station officer Dullapur and many other motorcycles ablaze on Monday.To pacify the angry locals, deputy inspector general of police Varanasi Range A Satish Ganesh and superintendent of police Ghazipur UC Srivastava ensured lodging a murder case against the station officer Jungipur and his subordinates. A team of three doctors was constituted for postmortem examination of the youth. The officials were waiting for the report before deciding the course of action against the accused policemen.According to reports, a 13-year-old girl of Nasirpur village under Jungipur police station in Ghazipur district went missing since April 24 morning. Initially, her family members registered a case of missing in this connection on April 25. After a few hours they turned up again a

Rallies and programmes by workers' unions and the labour department marked May Day in the city on Wednesday. Collector V Seshadri, addressing a gathering at Zilla Parishad office premises, said human resources play a key role in industrial growth and industries should ensure that workers, including those from the unorganized sector, are given at least the minimum wages. The district administration had wiped out child labour in 20 out of the 38 mandals in the district and the aim is to make the district 100% child-labour free, claimed Seshadri at the programme organised by the labour department. Minister for investments and infrastructure Ganta Srinivasa Rao said that the government is implementing various welfare schemes for workers. Visakhapatnam district was second only to Ranga Reddy when it comes to industries, he said and urged businesses to focus on improving security standards at the workplace. Labour department joint commissioner S Lakshminarayana said that programmes ar

The 300-bed Government Hospital for Mental Care (GHMC) in the city is in a dismal state. Not only is the hospital suffering from an acute shortage of drugs and manpower, it is also plagued by a host of administrative problems as well as political interference. This even as the retirement of its superintendent M Vijaya Gopal on Tuesday, has thrown the hospital into further uncertainty. Gopal was the only doctor in the hospital's 130-year history to serve as superintendent twice from 1993-99 and 2011-13. Those familiar with the working of the hospital said that most of the shelves in the hospital's pharmacy lie empty and patients have to pay from their pockets to purchase drugs, most of which have to be taken life long, from the market. The only drug available is THP (trihexyphenidyl), which is used to minimise the side effects of psychiatric medicines, admitted GHMC pharmacist Mohini. "Doctors have prescribed three medicines that my brother has to take daily, but none o

China's first lady Peng Liyuan has given a boost to the country's fledging cosmetics industry. Her efforts to push for China made beauty products by giving them as gifts to foreign dignitaries has suddenly awakened interests among consumers who preferred foreign-made cosmetics. Peng gave away beauty products made by a local firm Pehchaolin as gifts to family members of leaders of three African countries during her recent visit to Africa along with her husband and Chinese president Xi Jinping. As news of her actions spread, the company's products suddenly began flying off the shelf in shops and attracted huge orders on internet shops. The China Business Journal described it as "The Peng Effect" saying her decision to push for weak Chinese brands is bringing about a revival in not just Pehchaolin but also other local cosmetic companies, Lanterns and Yongmei. Peng's nationalistic move is breathing new life in them, it said. A lot of people are pinning high hop

A drop of Mahatma Gandhi's blood is now up for sale. The largest collection of memorabilia relating to Gandhi — including his personal prayer beads from which he was inseparable, will, power of attorney to his son and a personal copy of the Ramayana — will soon go under the hammer. London-based auctioneers Mullocks will put up 50 objects belonging to Gandhi for auction on May 21. The list includes "a fragment of Gandhi's blood — on a sliver of a microscope slide". Donated by Gandhi, when he was in convalescence after an operation for appendicitis, to Sumati Morarjee in 1924, it is expected to fetch £15,000. "This is by far the largest collection of memorabilia relating to Mahatma Gandhi ever to be offered for sale," Mullocks' historical documents expert Richard Westwood-Brookes told TOI. "We expect the 50 objects belonging to Gandhi to fetch at least a quarter of a million pounds. The items have come from all over the world." Other objects t

A drop of Mahatma Gandhi's blood is now up for sale. The largest collection of memorabilia relating to Gandhi — including his personal prayer beads from which he was inseparable, will, power of attorney to his son and a personal copy of the Ramayana — will soon go under the hammer. London-based auctioneers Mullocks will put up 50 objects belonging to Gandhi for auction on May 21. The list includes "a fragment of Gandhi's blood — on a sliver of a microscope slide". Donated by Gandhi, when he was in convalescence after an operation for appendicitis, to Sumati Morarjee in 1924, it is expected to fetch £15,000. "This is by far the largest collection of memorabilia relating to Mahatma Gandhi ever to be offered for sale," Mullocks' historical documents expert Richard Westwood-Brookes told TOI. "We expect the 50 objects belonging to Gandhi to fetch at least a quarter of a million pounds. The items have come from all over the world." Other objects t

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police on Thursday arrested and interrogated beleaguered former president Pervez Musharraf over the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation, one of three high-profile cases that have dogged him since he returned to the country from self-exile.A team of Balochistan police arrested the former military ruler and grilled him for nearly four hours at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad, which was declared a "sub-jail" by authorities.The five-member police team confirmed to reporters outside the sprawling farmhouse that Musharraf had been arrested over the killing of Bugti.Musharraf, 69, was the army chief when the operation against Bugti was ordered.Earlier in the day, Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman of an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi accepted a request from Balochistan Police to include Musharraf in the probe into Bugti's death.Shortly after the judge issued the order, the police team went to Musharraf's farmhou

Warren Buffett accumulates Twitter followers even faster than he makes money. The 82-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" joined the service and sent his first tweet on Thursday, picking up more than 45,000 followers in just under 45 minutes. "Warren is in the house," Buffett said under the handle "@ WarrenBuffett". The handle was not officially verified by Twitter, but was confirmed by Fortune magazine, which hosted Buffett for a live webcast Thursday. It was billed as the first social media event for the notoriously technologyaverse billionaire. If followers were dollars, Buffett is having even more success on Twitter than he had with one of his best investments ever, his 2008 stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. That deal gave him preferred stock that paid dividends at $900 a minute. On Twitter, he has gathered 1,000 followers a minute. By joining Twitter, the Berkshire Hathaway Inc chief executive officer now stands in good mogul company . Other relatively recen

A woman who was viciously attacked with lye and disfigured by her former husband has been given a new face.Carmen Blandin Tarleton told a press conference at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, where she received the face transplant two months earlier, that she feels great appreciation and gratitude for the tremendous gift that she has been given.The 44-year-old said that her spirits are high, and she feels really good and happy, CBS News reported.Tarleton, who underwent 38 surgeries within three months of the incident, and then an additional 17 surgeries over five years, some of which to restore her sight, still remains legally blind, and the scars cover her body.Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, director of the burn center and plastic surgery transplantation at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said: "I believe I can safely say that Carmen is the most immunologically complex patient that has ever received a composite tissue transfer — meaning a face or hand transplant."The en

A day before the Reserve Bank of India's annual monetary policy, governor D Subbarao kept everyone guessing on a rate cut with his extremely hawkish observations that not only scope for rate cut was limited, there was even a possibility that RBI may hike rates this year. Subbarao's hawkish observations come at a time when there is near unanimity among bankers, corporate and economists that the central bank would cut its repo rate by 25 basis points. The observations also mark a change in style for Subbarao whose tenure has been marked by consistent 'baby-step' measures following a predicated trend. In its report on Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments in 2012-13, RBI's survey has forecast modest recovery with growth in 2013-14 at 6% from 5% and average wholesale price inflation to moderate to 6.5% from 7.3%. Surveys show that inflation expectations have moderated slightly, while business expectations remain subdued. The macro numbers that are forecast in RBI&

Mutual funds (MFs) have lost nearly 4.5% or about 20 lakh retail folios in the past six months due to the sharp fall recorded by the equity category. MFs have around 4.3 crore retail folios or investor accounts at the end of March 2013, data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed. The decline was led by the equity category, which was impacted by the volatility in the capital market. The benchmark CNX Nifty declined 3.8% and 0.4% respectively in the three months and six months period till March 2013. Folios in equity-oriented schemes dropped 6.7% or a loss of nearly 24 lakh folios to around 3.32 crore at the end of March, AMFI data showed. Despite the fall, a significant proportion of investors have stayed on with equity MFs largely because of the poor returns offered by these schemes in the past few years. In all, 63% of retail investors remained invested for more than two years at the end of March. About 61% of retail investors had kept their money in equity sc

Mutual funds (MFs) have lost nearly 4.5% or about 20 lakh retail folios in the past six months due to the sharp fall recorded by the equity category. MFs have around 4.3 crore retail folios or investor accounts at the end of March 2013, data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed. The decline was led by the equity category, which was impacted by the volatility in the capital market. The benchmark CNX Nifty declined 3.8% and 0.4% respectively in the three months and six months period till March 2013. Folios in equity-oriented schemes dropped 6.7% or a loss of nearly 24 lakh folios to around 3.32 crore at the end of March, AMFI data showed. Despite the fall, a significant proportion of investors have stayed on with equity MFs largely because of the poor returns offered by these schemes in the past few years. In all, 63% of retail investors remained invested for more than two years at the end of March. About 61% of retail investors had kept their money in equity sc

In an over six-year old insider trading case involving shares of Reliance Industries' erstwhile subsidiary IPCL, market regulator Sebi on Thursday imposed a penalty of Rs 11 crore on Reliance Petroinvestments.Pronouncing Reliance Petroinvestments (RPIL) guilty of violating the insider trading regulations with regard to its dealings in shares of Indian Petrochemicals Corp (IPCL) in early 2007, Sebi said that RPIL made profits of over Rs 3.8 crore through these trades. After taking into account the quantum and nature of the violations, Sebi decided to impose a penalty of Rs 11 crore on RPIL, which was listed as one of the promoter entities by IPCL itself in its regulatory filings as on March 31, 2006, the regulator said in its late night order.The regulator said the penalty needs to be paid within 45 days to the account of "Sebi-Penalties Remittable to Government of India". Once a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, IPCL used to be a separate

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved Swedish furniture retailer IKEA's plan to invest Rs 10,500 crore for a single brand retail venture in India, making it the largest investment to be made by a foreign brand in the Indian retail sector. The approval comes as the final go-ahead for the retail giant to set up shop in the country after it had submitted its application for an India entry early last year. The 25 billion euro company had received the Foreign Investment Proposal Board's (FIPB) nod in February this year. "This is a very positive development...India is an important market for the IKEA Group from a sourcing perspective. We have been active in the country for more than 25 years and will continue to increase our sourcing in India from both existing and new suppliers building on long term relations and shared values," said Mikael Ohlsson, president and CEO, IKEA Group. The company, which has been sourcing products approximatel

With Rs 113 crore, Reliance Industries (RIL) tops the list of companies that have unpaid and/or unclaimed dividends lying with them, Parliament was informed on Thursday. Dividend payments of a little over Rs 1,101 crore are lying unclaimed with 1,406 companies, corporate affairs minister Sachin Pilot said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Payments are required to be made to investors within 30 days of the dividend being declared. Any unpaid or unclaimed amount needs to be transferred to an 'unclaimed dividend account' within the next seven days. Money lying unclaimed in this account for seven years gets transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF). Subsequently, no such claims are entertained against the company or the IEPF for any money transferred to the fund in accordance with the relevant provisions. "An amount of Rs 1,101.4 crore is presently available with 1,406 companies on account of unpaid and unclaimed dividends," Pilot said citing da

A day ahead of RBI's annual monetary policy announcement, ICICI Bank CEO and managing director Chanda Kochhar on Thursday said there is headroom for RBI to cut interest rates as inflation is trending downward. "The moderation in inflation can actually have further positive impact on giving central bank some more headroom is terms of policy rates," she said addressing a session at ADB annual meet here. The overall inflation in March fell to 5.96 per cent, much below RBI estimate. "Inflation is moderating. The overall inflation has come down below 6 per cent for March 2013 and core inflation has come down to 3.4 per cent. Gradually we have seen some amount of moderation in inflation," she said. The RBI is widely expected to cut policy rate and cash reserve ratio by at least 0.25 per cent each to prop up growth in its policy tomorrow. The economic growth is estimated to have fallen to a decade low of 5 per cent in 2012-13. In the current fiscal, the growth is

A day ahead of RBI's annual monetary policy announcement, ICICI Bank CEO and managing director Chanda Kochhar on Thursday said there is headroom for RBI to cut interest rates as inflation is trending downward. "The moderation in inflation can actually have further positive impact on giving central bank some more headroom is terms of policy rates," she said addressing a session at ADB annual meet here. The overall inflation in March fell to 5.96 per cent, much below RBI estimate. "Inflation is moderating. The overall inflation has come down below 6 per cent for March 2013 and core inflation has come down to 3.4 per cent. Gradually we have seen some amount of moderation in inflation," she said. The RBI is widely expected to cut policy rate and cash reserve ratio by at least 0.25 per cent each to prop up growth in its policy tomorrow. The economic growth is estimated to have fallen to a decade low of 5 per cent in 2012-13. In the current fiscal, the growth is

NEW DELHI: Eight sick Public Sector Units (PSUs), including HMT Watches and Hindustan Cables Ltd, have not paid salaries to their employees since October 2012, Parliament was informed on Thursday. "Eight PSUs, under the administrative control of the Department, have not made payment of salaries to their employees, since October 2012," minister of heavy industries and public enterprises Praful Patel said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. These government-owned units are HMT Watches, HMT Chinar Watches, HMT Bearings, Triveni Structurals, Tungabhadra Steel Products, NEPA, Hindustan Cables Ltd and Hindustan Photo Films Manufacturing. "These PSUs are sick/loss-making companies and are not been able to make payment of salaries to their employees as they are not in a position to generate funds to meet the requirement," Patel said. he government has been providing financial assistance as non-plan loans to such PSUs from time-to-time to make payment of outstanding sala

NEW DELHI: Following its best-ever results in the opening two races of Moto GP in Qatar and the USA, Team Mahindra will look to build on its performance as the European season begins at Jerez this weekend. Mahindra's new riders and the brand-new Mahindra MGP3O machine have not only achieved double points in the two season-opening 'flyaways' but also recorded the marque's first top-five finish. That was achieved at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas the weekend before last, when Miguel Oliveira (18, from Portugal) claimed a fighting fifth, gaining two places on the final lap. A fortnight earlier Miguel was seventh in Qatar, and he places fifth overall in the points in the competitive Moto3 class. Team-mate Efren Vazquez (26, from Spain) claimed tenth and 14th places, securing an impressive full house of points for the team. This was close to the perfect introduction for the new MGP3O racer, barely six months after the project was initiated, following intensive wor

MUMBAI: The rupee on Thursday snapped its last two days of gains against the American currency and ended marginally down by one paise at 53.81 per dollar on fresh dollar demand from importers amidst firm dollar in overseas market. The rupee resumed higher at 53.69 per dollar against the previous close of 53.80 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and firmed up further to a high of 53.67 per dollar on selling of dollar by banks and exporters on the back of sustained capital inflows from foreign funds. However, it declined afterward to 53.95 per dollar before finishing at 53.81 per dollar from its last close of 53.80 per dollar, showing a marginally loss of one paise on fresh dollar demand on the back of higher dollar in overses market. It had gained by 57 paise, or 1.04 per cent, in previous two days. In Los Angeles, the euro slipped in the early trade today ahead of a widely-expected decision by the European Central Bank to cut its key interest rate on the b

KUALA LUMPUR: The Asian Football Confederation handed the reins of power to Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa on Thursday, electing the Bahraini as its new president and voting him on to FIFA's all-powerful executive committee. Sheikh Salman secured 33 of the 46 presidential votes available from AFC member associations in Malaysia, to beat Yousuf Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates (six votes) and Thailand's Worawi Makudi (seven votes) in a lop-sided election. The Bahraini replaces disgraced Qatari Mohamed Bin Hammam, who was banned for life by FIFA in 2011 amid allegations of trying to buy votes. The AFC had been in limbo ever since, with China's Zhang Jilong's interim leadership beset by numerous match-fixing and graft scandals among member associations. Dressed in a sharp grey suit and black tie, Sheik Salman told the AFC Congress that the confederation had to reform and become more transparent. "Today I'm proud and happy, proud and happy to see th

NEW DELHI: Far-fetched it may sound but two successive wins in the ongoing IPL, following a string of defeats, have opened up a window of opportunity for Delhi Daredevils to "sneak into the playoffs through the back door", feels pace spearhead Morne Morkel. "Now we are playing winning cricket and entertaining cricket. You never know what can happen with that -- we can even sneak into the playoffs through the back door," Morkel said.He, though, was candid in his admission that the team was not performing in the first half of the tournament."Throughout the tournament, the atmosphere in the dressing room has been positive. We know we didn't do well in a few areas and we are trying to do better in those."A shift in venue, from the Feroz Shah Kotla in the capital to the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur, was followed by a dramatic shift in fortunes for the Daredevils."It is nice to have a bit of momentum. And if we try and do

KOLKATA: Former skipper Rahul Dravid was modesty personified as he said that he was lucky to have possessed enough talent to play cricket for India and "couldn't have asked for more". "I am very lucky that I had the talent to play cricket for this country. It is the number one sport in this country, virtually a religion in this country and I feel privileged to have played for my country," Dravid said on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony in recognition of his Padma Bhushan award."I couldn't have asked for anything more and on top of that to get the recognition and honour is truly a big privilege," Dravid said.About getting the third highest civilian award, Dravid said: "It is a great honour. When you start playing you don't think about the awards. You just play because you just love it and there is no reason why you start playing this game."But along the way when you get awards and recognitions from the government of India, fr

CHENNAI: Suresh Raina is the league's most successful batsman but the only thing that had eluded him over six years was a century. On Thursday at Chepauk, the wait finally ended as he scored a match-winning, unbeaten 100 against Kings XI Punjab. "It's a very good feeling. I missed out on a hundred in South Africa. And when the team needs and you deliver, that's the best feeling, so I am really happy," he said after the match. Such was his confidence that he actually seemed to celebrate on 99 because he knew with two balls to go he would not miss out this time. Raina paced his innings to perfection on Thursday. He was cautious but positive and once he reached his fifty, he was unstoppable. Speaking about his innings, he didn't forget to mention the people who he feels have helped make him such a successful batsman in the format."I had to be a bit cautious against the new ball. I have been spending a lot of time with Duncan (Fletcher) and (Stephen) Flemin

LONDON: Chelsea crushed FC Basel 3-1 on Thursday for a 5-2 aggregate semi-final victory to secure their place in the Europa League final against Portugal's Benfica later this month in Amsterdam. The reigning European champions, 2-1 ahead from the first leg in Switzerland last week, lost that advantage when Mohamed Salah scored for the Swiss champions with the last kick of the first half, curling his shot past Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.But interim coach Rafa Benitez's men came storming back with three goals in nine minutes early in the second half. Fernando Torres, Victor Moses and David Luiz all scored - the curly-haired Brazilian with a stunning 25-metre curling shot that effectively ended Basel's resistance after 59 minutes.Frank Lampard, needing one goal to equal Bobby Tambling's all-time Chelsea scoring record of 202, almost got it but hit the post with a fine strike in the ninth minute while Fabian Frei of Basel smashed the ball against the bar in the 63rd minute.

She told TOI, "The invitation card that was sent to me didn't even have my name on it. I can understand Asha Bhosle's name on it, but what was Pamela Chopra's contribution to cinema? I don't even care about that, but I have definitely made a major contribution to cinema and need to get my due respect."Sinha, who had even attended the press conference of the award, said, "I was thrilled to be there, but I was not aware that they would be insulting me in such a way. I am really hurt with this behaviour and that is the reason I didn't go to the function. They cheated me. Not only was my name missing from the card, but the seats given to me and my husband was in the eighth row of the auditorium."However, chairman of Phalke Academy Award, Santosh Singh Jain said, "She wanted her name on the card. There are 50 awardees and we couldn't possibly print everybody's name. Besides, Pamela Chopra was given the Saraswatibai Phalke award, which ha

The Pakistfilm industry has finally braced itself for the release of four Pakistani films after a two-year hiatus. And for this reason, distributors and exhibitors in Pakistan have decided to abandon Shahrukh Khan starrer 'Chennai Express' and Akshay Kumar starrer 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbai 2' - the two films films which are slated to release worldwide around Eid. The reason cited by the exhibitors is that Pakistani film-makers want all four local films - 'Waar', 'Main Hoon Shahid Afridi', 'Ishq Khuda' and 'Josh' - to get more visibility, reports The Express Tribune. According to the report, by applying a protectionist cultural policy, the Pakistani market is being deprived of healthy competition. Producers understandably feel that none of the Pakistani films can compete with the production of value of films like Chennai Express, the report added. The report further said that if the release of Bollywood films carries on as per sched

"I think we should not try to cross over," Saif told IANS over phone from Mumbai. "Our eastern identity is fundamentally different from theirs. We should look at taking our movies from India to the Middle East, or to places like Egypt and Spain as the audience there is suited to our movies, I believe. And we should rival Hollywood as an eastern equivalent, if 'western' is what they call themselves," he added.With over two decades in films and with veteran actress Sharmila Tagore as his mother, Saif does have a fair idea of how and what kind of cinema clicks. And he also enjoys watching a lot of international cinema.The 42-year-old actor, who completed his studies in England, believes Iran and Iraq make some "great cinema"."But I'm not too sure if they have the kind of budgets we have. We just need to pay more thought and attention to detail in what we do and build on our individual identity. We're doing pretty well, and getting there

"I think we should not try to cross over," Saif told IANS over phone from Mumbai. "Our eastern identity is fundamentally different from theirs. We should look at taking our movies from India to the Middle East, or to places like Egypt and Spain as the audience there is suited to our movies, I believe. And we should rival Hollywood as an eastern equivalent, if 'western' is what they call themselves," he added.With over two decades in films and with veteran actress Sharmila Tagore as his mother, Saif does have a fair idea of how and what kind of cinema clicks. And he also enjoys watching a lot of international cinema.The 42-year-old actor, who completed his studies in England, believes Iran and Iraq make some "great cinema"."But I'm not too sure if they have the kind of budgets we have. We just need to pay more thought and attention to detail in what we do and build on our individual identity. We're doing pretty well, and getting there

"I think we should not try to cross over," Saif told IANS over phone from Mumbai. "Our eastern identity is fundamentally different from theirs. We should look at taking our movies from India to the Middle East, or to places like Egypt and Spain as the audience there is suited to our movies, I believe. And we should rival Hollywood as an eastern equivalent, if 'western' is what they call themselves," he added.With over two decades in films and with veteran actress Sharmila Tagore as his mother, Saif does have a fair idea of how and what kind of cinema clicks. And he also enjoys watching a lot of international cinema.The 42-year-old actor, who completed his studies in England, believes Iran and Iraq make some "great cinema"."But I'm not too sure if they have the kind of budgets we have. We just need to pay more thought and attention to detail in what we do and build on our individual identity. We're doing pretty well, and getting there