New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) Ahead of the launch of its consultation process, the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee on Telangana will meet here on Thursday to review the progress made so far and discuss responses received from various quarters on the separate statehood demand. This is the third time the five-member committee will be meeting in the national capital since it was constituted by the Centre last month. It had met once in Hyderabad. Panel''s …

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) In a boost to family planning measures and controlling AIDS, the Government has earmarked nearly Rs 400 crore for increasing the coverage of eligible couples under a programme which includes free distribution of oral birth control pills and condoms. A total of Rs 55 crore has been allocated for free distribution of contraceptives like oral pills, IUDs, tubal rings, E-pills and laparoscopes to the state government for distribution …

The global stock rally is one-year old. World stock markets closed at their low for the crisis 12 months ago on March 9. The rally that then started is still intact. The FTSE All-World index is up 75% in dollars, no significant market is down and big emerging markets have had huge gains-more than 160% for Russia and Indonesia. The S&P 500 index is up 2.7% for the year. The index is 69.3% above the March 9, 2009, closing low, which is 26.8% below …

In a bid to shore up its advertising revenues and mop up new clients, the Rs 840 crore Indian radio industry is aggressively marketing the classified advertising format. The newest player to join the bandwagon is Big 92.7 FM of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG). It is promoting its its classified advertising format on radio through a new vertical called Big Impact. Says Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Media World, "With changing media trends, …

A top U.S. official on Monday urged India and other large emerging economies to rescue the eight-year-old Doha round of world trade talks by making better offers to open their markets to American goods. The talks aim to help poor countries prosper through trade, but the United States complains current proposals require it to make politically painful cuts in agricultural subsidies and manufacturing tariffs without getting substantial new export opportunities …

ITC Ltd, the country's top cigarette maker, has increased prices by up to 20 percent following a duty hike in the budget, the DNA newspaper reported on Tuesday, without citing any source. The paper said ITC, which had increased the prices of its flagship brand Gold Flake Kings by 7 percent prior to the budget, raised prices again by 8-20 percent across all brands. A company spokesman could not be immediately reached for a comment. The paper said …

Many workers around the world have given up hopes of advancing in their jobs, but the bad economy is keeping them from finding new ones. Such "walking wounded" workers are increasingly exchanging ambition for job stability, which now even trumps pay as a consideration, according to a biennial survey by the human resources consultancy Towers Watson Co. People are becoming "nesters," who prefer to stay in one career or with one employer for their …

A shootout near the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Byalalur Centre in Bengaluru caused security concerns early on Tuesday. At about 3 am, two unidentified men moving around in a suspicious manner were challenged by security people. The intruders opened fire, which was returned, and then escaped. There was no actual breach of security. ISRO sources claim that the incident is not being seen as a terror attack, though the fact that they …

Security forces may be moving into Jharkhand's jungles but there are areas where few can reach. In these areas, the government is completely absent and the collateral is huge. Over 200 newborns died in just three blocks of one district alone, a Maoist stronghold. The journey into Arki block of Khunti district in Jharkhand is arduous, jagged roads through dense forests. It's about 90 kilometres from Ranchi but the administration ceases to exist once …

India said on Monday that it has made several genuine efforts to restore trust and confidence with Pakistan even as it cautioned Islamabad that its approach to deal with terrorism should not be taken for its weakness. Addressing the Widrow Wilson Centre, a Washington-based think-tank, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao virtually ruled out resumption of composite dialogue with Pakistan till the time Pakistan guarantees that terrorism can be controlled …