The government plans to leave a little more money in the hands of the taxpayer, but not too much. On Thursday, the Union Cabinet cleared the new Direct Tax Code (DTC) Bill, which seeks to exempt income of up to `2 lakhs per year from income-tax against the current limit of `1.6 lakh annually. For senior citizens, the limit will now be `2.5 lakhs.

Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, which met here on Thursday, ordered a major reshuffle in both police and administration, shifting about 30 senior officials from their present responsibilities.

The Parliament gherao by hundreds of farmers led by the RLD chief Ajit Singh on Thursday saw leaders of both the Left and the right, the BJP, coming together to champion the cause of the agitating farmers. All the leaders cutting across the party lines demand from the government to bring a new law on land acquisition.

Six unidentified bike-borne assailants stabbed to death a HP petrol pump employee and injured three others in northwest Delhi’s Saraswati Vihar area on Wednesday night when they were asked to pay for the petrol.

Farmers protesting against acquisition of their land for developmental projects and demanding higher compensation laid siege to the capital on Thursday in thousands. They gathered at Rajghat and walked to Ramlila Maidan from where they came to Jantar Mantar where they held a demonstration. The procession disrupted normal traffic in and around Parliament Street area in New Delhi and in the Central Delhi areas

Raw energy, Undiluted madness, Attitude, Passion, Enthusiasm, Oasis, the cultural festival of BITS, Pilani packs all this and more into four days of non-stop ‘Fungama’. The entire cultural extravaganza is run by the students of BITS — from contacting companies for sponsorship and association to managing and organising events. Over 7,000 students from all across the country make their presence felt at Oasis.

New Town, Rajarhat will have a new name from October 1: Jyoti Basu Nagar. A children’s park is also being named after the former chief minister whose statue will also occupy a pride of place in the township. Announcing this on Wednesday, state housing minister Gautam Deb said, “A programme will be organised on October 1 to make the occasion memorable. Chief minister and senior Left Front leaders will be present. I will also invite Mamata Banerjee and the Congress leaders.”

Union home minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday hinted at the beginning of a peace dialogue in Kashmir in the next few days, and reiterated the government’s offer of a dialogue with all sections of the people and all political parties and groups in the state. He also said the Centre had acknowledged that a political solution must be found to the state’s problems.

After addressing a rally at Lalgarh on August 9, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will address a rally in the city on August 28 on the occasion of Trinamul Chhatra Parishad’s foundation day. The rally will be organised at the foot of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue. “Just as the Chhatra Parishad had played a key role against the

Persistent rainfall since Tuesday evening has left several areas in the national capital submerged, leading to huge traffic snarls and waterlogging at more than 100 places on Wednesday.