The proposals placed before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Thursday included deploying the Army’s bomb-disposal squads in de-mining operations in anti-Naxal areas, assistance of the Army’s special forces commandos in undertaking precision strikes against Naxals, formation of a unified command to tackle the Naxals, and increasing the use of IAF choppers for transportation of paramilitary forces besides casualty-evacuation.

The civil aviation ministry is planning to acquire and install “soft ground arresters (SGAs)” — a special type of sand-like material with gravel that is capable of stopping the movement of aircraft travelling at high speed within 30 metres beyond “table-top” runways in the country.

A CBI team is likely to question Ajmer blast suspects again, arrested by Rajasthan ATS, following fresh leads that have emerged after recent interrogation of Malegaon accused by the agency officials.

A shell-shocked Samajwadi Party, after strings of defeats in Assembly byelections, is now to take inspiration from its arch rival, the BSP. Taking note of the fact that the party’s organisation is nowhere to match the ruling BSP in UP, the SP is now setting out to replicate the Mayawati-led party structure in a bid to infuse the much-needed strength in the ranks of the party workers.

The reconstituted National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi got down to business on Thursday, holding its first meeting in the capital and flagging some of the important issues that need its attention. The nearly four-hour-long NAC meeting was followed by about a two-hour-long meeting of the members with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the evening.

The Delhi government on Thursday claimed that it has nearly utilised all the funds released from the Union urban development (UD) ministry for various schemes under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). However, if compared with other cities, the capital seems to be lagging behind in fund utilisation.

After holding back the announcement of annual power tariff for the year 2010-11, the Delhi government on Thursday indicated that it would like to see no increase in the rates till the Commonwealth Games are held in October.

Drunken driving claimed the life of a youngster in west Delhi’s Paschim Vihar area on Wednesday night when a motorcycle rammed into a road divider, instantly killing one and injuring two others.

A 12-year-old boy went missing under highly mysterious circumstances from outside his uncle’s residence in Kalkaji on Thursday morning.
Police officials said the boy was playing with his friends near a park in L2 block, DDA flats in Kalkaji, southeast Delhi, on Thursday morning when he went missing.

The telecom tribunal TDSAT has directed the regulator Trai to review its policy of reducing interconnection charges paid by operators saying there was lack of transparency in the process.