Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Murli Deora with ONGC chairman and managing director R.S.

Tourists enjoy a spot of good weather on Rohtang Pass, Himachal Pradesh, on Tuesday. PHOTO: PTI

The Union home ministry has created four new specialised posts within the CRPF for anti-Naxal operations in the aftermath of the gruesome Dantewada attack.
Under the new system, Pankaj Kumar Singh, an IPS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed as Inspector General (Operations) in West Bengal.
Mr Singh will exclusively deal with the anti-Naxal operations in the state and will not be given any administrative duty.
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Mobile services in north Kashmir and SMS service in the entire valley have been blocked on the instructions of the state government following incidents of violence, an official said on Tuesday.

In the wake of home ministerial talks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday pinned “some hope” on developing peaceful ties with Pakistan but made it clear that while moving to develop trust, India would “verify” how anti-India terror groups are dealt with.

A city councillor here has been found guilty of racially insulting an Indian-origin colleague by calling the latter a “coconut” during a heated debate at the council chamber last year.

Firefighters are struggling to contain a blaze that erupted at a chemical plant in the southwest outskirts of the capital. About 40 fire engines are battling the flames, Xinhua news agency reported.

JSW Steel plans to invest Rs 75,000-crore in brownfield and greenfield projects to expand its capacity to 32-million tonnes per annum by 2020, a top company official said.

The initial public offer of Coal India, through which the government expects to garner up to Rs 12,000 crore, may hit the market in October, theUnion coal minister, Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal, said.

Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland, on Tuesday announced a price hike of its entire range of commercial vehicles by up to Rs 50,000 on account of rising input costs with immediate effect.