Rabri Devi expected to sail through confidently
The victory of Rabri Devi-led Rashtriya Janata Dal Ministry in Bihar appeared certain with 16 Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Soren (JMM-S) MLAs and 14 independents pledging support to the government on confidence vote in State Assembly today.

CMs ask Veerappan to release hostages first
The Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have ruled out an immediate amnesty for sandalwood smuggler Veerappan and jointly appealed for the release of the nine hostages at once.

"Money was lying idle so we diverted it"
The Office of the Accontant General (Audit) has flayed the West Bengal government for "wantonly opening" Personal Ledger Accounts (PLAs) and transferring the Central money from the Consolidated Fund into the PLAs.

Sharad Yadav warns of anti-Laloo upsurge in Bihar
The newly-elected president of the Janata Dal, Sharad Yadav, yesterday predicted an upsurge against former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in his home state.

Essars, Premier Oil may dilute stake in oilfield venture
The Essar group and Premier Oil Company of UK, the main partners in the Ratna oilfield development venture, have begun talks with foreign oil companies to dilute their stake in the project.

No lock-in for Ciba CKD shares under preferential allotment
Shares of Ciba CKD Biochem allotted on a preferential basis in 1996 will not be subjected to any lock-in period and would be transferable freely. This follows a decision by the company to forgo the option of availing loans from financial institutions ICICI and SCICI.

BoB, PNB slash interest rates on term deposits of maturities
Displaying the first signs of lowering of interest rates at the longer end of the market, a majority of the public sector banks led by Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) has slashed interest rates on term deposits of maturities over one year.

Modicom Network faces licence cancellation over default
The Union ministry of communications has threatened Modicom Network, the cellular service provider for Karnataka telecom circle with cancellation of its licence for failing to pay licence fee of Rs 15.55 crore as second year's first quarter fee and second quarter fee of Rs 31.65 crore. The company also failed to deposit a bank guarantee worth Rs 126.64 crore.