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Laloo ready to step down - but not as party president
Even as six senior ministers and dissidents in the Bihar unit of the Janata Dal turned the heat on Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav by calling for his resignation, the latter indicated that he was ready for any eventuality and threatened to withdraw support to the United Front government if the "witch-hunt" was not stopped.
Royalty on 38 minerals hiked
Union steel and mines minister Birendra Prasad Baishya has announced a hike in royalty rates of 38 key minerals ranging between 8% and 14%. The notification also has revised the rate of dead rent payable by mining companies.
Gupta's okay to Cong joining Govt has CPI in a fix
The Union home minister and senior Communist Party of India leader Indrajit Gupta has put the members of his party's West Bengal unit in a fix with his statement to a Bengali daily that "the United Front would not turn away the Congress just like that if it wants to join the Government."
Man versus Machine: The last frontier faces final invasion
Come Saturday, Man will meet Machine in a face-off that many see as a landmark event in the defence of humankind against technology and artificial intelligence. The Machine -- IBM's Deeper Blue, a R/6000 SP supercomputer, and the Man -- Garry Kasparov, undeniably the greatest chess player till date. The best-of-seven contest will fetch the winner $700,000 and the loser $400,000.
Thackeray allows Sutar's "sacrifice"
In a move that ostensibly ran counter to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's public stance, Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi sprang a surprise by forwarding the resignation of Sashikant Sutar to Governor P C Alexander.
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MTNL in a fix as Qualcomm fails to qualify TEC norms
The Department of Telecommunications' plan to commercially launch the Qualcomm system has run into rough weather with the Telecommunication Engineering Centre refusing to issue a type approval certificate for the instrument after identifying serious faults during field trial.
Suzuki spanner puts Maruti update in a jam
Suzuki Motor Corporation chairman O Suzuki has thrown a last-minute spanner on Maruti Udyog Ltd's Rs 1,500-crore programme to expand capacity by an additional 1 lakh vehciles. He has fired off a missive to the Union industry ministry claiming that the all expansions must be put on hold unless issues relating to investment and equity are settled.
Banks violated guidelines to fund Tata Sons investments
Six foreign banks extended Rs 72.6 crore to Tata Sons Ltd for long-term investments. These loans were in violation of the Reserve Bank of India's guidelines, which prohibit banks from lending to corporates for purposes of crossholdings in group companies or to increase promoters' stakes in another concern.
Six more lines keen on JNPT berthing
About six shipping lines are likely to join the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in 1997-98, taking the total number of lines up to 29. The lines have made inquiries about the port including the waiting period for the vessels, its draft and turnaround time.
The Cielo `catch-200' offer: an 18-month courtship for free
Daewoo has hit upon an 18-month test drive offer that will allow 200 people in India to ride in the Cielo for free. The catch is that you get to keep the car only for 18 months. The objective of the exercise is to increase sales by convincing the user that it is the best thing going around on wheels.
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