Govt withdraws Insurance Bill
Union finance minister P Chidambaram's proposal to open up the insurance sector to the private sector suffered a blow when the Government was forced to withdraw the Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill, following opposition from the Bharitiya Janata Party.

Biswas was in a hurry and broke rules, says Gupta
Union home minister Indrajit Gupta informed the Rajya Sabha that Central Bureau of Investigation Joint Director UN Biswas was in a hurry to arrest former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, though the Supreme Court (SC) had given him time till August 6.

Ranariddh voted out as PM
Cambodian first Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh, deposed in a coup last month, was formally replaced as premier and stripped of legal immunity yesterday by the national assembly.

Lankan tigers maul Indians, record book
Sri Lanka posted the highest ever total in Test history spanning 1374 matches and 120 years as a dawn of despair ended in a dusk of glory on the concluding day of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka.

Gujral withdraws insurance bill in a huff as BJP, left flex muscles
Stiff opposition from the left and the Bharatiya Janata Party forced the United Front government to withdraw the controversial Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Divestment panel moots Shipping Corporation, Pawan Hans sale
The Disinvestment Commission has recommended the sale of Shipping Corporation of India and Pawan Hans Helicopter shares to other public sector undertakings. The commission also proposed the strategic sale of Hindustan Copper.

Indian Oil raises $400m through ECB route
Indian Oil Corporation has raised $400-million through the external commercial borrowings route at 25 basis points over the London interbank offerred rate. The pricing of the loan, which is considered to be the finest among domestic corporates, was transactedby State Bank of India.

Centre plans to modify power policy to attract foreign investments
The government is modifying its power policy to attract private as well as foreign investment. During the Ninth Plan the stress would be on small projects with less gestation periods. It has also planned to make better utilisation of the huge Rs 1,000 crore reserves of NTPC.