Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's direct involvement in the finance ministry has renewed reform vigour among officials, who plan steps to reform fuel pricing and accelerate domestic oil exploration, government and industry officials said. According to officials fuel pricing reforms are expected after mid July post Presidential poll, which would include a hike in diesel rates by atleast Rs 3 per litre and limiting highly subsidized cooking gas cylinders to four refills...

Madhya Pradesh's Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) growth rate has swelled to 12 per cent in the last fiscal from 8 per cent in 2010-11, according to the revised estimates, officials said on Friday.  Besides, the state, having agrarian economy, recorded 18 per cent agriculture growth rate in 2011 - 12, they added.  The economic and agriculture growth is bound to benefit a huge populace engaged in construction and agriculture sector by...

Days after he broke away from the NDA over choice of the presidential poll nominee, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has managed to get the Centre to double the special assistance package to Rs 20,000 crore during the 12th five year (2012-17) plan. The state will get Rs 4,000 crore every year as central package. Although the assistance was promised at the time of its separation from Jharkhand, it was pegged at...

-PTI India’s monsoon, vital for Asia’s third-largest economy, has been 22% deficient till June 26, official data showed, adding to the government’s worries and prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to consult key aides on measures to tone up the economy on Wednesday. In a revised forecast, the Met department predicted the rains would be 96% of the long-term average, lower than its April forecast of 99%. Rainfall is considered normal if...

-PTI The Haryana Government has formulated a rural water policy for the state for the year 2012 in order to save precious drinking water by preventing wastage due to unmetered connections and open taps. A spokesman of the Public Health Engineering Department said that this policy has been formulated keeping in view the present scenario of wastage of water through unmetered connections provided to consumers in rural areas, which are being billed...