-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The UPA government is mulling an ordinance to undo the Supreme Court judgment striking down Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act that has paved the way for immediate disqualification of an MP, MLA or MLC on being convicted for an offence leading to a sentence of two years or more in jail. With the government's review petition in the apex court being rejected, a...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: The urban agglomerations of Mumbai and Delhi, which barely matched up to global cities in size in 1950, are now counted among the seven most populous mega-cities in the world, reveals the 2013 World Population Data Sheet released by the US's Population Reference Bureau on Thursday. Mumbai, in terms of its Mumbai Metropolitan Region (including Navi Mumbai, Thane and Vasai-Virar among other satellite belts), houses around 19.7...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Flagging the challenge of raising foodgrain production, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today promised all assistance to states for improving agricultural growth. "It's a challenging job to increase production of foodgrains and other crops for the growing population of the country, especially, because agriculture is still dependent on monsoon in large parts of the country," he said, addressing a gathering of farmers, who arrived here as part of a nationwide...

-Reuters Govt is considering Rs3-5 hike in diesel prices The government will decide on raising the retail prices of diesel and cooking gas (LPG) in a few weeks, the oil secretary said on Thursday, in a bid to cut the biggest item in its import Bill and support the local currency. India, the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer, is considering a Rs 3 to Rs 5 hike in the price of diesel, which...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: About 250 million adults consume smokeless tobacco in the 11 countries of the WHO's south-east Asia region, which constitutes 90% of global smokeless tobacco users. India lays claim to 32% men and 18.4% women, who consume smokeless tobacco costing the country $389 million. A study of healthcare costs by Tobacco in India estimated that in 2004, the direct medical costs of treating smokeless tobacco-related diseases in...