National News Headlines

There are as many as 10 new faces, including two women, in the 37-member ministry of Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in Maharshtra that was sworn-in here Saturday.

Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Fauzia Khan, a Muslim, and Congress party's Varsha Gaekwad, a Dalit, have found place in the new Maharashtra council of ministers sworn in Saturday.

More than half of the eligible seven million voters cast their ballot Saturday in by-elections to one Lok Sabha and 31 assembly constituencies across seven states, with the outcome set to have a bearing on almost all major political parties.

More than 27,000 additional institutions of higher learning would be required to meet the targeted Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 30 percent for 2020, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said here Saturday.

Former Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legislator Subhas Soren was shot at by unidentified men in West Bengal's West Midnapore district Saturday evening, police said, amid speculation that the assailants may be Maoists.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday condoled the death of former civil servant Gopi Arora, a close aide of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Eight people, including four women, were booked for taking a loan of Rs.2.5 crore (Rs.25 million) from a bank by providing fake documents, police said Saturday.

NATIONAL

Heavy voting in Lok Sabha, assembly by-elections -- Roundup moved at 1915

Faced with power shortage in the state, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Saturday urged the central government to allot at least 250 MW of additional power to Punjab during the Rabi (winter) season, officials said.

Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Fauzia Khan, a Muslim, and Congress party's Varsha Gaekwad, a Dalit, have found place in the new Maharashtra council of ministers sworn in Saturday.