The Hindu : New Delhi News : Briefly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Briefly

President to attend `Bal Diwas'

NEW DELHI JULY 14. The President, A.P.J Abdul Kalam, has agreed to participate in the `Bal Diwas' function being organised by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on November 14 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, according to an MCD release.

The Mayor of Delhi, A.R. Verma, has invited Dr. Kalam to grace this function. More than 5,000 students studying in municipal primary schools will present a programme of folk dances, mass drills, aerobics, yoga and physical exercises.

Traders reject VAT

NEW DELHI JULY 14. Traders have rejected VAT in the present form and have given an ultimatum to the Union and State Governments till August 15 for a redressal failing which they have threatened to launch a nationwide agitation. The decision was taken at a two-day National Conference of Trade Leaders here organised under the aegis of the Confederation Of All India Traders (CAIT).

The CAIT secretary general, Praveen Khandelwal, informed that trade leaders at the conference passed a unanimous resolution and lodged strong protest against the manner in which VAT implementation was announced without consulting the trading community. The leaders said categorisation of products and rates of taxes in the VAT law were decided without any uniformity in the States.

Electrification of villages

NEW DELHI JULY 14. The Rural Electrification Corporation of India today signed agreements with the Power Grid Corporation of India and the National Hydro Power Corporation for electrification of villages and households in the country.

The Rural Electrification Corporation would be nodal funding and disbursing agency of the massive programme which has been launched by the Union Government under the Accelerated Rural Electrification Programme, an official release said. The National Thermal Power Corporation and the Damodar Valley Corporation would soon sign an agreement in this regard, the statement said.

Under the project about 1.25 lakh villages covering nearly 1 crore households would be electrified. The bulk of Rs. 17,000 crores earmarked for the Accelerated Rural Electrification Programme would be used in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam and Orissa, the statement said.

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