Top EC officials to visit poll-bound Rajasthan
New Delhi: A team of top Election Commission officials will review the poll preparedness in Rajasthan for the ensuing Assembly elections there. Top EC officials, including Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath and two Election Commissioners HS Brahma and Nasim Zaidi left for Jaipur on Thursday to hold a meeting with representatives of various political parties to seek their views on smooth conduct of polls.
Chopper deal: CBI gets fresh documents
New Delhi: CBI has received a fresh tranche of documents from Italian authorities in the AgustaWestland chopper bribery scandal allegedly involving former IAF Chief SP Tyagi which is under probe of the agency. The sources said CBI is also expecting to get complete copies of transcripts of phone conversations of middlemen, which were intercepted by Italian agencies, during the next hearing of the case which is scheduled on September 17 in Milan.
Cabinet gives nod to NBCFDC proposal
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its approval to the proposal of the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) for enhancement of authorised share capital from Rs. 700 crore to Rs. 1500 crore. The NBCFDC provides concessional loans to the people of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) living below double the poverty line through its various schemes. This enhancement will strengthen its equity base and will help more number of persons belonging to the OBCs in getting loans and financial
award for Freelance photojournalist
New Delhi: A city-based freelance photojournalist Chinky Shukla has been adjudged the winner of the prestigious “Picture of the Year” award of the Media Foundation of India (MFI) National Press Photo Contest 2013 for her photograph of the burial of two-year-old tribal child near Jadugoda in Jharkhand, highlighting the environmental impact of uranium mining in the mineral-rich region. Shukla’s image was chosen unanimously by an eminent jury comprising award-winning photographers Pablo Bartholomew, Saurabh Das and Rafeeq Ellias from over 8000 photographs shot in 2012 and submitted by more than 340 photojournalists.