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New Delhi: Metro Railway, Kolkata got the status of 17th Zone of Indian Railways. The Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone for conferring on Metro Railway the status 17th Zone at a function at Metro Rail Bhawan, Kolkata today.

New Delhi: A 7-member Committee constituted under the Chairmanship of Shir Sujit Banerjee, Secretary (Retd.), M/o Tourism, to finalise the guidelines for forest and wildlife eco-tourism. It will firm up the guidelines for forest and wildlife eco-tourism in the context of advisories issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the Forest (Conservation) Act.

New Delhi: Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C) launched the shoreline study maps of Gujarat and Puducherry here today which are approved by the respective state governments.

New Delhi: Come 2011 and new automobile models to hit the roads across the country will have to comply with the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) norms. This follows the proposals made by the Automotive Industry Standards Committee (AISC), published in July 2009.

New Delhi: Rashtrapati Nilayam, Bollaram will be opened for public viewing for the first time from January 1, 2011 to January 10, 2011. The entry is free. The timing of the visit is between 10.00 hrs and 17.00 hrs and the visitors at the entry point will be allowed entry upto 16.00 hrs. The entry into the premises of the Rashtrapati Nilayam will be through the reception at Gate No.2.

KOLKATA: Unbelievable as it may seem, the per capita indebtedness in West Bengal today is Rs 203,01,76,197 as the outstanding debt of West Bengal government at the end of March 2011 will be Rs, 1,950 billion comprising Central Government loan of Rs 130.06 billion and market borrowing of Rs 737.14 billion . On 31 March, 1977, the correspondings were Rs 10.09 billion and Rs 1.4 billion, making a total of Rs 14.11 billion. Thus in 34 years under the CPI(M)-led Left Front regime, central borrowing rose over 12-fold and market borrowing by 136-fold. A nightmare awaits the next government in 2011-12.

Developing Asia led the world’s post- crisis recovery in 2010 with its own robust growth of around 9 per cent but the region will now encounter inflationary pressures from the surge in global oil and other commodity prices. Faced with soaring food prices, asset bubbles and excessive liquidity, China is exiting from its “moderately loose” monetary policy and employing a range of tools to normalize liquidity during 2011. It has raised lending and deposit rates twice in the last quarter of 2010 as well as reserve requirements for banks.

KOLKATA: Retreating ULFA cadres are abandoning a huge quantity of bullets, records, and other equipment from their hideouts close to the hilly Meghalaya-Bangladesh border, as they come under increasing pressure for law enforcing agencies.

New York: Although humanitarian aid to Niger has saved the lives of tens of thousands of ill-fed children, the nutritional situation remains alarming with more than 15 in 100 youngsters suffering from acute malnutrition, according to a United Nations-backed survey.

New York: A new video game being launched by the United Nations aims to provide young people with accurate and reliable information about HIV prevention, while educating, entertaining and promoting healthy behaviour.