News

Guwahati, March 3: The strategy group of the Unified Command has recommended the formation of a crack police team for Guwahati to counter insurgents.

The recommendation came after a meeting of the Unified Command’s strategy group today which was chaired by chief secretary P.K. Dutta and attended by top security officials, including state director-general of police Hare Krishna Deka and the GOC of Red Horns division Maj. Gen. Gaganjit Singh.

Drawn up on the lines of the Rapid Action Force, the crack team will be ready to move out “within minutes” of a rebel strike. The squad will also carry out...

SHILLONG, March 1— Meghalaya is heading towards yet another hung Assembly even as the Congress is emerging as the single largest party bagging 20 seats till late afternoon followed by the NCP with 10 and the United Democratic Party (UDP) with eight.

Till afternoon today, the BJP retained two of its seats with former home minister T H Rangad wining from the Laban constituency and A L Hek once again bagging the Pyuthorumkhrah seat.

Chief Minister Dr F A Khonglam who was denied ticket by the NCP retained his Sohra seat from HSPDP ticket defeating his nearest NCP rival. Deputy Chief Minister D D...

KOHIMA, March 1 – Nagaland is heading for a fractured mandate in the Assembly elections with the Congress and the Nagaland People's Front running neck and neck with 42 results declared so far, reports PTI. Out of 41 seats, the Congress won 15 and NPF 14 while the BJP got five.

From the available trend, it is almost certain that no single party may cross the 25-seat mark in the 60-member House. The real surprise is the BJP's performance which so far bagged five seats including the prestigious Dimapur-1 constituency from where its candidate and former state chief minister, Hokishe Sema won...

NEW DELHI, Feb 28 — Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh today repeated what Mamata Banerjee did to the North-east in her 2000 Railway Budget, unveiling a lacklustre Union Budget as far as the region is concerned. Benefits of excise duty exemptions on products manufactured by Assam’s four refineries were withdrawn with retrospective effect along with cigarettes and pan masala. Of the four refineries in NE, only the Numaligarh Refinery Ltd will get a 100 per cent Excise duty exemption while the three other refineries including BRPL, Guwahati Refinery and Digboi Refinery facing partial...

NEW DELHI, Feb 27 – Uncertainty over the 2000 MW Subansiri (Lower) hydro-electricity project may be finally over with the project likely to get the all-important Cabinet Committee on Economic Affair (CCEA) clearance by next month-end. The project – part of the Prime Minister’s economic package – has been hanging in limbo for past few years caught in bureaucratic wrangles in Delhi and problems with environmental groups back in Arunachal Pradesh. But that is over with the Central government already deciding to do away with the pre-Public Investment Board (pre-PIB) clearance. The project...