External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who holds charge of Finance, on Friday stressed the need to protect jobs and retain employees, even if it meant a cut in compensation, in view of the impact of the global economic meltdown. Offering this advice to India Inc. while inaugurating the 42nd Indian labour conference here, Mr. Mukherjee said: "Jobs must be protected even it means some reduction in compensation at various levels. Social welfare net needs strengtheni ...

New Delhi: In what would be music to the UPA govt's ears just ahead of a close electoral race, the two stimulus packages it has devised seem to have begun to show results with an upturn in key sectors like steel, cement, autos, food and beverages and railway freight. Cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar told TOI in an interview that strong rural demand seemed to be shoring up the economy. "I think we are seeing the first clear signs of a turnaround. The spending on flag ...

Faced with unrelenting international pressure and incontrovertible evidence put together by India and US's FBI, Pakistan on Thursday, 79 days after the Mumbai attacks, was forced to acknowledge that the heinous strikes were plotted from its soil. It also acknowledged that some of the perpetrators were from Laskhar-e-Taiba, the jihadi outfit aligned with ISI. The confession surprised many because it came close on the heels of a series of red herrings which

Pakistan continued to send out confusing signals on its response to the Indian dossier on the Mumbai Terror attacks after Pakistani TV channels, quoting sources, reported today that authorities had filed a case in Karachi against Ajmal Amir Kasab, the terrorist captured alive in Mumbai, and 12 others. But the Pakistan Govt later said no case had been registered though the idea was "under consideration". Information Minister Sherry Rehman told The Indian Express: ...

Dragging its feet on a response to the Mumbai Terror attack dossier, Pakistan today said it needs more information from India to complete its investigation before giving a reply. The Defence Committee of the Cabinet, which was expected to finalise Pakistan's reply, failed to give a clear picture on the findings of its probe even as media reports spoke of the arrest of three men in Karachi for their alleged links to Ajmal Amir Kasab, the terrorist captured in Mumbai. The com ...