1. Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari's proposal to limit the use of red beacons to only five dignitaries at the Centre and four in the states holding Constitutional posts has received a shot in the arm with finance minister Arun Jaitley
2. August ended with a higher-than-anticipated rainfall deficit of 22% and with top India Meteorological Department officials saying the monsoon could start withdrawing in the next few days, the chances of a second successive drought year in the country appear high.
3. In a move that will put pressure on other lenders to cut rates, HDFC Bank has slashed its base rate by 35 basis points to 9.35% from 9.7% earlier. The rate cut, which is the sharpest by any bank this year, will make the private bank the cheapest lender for blue chip corporates.
4. A Madras high court-appointed committee has slammed the Tamil Nadu government for shoddy renovation and poor upkeep of centuries-old heritage temples in the state. Ancient inscriptions have been casually removed and replaced with tiles, enamel paintings have been erased, new constructions have come up abutting temple structures, electrical junction box rooms and water tanks are found next to gopurams, and offices have been built within temple complexes for executive officers, the committee said.
2. August ended with a higher-than-anticipated rainfall deficit of 22% and with top India Meteorological Department officials saying the monsoon could start withdrawing in the next few days, the chances of a second successive drought year in the country appear high.
3. In a move that will put pressure on other lenders to cut rates, HDFC Bank has slashed its base rate by 35 basis points to 9.35% from 9.7% earlier. The rate cut, which is the sharpest by any bank this year, will make the private bank the cheapest lender for blue chip corporates.
4. A Madras high court-appointed committee has slammed the Tamil Nadu government for shoddy renovation and poor upkeep of centuries-old heritage temples in the state. Ancient inscriptions have been casually removed and replaced with tiles, enamel paintings have been erased, new constructions have come up abutting temple structures, electrical junction box rooms and water tanks are found next to gopurams, and offices have been built within temple complexes for executive officers, the committee said.
