Laloo accused of violating jail rules
A writ application highlighting the violations of the provisions of the jail manual and state bureaucracy by former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, has been moved before the Patna High Court.

Free hostages first, Veerappan told
The governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have accepted most of the conditions laid down by the sandalwood smuggler Veerappan for his surrender. The two governments have also appealed to Veerappan to immediately release the hostages as a gesture of goodwill.

Voting rights for NRIs under consideration
India is considering giving voting rights and special status and do away with the requirement of visa for non-resident Indians. The idea has been mooted to facilitate their travel into the home country even if they now hold another nationality.

FIIs batter Sensex as India succumbs to global pressures
The staggering assault on Wall Street last week and economic tremors in the Far East reverberated on the Indian stock markets on Tuesday with share prices and indices crashing like ninepins. The fancied BSE Sensex crashed by 156 points.

Jindal Strips to hike FII holding limit to 30%
Jindal Strips, the OP Jindal group company, has decided to increase the limit of foreign institutional investors (FII) holding in the company from 24% to the maximum permissible 30%. The company also proposes to privately place preference shares of a maximum amount between Rs 10 crore and Rs 15 crore.

MTNL, Telecommunications Consultants to float Rs 1,000-crore issue
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam has joined hands with Telecommunications Consultants India to float a Rs 1,000-crore joint venture company. The two companies have decided to formally approach the Telecom Commission this week for approval.

Steel Authority of India shelves $100-million yankee bond issue
Steel Authority of India Ltd has dropped its plans to tap the Yankee bond market with a $100 million issue for the time being. In an unrelated development, Reliance Petroleum Ltd is planning to tap the Yankee bond market with a $150 million issue.

Hindustan Motors unveils rural transport vehicle prototype
Hindustan Motors unveiled the first prototype of the rural transport vehicle. The RTV prototype has been designed and built by the OKA Motor Company, Australia's fifth-largest vehicle manufacturer.