The idea is to increase the excise duty on IMFL, especially on the largely consumed mid-segment liquors, and then reduce taxes on petrol and diesel.

Protests against high petrol and diesel prices paralysed many parts of the country earlier this month.

Accordingly, the monthly salary of the MLAs will be hiked to Rs 1.16 lakh as against the existing Rs 70,727, a rise of about 64 per cent.

The Pakyong Airport, the tiny hilly state's first and the country's 100th functional airport, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a government official said on Wednesday.

The ambitious UDAN Scheme has got off to a slow start as airlines navigate the challenging operating conditions after the initial enthusiasm.

A litre of petrol is being sold for Rs 84.49 in Chennai, while it is Rs 83.14 in Kolkata. Diesel is being sold at Rs 77.49 in Chennai and Rs 75.36 in Kolkata.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel had yesterday confirmed that it has received demand notices towards penalties totalling Rs 11 lakh for six circles for the quarter ended March 2018.

While the government has refused to cut the high excise duty, some states like Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have cut VAT to pass on some relief to consumers.

Car sales declined 1.03% to 1,96,847 units last month, as against 1,98,892 units in August 2017, while utility vehicles posted a drop of 7.11%.

West Bengal is the third state to slash fuel prices after Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh reduced the fuel prices by Rs 2.5 per litre and Rs 2 per litre, respectively.

The governor E S L Narasimhan, according to a note issued by the government, while accepting the recommendation, has asked Rao and his council of ministers to continue as caretaker of the government.

ONGC had previously opened six out of India's seven producing basins for commercial production.

Over two years after an under-construction flyover collapsed in Kolkata, the tragedy has once again struck West Bengal's capital city. A portion of the busy Majerhat bridge on Diamond Harbour Road collapsed in the afternoon.

Rupee hits new all-time low against US dollarThe Indian rupee slumped 16 paise against the US dollar to trade at a life-time low of 71.37 in early trade on Tuesday. The fall in Indian currency is due to the strong demand for the US currency. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the local currency opened at a record low of 71.24 against a dollar, down from its previous close of 71.21, and weakened further to trade at a fresh low of 71.37, down 16 paise.  Airlines' losses could r...

Earlier this year, the Coal Ministry had ruled out any possibility of dry coal shortage in the upcoming monsoon season and said that it had sufficient stocks to meet the demand of power plants.

The Dedicated Freight Corridor will have as many as 12 private freight terminals, 15 private sidings and 10 goods sheds to handle over 300 million tonnes of traffic a year. 

Several parts of the country get flooded during monsoon season every year. In fact, India lost 2,231 lives due to cyclonic storms/heavy rains/floods/landslides during 2017/18.

Kerala has been hit by the worst-ever floods in a century. So far, over 357 people have lost their lives and over 10,000 people evacuated from the worst-affected areas of southern state.

Indian Railways plans to invest Rs 44,000 crore to build a 1,100-km greenfield freight corridor along the country's east coast to connect Kharagpur in West Bengal with Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away today at the age of 93. Leaders cutting across the political spectrum mourned the loss of India's former prime minister.