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Ranchi, March 11 (IANS) Jharkhand’s per capita power consumption is less than half of the national average of 650 units, Power Minister Raghubar Das said Thursday.
“The per capita power consumption is just 300 units against national average of 650 units,” Das said in reply to a question in the assembly.

Geetasri Oraon, a Congress party legislator, wanted to know the efforts the government was making to increase power consumption in the state.

Ranchi, March 11 (PTI) Only about 4,000 out of the 32,615 villages in Jharkhand have electricity while work to supply power to over thousand more villages will be completed by 2011, the state assembly was informed today.

"We have asked the NTPC to complete work within a time-frame (in its area of work). We have also entrusted the State Electricity Board with completing electrification work in 1,244 villages by 2010/11," Deputy Chief Minister, Raghuvar Das, who holds energy portfolio, said.

NEW DELHI: Did the revolt by BJP Lok Sabha MPs against the women's bill have to do with party infighting apart from a male dread of losing seats in the next general elections?

Shades of inner-party manouevring seemed unmistakable with several MPs who were learnt to have aired their misgivings over backing the quota seen to be close to former BJP chief Rajnath Singh. Reports of the revolt had obvious implications for leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj who denied thedifferences.

The joint anti-Naxalite operations with Bengal were launched in Saranda forests in Ghatshila sub-division of East Singhbhum district and the hilly terrain of Jhumra in Bokaro district.

According to director general of police (DGP), Jharkhand Neyaz Ahmed, joint anti-Naxalite operations have been launched since Sunday in three areas and the same would be intensified to new areas.

Twenty five companies of paramilitary forces, including CRPF and Cobra commandos were deployed in the operations.

Ranchi, March 10: The Assembly was on the boil today with the Opposition creating a ruckus over the government’s refusal to seek a CBI probe into various corruption cases that have brought disrepute to Jharkhand, including the Rs 2000 crore Madhu Koda money laundering case and another one involving a Singapore firm in 2005 when deputy chief minister Raghubar Das was urban development minister in the NDA government of Arjun Munda.

The benchmark indices posted small gains as European markets reversed early losses and US index futures rose. The market breadth was weak after a strong start. Auto stocks edged higher on fresh buying. Banking shares were mixed. Telecom pivotals saw a divergent trend, but IT stocks declined on profit taking following recent gains triggered by upbeat US jobs data. The Sensex and the Nifty closed in the green, with gains of 0.3% each. The BSE Mid-cap and Smallcap indices underperformed the benchmark indices and closed with losses of 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

Tata Steel today said the Orissa government's efforts to check illegal iron ore mining has hit the transportation of the mineral affecting the company's and other steel makers' operations.

"Due to the clamping of Section 144 in Banspani Railway station, the mineral rake movement through Banspani Railway station has been adversely affected for various companies including Tata Steel," the company said in a statement.

Is inaction against Maoists calculated inefficiency?

Violence is a quotidian evil. Be it the Maoists or the Constitutional amendment on Women’s representation, it is the same thing; the measure of tolerance, a virtue exercised at the expense of victims in this pious polity, is indulging the violent.