Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy has added 16 more projects to the list of projects taken up under Jalayagnam, taking the total number to 74. Replying to the debate on the Governor's Address in the Assembly on Tuesday, Dr Reddy, however, neither named out these 16 projects nor made any addition to the total outlay of Jalayagnam projected at Rs 1 lakh crores.

Political parties and tribals who have been agitating against bauxite mining are planning to block scientists of the Indian Council of Forest Research and Environment when they come for a survey. It is learnt that the scientists would visit the Agency areas soon to undertake a mining impact survey. This is mandatory to get permission for mining in a forest area from the ministry of environment and forests. The proposed mining project would displace tribals in large numbers and has also evoked sharp protests from environmentalists who warn that it would have a negative ecological impact.

The report: "Independent, Third Party Assessment of Coca-Cola Facilities in India' By: The Energy and Resource Institute, Delhi Tested plants: Kaladera (Rajasthan), Nemam (Tamil Nadu),

Reliance Industries on Wednesday announced that it has discovered natural gas reserves in an exploration block in the Krishna Godavari basin off the country's east coast. The discovery, named Dhirubhai-39, was made in block KG-DWN-2003/1, lying about 50 km from Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. "The gas discovery has been made in the very first exploratory well in this block,' stated a release from the company. Reliance Industries holds 90 per cent interest in the block, while Hardy Exploration and Production India Inc has the balance 10 per cent.

KOLKATA, Feb. 13: School-going children in West Bengal are more prone to get addicted to tobacco products. Thanks to the lack of awareness among people in these parts about the dangers of tobacco use. This was revealed by a voluntary organisation, West Bengal Voluntary Health Association (WBVHA) this afternoon who have been engaged by the Union health ministry to spread awareness about the ill-effects of tobacco.

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) on Wednesday announced discovery of gas reserves for the first time in the deep sea block in the Krishna Godavari basin off East Coast. According to an official spokesman here, the discovery was made in block KG-DWN-2003/1, lying about 50 km from Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The block was awarded to RIL in the fifth round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). Dhirubhai-39

State government is contemplating to set up a petro chemical corridor in the coastal area shortly. Minister for major industries J. Geeta Reddy announced this while responding to a query from local MLA Routhu Surya Prakasa Rao during question hour in the State Legislative Assembly. In a statement issued by the legislator here on Wednesday, a coastal petro chemical corridor spread over about 175 km distance, connecting Kakinada and Visakhapatnam at a cost of Rs 60,000 crores, would be coming up.

Andhra Pradesh Governor Narayan Datt Tiwari presented a bright picture of the State's economic health and unveiled a multi-pronged strategy for development in his maiden address to the joint session of the legislature that was marred by protests by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislators here on Monday.

Budget 2008 may have rehab cess for stressed farmers

Policy initiatives by the administration have put the resource-rich East Godavari district on the road to all-round development.