The two-day North Eastern Council (NEC) plenary has approved the Vision 2020 to restore the NE region to a position of national economic eminence by the next eight to ten years. After hectic discussion among member States of the NEC in the two-day plenary that commenced here on Monday, DoNER Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer, all Governors and Chief Ministers of the region states signed the Vision-2020 document on Tuesday.

Brazil's environment minister, hailed as a champion of the green movement but scorned by powerful farming groups, resigned on Tuesday after losing key battles in her efforts to protect the Amazon rainforest. Marina Silva's resignation is likely to reinforce the view that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is more concerned with economic development than conservation as a commodities export boom fuels Brazil's growth. It could also be a setback for Brazil's ambitions to become a major voice in global environmental debates.

March Show Worst For Any Month In 6 Years The government, already struggling to control inflation, got some more bad news on the economic front on Monday. The latest data on industrial production shows that it grew by a measly 3% in March this year over the same month last year

Adding to the worries of the Government, which is battling in tandem with the Reserve Bank of India to rein in inflation, the industrial growth slumped to a six-year low of three per cent in March, mainly owing to a dismal performance by the manufacturing sector. The industrial growth data as per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which was released here on Monday by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), show that the output increase witnessed in March this year was the lowest since the 2.4 per cent growth posted in February 2002.

Manufacturing sector drags down overall index in March Lacklustre performance by the manufacturing sector pulled down the growth in Index for Industrial Production (IIP) to a six-year low of three per cent in March 2008 as against 14.8 per cent in March 2007. However, for fiscal 2007-08, the IIP registered a modest growth rate of 8.1 per cent as against 11.6 per cent in fiscal 2006-07.

AGARTALA

Agrarian crises leading to suicides by farmers, large-scale evictions in rural and urban areas, state-sponsored violence and social discrimination are some of the issues highlighted in the "shadow reports' submitted to the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) committee that will review India's record 17 years after its ratification by the country.

Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy laid the foundation stone for the Caparo industrial park and a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) here on Thursday. Speaking after the ground breaking ceremony, the Chief Minister said these two facilities would herald a new beginning in the domain of manufacturing as the UK-based Caparo group would set up a world-class auto and aerospace component hub with an investment of Rs 3,500 crore in a phased manner. Luxury bus unit

The initiatives of the government and a socially committed private sector brighten up Bhutan

The Cabinet meeting presided over by CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan 15th Nov 2007, for approval amendments to Industry Augmentation Policy-2004 and some of the provisions of its action plan and related policies of other departments discussed. Approval of the amendments aims at making the policy more effective, but neither the departmental structure decentralized nor Circle Industry Offices constituted at divisional level.