Assam backlash rumours hit Karnataka, hundreds flee

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

Almost all papers have carried the story involving people from North East leaving Bangalore and Pune. They have also shown photographs of them crammed into trains. The Tribune reports the story, under the headline,'Assam backlash rumours hit Karnataka, hundreds flee'.

The Times of India reports on its front page, that a combination of weak power transmission system, a toothless regional grid operator and excessive consumption by Haryana, triggered the world's biggest blackout that left half of India's population without power for up to 24 hours on July 31.

Mail Today has front paged under the headline, 'Fortress Maruti set to reopen', the story, that India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has decided to lift the self-imposed lockout at its violence-hit Manesar factory on August 21. It will also sack 500 employees who were believed to be involved in the violence, the paper reports.

Capital market watchdog SEBI has come out with the set of norms for protecting the small investor. Besides making sure that every investor gets some shares in an initial public offering, SEBI has seen to it that financial advisers are controlled through a regulatory structure. This story has been carried by the Hindustan Times.

'Mamata dragged to courts on remark', is the headline story of the Statesman. It adds that the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was dragged to Calcutta High Court which took up an oral plea for contempt action over her allegation that many judgements are 'delivered' for money.

'Government backs AI: Can't make money, won't let others try' - the Indian Express reports that months after the government decided to end Air India's monopoly on select international routes and threw them open to private Indian carriers, the state owned Airline is hoping to regain this privilege through the back door and get the first choice to fly these routes. The paper also reports on its front page that embarrassed by its reports getting frequently leaked, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has issued new guidelines to plug holes, including confidentiality oath, protecting computers with passwords and using sealed envelopes within the organisation.

In a move to help promote trade and bilateral ties with Pakistan, the government is set to slash 30% items or 254 products from the sensitive list under the South Asian Trade Agreement, with the cabinet set to consider the proposal today, reports the Times of India.