Meghalaya, Nagaland Assemblies go to polls on 23 Feb, Tripura on 14th Jan 11,  6:10 PM Assembly Polls in Tripura will be held on 14th of next month while Meghalaya and Nagaland will go to polls on 23rd of next month. Announcing the dates in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner V.S Sampath said counting of votes in all the three states will take place on 28th February. He said the model code of conduct has come into force with immediate effect. Mr Sampath said, for Tripura the notification will be issued on 21st of this month while for Meghalaya and Nagaland it will be issued on 30th of this month.All the three state assemblies have 60 seats each. According to the poll schedule, the last date for filing of nominations in Tripura is 28th of January and after scrutiny the next day, the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is 31st of this month. For Meghalaya and Nagaland, the last date for filing of nominations is 6th of February and after scrutiny the next day, the last date for withdrawal is 9th of February.The Election Commision also announced bye-elections to nine assembly constituencies in seven States. Bye- Polls will take place on 23rd of next month in West Bengal,Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Mizoram. While bye- polls in Assan, Bihar and Maharashtra will take place on 24th of February. Couting for bye-polls for all these states will be held on 28th of next month. Govt launches LPG connection portability, consumers can switch dealers now

Jan 11 Cooking gas consumers can now change their dealers as the government has launched LPG portability scheme on the lines of mobile phone services. However, LPG consumers would have the limited option of changing their dealers only, and not the oil company. Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily told reporters in New Delhi that LPG distributor portability, which was launched in Chandigarh today, will be extended to at least 25 more districts in the next fiscal. The scheme will be extended all over the country in a phased manner. Mr Moily also launched new IT enabled initiative, 'Lakshya', to enable consumers book and track refills online as well on mobile phone. Nation pays tributes to late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri on 47th death anniversary Jan 11 President Pranab Mukherjee today led the nation in paying tributes to late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 47th death anniversary. Mr Mukherjee and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari visited Vijay Ghat, and paid floral tributes at his Samadhi in the national capital. Shastri died of a heart attack in Tashkent after signing a declaration of ceasefire with Pakistani President Ayub Khan to end the 1965 war. Under Lal Bahadur Shastri’s leadership, India faced and repulsed the Pakistani invasion of 1965 which is not only a matter of pride for the Indian Army but also for every citizen of the country. Shastri’s slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" reverberates even today through the length and breadth of the country. Our Correspondent reports that a series of functions are being organized throughout the country today to mark the occasion.

150th birth anniversary commemoration of Swami Vivekananda at Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow

Jan 11 The government has decided to undertake the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda at the Rashtrapati Bhawan auditorium tomorrow. President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the commemoration in the presence of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. The programme will consist of addresses by dignitaries on the importance and relevance of this commemoration, in the present context. Children from the Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi will render a singing performance. A set of commemorative coins and commemorative stamps on Swami Vivekananda will also be released on the occasion. A National Committee under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was constituted to consider policies, lay down guidelines for the commemoration and decide on the time frame for its related activities. Around 581 lakh hectare area brought under cultivation of rabi crops Jan 11 Around 581 lakh hectare area has been brought under the cultivation of rabi crops in various parts of the country so far. The Agriculture Ministry in its data said that the sowing area is around 2 lakh hectare more than the sown area during the same period of last year. It said that wheat has been sown in over 291 lakh hectare while pulses were sown in around 141 lakh hectare area.