Urban ministry seeks changes in second stimulus package

August 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Construction of the National War Memorial has been in a limbo for the last five decades due to the delay by the urban development ministry in allotting a land for it, the defence ministry said Monday. The memorial, designed by noted architect Charles Correa, would be the first to commemorate the sacrifice of thousands of Indian soldiers in World War II and the wars that India has fought since independence.

July 20th, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - The Gujarat government has sought a Rs.705-crore ($146-million) aid package from the World Bank to upgrade urban infrastructure in 10 townships, a senior government official said Monday. The official at the department of urban development said the amount, if sanctioned, would be used to upgrade infrastructure in the towns like Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Veraval so that these areas could attract more industrial investments.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that the stimulus package given to the print media in February 2009 has been further extended for another six months from June 30 to December 31. Presenting the Union Budget for the year 2009-10 in Lok Sabha on Monday, Mukherjee said: "In February 2009, the print media was given a stimulus package comprising waiver of 15 per cent agency commission on DAVP advertisements and a 10 per cent increase in the DAVP rates to be paid as a 'Special Relief' subject to documentary proof of loss of revenue in non-governmental advertisements." (ANI)

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday extended the economic stimulus package for the print media by six months till Dec 31. "Since the print media is still passing through difficult times, the stimulus package for the print media is being extended till December 31, 2009," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while presenting the budget for fiscal 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha.

June 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy Monday asked the finance ministry to remove excise tax on public buses and said the government will introduce 15,220 new buses in 61 cities this year. "Road transport is very important and in the last budget we proposed to cut the excise duty from 16 percent to 8 percent.

June 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - To boost urban transport under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), states have placed orders for buying 7,815 buses under the one time economic measure of funding of buses by the Ministry of Urban Development. Government has so far sanctioned the purchase of 14,695 buses for the various mission cities under JNNURM.

May 14th, 2009 Obama defends his stimulus packageRIO RANCHO, N.M. — President Barack Obama says if the government hadn't stepped in to help, the economy would have gone into a tailspin.

April 21st, 2009 Japan to submit record budget for stimulus packageTOKYO — Japan will submit a record extra budget to finance its massive stimulus package aimed at lifting the world's second-largest economy out of the deepest recession since World War II, officials said Tuesday. Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said the government would submit the budget to parliament on Monday and plans to issue bonds worth 10.82 trillion ($110 billion) yen to help finance the spending.

April 6th, 2009 TOKYO - The Japanese government plans to draw up a supplementary budget for fiscal year 2009 with an economic stimulus package of more than 10 trillion yen ($100 billion), Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said Monday. During a meeting with Yosano, Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered him to draft a fresh stimulus plan amounting to more than two percent of the nation's gross domestic product, Jiji Press quoted the finance minister as saying.

March 12th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Forty Tamil schools will be rebuilt across Malaysia this year, a minister said. Human Resources Minister S.

February 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives Friday approved the $787 billion stimulus package, an unprecedented attempt by the American government to aid the country's economy. The package was approved by a vote of 246- 83 but with no Republican support.

February 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US' economic recovery package overcame a decisive hurdle in the Senate, which voted to close debate on an $827-billion compromise bill that would be the largest in US history. The Senate Monday voted 61-36 to invoke cloture on the stimulus legislation, setting the stage for a final vote in the chamber Tuesday.

February 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A stimulus package for the Indian media will be announced soon, the government said here Saturday. Media houses have been hit hard by the global financial meltdown.

January 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - As he discussed his $825 billion stimulus package for the US economy with Congressional leaders President Barack Obama at one point curtly told opposition Republicans: 'I won.' Citing sources familiar with the conversation, the Politico, a publication focusing on Congressional politics, said the exchange Friday arose as top House and Senate Republicans expressed concern to the president about the amount of spending in the package. Obama listened to Republican gripes about the stimulus package, but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations, it said citing the exchange.

December 23rd, 2008 NEW DELHI - In a bid to help the economy tackle the global financial meltdown, the government is expected to come out with its second stimulus package within the next three days, commerce Minister Kamal Nath said here Wednesday. 'We are looking at financial, some liquidity issues, export, and something to stimulate demand and realty also,' Kamal Nath told reporters.