Pre-poll Bonanza
Retirement age now 60
27 pc salary hike for Punjab staff
Chandigarh, April 20
This is one bonanza which seems to have been timed to perfection for the ruling SAD BJP government in the state. The fifth Punjab pay commission has recommended a 27 per cent hike in salaries of government employees and increased the age of retirement from the current 58 years to 60 years.

State to outsource recruitment

Poll Manifesto
Akalis pledge autonomy for CBI, EC
Chandigarh, April 20
The Shiromani Akali Dal manifesto, released today promises autonomy and independence to the CBI as well as the Election Commission of India.

Editorial: Akali Dal manifesto

ISRO launches spy satellite
Chennai, April 20
Boosting the defence surveillance capabilities of the nation, ISRO today launched an all-weather Israeli-built spy satellite to help the security agencies keep a vigil on the country’s borders and to monitor natural disasters.

PSLV-C12, carrying RISAT-2 and ANUSAT, takes off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Monday. — PTI

Aman Kachroo Case
Alcoholism behind ragging: SC panel
New Delhi, April 20
“The demon of ragging haunted the juniors persistently in classes, college premises as they were under the continuous wicked vigil of senior students." This summarises the findings of a Supreme Court appointed inquiry committee that went into the death of Aman Satya Kachroo.

Govt to set up central agency to prevent ragging
Begin departmental proceedings against former principal

Modi’s street theatre
The time is 9.47 pm on a warm Sunday night. The place is Bapa Sita Ram Chowk, a marketplace surrounded by four-storeyed buildings comprising shops and apartments.

Dera: No question of unconditional apology
Sirsa, April 20
The Dera Sacha Sauda today made it clear that an unconditional apology to the Akal Takht without negotiations was not possible and the controversy arising out of the alleged impersonation of Guru Gobind Singh by their Guru - Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh - could be resolved only through dialogue with all sikh bodies.

Living off Punjab, voting in J&K Keerian Gandyal (Kathua), April 20 Their lives changed with the Ravi changing its course. Though the twin villages of Keerian and Gandhyal falls in Kathua district under the Udhampur paliamentary constituency that goes to poll on April 23 during the second phase of polling in Jammu and Kashmir, the villagers here are dependent upon Punjab for all their needs.