Bhopal, Feb 5 - Car manufacturers are setting their eyes on smaller Indian cities and towns as markets boom for their products, particularly sale of luxury vehicles.

And one such city is the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal where an Auto Expo is going on. At least 14 major manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW, Jaguar, Renault, and Mahindra and Mahindra, are participating in the four-day trade fair.

Bhopal, Sep 26 - If following one's passion could guarantee success, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui would have been a multi-millionaire by now. The 47-year-old Bhopal resident is an ardent fan of Mohammad Rafi and has a collection of over 5,000 songs sung by the late singer, rare photographs, 15 books on Rafi and pages from his personal diary - all on display in a museum in his humble two-room rented house.

Mansoor is a verbal encyclopaedia on the playback singer.

Bhopal, Sep 26 - If following one's passion could guarantee success, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui would have been a multi-millionaire by now. The 47-year-old Bhopal resident is an ardent fan of Mohammad Rafi and has a collection of over 5,000 songs sung by the late singer, rare photographs, 15 books on Rafi and pages from his personal diary - all on display in a museum in his humble two-room rented house.

Mansoor is a verbal encyclopaedia on the playback singer.

Bhopal, Feb 18 - Three assistant directors and more than 65 supporting artists are among the many Bhopal locals who have got a golden opportunity to be part of Bollywood, thanks to Prakash Jha's "Aarakshan". Some are just happy to feature in the crowds in film scenes.

The film is helping budding talent from the city find a foothold in showbiz, says Zohaib Ali who has been hired as an assistant director to work on "Aarakshan", which stars Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Manoj Bajpai.

After a lot of hullabalu around the Bhopal gas tragedy, the government has finally taken a step which is worth noting. The group of ministers (GoM) has vetoed a request that asked for dumping3 47 metric tonnes of toxic waste of the Union Carbide’s Bhopal plant at Pithampur-based Treatment Storage Disposal Facility (TSDF) in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

Talking to media, Babulal Gaur, urban administration and development minister in the Madhya Pradesh government said that the GoM has decided against dumping of toxic as it will lead to serious concerns about the environment.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan lost his way while he was travelling to a function on Saturday.

Officials said on Sunday that helicopter lost its way in the dust haze and due to this factor chopper unable to search its way to Shivpuri district.

The incident occurred on Saturday when Chouhan was about to reach Dulara village in Madhya Pradesh, Shivpuri district to attend a marriage function. Shivpuri is 300 km from Bhopal.

Following the death of four children in Madhya Pradesh, India Union Health Ministry gave a signal immediately to probe into the matter. This directive was sent to a team of vaccination experts.

These infants died on Tuesday, as the medicines given to them had supposedly expired. Further, in addition to these deaths, is the case of medicinal supply for twenty more infants, aged below two, who were subjected to tetanus and anti-measles vaccine in two Anganwadi centres on Friday.

At Angadwadi centers in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh; 4 infants died and 17 were reported ill due to tetanus and anti-measles vaccination.

On this Friday afternoon about 20 infants were given these vaccinations, in 2 Angadwadi centers in Damoh, and by Sunday afternoon out of these 20 infants, 4 died and remaining were admitted to a hospital.

Studies revealed that this incidence occurred due to the negligence of a nurse. The infants are in serious condition.

After this incidence district administration have suspended all vaccination program till the results of the investigation comes.

Madhya Pradesh saw bereavement of four babies after being given anti-measles shots at a government vaccination camp. It is believed that the shots given contained expired medicines. The concerned doctor and a nurse were arrested in the case.

The vaccine samples, given in lieu of the spreading measles, seemed to have expired, reported the Bhopal-based officials of the state government's health and family welfare department, the body which heads the camps. The mis-hap took lives of Gaurav Vishwakarma (nine months), Karnika Thakur (11 months), Rohini (13 months) and a Nine-month-old Arman Vishwakarma.

Anita Tilwari (32) is in Malaysia, researching on medicinal plants for curing cancer.

Having overcome two handicaps — of being a Dalit and a woman — she won a government of India fellowship for research at the Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine, University Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, north Malaysia.

She also heads a Malaysian delegation to promote awareness about science.

Anita grew up watching her parents till the field and do menial jobs in Alampur, Harda district in Madhya Pradesh. (Her parents still work as labourers in Bhopal.)

The Indian subsidiary of French energy giant Areva has bagged a deal from Larsen and Toubro to offer solutions at the 1,200 MW power facility at Malwa in Madhya Pradesh.

The order, which is valued at Rs 120 crore, is for supply of equipment comprising a substation, power transformers and low voltage switchboards.

The Malwa fcaility is planned for commissioning in September next year and will produce about 28.8 million units of electricity on a daily basis.

The project is being funded by the state administration and the Power Finance Corporation.

A local Gwalior court on Thursday issued arrest warrant against Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottum Mishra for hiding facts and furnishing wrong information in the affidavit filed during the Assembly election in 2008.

The court directed the police to arrest Mishra and present him before the court by March 11. Mishra had contested and won election from Datia.

According to information Mishra in his affidavit had disclosed that he does own any four-wheeler.

Bhopal, Feb 12 - "My Name is Khan" was released all over Madhya Pradesh Friday, amidst minor protests by Shiv Sainiks. The movie drew a huge crowd with the first show going house full at many theatres across the state.

The Shiv Sena is opposing the film's release after Shah Rukh Khan refused to apologise for saying that Pakistani cricketers should have been included in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches.

About 15-20 Shiv Sena activists held a demonstration at Jyoti Talkies here but their attempt to disrupt the show remained futile as many policemen had been deployed at all the three theatres where the movie has been released.

The Agriculture Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh has said that the Genetically Modified crops have no place in the state. His comments came barely three days before the likely announcement by the centre on the fate of Bt Brinjal.

The minister expressed that he wants his state to emerge as India first "organic farming state" and also said, "I have already written a letter to the Centre against the commercialization of Bt Brinjal in country, as it wasn't good for human health and environment."

A raid by the income tax department at the residence of IAS Officer BL Agrawal of Chhattisgarh has found that the officer has 220 bank accounts and assets worth millions of rupees.

He had opened these accounts in many fake names as well as in the names of his domestic helps. Apart from his residence, raids were also conducted on the business establishments of his relatives on Thursday.

To provide irrigation facilities to the drought-prone Bundelkhand region in central India, the Centre has decided to bear bulk of the costs involved.

The Planning Commission and ministry of water resources last week decided to grant special category status to the impoverished region, comprising nine districts of Uttar Pradesh and 15 districts in Madhya Pradesh, for the irrigation projects.

The state governments can now seek 90 per cent grant assistance from the Centre to develop irrigation projects under the accelerated irrigation benefit scheme.

Bhopal, Jan 27 - Yash Raj Films, producer of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Chak De India", have donated Rs. 2 lakh for the welfare of women hockey players in India, who are agitating against non-payment of their dues.

Senior player Deepika Murthy received an SMS about the donation from Yash Raj Films Monday, chief coach of the team M. K. Kaushik confirmed Wednesday.

"With this the total balance in the joint account opened by the players in a bank at Bhopal will reach Rs. 3,09,000," he said.

Bhopal, Jan 11 : Unaccounted assets worth over Rs. 2 crore have been found during search operations conducted at the houses of Ujjain Additional Collector Prahlad Amarchiva in Madhya Pradesh, an official said Monday.

"A Lokayukta (ombudsman) squad raided the house and other premises of Additional Collector Prahlad Amarchiva in Ujjain Sunday and unearthed cash, jewellery and properties worth over Rs. 2 crore," said Superintendent of Police (Lokayukta) Avinash Sharma.

Amarchiva is posted as protocol officer in Ujjain district.

Bhopal, Jan 11- A hunt has been launched for Asha Rani, a legislator of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Bijawar in Madhya Pradesh, who has been booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of her domestic help in 2007.

Police officials said Monday they are also looking for six other suspects.

A case has also been registered against Asha Rani and her husband Ashok Vir Vikram Singh alias Bhaiya Raja, a former legislator, on the charge of abducting the maidservant, keeping her as a bonded labourer and sexually abusing her.

He is already in judicial custody for allegedly murdering his 21-year-old grand-niece Vasundhara Bundela, alias Nishi, whose bullet-riddled body was found in the city's Misrod area Dec 11 last year.

Bhopal, Jan 11- A hunt has been launched for Asha Rani, a legislator of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Bijawar in Madhya Pradesh, who has been booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of her domestic help in 2007.

Police officials said Monday they are also looking for six other suspects.

A case has also been registered against Asha Rani and her husband Ashok Vir Vikram Singh alias Bhaiya Raja, a former legislator, on the charge of abducting the maidservant, keeping her as a bonded labourer and sexually abusing her.

He is already in judicial custody for allegedly murdering his 21-year-old grand-niece Vasundhara Bundela, alias Nishi, whose bullet-riddled body was found in the city's Misrod area Dec 11 last year.