Days after a visit by former president APJ Abdul Kalam to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, the support for the government's plans to finish the construction on site has grown.

Kalam has assuered protesters that plant is safe and does not face a threat from Tsunami. He expressed satisfaction over the safety measures put in place by operators at the plant. Many are now questioning the views of S P Udayakumar, a lead man behind the protests in the area.

Assurances given by the former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam regarding the Kudankulam nuclear plant have failed to convince villagers protesting against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.

Kalam had visited the site on Sunday and said that the plant is safe and does not face a threat from Tsunami. He expressed satisfaction over the safety measures put in place by operators at the plant.

Chennai, Oct 10 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday conducted raids on the premises of former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran after registering a case against him in connection with the controversial Aircel-Maxis deal.

The agency also booked his brother Kalanidhi Maran, Maxis owner T Ananda Krishnan, senior executive Ralph Marshall and three companies Aspro, Maxis and Sun TV.

Chennai, Sep 29 : Top four players of the Indian cricket team including Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan were left out of the squad for the first two ODI series against England due to injury.

The selectors, which met here to select the team, also overlooked off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Opener Gautam Gambhir has made a comeback into the side.

Chennai, Sep 24 : The Chairman of the Prime Minister''s Economic Advisory Council, C. Rangarajan, has said that the global economic crisis would improve in about a month''s time.

Talking to mediapersons here, Rangarajan said the global economic crisis was poised to improve in a month''s time as western nations are making efforts to revive their economies.

Chennai, Sep 20:  The eight new car models Ford Motor Co plans to roll out of its two Indian plants will be on global platform and will have several common parts, reducing costs, a company official said.

"The new models will not (be) designed for any specific market. But there will be lot of common parts to cut down on our costs," said Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India.

Chennai, Sep 13 : In its drive to become a total information technology (IT) solutions provider, the US-based computer hardware major Dell will double the headcount at its Force 10 Networks centre here, said a senior official.

Dell had recently acquired the US-based $200 million revenue networking company Force 10 Networks.

Chennai, Sep 1 - Two and three wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company Ltd closed August with 14 percent sales growth over that of August 2010, the company said in a statement issued here Thursday.

The company's total sales last month stood at 194,898 units (two wheelers 190,184 units, three wheelers 4,714 units) up from 170,735 units (two wheelers 167,109 units, three wheelers 3,626 units) registered during August 2010.

Total sales for the month of August 2011 stood at 194,898 units against 170,735 units in the corresponding month of the previous year.

Chennai, Aug 30 : The Madras High Court Tuesday stayed for eight weeks the hanging of the three convicts sentenced to death for conspiring to assassinate former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Hearing the petitions filed by Murugan alias Sriharan, T. Suthendraraja alias Santhan and A. G. Perarivalan alias Arivu that their death sentence be commuted, the high court ordered an interim stay on the hanging pending disposal of the case.

The court has ordered notice to the union government returnable in eight weeks.

Chennai, Aug 26 : Eighteen people fasting here in support of Anna Hazare since Aug 16 ended their protest Friday morning on the request of Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal.

"On the advice of Kejriwal, the fast is being concluded," said Bhavana Upadhyaya of India Against Corruption (IAC), the network behind Hazare's campaign for an effective anti-corruption law.

Kejriwal asked them to end their fast in view of their failing health.

Chennai, Aug 23 : The worker's strike at the auto ancillary company Comstar Automotive Technologies Pvt Ltd entered the 13th day Tuesday, with the two parties involved in the dispute sticking to their positions.

Around 425 workers of the company have been on strike since Aug 11, demanding recognition of their union and negotiations over a three-year wage accord that ended in March.

Chennai, Aug 20 : A group of protesters here continued its fast in support of activist Anna Hazare's hunger-strike for a stronger Lokpal bill for the fifth day Saturday.

According to India Against Corruption (IAC), the outfit which is supporting Hazare in his anti-corruption campaign, the total number of people on indefinite fast has increased to 41 and those on relay fast to five.

"The group which has been fasting since Tuesday has gone without food for over 100 hours," an IAC statement said here.

Chennai, Aug 6:Power transmission and distribution equipment company Areva T&D India Ltd said it is looking to complete its restructuring operations by early next year and is betting big on high capacity transformers for future growth.

"As per current estimates, the restructuring of our operations will be completed by early next year," the firm's managing director Rathindra Nath Basu told IANS.

The company is in the process of demerging its distribution business (medium voltage systems, equipment and related automation) into a wholly-owned subsidiary Smartgrid Automation Distribution and Switchgear Ltd.

Chennai, Aug 6: Veteran batsman Rahul Dravid has made a surprise comeback into India's ODI squad after two years on the sidelines.

Dravid was named in the 16-man squad for the ODI series against England announced by a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee today.

The last time the 38-year-old played an ODI was in September 2009 against the West Indies during the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

The team, however, will be without off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and the injured Yuvraj Singh.

As per latest reports, a rare heart surgical operation utilizing a robot was recently carried out at the Chettinad Health City, Chennai.

The operation was conducted on 23-year-old D Vijayakanth, a resident of Vellore, on February 21 by a group of expert physicians headed by Dr. R Ravi Kumar, Director, Institute of Cardio Vascular Disease.

Vijayakanth had rheumatic valvular illness, owing to which he complained of shortness of breath and could not walk properly.

Chennai, March 1 : Two- and three-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company Ltd closed February with 24 percent sales growth over the corresponding period the previous year.

The company sold 177,412 units (two-wheelers 173,200, three-wheelers 4,212 units) last month as against 142,676 units (two-wheelers 140,544 units, three-wheelers 2,132 units) in February 2010.

Within the two-wheeler segment, TVS Motor sold 40,335 scooters, 71,462 motorcycles and 61,403 mopeds last month.

In February 2010, the company had sold 27,017 scooters, 63,394 motorcycles and 50,133 mopeds.

Hindustan Motors, a top player in Indian automobiles industry, has rolled out its latest product - Winner XD Mini truck in Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Rattan Singh, HM Chief General Manager, Sales and Marketing (Vehicle), introduced the mini truck for the entire state of Tamil Nadu.

Mr Singh said that the last financial was a challenging period for the company, which is well known for its age-old brand Ambassador car.

He added that Ambassador recorded a record 50% increase in sales regardless of strong rivalry.

While the automobile and auto ancillaries manufacturing sector has been attracting a sustainable investment into the region, the labour unrest problems are giving the state enough reasons to lose its sheen as far as its status for the automotive hub is concerned.

Notably, the biggest automaker operating in this region is Hyundai Motors India but the company has been facing labour unrest at its Chennai plant on a continuous basis.

A new case of H1N1 influenza occurred in Coimbatore where an eight month old pregnant woman was tested positive for H1N1 virus.

Health department sources discovered that, the 29-year old woman, working in a Multi-national Company in Bangalore was being treated at a private clinic.

Tamil Nadu government has ensured to provide a quality health support to residents, a report from the Chief Minister M Karunanidhi confirms the same.

CM quoted, "There are no two opinions on the state being a leader in providing quality health care to the people. The Kalaignar insurance scheme launched in 2009 is the jewel in the crown of the DMK's four year rule".