Ahmedabad, Sep. 18 : Gujarat Higher Secondary Education Board has decided to introduce ''open book examinations'' system for standard VIII to X students, enabling them to refer the books while taking exams.

The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB), which is half way into this academic session (2008 to 09), has decided to introduce the Open Book format of examination for the VIII, IX and X standard classes.

Lakhtar (Gujarat), Sept 18: Twenty villages were submerged after heavy rains created havoc in Gujarat's Surendranagar District.

At least 2800 people were moved to safer places after the region continued to receive heavy rainfall for the second consecutive day.

Surendranagar-Ahmedabad highway too was closed.

People of the villages, who are camping in the municipal schools, complained that they are receiving no help from the government.

Welspun India Ltd, one of the leading Home textiles majors and part of the Welspun group, has informed that it will spin off its marketing and investment divisions into two new firms to streamline operations and boost international business.

According to the company, the demerger will unlock the value of the current business of the company for the shareholders.

The distribution and marketing company will hold all the international businesses as well as retail chain Welspun Retail, and will be re-christened as Welspun Global Brands (WGBL).

Whereas, the other firm will be called as Welspun Investments Ltd and hold investments made in group companies of the Welspun Group, including the listed Welspun-Gujarat Stahl.

Ahmedabad, Sept 16 : The city crime branch has arrested two more persons in connection with the Ahmedabad serial blasts that took 55 lives.

Police have also released photographs of four more suspects for their alleged involvement in the blast.

According to sources, the two persons arrested belong to Juhapura and Bapunagar areas of Ahmedabad.

At least 16 bombs exploded in Ahmedabad on July 26, a day after another set of blasts in Bangalore killed a woman. Three days later, several unexploded bombs were found in Gujarat''s Surat town.

Vadodara, Sept 15 : At least one person was killed and eight others injured in Vadodara when one group started pelting stones on the other on Monday.

Prohibitory orders banning assembly of more than five people were clamped by police in the city after the communal tussle between two groups.

The festive aura of the immersion of lord Ganesh at the end of the ten-day festival turned sour when people of reportedly belonging to Muslim community allegedly tried to create hindrance in the immersion procession by pelting stones.

The Gujarat government has passed a resolution, putting a blanket ban on private practice by government doctors, and announcing mandatory Non Practising Allowance (NPA) for all doctors, irrespective of length of service.

Rajkot, Sep. 12 : A six-year-old girl in Rajkot is attracting public attention for teaching traditional Dandia dance form to various people some of them even of her parents’ age.

Bulbul has been widely appreciated for her talent here.

With the 10-day Navratri festivities around, Bulbul is busy training people in Dandia Raas and Garba dances, as a huge number of Gujratis perform them in open space in big gatherings during these days.

At first sight, Bulbul looks just another child standing barely three feet high. But the moment she steps on to the stage or in the dance court, she turns into a perfect dance tutor.

Sabarkantha (Gujarat), Sept 10 : At least nine pilgrims were killed and 20 others injured in a road accident in Gujarat''s Sabarkantha district today.

According to sources, the incident occurred when a speeding truck rammed into a stationary tractor carrying pilgrims, who were returning after visiting Ambaji temple.

The injured were admitted to a nearby hospital. (ANI)

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has secured an order worth Rs 18 crore from the police department of Gujarat to automate and electronically link up each of the 483 police stations in the State.

Under the five-year project, TCS will develop, deploy and support enterprise-wide software in all of these police stations.

According to sources, this implementation is the first of its kind in India.

New Delhi - An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-29 fighter jet crashed
in the western state of Gujarat on Monday but the pilot managed to
eject safely, officials said.

"The aircraft had taken off from the Jamnagar airbase for a
training sortie but the pilot lost control and it crashed," IAF
spokesman Mahesh Upasani told reporters in New Delhi.

"The pilot, managed to eject safely," he added. The Jamnagar base is located 280 kilometres west of state capital Gandhinagar.

There were no reports of any casualties or damage to property on
the ground at the crash site, about 50 kilometres away from the
airbase. The pilot was moved to an Air Force hospital for treatment.

With the aim to increase the salary of the employees by 20%, the Gujarat government has taken up the decision to set up a babus’ committee on suggestion of the Centre's sixth pay commission award.

Jay Narayan Vyas, spokesperson of the Govt. informed soon after the Cabinet meeting was over, “The secretaries' committee will submit its report to the Cabinet sub-committee, formed early this year on what the sixth pay commission may mean to Gujarat.”

With the aim to increase the salary of the employees by 20%, the Gujarat government has taken up the decision to set up a babus’ committee on suggestion of the Centre's sixth pay commission award.

Jay Narayan Vyas, spokesperson of the Govt. informed soon after the Cabinet meeting was over, “The secretaries' committee will submit its report to the Cabinet sub-committee, formed early this year on what the sixth pay commission may mean to Gujarat.”

Baroda (Gujarat), Aug 29: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will organise a two-day workshop on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) here today.

The workshop is intended to give an overview of application of IFRS in Indian scenario.

It will focus more on concepts that are relatively new under Indian GAAP and on topics which by and large potentially impact the net worth and profit or loss under more common situations.

New Delhi, August 26 : A conference on Geosciences and Geological surveys was organized by Ministry of Mines with the secretaries of the State Departments of Geology and Mining here today.

The conference aimed at eliciting the views of States on geoscientific activities including mineral explorations and other geosciences issues like disaster management, landslide studies, environmental studies – many of which are State specific.

Ahmedabad, August 26 : Families of the victims killed in the serial blasts that rocked Ahmedabad on July 26 offered prayers for the victims on Tuesday.

At least 16 bombs exploded in Ahmedabad on July 26, a day after another set of blasts in Bangalore killed a woman. Three days later, several unexploded bombs were found in the Gujarat''s Surat town.

A mass prayer, including fire rituals for each victim, were organised by the families.

Ahmedabad-based Gujarat Apollo Industries has considered issue of bonus equity shares in the proportion of one equity share for every two equity shares held. The board of directors in its August 23 meeting approved the issue of bonus equity shares in the proportion of one equity share for every two equity shares. Further, the company has recommended dividend at Rs 3 per equity share (previous year Rs 2). Gujarat Apollo Industries Limited engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of road construction and maintenance equipment primarily in India.

Ahmedabad, Aug. 25 : An Ahmedabad school is setting a unique example before the society by educating many mentally challenged students having below-average intelligent quotient (IQ) along with students having normal IQ level.

School authorities at the Sri Ram Vidyalaya say that the objective of the experiment is to instill confidence among the mentally challenged students by offering them an opportunity to learn along with students with normal mental abilities.

Ahmedabad, Aug 19 : The alleged mastermind of the serial blasts in Ahmedabad, Mufti Abu Bashir, has admitted that he was involved in the July 26 bombings that left
55 people dead.

Bashir, whose arrest was announced on August 16, is currently in 14-day police custody and being grilled by the city Crime Branch officials.

“So far in his interrogation, he has confessed to his involvement in the Ahmedabad blasts,” Crime Branch sources said.

Ahmedabad, Aug 17 : Nine Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists, who were arrested on Saturday in connection with the Ahmedabad serial blasts, will be presented in court today.

The alleged mastermind Mufti Abu Bashir, a SIMI activist from Uttar Pradesh, was produced before the special CBI Judge (Lucknow) Rekha Dixit, who allowed three-day transit-remand of Bashir to Gujarat police.

The Gujarat Police said Bashir and the others arrested were behind the serial blasts that killed 57 people in Ahmedabad three weeks ago.

Police officials claimed that the group headed by SIMI leader Safdar Nagori had executed similar blasts in Jaipur, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

New Delhi  - Indian police arrested eight members of a banned Islamic group in connection with bombings in the western city of Ahmedabad that killed 56 people and injured more than 150 in July, news reports said Saturday.

The activists of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) were arrested in southern Kerala and Karnataka and western Gujarat and Maharashtra states, NDTV news channel reported quoting a police official in Ahmedabad.