New Delhi, Dec. 7 : Immediately after announcing a stimulus package for the Indian economy, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Alhuwalia, said on Sunday that the Central Government is trying to build up a WHO program for the country’s infrastructure sector.

New Delhi, Dec. 7 : To counter the effects of the global financial slowdown and its impact on various sectors of the Indian economy, the Central Government on Sunday announced an Rs. 20, 000 crore stimulus package that includes major across the board tax cuts to boost demand.

A total amount of Rs. 300, 000 crore is to be spent over the remaining four months on a host of areas and stake holders such as exporters, housing, infrastructure and textiles.

A four-percent cut in Value Added Tax has also been announced to help the corporate sector.

New Delhi  - The Indian government Sunday announced a fiscal stimulation package aimed at boosting industrial sectors which have been affected by the global economic recession.

The total spending on the programme from December to March-end would be to the tune of 3 trillion rupees (61 billion dollars), a release from the prime minister's office said.

India's financial year runs from April to March.

The package, which is a combination of incentives and tax reductions, targets labour intensive export industries like textiles, leather, gems and jewellery along with realty, textiles, infrastructure and to a lesser extent the automobile industry.

New Delhi, Dec 7 : The counting of votes in the assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Delhi will be taken up on Monday.

The fate of several stalwarts like Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bharatiya Janashakti chief Uma Bharti and senior BJP minister Babulal Gaur would be decided in Madhya Pradesh which witnessed a 60 percent turnout during elections to the 230-member Assembly.

The Rajasthan poll outcome would be a test for Chief Minister Vasudhanra Raje government’s performance in the state. AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot and PCC president C P Joshi are also testing their political fate.

New Delhi, Dec 7 : Hundreds of school children here today participated in a run organised to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

Organised by the National Human Rights Commission in collaboration with the Delhi Directorate of Education, the run was specially aimed at motivating and involving school students as messengers of the human rights awareness in the society.

"Children are our future and if we try to impart the knowledge of Human Rights through them, then it becomes more effective," said Akhil Kumar Jain, Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission and organiser of the run.

New Delhi, Dec. 7 : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has condemned Pakistan in strong words clarifying his stance on the hoax call issue.

“I had made no such telephone call. My last and only conversation with President Asif Ali Zardari was in Islamabad during my visit to Pakistan in May 2006,” Mukherjee said in a statement released by the External Affairs Ministry today.