New Delhi, Nov 1 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met the chiefs of the three wings of the defence service - the Army, the Navy and the Air Force – in New Delhi on Saturday.

Dr. Singh and Defence Minister A. K. Antony met Navy Chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Fali H. Major, Chief of India''s Air Force and Deepak Kapoor, Chief of the Army Staff.

The chiefs met to review and to address matters of national security on the day of the combined Commanders'' Conference.

New Delhi  - India's central bank on Saturday lowered its key short-term lending rate (repo) as well as banks' cash reserve requirements to inject additional liquidity of about 850 billion rupees (18 billion dollars) to help growth amid the global economic slowdown, officials and news reports said.

The repo rate has been cut by 50 basis points to 7.5 per cent and the cash reserve ratio (CRR) stands lowered by 100 basis points to 5.5 per cent, a notification posted on the Reserve Bank of India's website said.

New Delhi  - Police in India's north-eastern state of Assam have arrested three men and are investigating whether separatist militants received support from terrorist groups to carry out multiple bombings that claimed 77 lives, news reports said Saturday.

Among those arrested overnight were a man whose car was used in one of Thursday's bombings in the state's capital city of Guwahati, the IANS news agency reported quoting the state's senior police official Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta.

Another arrested man's motorcycle was used in a bombing in the western Bongaigaon district.

New Delhi, Nov 1: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will meet top business and corporate leaders here on Monday to explore the options for limiting the impact of global financial crisis on the Indian economy facing slowdown.

According to sources, Industry leaders who are expected to attend the meeting include Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra, Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Shashi Ruia, K. P. Singh and Naresh Goyal.

Presidents of the three apex chambers including the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) will also participate in the meeting.

New Delhi, Oct. 31 : Meera, the Canada-based businesswoman of Indian origin, recently launched her debut Punjabi music album `My Ranjha''.

For Meera, her debut album is a celebration of her feelings and value for the vibrant Punjab. The singer, on the release function in New Delhi recently said that she shared a special bond with Punjab and was on a promotional tour to India recently.

Meera''s `My Ranjha'' is a fusion of earthy Punjabi lyrics with new age music.

Born and brought up in Jalandhar, Meera started singing at a very young age. She said that her first teacher happened to be her mother, who was also a trained singer.

New Delhi, Oct 31 : U. N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed his appreciation for the commitment of India and Pakistan regarding the recently initiated cross-border trade.

Addressing a news conference here, Ban Ki-moon said, “I am encouraged by the commitment of the leaders of both the countries towards this direction. The recent opening of trade between India and Pakistan was encouraging as a result of summit meeting between the two countries. I hope these exchanges and dialogues as a part of composite dialogues initiated by India will continue to appear good results."

He also expressed his concern over the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan.