New Delhi, Sep 1 : Dr. Duvuri Subbarao has been appointed as the next Governor of Reserve Bank of India.

He will take charge of the new post after the present RBI Governor, Dr. Y. V. Reddy demits his office on September 5. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram made this announcement today.

Dr. Subbarao is presently holding the post of Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Prior to this, he was Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance. He belongs to the 1972 batch of the IAS (Andhra Pradesh cadre).

New Delhi, Sep 1 : The Armed forces have donated two days of their rations for distribution to the people affected by devastating floods in Bihar.

The Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, today made this announcement whilst expressing solidarity with the grief stricken populace.

The Army today intensified its ongoing rescue work in flood hit areas of Bihar, and rushed 16 additional columns of men to join relief efforts.

Central Army Commander Lt General H S Panag, who is supervising the operations, said: “Another 16 columns of men have been sent to areas affected by the floods in River Kosi.”

New Delhi, Sep 1 : The Union Government today ruled out an immediate reduction in petrol and diesel prices as state-run firms are still running into daily loss of over Rs 400 crore despite softening in international oil prices.

“Where is the scope for reducing prices? Oil companies are still making losses,” Petroleum Minister Murli Deora told reporters.

The drop in international oil prices has resulted in revenue loss of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum dip to Rs 400 crore per day from Rs 450 crore a fortnight back.

New Delhi, Sep 1 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today assured a delegation led by former Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy that the Central government has taken very serious notice of the happenings in Orissa.

Dr. Singh said that he has personally spoken to the Orissa’s Chief Minister Navin Patnaik to ensure communal harmony and bring to book the culprits behind the violent incidents.

The Prime Minister mentioned that the Orissa Chief Minister has assured firm action in the matter.

New Delhi, Sept 01 : The Samajwadi Party and Congress today decided to jointly contest the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The SP is also seeking alliance in four other states including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka

After a marathon four-hour long talk with a Congress delegation led by party general secretary Rahul Gandhi, SP general secretary Amar Singh said that the seat-sharing would be carried out with winnability as the criteria in the state.

New Delhi, Sep 1 : The Army today intensified its ongoing rescue work in flood hit areas of Bihar, and rushed 16 additional columns of men to join relief efforts.

Central Army Commander Lt General H S Panag, who is supervising the operations, said: “Another 16 columns of men have been sent to areas affected by the floods in River Kosi.”

The Army also pressed into service six helicopters -- four Cheetahs and two Dhruvs -- for rescuing people marooned in areas inaccessible by road or by boat. Twenty one columns are already deployed for rescue and relief work.