London: A Sikh man has for the first time become the mayor of the town of Warwick in England’s West Midlands region.
Prabhjit Singh Dhillon, who has been elected the 280th mayor of Warwick, described it as a “privilege”, the Coventry Telegraph reported yesterday.
“I have become the 280th mayor, a privilege for a local Warwick boy and first Sikh since that time,” Dhillon, a former local schoolboy, was quoted as saying. “My mayoral year is a mere blip in the last 1,100 years of former mayors in this historic town.”
Petrol, diesel prices hiked
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corp yesterday hiked the price of petrol by 75 paise per litre and that of diesel by 50 paise per litre, both rates excluding local taxes, effective from midnight.
IOC said the increase was required mainly due to depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar.
The new prices of petrol per litre, allowing for local taxes, will be Rs.63.99 in Delhi, Rs.70.68 in Mumbai, Rs.66.85 in Chennai and Rs.71.29 in Kolkata.
A litre of Diesel will cost Rs.50.25 in Delhi, Rs.56.66 in Mumbai, Rs. 53.53 in Chennai and Rs.54.76 in Kolkata.
Govt funds for needy bright pupils
New Delhi: The union Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry will provide financial assistance for higher education to needy children who have passed their Class 10 exams with a minimum B1 grade under the CBSE grading system. The assistance will be provided to students if their parents’ income is less than Rs.5,000 a month.
“The amount of grant given to such meritorious students shall not exceed Rs.20,000 for Class 10 and Rs.40,000 for Class XII during any one financial year,” a statement from the ministry said.
B1 grade is equivalent to 81 to 90 percent marks.
Rocket scientist is DRDO chief
New Delhi: Rocket scientist Avinash Chander was yesterday appointed scientific advisor to Defence Minister A K Antony and the head of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), an official statement said.
Chander, who was recently honoured with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour, is an eminent missile scientist and the chief architect of the Agni long-range ballistic missile system.
IANS
