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After all the swearing - the swearing in…
New Delhi: Nine days after the election results were declared, the country gets a new Prime Minister today. At a ceremony to be held later this evening, Dr Manmohan Singh will be sworn-in as the next Prime Minister.

Singh will head a Congress-led coalition government, which will adhere to a Common Minimum Programme. Singh has said that he hopes to pursue policies towards balanced social and economic development and reforms with a human face.
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$ 70 million WB loan for Uttaranchal
Washington: The World Bank has announced an International Development Credit of $ 69.6 million for a watershed project to benefit 9,200 villages in Uttaranchal.

Over a period of seven years, the Uttaranchal Decentralised Watershed Development Project will maximise the potential of natural resources and increase the income of inhabitants in selected watersheds through socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable approaches, the Bank said. The proposed project will cover about 300,000 hectares in the middle Himalayas of Uttaranchal ranging from 700 metres to 2,000 metres above sea level.
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$1 billion annual investments in oil and gas fields
New Delhi: The country plans to invest around $1 billion annually on acquisition of overseas oil and gas fields, according to the Secretary, Petroleum, B.K. Chaturvedi. Speaking today at a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the secretary said that this would help reduce Indian's dependence on imported crude, which is currently at 70 per cent of the domestic demand. According to the secretary the govt. had already invested about $3 billion in taking stake in oil and gas fields in nine countries, and a further $1 billion per annum would be invested till 2015.

ONGC Videsh Ltd has already taken an equity stake in an oil field in Sudan, which is yielding 3 million tonnes of crude oil annually to India. Besides, a 20 per cent stake in Sakhalin field in Russia will give 5 million tonnes from 2005 and an equal quantity would be received in exchange of 50 per cent in an Angola block, he said.
Besides, OVL has also picked stakes in oil fields in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam and Myanmar. Interestingly the secretary revealed that the cost of crude oil production from these fields might be $6-7 a barrel against the prevailing international prices of $41.5 a barrel.
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Inflation unchanged at 4.2 per cent
New Delhi: The general price level stood unchanged at the previous week's figure of 4.2 per cent for the week ended May 8.

The point-to-point Wholesale Price Index inflation also stood firm. The index was at 6.76 per cent in the year-ago period. WPI also stood firm at 181.1 points during the latest reported week. The index was 173.8 points in the previous year period.
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