SYL issue: PM calls CMs for meet
New Delhi: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has informed the parliament on Tuesday that he had invited the Chief Ministers of States affected by Punjab's decision to pass a legislation terminating water-sharing agreements, for a meeting.

Replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha over the issue which rocked the Houses, Dr Singh said he shared the members' concerns and called for a "lasting solution" to resolve the crisis.
Meanwhile, both Haryana and Rajasthan have announced that they would take legal recourse to the Punjab Government's action, claiming that the decision was in contravention of the Supreme Court's directions on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal project.
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CBT defers decision on provident fund interest rates
New Delhi: The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) meeting to finalise the rate of interest payable on EPF deposits for the current financial year ended inconclusively with a section of labour leaders refusing to accept a reduction from last year's 9.5 per cent. It has been decided that the CBT will meet again next Tuesday to deliberate on the issue. The trade union leaders have also sought an appointment with the Prime Minister on this issue.

According to estimates made by the EPFO, if interest is paid at eight per cent, then EPFO will have a surplus of Rs 156 crore. If it is pegged at 8.25 per cent, the shortfall is Rs 26 crore. At 8.5 per cent interest, the EPFO's shortfall would stand at Rs 206.45 crore while for paying nine per cent interest the deficit would climb to 566.80 crore. If the interest rate for 2004-05 is pegged at last fiscal's 9.5 per cent, the shortfall amounts to Rs 927.15 crore. If one considers the Leftists trade unions initial demand of 12 per cent interest, the EPFO's shortage reaches an whopping Rs 2,728.87 crore.
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