Imphal, Mar 16 : Two militants of the People''s United Liberation Front (PULF) have been shot down in an encounter with the police in the Imphal East district in Manipur.

The local police informed on Monday that the commandos, who were patrolling the Keirao area in the district on Sunday, were been attacked by militants.

The police commandos, after the encounter, recovered a M21 rifle with six rounds of ammunition and a 9mm pistol with four live rounds from the spot.

Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu), Mar 16 : Women residing in the interior regions of Krishnagiri District in Tamil Nadu should be indebted to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) for their recent good fortune.

Under the NREGS, women have been motivated to set up cottage industries to make different items of daily use.

Known as the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), the primary objective of the scheme is to enhance livelihood security of households in rural areas. Around 8,500 rural women are working under this scheme.

New Delhi, Mar 16 : The Twenty20-tournament seems to be in troubled waters once again as the talks between the officials of Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI) and the Home Ministry ended inconclusive on Monday.

Officials of the BCCI met with the officials of the Home Ministry to discuss the schedule of the second season of the league in New Delhi.

Soon after the meeting, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said that issues and concerns were discussed, but he refused to say whether the talks were conclusive.

New Delhi  - India's HCL Technologies has signed a 350-million dollar outsourcing contract with US media company Reader's Digest Association, it was announced Monday.

Among the largest deals by an Indian company in the recent months, the contract comes at a time when the Indian IT industry is struggling to secure big deals amid the global economic crisis.

Srinagar, Mar 15: Renovation work at the centuries old Mosque of Akhund Mulla (also referred as Akhoon Mulla) at Srinagar in Kashmir is underway to restore the old grandeur of the monument.

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has taken the responsibility to restore life in the much-neglected heritage.

Akhund Mulla is said to be a mosque within a mosque. The main sanctuary is a separate and detached building, placed within a courtyard surrounding the mosque.

Built in Circa 1049 by Dara Shikoh, son of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to honour his tutor Akhun Mulla Shah, the little mosque is a grey limestone structure, located just below the Makhdum Sahib mosque.

New Delhi, Mar 16 : The Supreme Court is expected to hear the murder case of the first-year Medical Science student Aman Kachroo on Monday, who was mercilessly killed on March 8 at his college hostel in Himachal Pradesh.

The apex court has issued a contempt notice to Rajendra Prasad Medical College in Kangra, of which 19-year-old Kachroo was a student.

The killing has grossly violated the Supreme Court''s directives to check ragging in educational institutions.