New Delhi, Aug. 29 : The Monsoon has traditionally been a lean season for tourism in India and now it’s time to change this perception. This was the overriding thought at the National Seminar on Monsoon Tourism, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), here today.

Leena Nandan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, said that the ministry is working with States to develop promotional packages for monsoon season, and added that these packages will be announced soon.

The Indian personal computer maker, Zenith Computers has launched a new laptop with an attractive price of Rs 14, 999. Moreover, the company has also launched a new desktop, which can be brought by paying just Rs. 11, 999.

These products are launched in the collaboration of global software giant Microsoft. The new products are launched under the brand name of ‘EcoStyle’. These product are very energy efficient and do not contain any toxic materials. They consume 30 per cent less power that the existing models. The Windows OS enabled laptop would be the cheapest ever model in the market.

New Delhi - Work at the Tata Motors factory in eastern India that is producing the world's cheapest car, the Nano, came to a standstill on Friday after the company's employees were threatened by demonstrators demanding return of farmland acquired for the project.

Thousands of farmers and political activists have laid a siege around the factory in Singur near West Bengal's state capital Kolkata since Sunday.

New Delhi - Indian economic growth slipped to 7.9 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, its slowest pace in over three years as rising borrowing costs affected manufacturing and other sectors, news reports said Friday.

India's gross domestic product (GDP) was 7.9 per cent in the three months to June 30, compared to 9.2 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year, data released by the government's Central Statistical Organization showed.

The moderation in GDP growth was in line with expectations of the economists as the federal Reserve Bank of India had hardened interest rates to control double-digit inflation, the PTI news agency reported.

Nearly after a span of six years, the Indian cricket team will tour New Zealand in March to play two tests and five one-day internationals.

According to a press release by the cricket board, the tour would last from March 6 to April 7, 2009.

Before playing the one-day series against the host Kiwis, the Indian team will open its tour with a 20-20 international at Wellington on March 6.

The two nations will play five ODI’s at Napier, Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The Indians will also feature in a three-day match against New Zealand XI in Christchurch before tests at Hamilton from March 26 and Wellington from April 3.

The Indian team last visited the island nation in 2002-03.

New Delhi, Aug 29: Nepal's Foreign Affairs Upendra Yadav has said that India has offered to help his country in tackling floods.

Yadav, the chief of the debutant Terai party, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, discussed issues of mutual importance to both countries with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday and was happy to receive help from India.

"We talked about solving the problem of floods and related problems faced by Nepal. Pranab Mukherjee said the Indian Government will help us in that," Yadav said.