The Congress surged ahead of the BJP in Rajasthan, Delhi as also in Madhya Pradesh but was trailing behind the Mizo National Front (MNF) and Mizo People's Conference (MFC) in Mizoram as early results from four State Assembly elections rolled in. Trends from the polls, billed as the BJP's first test of popularity since it took power eight months ago, were that it faced crushing defeat in Delhi and Rajasthan. In Madhya Pradesh where pollsters had expected the BJP to do well against the incumbent Congress, the former instead was behind in early results.

Plan for integrated highway network

In a significant move, the Prime Minister's Task Force on Infrastructure has decided to merge the 'golden quadrilateral' four-laning project with the exercise to build a 7,000-km long North-South and East-West high-speed corridor, and create an integrated highway network. The golden quadrilateral project, which involves linking of the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai, was being undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India, through private participation and assistance from multilateral funding agencies.

AV Birla finance business in one fold

The Aditya Birla Group is consolidating its finance sector activities under one banner ahead of its planned entry into insurance, which was opened up to private and foreign players recently. The restructuring involves the formation of a holding company to which the group companies — Hindalco, Indian Rayon, Grasim Ltd — will transfer their holdings in the finance sector flagship, Birla Global Finance Ltd. Subsequently, another company will be formed for the distribution of financial products, which will initially be under BGFL, senior officials said.

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