National Events in August 2000
Aug. 1:
Twentyseven persons, a number of yatris, die after militants attack a ``langar'' in a Pahalgam health resort en route to the Amarnath cave shrine.
The Lok Sabha adopts Uttar Pradesh State Reorganisation Bill paving the way for the creation of Uttaranchal the 27th State.
Lt. Gen. Padmanabhan to be new Army chief replacing Gen. V. P. Malik.
One hundred people of Kinnaur, Shimla and Mandi districts of HP die following flash floods in the Sutlej river.
Aug. 2:
In a series of massacres, militants mow down 26 labourers and eight members of a village defence committee in Kashmir.
The Lok Sabha performs a ``hat-trick'' by setting off the process for the creation of three new States by passing the Jharkhand Bill.
The CBI sets up a ``cyber crime research and development unit'' to collect and collate inform on cyber crimes reported from different parts of the country.
Aug. 4:
Mr. Justice Brij Mohan Lal, sworn in chairman of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission.
The Congress(I) leaders, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and Mr. S. Jaipal Reddy get Best Parliamentarian awards for the year 1997-98.
Aug. 6:
The Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Governments accede to the major demands placed by the forest brigand, Veerappan.
Aug. 8:
The Hizbul Mujahideen revokes the July 24 ceasefire declaration and the `commanders' go underground.
The Government appoints Air Marshal P. Rajkumar to head the court of enquiry to probe the Alliance Air crash near Patna.
Aug. 9:
The Union Cabinet clears telecom firms to acquire foreign equity. The much awaited migration package for radio paging operators also gets the nod.
New education scheme aimed at drawing child dropouts in the 6-14 year age group into the formal school system gets Cabinet approval.
Parliament approves the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2000 paving the way for the creation of a separate Chhattisgarh State.
The Maharashtra Government sanctions prosecution of the suspended sessions judge Mr. J. W. Singh under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Aug. 10:
Car bomb blast leaves 13, including a photojournalist dead in Srinagar, just two days after the withdrawal of ceasefire by the Hizbul Mujahideen.
Parliament approves the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2000 to create a hill state of Uttaranchal.
Delhi police nab Janat Gul (20), an ISI agent of Pakistan in the Nizamuddin area of South Delhi and seize 10.2 kg of RDX, two ABCD timers set to explode in I-Day and avert a major tragedy.
Aug. 11:
Parliament approves creation of a new Jharkhand State with the passage of the Bihar Reorganisation Bill by the Rajya Sabha.
The World Bank signs an agreement for a $713 million aid to India for three infrastructure projects.
Lok Sabha passes Cable Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill to impose the advertisement and programme codes on all television channels and make it mandatory to show at least three DD channels.
Aug. 13:
The Government announces the opening up of the national long distance communication segment with no restriction on the number of players.
After nine years of protracted legal battle, a Delhi court convicts five persons in the infamous Sura tragedy case that claimed 201 lives and blinded over 100 people in the capital on the eve of Diwali in 1991.
Aug. 14:
Seven persons die as a blast rips through the Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Express near Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Aug. 15:
Borders cannot be redrawn ``either in the name of religion or on the strength of the sword'', says the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee in his Independence Day address.
Aug. 16:
The Union Power Minister, Mr. Rangarajan Kumaramangalam slips into a coma after multiple organ failure.
Aug. 18:
The Supreme Court rejects a petition filed by the former Navy chief, Vishnu Bhagwat challenging his dismissal from service and the consequent direction stripping him of the title Admiral.
Fifty persons meet with a watery grave after the bus in which they were travelling gets swept away in river Banas, about 100 km from Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh.
Aug. 21:
Ms. Uma Bharti, the sanyasin MP of the BJP, resigns from the Lok Sabha and the party's national executive.
Aug. 22:
Parliament nod for two Constitutional Amendment Bills restoring relaxations in marks for promotion in government jobs to SC/STs and exempting Arunachal from reservation for SCs.
Aug. 23:
India, Japan unveil new global partnership and agree to start a formal security dialogue. Status quo on CTBT, sanctions.
Aug. 24:
``Kargil betrayed Vajpayee's good intentions'', says the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Yoshiro Mori and condemns Kashmir violence.
The CBI arrests London-based Brazilian businessman, Mr. A. E. Pinto, one of the main accused in the Rs.133-crore urea scam on his arrival in New Delhi after being extradited from Britain.
The Calcutta Municipal Corporation celebrates 310th birth Anniversary of the city, launching a web portal on Calcutta.
Aug. 25:
Veerappan seeks release of 121 prisoners, including 51 TADA detenus from the Mysore prison and payment of compensation to victims of STF excesses .
Aug. 28:
The TRAI announces significant reductions in international and national long distance call charges effective from October 1 till March 2002.
Aug. 29:
The Supreme Court stays release of 115 ``Veerappan aides'' on bail or otherwise till further orders.
Aug. 30:
The Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee announces a package for small units raising the ceiling on loans from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 25 lakhs. For the handloom sector, a separate scheme costing Rs. 447 crores finalised.
Aug. 31:
The Government decides to freeze Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies for the next 25 years at the existing level and to set up a Delimitation Commission.
The J & K police nab two Pakistani militants for the massacre of 35 Sikhs at Chattisinghpora in March.