News brief: Big stories of the day

P Chidambaram was questioned by the CBI for nearly four hours today in connection with alleged irregularities in clearances to foreign investments in INX media during his tenure.

The Reserve Bank of India has hiked its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%. This is the first hike in over four years.

The 15-day-old H D Kumaraswamy Ministry in Karnataka was expanded on Wednesday with the induction of 25 ministers.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday promised to waive farmers` loans in 10 days if voted to power in Madhya Pradesh.

Facing flak from some farmers' leaders for meeting Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy over the Cauvery issue, actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan on Wednesday defended his initiative saying there was no restriction to work for a noble cause.