Decision on withdrawing from Centre after talking to PM: Uddhav

"Joining NDA and then pulling out is not that easy. All MPs who have been elected and those who could not win have bagged votes of both Shiv Sena and BJP. It is the people's mandate. A decision will be taken after discussions with Prime Minister Modi and considering what our supporters feel," Uddhav told reporters after RPI(A) leader Arjun Dangle visited him to offer support in the next month's Assembly elections.

On Monday, Uddhav had announced that his party's minister in the Modi government, Anant Geete, will quit the ministry, four days after the BJP snapped ties with the alliance partner of 25 years.

The Sena will leave NDA and Geete will submit resignation after the Prime Minister returns from US, he had said.

Uddhav's announcement came after estranged cousin and NS chief Raj Thackeray criticised the Sena at a poll rally here Sunday for "sticking to" the Union ministerial berth despite end of the alliance with BJP.

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Rajan softens stance on Jan Dhan, says it's a welcome scheme

"We welcome the Jan Dhan Yojana, it is part of RBI's plan to get universal access," he told a press conference called for announcing bi-monthly monetary policy.

"I am not as worried about the quality of KYC for small accounts. In fact, we have essentially allowed for KYC that can be upgraded over time and in fact we have been more liberal on KYC," Rajan added.

The RBI governor had earlier cautioned the banks on the risks involved in just hunting for numbers, asking them not to compromise on core objectives of the programme.

"When we roll out the scheme, we have to make sure it does not go off the track. The target is universality, not just speed and numbers," Rajan had said while addressing bankers a fortnight ago.

However, on tuesady Rajan said he wanted a proper inclusion of unbanked households into the banking system.

"What I am more concerned about is that we actually achieve proper inclusion by bringing in households that were not reached in past... We are working with the government to try and make this dream a possibility," Rajan said.

Jan Dhan Yojana was launched with great fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August to bring 7.5 crore more families into the banking network by January 26, 2015.
  
So far, over 5.1 crore accounts have been opened and Rs 3,600 crore deposited in banks.

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Indian women lose to Kazakhstan in volleyball event play-off

The Kazakh women won the contest 25-20 25-19 25-20 in only 69 minutes as India will now play in the 7th-8th place play-off final.
   
India will play the loser of the encounter between Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei in the 7th-8th place play-off.
   
For India, the only saving grace was Tiji Raju, who got 11 points with some good dinks and spikes.
   
The disappointment as far as India was concerned was young Anushree Ghosh, one of the tallest girls in the team standing at 6 ft 1 inch. She could bag only a solitary point for her team.
   
The performance of libero Priyanka Khedkar was also below par as most of the times, her anticipation skills were questionable as she was not in perfect position to retrieve the powerful smashes executed by Yelena Gordeyeva, who got 11 points for her country.
   
The two Anastassiyas --Kolomoyets and Rostovchshikova, got seven points.

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'Bang Bang' a very difficult film for me: Katrina Kaif

The 31-year-old actress says she has been hard at work for over a year along with the team to bring the Rs 140 crore film to the big screen.
  
"Whatever was required in the film I was able to do myself and execute in a manner that was desired. The journey of the film was huge with action sequences, 6 to 7 locations all across the globe. It was a very difficult film for me. We had a very strong team and we did everything we could," Katrina told PTI.
  
'Bang Bang' also stars Hrithik Roshan, who plays the male lead and has been directed by Siddharth Anand. The Fox Star Studios-produced film is set to hit theaters on October 2.   

Katrina said the look and feel of the film does give out the impression of it being a action movie but 'Bang Bang' blossoms into a love story.
  
"What attracted me to the film is that along with action there is a very good storyline behind it. There is action in the film but it is basically a love story," she said.  

When asked if she was open to play the lead in a female-centric action film, Katrina said since she pulled off stunts in 'Bang Bang' she could do a 'Tom Raider' or 'Kill Bill'.
  
"The stunts that you see in the trailer I have done mostly myself. You know if a good script comes then I would love to do solo action films. I don't think physical challenges scare me provided I have time to train and prepare," the actress said.

'Bang Bang' is an official remake of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz starrer Hollywood film 'Knight and Day' but Katrina said the similarity of the two films ends there as Siddharth has given the former a complete Indian feel.     

"It is an official remake so obviously comparisons are inevitable. But having said that I think Siddharth has completely given his own take. It is inspired by the original but not copied same to same. I think he has done a great job to adapt it to suit the Indian audience. People will not feel they are watching the same film," Katrina said.   

The actress said having a co-star in Hrithik, with whom she shared a crackling chemistry in their last outing 'Zindagi Milegi Naa Dobara', was great as he brought out the best in her.
  
"It was great to work with someone who is so passionate and he makes you want to push yourself. It always makes a better end result," she said.
  
The film suffered several delays in its shooting stage with lead star Hrithik's injury and subsequent brain surgery besides the cancellation of the Kashmir schedule of the film due to unrest in the Valley.
  
However, Katrina says the delays did not affect her other film commitments like 'Jagga Jasoos' and 'Phantom'.
  
"Things happened, no body can predict the future and we go along. We have to learn to adapt to it, adjust and make it work. Thankfully, the makers of the other films that I had signed understood the situation and allowed me the time. They were very accommodating," she said.

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Over 1.36 lakh Indian pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia for Haj

"All the 1,36,020 Indian Haj pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia with the last flight carrying 394 pilgrims from Mumbai arriving yesterday," Indian Consul General BS Mubarak said.

Monday was the last day of flight operations, he said. Two senior BJP leaders representing India at this year's Haj also arrived on Monday.

Arif Beg, a former federal minister who hails from Bhopal, is heading the delegation and is accompanied by Abdul Rasheed Ansari, National President of party's minority wing, of Delhi.

Ambassador of India Hamid Ali Rao received the Haj Goodwill Delegation headed by Baig.

The first batch of Indians arrived in Saudi Arabia on August 27 when 235 pilgrims landed in Madinah while the final batch reached the country on Monday, with a total of 365 flights carrying the pilgrims for Haj this year.

Of the 136,020 Indian pilgrims who have reached Saudi Arabia this year, 100,020 came through the Hajj Committee of India.

Saudi Airlines carried 49,230 Indian pilgrims while Air India transported 50,790 others from 21 embarkation points.

The remaining 36,000 pilgrims came through private tour operators.

Over two million pilgrims, coming from all corners of the globe, will begin their trek to the tent city of Mina on Thursday on the first leg of the five-day pilgrimage.

The Haj will reach its zenith on Friday, October 3, when nearly 3 million pilgrims will stand on the plains of Arafat. The pilgrimage will end after Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.

The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in a lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable.

On Monday, Mubarak had said all preparations have been completed to ensure that the 1,36,000 Indian pilgrims can perform a hassle-free Haj with everything going according to plan.

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MOM spacecraft sends pictures of dust storm activities on Mars

"Regional dust storm activities over northern hemisphere of Mars - captured by Mars Color Camera on-board Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)", Bangalore-headquartered Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on its official Facebook page with a picture.

It said the image was taken from an altitude of 74,500 kms from the surface of Mars.

HIGHLIGHTS

Mars orbiter sent picture of regional dust

Image was taken from an altitude of 74,500 kms from surface of Mars

MOM aims to study Martian surface and mineral composition

Rs 450-crore MOM is the cheapest inter-planetary mission

India is first country to reach Mars in very first attempt

MOM spacecraft had sent its first images of the planet on Thursday, a day after creating history by becoming the only such endeavour so far to have met with success on the maiden attempt.
  
MOM aims to study the Martian surface and mineral composition and scan its atmosphere for methane, an indicator of life.
  
The spacecraft is equipped with five instruments, including a sensor to track methane or marsh gas, a colour camera and a thermal-imaging spectrometer to map the surface and mineral wealth of the planet.
  
The Rs 450-crore MOM is the cheapest inter-planetary mission. India is the first country to reach Mars in the very first attempt. European, American and Russian probes have  managed to orbit or land on the planet, but after several attempts.

The orbiter will keep moving in an elliptical path for at least six months with its instruments sending their gleanings back home.
  
The spacecraft was launched on its nine-month-long odyssey on a homegrown PSLV rocket from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 5th November, last year. It had escaped the Earth's gravitational field on 1st December and was placed in the Martian orbit on 24th September.

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MNREGA workers to participate in cleanliness drive

In a directive, the Centre has asked the states to ensure active participation of people who worked in the rural job scheme in the almost a month-long drive.

"It is crucial that all ranks and file working in MNREGA participate actively in this campaign," the Centre said in a letter sent to state governments.

It said that all block level officers in charge of MNREGA should  undertake a Swachh Bharat Camp (SBC) for all job card holders of MNREGA in each willage in which they should be explained about the concepts of personal hygiene, clean house, clean street/surroundings and a clean village.

MNREGA workers should be administered pledge for cleanliness and officials should take up joint action for collective cleaning of the village through "shrama daan".

The Prime Minister's 'Clean India' campaign is planned as a mass movement aimed at cleaning the country. Modi had on August 15 announced the launch of the campaign.

Ahead of the launch of "Clean India" campaign, Modi has said he will himself go out using the broom to make the drive a success.

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Government officials to pledge 100 hours every year towards cleanliness

Government in its order has attached a draft oath which every government official will have to undertake on October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) which will be a working day for them this year.

"All the offices will open on October 2, 2014 in the forenoon and officers/officials will be directed to report at 9 am. A senior officer be designated to administer Cleanliness Pledge to all the employees as 9.30 am. Thereafter, the officers/officials will voluntarily carry out cleaning of their office premises from inside and outside," the order said.

The pledge states that Mahatma Gandhi had dreamt of a developed and clean country.

"It is our duty that I will clean the country to serve Mother India. I take oath that I will remain conscious about sanitary practices and devote time for that. I will devote 100 hours every year meaning two hours every week for reaching this goal," it states.

The pledge says that officials will neither indulge in unhygienic practices nor let others do it.

"I will start the cleanliness drive from myself, my family, my neighbourhood and my workplace. I believe that countries which are clean because their citizens believe in sanitary practices. The pledge that I am taking, I will administer to 100 others. I will try that those 100 also work towards hygiene and sanitation," the oath said.

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Thyroid cancer patients may get low dose of radioactive iodine

New recommendations by experts say that a safer, lower dose of radioactive iodine is just as effective as the higher dose at getting rid of any such cells.  

The guidelines, soon to be published by American Thyroid Association (ATA), are followed by doctors across the world, including India. They are expected to improve patient safety, ensure uniformity in treatment and cut recurrent hospitalization costs, besides minimizing side effects of radioactive iodine, the study released here said on Monday.
  
As per ATA, low-dose of 30 millicurie (mci) radioactive iodine has received final approval for treatment of thyroid cancer after surgery as against the high dose (100 -150 millicurie) that is normally given.
  
Secondly, patients will be treated as per risk group ie low, intermediate and high based on chance of recurrence of cancer and possibility of death.
  
Another important recommendation is compulsory usage of ultrasound and needle aspiration to be conducted on all patients before surgery, according to the study.
  
City doctors said the new guidelines are a welcome step as they would help improve patient safety and lead to standardization of treatment.
  
Vikram Lele, Head, Nuclear Medicine, Jaslok Hospital, "These recommendations will allow a large number of low risk thyroid cancer patients to receive 30 mci radio-iodine on an outpatient basis rather than requiring admission. In India admission is required for administering radio-iodine at doses above 30 mci."
  
According to the Indian Thyroid Society, 4.2 crore people in the country suffer from thyroid disorders, among which almost 90 percent are undiagnosed. Three percent of thyroid disorders can be attributed to thyroid cancer alone.
  
Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. Its symptoms may include lump in the neck, pain in the lower front part of the neck, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, hoarseness of voice, and trouble in breathing and swallowing.

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Revealed: How birds evolved from dinosaurs decoded?

However, once a fully functioning bird body shape was complete, an evolutionary explosion began, causing a rapid increase in the rate at which birds evolved.

This led eventually to the thousands of avian species that we know today, researchers said.
A team of researchers, led by the University of Edinburgh (UK) and including Swarthmore College Associate Professor of Statistics Steve C Wang, examined the evolutionary links between ancient birds and their closest dinosaur relatives.

They did this by analysing the anatomical make-up of more than 850 body features in 150 extinct species and used statistical techniques to analyse their findings and assemble a detailed family tree.
Based on their findings from fossil records, researchers say the emergence of birds some 150 million years ago was a gradual process, as some dinosaurs became more bird-like over time. This makes it very difficult to draw a dividing line on the family tree between dinosaurs and birds.

Findings from the study support a controversial theory proposed in the 1940s that the emergence of new body shapes in groups of species could result in a surge in their evolution.

"The evolution of birds from their dinosaur ancestors was a landmark in the history of life," said Wang.

"This process was so gradual that if you travelled back in time to the Jurassic, you'd find that the earliest birds looked indistinguishable from many other dinosaurs," Wang said.

Wang invented a novel statistical method that was able to take advantage of new kinds of data from the fossil record, which reached the conclusion that early birds had a high rate of evolution.

"Birds as we know them evolved over millions of years, accumulating small shifts in shape and function of the skeleton. But once all these pieces were in place to form the archetypal bird skeleton, birds then evolved rapidly, eventually leading to the great diversity of species we know today," he added.

"There was no moment in time when a dinosaur became a bird, and there is no single missing link between them," said Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh's School of Geo Sciences, who led the study.

"What we think of as the classic bird skeleton was pieced together gradually over tens of millions of years. Once it came together fully, it unlocked great evolutionary potential that allowed birds to evolve at a super-charged rate," said Brusatte.

The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

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HRD ministry officials asked to take part in cleanliness drive

The day is otherwise observed as a national holiday across the country.

"All the employees are directed to actively participate in the pledge taking ceremony. All bureau heads in both the departments of HRD Ministry (school education and higher education) are requested to ensure presence of all the employees of their respective bureaus," the Ministry communication said.

The cleanliness oath will be administered to all the employees of the Ministry at 9.45 am and all officials are directed to report at 9 am, the communication said.

The employees will participate in a cleanliness drive after the oath taking function.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the programme on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi from India Gate and 2500 students from government schools across the city are slated to participate in it.

Earlier, HRD Minister Smriti Irani had launched the swachh Bharat Vidyalaya Abhiyan from a Kendriya Vidyalaya here on September 25, calling upon all to contribute towards the cleanliness drive and make it a success.

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Sale of imported fireworks illegal, punishable: Government

It has been brought to the notice of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) that fireworks of foreign origin were illegally brought into India under false declarations, the ministry said in a statement.

It said various fireworks associations have informed that these smuggled items include 'Potassium Chlorate', a dangerous and hazardous chemical which can ignite or explode spontaneously.

The Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers' Association (TANFAMA) has also informed that illegal fireworks of foreign origin have penetrated into the country in large quantities and they are likely to be sold through retail outlets extensively during coming Diwali season, it added.

"Possession and sale of fireworks of foreign origin in India is illegal and punishable under the Law.

Information about possession and/or sale of such fireworks may be reported to the nearest Police Station for suitable action," the statement said.

Fireworks in India have been declared as restricted item in respect of import by Director General of Foreign Trade.

The manufacture, possession, use and sale of any explosive containing sulphur or sulphurate in admixture with any chlorate is banned in the country.

Till date, no licence for import of fireworks has been granted under the Explosives Rules, 2008 by Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization, a subordinate office of the DIPP.

In August, TANFAMA has alleged that fireworks from China worth Rs 600 crore had already been imported and hoarded in North Indian states.

It said that imports may affect job prospects of 10 lakh workers employed in fireworks units in India.

According to reports, Sivakasi, the manufacturing hub of India’s fireworks industry, has reported a 35 percent decline in sales this year due to smuggling of fireworks from China.

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Students no more need attestation of documents

Following up on the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the UGC has sent a communication to Vice Chancellors of universities across the country asking them to initiate "urgent steps" for implementing the measures.

It gave them a week's time to comply with the directions.

"It is requested that the process of abolition of affidavits and adoption of self-certification may be complied with at the earliest and compliance report be sent to UGC with a week of the issue of the letter," the Commission said in its communication.

The move would come as a huge relief to students as obtaining attestations from gazetted officers to documents involved a lot of hassles.

The measure posed more difficulty for students in rural areas scouting for a gazetted officer, officials said.

The system of self-attestation is aimed at simplifying procedures. Under this method, original documents are required to be produced at the final stage of admission.

According to the UGC, self-certification is citizen-friendly and obtaining either an attested copy or affidavit not only costs money to the poor citizen but also involves wastage of time of citizens and government officials.

Several universities have already started accepting self-attested documents and the communication is intended to set a time-line for the rest to follow it, said HRD Ministry officials.

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In line with other ministers, Ram Vilas Paswan picks up broom for PM's 'Clean India Mission'

Paswan cleaned the area in front of his office in Delhi. He said that he will participate in the mission on October 2nd and expressed confidence to present Mahatma Gandhi a clean India by 2019.

Paswan also said that this initiative by ministers and the prime minister himself will encourage people to participate in the movement for a clean nation.

He also talked about Margaret Thatcher's reference wherein she said that 'Delhi was dirtiest she had witnessed' and said that such statements need to be proved false.

Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, Culture MinisterShripad Yesso Naik and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad themselves swept using a broom and launched the drive.


The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has initiated a Swachh Bharat Cleanliness Photo Contest, till October 15.The best pictures will also be given cash prizes worth Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 and certificates of appreciation.

The ministry has also initiated an animation and video contest on the theme of 'Swachh Bharat'.

The first prize in this competition is Rs 30,000."For the purpose of this contest, please make animation/short videos depicting the essence of Swachh Bharat," ministry advertising said.

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Sole Shiv Sena Minister in Modi Cabinet to quit

"After the return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the US, Geete will meet him and tender his resignation," Thackeray said here, five days after the six-party Grand Alliance in the state collapsed last Thursday.

With this, the BJP-Sena alliance will end at the state and Centre levels, but would continue in several prominent civic bodies in the state, including Asia's richest, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.

Uddhav's announcement came a day after his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray questioned the Sena move of "clinging" to power in Delhi though the BJP had broken their 25-year old alliance in Maharashtra.

Calling upon Sena to immediately withdraw its MP from the Union Cabinet, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief went to the extent of saying that if he had been alive, the late Bal Thackeray would have terminated the alliance with BJP at least a month back.

The Sena had been a constituent of NDA-I headed by then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee with three Cabinet Ministers, and later bagging the prestigious post of Lok Sabha Speaker for Manohar Joshi.

In the NDA-II, the Sena had to remain content with just one cabinet berth with a relatively light portfolio, despite having more MPs than on the previous occasion.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

CBI chargesheets Dayanidhi Maran, Malaysian tycoon in telecom scandal case

Besides the Maran brothers, the CBI has named Malaysian business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan, Malaysian national Ralph Marshall and four firms, including Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd and Malaysia's Maxis Communication Berhad, as accused in the case.
  
They have been chargesheeted for the offences punishable under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
  
The charge sheet was filed before Special CBI Judge O P Saini who fixed it for consideration on September 11.
  
According to CBI sources, Dayanidhi Maran, during his tenure as Telecom Minister from February 2004 to May, 2007, had allegedly abused his official position and showed undue favour to Ananda Krishnan-owned company in lieu of which the business tycoon bought equity subscription shares of Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd and accused firm South Asia Entertainment Holding Ltd which were managed by the Marans.
  
The sources said that in the garb of investment in equity subscription shares, "illegal gratification" of around Rs 600 crore was given to the Marans.
  
Besides these accused, Ex-Telecom Secretary J S Sharma, who has died, has also been named in the CBI's charge sheet. However, his name has been put in a column of the accused against whom trial cannot proceed.
  
One of the four companies chargesheeted by CBI is ASTRO All Asia Network PLC.
  
The charge sheet was filed a day after the Supreme Court turned down the plea of Dayanidhi Maran seeking to restrain CBI from filing the charge sheet, saying that investigation in the case is still going on.
  
CBI, in the Supreme Court, had alleged that Maran had "forced" Chennai-based telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell the stake in Aircel to Malaysian firm Maxis Group in 2006 owned by Ananda Krishnan.

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Jayalalithaa first CM to lose post twice in graft cases

Jayalalithaa, who was convicted in a disproportionate assets case by a special court in Bangalore on Sunday had suffered similar ignominy 15 years back.
  
She had to step down in 2001 after a Supreme Court verdict termed her appointment as "unconstitutional" and maintained that she was not qualified to be a member of the legislature in view of her conviction for graft.
  
The massive mandate that Jayalalithaa secured for AIADMK in the May 2001 elections could not be a licence to be the chief minister, the court had observed.
  
This time, she has been convicted in an 18-year-old graft case.

Jayalalithaa convicted in DA case, sentenced to 4 years in jail; 100 crore fine   

Her latest conviction has come at a time when three Parliamentarians -- Rasheed Masood, Jagdish Sharma and Lalu Prasad Yadav were disqualified following their conviction in separate corruption cases.
  
Masood had become the first MP to lose his Rajya Sabha seat last year after the Supreme Court struck down a provision that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts.
  
Lalu Prasad and Jagdish Sharma, both convicted in the fodder scam, were also disqualified as members of the last Lok Sabha.
  
Masood's conviction was the first case after the July 10 Supreme Court judgement that struck down sub-section 4 of Section 8 of Representation of the People Act, under which incumbent MPs, MLAs and MLCs can avoid disqualification till pendency of the appeal against conviction in a higher court.
  
The appeal has to be made within three months of the conviction.
  
Seeking to negate the SC verdict, UPA government had introduced a Bill in Parliament in the last Monsoon session.
  
But following differences with the opposition, the bill could not be passed.
  
An ordinance on the lines of the bill was later cleared by the Union Cabinet on September 24 last to protect convicted lawmakers.
  
But reversing its earlier step, the Cabinet on October 2 decided to withdraw the Ordinance as well as Bill in the wake of public outburst against it by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

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Sensex down 30 points in morning trade ahead of RBI policy

Continuing Tuesday's weakness, the 30-share index moved further down by 30.38 points, or 0.11 percent, to 26,566.73, with metal, FMCG, PSU, oil & gas and banking sector stocks leading the fall. The gauge had lost 29.21 points in the previous session.

Also, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty shed 11.25 points, or 0.14 percent, to 7,947.65 in morning trade.

Brokers said besides weak trend on other Asian countries tracking overnight fall in the US markets, selective selling by cautious funds and retail investors ahead of RBI's policy review later in the day influenced sentiments.
  
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong Hang Seng down 0.40 percent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.36 percent in morning trade on Tuesday.
  
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.25 percent  lower in Tuesday's trade.

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SBI makes 63 branches functional in flood-hit Kashmir Valley

The SBI has not only made 132 ATMs operational in the valley but have also pressed seven mobile ATMs into service in areas of Srinagar city which have been severely flood-affected, said SBI deputy general manager, banking and operations, Arvind Priya.

"Four branches, namely Badshah Chowk, Badami Bagh, Jawahar Nagar and Rajbagh in Srinagar city are in severely inundated areas, which have suffered extensive damage to equipment and shall take some more time to be made operational. Customers of these branches can avail banking facility  from nearby branches of our bank for the time being," Priya said.

A total of 132 ATMs in the valley are operating normally and customers are drawing their cash from these ATMs, he said. "SBI has also deployed seven mobile ATMs in still inaccessible points of Srinagar and these are serving a large population."

He said that the SBI technical teams had worked continuously with local staff in the past few days to restore fully normalcy in banking operations in the valley."All customers can approach the branches and draw their requirement from ATMs. The ATMs will also be kept operational during ensuing holidays.

Now that normalcy of banking operation to a large extent is restored, the SBI will soon launch rehabilitation and restructuring scheme for its affected customers to help them rehabilitate their business quickly," he added.

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IBM keen on participating Smart Cities, Digital India projects

With a global turnover of nearly USD 100 billion, IBM is a major player in India and employs a large workforce in the country.

Nearly one-third of its global workforce of over four lakh persons is in India, where its headcount exceeds even that in US.

The meeting between Modi and Rometty was part of a series of one-on-one meets the Prime Minister had here with top business leaders of US on his last day in New York.

The Prime Minister is also likely to meet business leaders in Washington during the second leg of his five-day visit to US.

During her meeting with Modi, Romnetty discussed "software for Smart Cities and Digital India initiatives," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.

Among other places, IBM has its facilities in 14 Indian cities, including Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Other business leaders who had one-on-one meetings with the Prime Minister included KKR CEO Henry Kravis and CEOs of BlackRock, GE and Goldman Sachs.

Earlier, Modi also had a breakfast meeting with CEOs of 11 large American corporations.

These included PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Citigroup chief Michael Corbat, Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, Cargill's President and CEO David W MacLennan, Caterpillar's Douglas Oberhelman, AES' Andres Gluski, Merck's Kenneth Frazier, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Carlyle Group David Rubenstein, Hospira's Michael Ball and Warburg Pincus' Charles Kaye.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

M&M seeks to take scooter market with 'Gusto'

Gusto, priced Rs 43,000 onwards (ex-showroom Delhi), is pitted against Honda Activa, HeroMoto's Maestro and TVS' Jupiter.

Gusto was first launched in the Northern and Western region to begin with, while in the other parts of the country it will be rolled out in phased manner over the next few months.

Gusto has been developed as a global scooter at the company's R&D facility in Pune. It is the first product developed independently by the company after it acquired Kinetic six years back and produced at the company's Pithampur facility near Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

Mahindra sells around 20,000 units of its motorcycles and scooters per month.

Admitting that the two wheeler business has so far not financially performed, Goenka said that the first target was to build the product and volumes.

"We are first focusing on product and volume and once that happens, the profit will come," he said.

He said the 80,000 units are good volume to become a meaningful player in the two-wheeler segment in the country, adding, "We can get those volumes in the next two to two and a half years but there are a lot of its and buts."

Highlighting its features, M&M Two-wheeler Division Head Rajesh Jejurikar claimed Gusto is the first scooter in India to have a height adjustable seat among other features.

Jejurikar said that Gusto is also being launched in Nepal in the next couple of days and will hit the other neighbouring markets by January-March next year.

The new offering will be exported to Africa and Latin America from the second quarter of 2015, he said.

Mahindra Two-wheelers currently has 425 outlets across the country, of which 250 are in the western and northern region.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Rupee down 9 paise against dollar in morning trade

A lower opening at the domestic equity market and the dollar's rise against other major currencies overseas also put pressure on the rupee, dealers said.
  
On Monday, rupee had tanked 38 paise to log nearly 7-month closing low of 61.53 against the Greenback following dollar demand from importers and some weakness in stocks ahead of the RBI policy review.
  
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 30.38 points, or 0.11 percent, to 26,566.73 in morning trade.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

RBI may not cut interest rates as inflation levels still high

Although consumer price index (CPI), which the central bank is monitoring closely, has shown a declining trend in the past few months, the levels are still out of its comfort zone.

RBI has set a glide path for CPI inflation at 8 percent by January 15 and 6 percent by January 2016.

Retail inflation or CPI eased to 7.8 percent in August from 8.59 percent in April.

Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation has also eased, although more sharply, to 3.74 percent in August from 5.55 percent at the start of the current fiscal.

Banking experts however still believe that it may not be time for rate cut yet.

State Bank of India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said, "RBI is likely keep interest rate unchanged."

Echoing the similar view, Bank of Baroda Executive Director Rajan Dhawan said, "I think RBI would not change interest rate in the policy review because of inflation overhang."

Credit rating agency Care Rating said RBI has less room to cut policy rates on September 30 as there remains an upward threats to inflation going ahead.

"Given the economic parameters of improving growth of 5.7 percent (Q1 FY15) GDP and elevated retail inflation on the back of potential threats to inflation going ahead, we do not foresee any room for a rate cut in the upcoming policy announcement," Care said in a report.

In a hint to the market that the cut in interest rates is still far away, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had recently said there was a need to 'break the back' of inflation which remains high.

"The real problem is inflation that is persistent. We have been emphasising again and again in order to 'break the back' of inflation, we got to break this persistence," Rajan had said at an event.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Jan Dhan accounts cross 5 crore mark, banks collect over Rs 3500 crore

Led by state-run banks, the system has opened over 5 crore accounts under the Jan Dhan scheme as of September 25 and the deposits collected through the scheme have crossed Rs 3,500 crore, Financial Services Secretary GS Sandhu told the annual meeting of the Indo-American Chamber.

The average deposit per account through this scheme is Rs 800-900, he said.

Giving a major push to the Aadhaar scheme, Sandhu said, all these accounts will be seeded to the Aadhar number and will have biometrics to avoid the duplication.

The Jan Dhan scheme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address and was formally launched on August 28.

On the opening day itself, banks opened over 1.5 crore accounts. The government has set a target to open 7.5 crore such no-frills accounts by Republic Day next year.

Each of these accounts comes with Rs 5,000 overdraft facility and a Rs 1 lakh accident cover and are linked only to the RuPay cards.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Don't harass taxpayers on pretext of scrutiny: CBDT to I-T department

Compulsory scrutiny cases have been a matter of grievance for many taxpayers due to fears of harassment by I-T officials as one has to undertake many visits and submit numerous documents in order to prove that he or she has not escaped the tax due on income.

The I-T department, according to officials, picks up only 2 percent of the total tax returns cases for scrutiny in an assessment year and these too are selected by a computerised system in order to totally rule out any scope for human intervention.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body of the Income Tax department, has now mandated that, henceforth, the ambit of these enquiries should be limited to the verification of specific questions.

The board said it is issuing these directions following an analysis of taxpayers' grievances in this regard, which were found to be true.

"Feedback and analysis of such orders indicates that, many times, the core issues which formed the basis of selection of the case for scrutiny were not examined properly. This (scrutiny process) has been causing undue harassment to the taxpayers and has also drawn criticism from several quarters.

"Therefore, in such (computer-based scrutiny) cases, an Assessing Officer (AO) shall confine the questionnaire and subsequent enquiry or verification only to the specific point(s) on the basis of which the particular return has been selected for scrutiny," the CBDT said.

The board made it clear while issuing the new directive (on Sept. 26) for AY 2014-15 that it has "suppressed" all orders circulated earlier in this regard.
The CBDT order said that, "in such cases, all efforts would be made to ensure that assessment proceedings are completed expeditiously in the minimum possible number of hearings without unnecessarily dragging the case till the
time-barring date".

It also said that beginning Oct. 15, an I-T notice sent by the AO to the taxpayer for scrutiny will have further details as to the reason why his or her case has been called for examination.

The CBDT ordered that in specific cases where scrutiny has been launched, if it is found that there are chances of escapement of income exceeding Rs 10 lakh (metro cities) or Rs 5 lakh (non-metro cities), the case will be further probed by the AO only after the "written approval" of the Principal Commissioner or Director of I-T.

The CBDT, under this mechanism, too, has kept in mind the need to spare taxpayers any harassment.

"However, such approval shall be accorded by the Principal CIT/DIT in writing after being satisfied about merits of the issue necessitating wider and detailed scrutiny in the case.

Cases so taken up for detailed scrutiny shall be monitored by the Joint CIT/Addl CIT concerned," the order specified.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Rajan meets Mayaram ahead of monetary policy review

The RBI is scheduled to announce its fourth bi-monthly Monetary Policy Review on 30th September.

Usually the RBI Governor meets Prime Minister and Finance Minister ahead of policy review. Since the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in US and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is unwell, Rajan met Finance Secretary.

Even as the industry is pitching for a rate cut to boost industrial activities, the Reserve Bank is likely to maintain status-quo in the policy review.

The GDP growth has risen to a nine quarter high of 5.7 percent in the April-June period, while industrial output for July slowed to 4-month low of 0.5 percent due to contraction in manufacturing and poor off take of consumer goods.

Further, the retail inflation in August stood at 7.8 percent, while the wholesale price based inflation cooled to a 5-year low of 3.7 percent.

In its last policy review on 5th August, the RBI had kept key policy rates unchanged.

However, Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), the portion of deposits that banks are required to keep in government bonds, was cut by 0.5 percent to unlock about Rs 40,000 crore into the system.

It also said that RBI remains committed to taking CPI inflation to 8 percent by January 2015 and 6 percent by January 2016.

Rajan, who has for the third time in a row kept the rate unchanged in August, had then said that there are upside risks to inflation in view of uncertain monsoon and its impact on food production as also volatile international oil prices.

"It is...appropriate to continue maintaining a vigilant monetary policy stance ..., while leaving the policy rate unchanged," Rajan had said.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Rupee down 25 paise against dollar in Morning trade

Forex dealers said besides the dollar's gains against other currencies overseas after US data showed the economy expanded at its fastest pace since 2011 during the April-June quarter, fresh demand from importers for the American unit put pressure on the rupee.

The rupee had recovered by 19 paise to close at 61.15 against the dollar in Friday's trade in tune with local equities.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 82.11 points, or 0.31 percent, to 26,544.21 in morning trade on Monday. 

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Identify talent at young age, says Sachin Tendulkar

"I feel in many countries, talents are identified at a young age. That is what we lack in India. When we identify
talents, they are in teens. That is too late for competing in international matches," he said during a brief interaction with reporters here soon after launching ISL franchise Kerala Blasters' team anthem and jersey.

Sachin, co-owner of Kerala Basters football team, said they had signed local talent Dileep Menon, who would soon join the outfit.

"We will continue to support local talents," he said adding when he came to Kerala during April/may to announce the formation of the team, they had said local talent would be encouraged.

On the team's yellow jersey, he said it stands for determination and faith. The Blasters have succeeded in
acquiring players within India and from all football playing countries, he said.

Tendulkar said they had various plans to spot and adopt talent at the grass root level which will be started soon.

"Soon plans will be executed to become a competitive side at the international level," he said.

The maestro said though India has the talent, the country has not been able to provide them the right platform.

When it was pointed out that IPL is a success as most players in it are international stars and that may not apply to ISL, Tendulkar said, "I think we have international players. David is proof and he said he wants to give something back to the sport. It is what they bring. They are only going to learn rubbing shoulders. I feel it is an opportunity."

"In IPL, the players are from remote areas. They are no big names. Why not encourage him?. And it is something I feel, we have lacked over the years. Provide them the right platform. In India there is right talent. We have not been able to provide them the right platform. Over a period the face of Indian football will change," he said.

To another query, Tendulkar said 'It is important for me to support all sports in India, football and cricket, Kabaddi and badminton leagues. Both are successful now. I see no reason that the ISL should not succeed. It was the responsibility of everyone, not only of team owners and players alone, to ensure that it succeeds."

On the first match of Kerala Blasters not being played at Kochi, he said it was difficult to keep everyone happy. "We want to play good football."

Asked if there were plans to tie up with any football clubs, he said the management would take a decision in this
regard.

The theme song has been composed by M M Sreelekha, who has composed music for 75 films and sung by Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani.

Muthoot Pappachan group is title sponsor of the team. Tendulkar said there are 62 million diabetic patients in
India.

"That should be reason for all of us to support sports from the grass root level till one stops breathing."

To perform consistently, good fitness is essential, he said.

Urging everyone to look after their health, he said, "Let us become the healthiest and fittest nation of the world."

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Indian eves lose to South Korea in hockey semi-final

The Indian pair lost 1-3 (5-11, 13-11, 8-11, 4-11) in 23 minutes to Japanese pair of Seiya Kishikawa and Ai Fukuhara at the Suwon Gymnasium.

Amalraj-Madhurika weren't allowed to settle down in the first game, losing 5-11.

They fought back to win the second game, which involved numerous long rallies, 13-11. However, the Indian pair failed to sustain their momentum and lost 8-11, 4-11 in the next two games to exit the competition.

With this defeat, Indian paddlers' campaign in the mixed doubles category, ended as the other team of Achanta Sharath Kamal and Poulomi Ghatak lost in the second round match on Monday.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Vikas advances to quarters, 3 others lose in Asiad boxing

Gaurav Bhiduri (52kg), Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and Kuldeep Singh (81kg) bowed out after losing their respective quarterfinal bouts.

Vikas was the first Indian boxer to take the ring today and he advanced to the quarterfinals after a comfortable win over Kanybek Uulu Azamat of Kyrgyzstan.

The former World Championship bronze-medallist was on the top of his defensive game against Azamat.

Vikas is making his debut in the middleweight category after injury forced first choice and defending gold-medallist Vijender Singh to give the Games a miss.

The Haryana-lad relied on his tried and tested technique of counter-attack. He waited for his rival to drop the guard and then knocked him back with incisive jabs.

With a shell guard which rarely gave Azamat any chance of landing a clear punch, Vikas impressed with his foot movement and his ring craft was duly appreciated by judges, who declared him an unanimous 3-0 winner.

Vikas will face Normatov Hurshidbek of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinal.

However, Asian Championships silver-medallist Mandeep and rookie Gaurav Bhiduri fell by the wayside in the last eight stage losing their respective bouts 0-3.

While Mandeep lost to Thailand's Saensit Apichet, Bhiduri was beaten by Uzbekistan's Zoirov Shakhobidin. Mandeep faced two knockdown counts during the bout.

Later, Kuldeep, a national champion, went down to Iran's Rouzbahani Ehsan 0-3 to end a poor day for the country's male boxers.

In sharp contrast, all the three women in fray - M C Mary Kom (51kg), L Sarita Devi (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) - have assured themselves of medals by advancing to the semifinals.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Tridents take on Knights in bottom-placed battle

With Kings XI Punjab and Hobart Hurricanes already booking their semi-final spot from this group, bottom-placed Tridents and fourth-placed Knights have already bowed out of the tournament and the two sides will play for pride at the M Chinnaswamy stadium.

Tridents, who lack big names, come into this game after a loss at the hands of Cape Cobras in their last match, while Knights, in their last game, were outclassed by Kings XI Punjab, who entered the last-four in their maiden CL T20 appearance.

Knights, who started off well in the 'powerplays' before their 216-run chase ran out of steam, were skittled out for paltry 95 in 15.2 overs.
   
The 'Pink Panthers' from New Zealand, who had done well at the start of the tournament, found it difficult to handle the young spin duo of leg-spinner Karanveer Singh (4/15 in 3.2 overs) and left-arm spinner Akshar Patel (2/16 in 4 overs) during middle overs.
   
Tridents, on the other hand, were outwitted by Cobras in a thrilling 'Super Over' contest in spite of a brilliant unbeaten 111 by Jonathan Carter.

In the bowling department, experienced campaigner Ravi Rampaul will really have to step up after a wicketless show against Cobras.

Jeevan Mendis has been the pick of their bowling attack and a lot will depend on him, Jason Holder and Ashley Nurse.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Lehmann expects Johnson to play in Test and ODIs vs Pakistan

Johnson was withdrawn from the Twenty20 Champions League with a rib injury, but left with the national squad for the UAE on Sunday.

Johnson is the world's leading pace bowler after prominent roles in the recent Test series wins against England and South Africa.

Lehmann allayed fears that Johnson was in any doubt for the first Test against Pakistan, starting in Dubai on October 22.

"He'll be fine to go. Expect him to play the one-dayers, obviously not the T20 but the one-dayers and the Test series," Lehmann told reporters in Melbourne before the team's departure.

"We're lucky enough that in terms of the preparation, he did a fair bit of bowling before (getting injured), so it won't be an issue."

Lehmann was also upbeat that hamstrung captain Michael Clarke will be fit for the opening Test.

"I'm confident, he's confident -- and that's about where it is at the moment," Lehmann said.

"The tour game (on October 15-18) will be the telling time, I suppose, getting him out and playing that... But I'm pretty confident he'll play."

Clarke left ahead of the team last week to ensure he was acclimatised before beginning to stretch himself at training.

The skipper said before departure that he was improving daily from hamstring tendon damage suffered in a one-dayer against Zimbabwe in Harare on August 31. The injury forced him to return home from the tour early.

Even if Clarke and Johnson play, Australia will field a significantly different XI to that which edged South Africa in their last Test match in Cape Town in March.

Allrounder Shane Watson and pacemen Ryan Harris and James Pattinson are out with injuries.

Mitch Marsh and Stephen O'Keefe are both well placed to

make Test debuts as Lehmann ponders whether to play two spinners on the spin-friendly pitches.

"We always pick according to the conditions," Lehmann said.

"It's an Australian curator (groundsman) for the first Test, so it could be a decent wicket."

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon could be set for some marathon spells, while Peter Siddle will return. Lehmann wants the lion-hearted Siddle to be both spearhead and workhorse.

"He's put on some weight, put on some muscle... His speed is up," Lehmann said of Siddle, who was dropped for the side's last Test against the Proteas.

"The hardest thing is how many overs they can bowl in the heat."

Lehmann said the extreme heat could potentially tip the selection debate in O'Keefe's favour.

"I've been there before and they (pacemen) can only bowl three or four over spells sometimes," Lehmann said.

The tour starts with a T20 clash on October 6 in Dubai.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Wrestler Varinder Singh in Salman's film

Sources said that Salman first spotted Varinder during the shoot of Sadanah’s film; the actor apparently discussed casting him in Sohail Khan’s Sher Khan.

But their conversation was not taken forward since Sohail’s film got delayed. Salman recently met the wrestler at the first look launch of Kamal Sadanah’s film, and that’s where Salman apparently spoke to Varinder and roped him in to play a wrestler in Gama Pehalwan.

“I was rehearsing for an action sequence with actor Allan Amin for Kamal Sadanah’s film at Mehboob Studios when Salman dropped in on the sets since he was shooting for one of his films at the same studio. He then met me and offered me a role in Sher Khan, but the film got pushed ahead. When we met again recently, he offered me a pivotal role in this film based on Gama Pehalwan’s life. I will be playing a wrestler in the film,” said Varinder.

The wrestler says that he was surprised to see that the actor knew a lot about him.

“We discussed my diet and a few body-building techniques. The film on Gama Pehalwan will go on the floors first and I am hoping that I will also be a part of Sohail bhai’s Sher Khan,” he said.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Desi Kattey collects Rs 1.5 crore

Vishal Anand of Fun Cinemas says, “Last week clocked one of the lowest collections in this financial year. Out of the films that had released, Khoobsurat and Daawat-e-Ishq led the pack while Desi Kattey, Chaarfutiya Chhokare and 3AM couldn’t make any impact due to the fractured mandate and content quality."

Exhibitor Rajesh Thadani says that the total collection posted by seven films that released last week has merely crossed Rs 4 crore.

“The highest grosser among them so far is Desi Kattey which collected around Rs 1.5 crore, while 3AM made around Rs 1.24 crore. The remaining films have earned just a few lakhs. In fact, many cinemas cancelled their shows due to lack of audiences,” he says.

Trade analyst Komal Nahata says that each release is a bigger disaster than the other.

All eyes are now on Bang Bang and Haider that will take on each other this week.

Thadani adds that Khoobsurat did better than Daawat-e-Ishq last week.

“Yet its collection was far below our expectations,’’ he says.

The total collection of Khoobsurat stands at Rs 21.85 crore whereas Daawat-e-Ishq has collected Rs 24.6 crore so far.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Shashanka Ghosh to work with Rhea Kapoor, again

The film has impressed the viewers who are appreciating Sonam Kapoor's work in the film and enjoying her on screen chemistry with Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

"It was Rhea who wanted me to direct 'Khoobsurat' and this is one film that I am very happy about. I had a great time working with her and now we are planning to work together again," Ghosh said.

"It's a romantic film and we are putting things in place, but Rhea is busy with some other project, so we will make this film after that,” he added.

"I will be making a small film before I work with Rhea again. So, let's see how things work out for us," said the director who wielded the megaphone for films like 'Quick Gun Murugun: Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy' and 'Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II'.

Ghosh is known for going on long breaks after releasing his films, but says this time he is committed to make three films in one-and-a-half years.

He said: "I know that's the pattern. I have been following and my longest break was before 'Khoobsurat'. But no more breaks. I will be making three films in next one-and-a-half year."

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Sonakshi Sinha turns showstopper for Tarun Tahiliani

Clad in multi-colored sequinned floral lehenga, Sonakshi stole the entire show while showing off her moves as she walked down the ramp.

Sonakshi, who was donned in pastel colour floor length outfit and a golden 'maangtika' looked gorgeous at the fashion show.

The event also saw Sridevi clad in white shirt and cream trousers, while Mini mathur donned in green and pink saari.

Sonakshi's mother Poonam Sinha, Kunal Kapoor, Naina Bachchan and Roza' actress Madhoo were also present at the event.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

'Tamanna' would be a commercial success today, says Pooja Bhatt

"Tamanna" was awarded the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues in 1996. Pooja had produced it while Mahesh Bhatt had directed it. "I know that if I made 'Tamanna' today, I wouldn't have received just critical acclaim, but it would have also been a money-spinner. I would have got the right audience and it is a very relevant film. I got the National award for it," the 42-year-old said here Sunday at the closing ceremony of the fifth Jagran film festival.

Pooja added that it was tough to sustain with such an off-beat film in those days. "Today's time is an exciting time for filmmakers. When I made my first film 'Tamanna', I was 21 and there were no multiplexes and no platforms like these  festivals. I had to release the film in the Metro cinema, which just had a capacity of 1500. It was very difficult to sustain in those days," she said.

Pooja turned director with "Paap" in 2003 and is currently working on her next film "Cabaret".

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

I want to style Parineeti: Alia Bhatt

The 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' star has tied up with fashion portal Jabong to design the capsule collection.

When asked whom she would like to style, the 21-year-old actress said, "I would like to design for Parineeti Chopra. My fashion line is for every girl. A mid twenty or a mid thirty something can wear my clothes."
  
Alia says her clothing range is the reflection of her own self.
  
"The collection is very simple, it's very me. I wanted to be involved in this so we sat and discussed a lot. It's a fall winter collection. So there are lot of sweat shirts. It is very personal and special for me. I want everybody to enjoy this. A lot of importance has been given to animal prints as I love animals," she said.
  
The actress credits celebrity designer Manish Malhotra behind her fashion line inspiration.
  
"I have worked with Manish Malhotra in my first film. He is a very enthusiastic person and he changes his style with time. He is always excited to do new things," she said.

The daughter of Mahesh Bhatt says that she does not dare to style her director father as he is comfortable in his routine clothes.
  
"He is very comfortable with his black and blue denims and his chappals. No one can give him shoes. Recently on his birthday I gave him a pair of designer chappals and he asked me how much it cost? And wherever he goes he will say this is a designer chappal and my daughter has given me," she said.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

'Bang Bang' to release in more than 4500 screens

The Siddharth Anand-directed action-thriller is hitting theaters this Friday along with Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Haider'.

"'Bang Bang' is going to be huge. There is an incredible anticipation for the movie and the advance bookings across all PVR screens is really good. Certainly the hottest film of 2014; we are expecting a massive day one and the five day holiday weekend should result in record breaking numbers," Gautam Dutta, COO, PVR Cinemas, said in a statement.
  
Ashish Saksena, COO, Big Cinemas says the movie looks to be the biggest film of the year, both in terms of its look as well as the timing of the release.
  
"With an extended five day weekend, we have opened the advances and the response has been more than terrific both off the counters as well as in terms of block bookings from corporates. We expect this to become the biggest film of the year looking at the audience response," Saksena said.

Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios (the producer), added, "On October 2, 'Bang Bang' will see the widest release ever for a Bollywood film across the world. Over 4500 screens across 50 countries, with record breaking no of screens in the USA, UK and the Middle East."

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Wildlife numbers halved over past four decades: WWF

From 1970 to 2010, there was a 39 percent drop in numbers across a representative sample of land- and sea-dwelling species, while freshwater populations declined 76 percent, the green group WWF said in its 2014 Living Planet Report.

Extrapolating from these figures, "the number of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish across the globe is, on average, about half the size it was 40 years ago," it said.

The 52-percent decrease confirmed mankind was chomping through Nature's bounty much faster than the rate of replenishment, the WWF warned.
  
The last Living Planet Report, in 2012, found a 28-percent drop in numbers from 1970-2008, but that was based on only 2,688 monitored species.
  
The new report tracks the growth or decline of more than 10,000 populations of 3,038 species ranging from forest elephants to sharks, turtles and albatrosses.
  
It stressed that humans were consuming natural resources at a rate that would require 1.5 Earths to sustain – cutting down trees faster than they mature and harvesting more fish than oceans can replace.
  
"We are using nature's gifts as if we had more than just one Earth at our disposal," WWF Director General Marco Lambertini said in the foreword to the biennial publication.
  
"By taking more from our ecosystems and natural processes than can be replenished, we are jeopardizing our very future."
  
While agricultural yield per hectare has improved through better farming and irrigation methods, the sheer human population explosion has reduced per capita 'biocapacity', or available life-sustaining land.
  
Human population numbers shot up from about 3.7 billion to nearly seven billion from 1970 to 2010.
  
"So while bio-capacity has increased globally, there is now less of it to go around," the report said.
  
And, it warned, "with the world population projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050 and 11 billion by 2100, the amount of bio-capacity available for each of us will shrink further".
  
The survey highlighted differences between nations and regions in consumption and biodiversity loss.
  
"Low-income countries have the smallest footprint, but suffer the greatest ecosystem losses," it said.
  
The wildlife decline was worst in the tropics with a 56 percent drop, compared with 36 percent in temperate regions.
  
Latin America suffered the most drastic losses with an overall decline of 83 percent.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Insecure people share more on relationship on Facebook

According to a study, people who felt anxious about their partners were most likely to remind others that they are in a true and secure relationship.

"On days when people felt more insecure about their partner's feelings than they typically do, they posted more relationship-relevant information on Facebook," researchers noted.

The same is true for people who were anxious in general.

According to researchers, "the studies highlight the role of relationships in how people portray themselves to others".

The study was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Sushmita, Hrithik to glam up Myntra Fashion Weekend

Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan will hit the runway on the last day.

The three-day event will bring together a line up of designers from across the country.

The opening show will forecast the fall trend suggested by Myntra.com and curated by designer Rina Dhaka and Sushmita will walk the ramp as the showstopper.

Hrithik will walk the ramp for the first time for his newly launched active lifestyle apparel and casual wear brand HRX.

"I'm eagerly looking forward to the event, especially closing the show with HRX," Hrithik said in a statement.

From shopping, catwalk shows, pop-up shops to hair and beauty advice at the Lakmé Absolute Salon and Myntra-Stylecracker Look Good Hub, the event is one-stop destination to satiate the desire for shopping and fashion under the same roof.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Check out features to help you choose a stylish work bag

Choosing a right bag for office is certainly an arduous task. Here we help you with a simple checklist of features to find a perfect carrier yourself to make your life easier and your personality stylish.

Generous space

A stylish work bag should have ample room for all that you carry for work. A generous space in your bag will help you find things easily and save you from juggling things in your bag. Your bag should have enough space to accommodate all your required commodities like makeup, gadgets, books, food etc.

Enough compartment

If you own a bag with few pockets you will end up digging into your bag throughout the day. Its advisable to go for bags with good number of compartments along with several zippered pockets. A perfect bag should have one large section along with pockets in and outside the bag, making it both stylish and comfortable.

Customizable

A stylish bag must have customizable feature. This helps you to keep away from the monotony of carrying the same bag everyday. Go for bags with adjustable straps. Switch between long straps and small handles. A customized front panel also enhances the look of your bag by providing you panels in several colours and texture.

Match with everything

Go for bags with neutral colours like brown, black and beige. Such bags match with almost every outfit you own. Bags with bright colours and fancy patterns usually end up matching with one or two dresses.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Hilfiger fond of Bollywood films, incredible Sonam Kapoor

"I have followed Bollywood films and enjoyed the complete aura of fashionably dressed actors dancing around the trees," the designer, who was here to celebrate 10 years of his brand in the country, told IANS in an interview.

When asked if he follows any particular actor or actress in the tinsel town, he was quick to name Sonam. "Sonam Kapoor is amazing. She is beautiful, smart and incredible," said the man, who has spent 30 years in the fashion industry creating new trends. Hilfiger, who has made a niche clientele with his cool, casual, relaxed and youthful designs, had invited the "Khoobsurat" actress to be part of his brand's celebration in the capital.

On the occasion, the designer launched two limited-edition pieces - a shawl for women and traditional bandi for men. The iconic Indian garments were reinterpreted with Hilfiger's signature preppy spirit.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Scorpion-derived 'tumour paint' to fight brain cancer

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the product, developed by Blaze Bioscience, for study in human trials in US.
  
During the phase one trial, the tumour paint will be used on an estimated 21 people with a glioma, or tumour in the brain or spine, 'ABC News' reported.
  
The 'paint' will light up the tumour with special florescent molecules, allowing surgeons to remove cancerous tissue more effectively and safely.
  
The paint is developed by utilizing a protein derived from the paralyzing venom of an Israeli death stalker scorpion.
  
The re-engineered protein, which binds to cancer cells, is then joined with a fluorescent molecule 'flashlight' that has been used safely in human surgeries for decades, the report said.
  
"It's really hard to get molecules into the brain due to the blood-brain barrier," said Dr Jim Olsen, a brain cancer specialist at Seattle Children's Hospital and a professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle.
  
"Most drugs that are made by the drug companies can't penetrate that barrier. The scorpion has found a way to get these proteins in the brain," said Olson, who developed the product.
  
Olson said that in earlier canine trials, the paint was able to show small amounts of cancer cells that would be nearly impossible to identify with the human eye.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

WHO advocates salt reduction to prevent heart disease

"The WHO recommends a daily salt intake of less than five grams per adult or just under a teaspoon. The recommendation is even lower for children, depending on their energy needs," Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for South-East Asia said in a message on the occasion of World Heart Day.

High salt intake increases the risk of high blood pressure and is associated with heart disease, stroke and other diseases. An estimated 2.5 million deaths could be prevented each year if global salt consumption were reduced to the recommended level, she said.

Singh added that reducing salt consumption is a cost-effective public health intervention and needs a multi-pronged and multi-sectoral approach in which everyone has to contribute.

Governments have a critical role to play and must create awareness and develop policies that enable populations to consume adequate quantities of safe and healthy diet, with low salt content, she added.

The food industry needs to be engaged to reduce salt content and provide healthy food options by reformulating processed foods to reduced salt options, said Singh.

Simple household-level interventions such as adding less salt to food while cooking, removing the salt dispenser from the dining table, limiting the availability of high salt ready-to-eat food, increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables and guiding children's taste buds through a diet of mostly unprocessed foods without adding salt would go a long way in improving the health of people, she added.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Campaign to mark World Rabies Day

Over 200 students and teachers from Jusco Shool, along with officials of JUSCO and  APCRI. have taken part in the rally that was taken out in the city in the morning.
  
The awareness programme would continue as APCRI has plans to cover 32,000 students, doctors, veterinary doctors to train them about the menace, said Dr K K Singh, In-charge of the Tata Rabies Project.
  
Singh, also the in-charge of APCRI Eastern India, said the country accounts for about one-third of the global burden and two-thirds of the Asian burred of human rabies and exposure of dogs accounted for most of these human rabies deaths in the country.
  
As per the World Health Organization estimates, he said, the number of deaths due to human rabies was estimated to be around 20,000 per year and the maximum number of death in the world due to human rabies (36 percent) were reported in India, he said adding that the figure was declining in the last few years.
  
The motive behind the program was to create awareness among people and train them to take necessary precautionary measures in dog bite cases, he said.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Simple things you can do to make your relationship more exciting and healthy

Follow these relationship rules and we assure you, love will feel like a bed of roses.

Give some space to each other: As much as it may be a couple thing, you need individual memories and special moments too. To keep a relationship fresh and exciting, you need to experience things separately and then come together. This can certainly make you relish your togetherness more. The more you linger around each other, the faster you would get bored of each other. Have your own space and give him his. Don’t make your partner your world. Spend time with your girl gang while he hangs out with his boys. This will also give the two of you a chance to miss one another.

Be generous with hugs: Never lose a chance to hug your partner and let him know that you are there for him. Hugs can lift your mood instantly. They make one feel comfortable and relaxed.

Compliment your partner: Praise your spouse even if it’s a regular chore or habit. Compliments are the best way to thank a special someone for the effort they’ve taken for you, however small it may be. This will not only make your partner feel close to you but also bring an urge to do things in a way you want them to be.

Its ok to have crushes: Understand that your partner can have crushes on others too. It’s a difficult thought, but if you admire someone else, so can your partner.

Behave like children now and then: A few pillow fights or cute wrestles can never hurt anyone. But it can help both of you enjoy the relationship. Talking like a baby or calling your spouse by silly names will boost up your relation.

Be considerate: Don't expect your partner to be in bright mood. For example, we all hope to go home and watch a movie together and be happy. But often we are unaware of the circumstances our partner is in. So before expecting and making plans, make a phone call to ensure your partner is in best of his moods.

Go to bed together: This may be a small gesture but has lot of importance. Don't let your favourite show on TV or an interesting book hold you back. Getting into bed together, cuddling and talking about your day would bring both of you closer and also give a feeling of how important you both are for each other.

Don't force change: People change over time, that’s a fact of life. It is something that happens naturally and it cannot be stopped. If you try to control the changes and tailor them according to your needs, then you will only find yourself fighting a losing battle. Trying to change your partner to the way you want, all the time, could only end up frustrating them over time.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper