News Digest

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Wednesday, March 25, 2015
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		Business
		RBI blocks Tatas' plan to buy out DoCoMo in telecom JV Tata Sons’ plans to buy back the 26.5% stake held by Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo in their Indian joint venture, Tata Teleservices, has hit a hurdle with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) not clearing the proposal. Cairn Energy pitches for arbitration on tax demand Cairn Energy Plc, the London-listed former parent of Cairn India, has sought compensation from the government for the loss in value it has suffered due to an “unfair and arbitrary” demand for Rs 10,247 crore in capital gains tax under the retrospective tax law. Equity MFs give high payouts on market rally Dividends in mutual fund (MF) schemes are getting bigger. More Business News»

		Environment
		African jumbos may be extinct in 20 years African elephants could be extinct in the wild within a few decades, experts warned on Monday at a major conservation summit in Botswana that highlighted an alarming decline in numbers due to poaching for ivory . Scientists: India should prepare to face extreme weather Around the same time as Cyclone Pam flattened the tiny Pacific island nation of Vanuatu early this month, untimely rains and hailstorms lashed Maharashtra in India destroying at least 5.5 million hectares of winter crops. World Water Day celebrated in Noida To spread awareness regarding the importance of development and management of water resources, Amity Institute of Water Technology and Management and Amity institute of Environment Science on Tuesday celebrated World Water Day at Amity University here. More Environment News»

		World
		Obama slows Afghanistan troop withdrawal President Barack Obama on Tuesday reversed plans to withdraw about 5,000 US troops from war-torn Afghanistan this year, an overture to the country's new reform-minded leader. In boost to Indian companies, US to ease L-1B visas US President Barack Obama pledged on Tuesday to ease the process of obtaining L1-B visas which foreign companies use to rotate workers in their US operations, saying that while this could benefit hundreds of thousands of nonimmigrant workers and their employers, it will in turn benefit the entire American economy and spur additional investment. ISIS claims suicide bombing in Libya Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State said they were responsible for a suicide bombing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Tuesday, a statement said on Twitter. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Mohit Raina lodges complaint against impersonator Mohit Raina, Lord Shiva of Nikhil Sinha’s Devon Ke Dev ... Mahadev, has approached the police against an impersonator. Kareena Kapoor Khan's five BFFs in Bollywood Things that are weirdly named after celebrities More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Your poop could be a goldmine, worth millions Human faeces contains gold, silver and other metals which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, say scientists who are investigating ways to extract the precious metals from poop. Too much sleep as bad as too little, claims study Too much sleep could be as bad for your health as too little, according to a growing body of scientific evidence. Isro releases 6 fresh pics from Mars, as MOM completes 6 months With the mars orbiter mission’s (MOM) expected life of 6 months around Mars concluding on Tuesday, Isro released fresh pictures of the Red Planet and a senior scientist also confirmed to TOI that its life will be extended by another six months. More Science News»

		Sports
		New Zealand beat South Africa to enter maiden World Cup final New Zealand defeated South Africa by four wickets (Duckworth/Lewis) in the semifinal to enter their maiden World Cup final at Eden Park on Tuesday. World Cup: Perfect time to beat Australia, says Virat Kohli Virat Kohli feels it is the perfect time to beat Australia in Thursday's semifinal at the SCG and do justice to the Indian bowlers' performance in the World Cup. Dhoni knows how to win World Cups: Michael Vaughan Michael Vaughan said that though both India and Australia have a 50-50 chance, one cannot rule out the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-factor in the semifinal. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Xiaomi Redmi 2 review Will Xiaomi manage to retain the budget throne with its latest offering? We try to find out… Samsung Galaxy S6 priced cheaper than Galaxy S5 What's worth noticing here is that Samsung has used more premium materials (glass and metal) in Galaxy S6 compared to Galaxy S5 (all-plastic build). 5 ways you can save money on mobile data We're offering you five ways to control your mobile data consumption and check your bills... More Technology News»

		Education
		Delhi fares well in economically weaker sections admission Delhi can give itself a small pat on the back. Though there is still much ground to be covered, the implementation of the Right to Education Act’s Section 12(1)(c), which requires private-unaided schools to reserve 25% seats for kids from economically weaker sections (EWS) and disadvantaged groups (DG), has been most successful in Delhi. Mamata writes to Centre on teacher shortage in Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Union HRD minister Smriti Irani with a plea to consider appointment of untrained teachers for limited period as the state is reeling under severe teacher shortage in schools. CBSE's teacher eligibility test riddled with errors The recently conducted Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was beset by errors. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		ISIS suspect's case: More time for chargesheet A special National Investigation Agency court on Tuesday allowed an application made by the agency, seeking a 60-day extension to file the chargesheet against suspected ISIS operative Areeb Majeed. Indians spending more on holidays, finds survey Indians may not be anywhere close to the Chinese when it comes to spending on holidays, but Indians have been consistently increasing their travel budget. BMC offers solace for most of 56,000 illegal structures Most of the city’s over 56,000 structures can be regularized or compounded by offering concessions or recovering additional fees, while the rest will have to be demolished partly or totally. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		On SEZ land, a global smart city About 800 acres of the total land the Haryana government got back from Reliance Haryana SEZ Limited (RHSL) in February last year will be developed as a global city having all the attributes of a smart city as the Narendra Modi government has envisioned. Man shot at in Delhi, daughter saved A 30-year-old man was shot at and critically injured after three attackers fired several rounds at him outside his house in Sangam Vihar on Monday night. Delhi boy hangs self after mom's scolding An 11-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide after being scolded by his mother in north Delhi’s Burari area on Tuesday morning. Police said the boy’s body was discovered by his parents when they went looking for him. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Cops allegedly torture 4 minors for 11 days In a fresh case of alleged police atrocity, a complaint with the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) said cops from Tarikere in Chikmagalur district illegally detained and tortured four minors for 11 days and even tried framing them in a case. This will usher in a plurality of views on the net Most lawmakers do not understand how information technology works and how free speech is the fulcrum of all communications over the internet. Internet censorship will continue in opaque fashion A division bench of the Supreme Court has ruled on three sections of the Information Technology Act 2000 - Section 66A, Section 79 and Section 69A. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Naidu's fiat: No salary for 'Andhra-averse' babus Furious over those IAS and IPS officers allotted to the AP cadre not reporting for work, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu has directed the general administration department (GAD) not to pay the salaries to the defiant officers if they fail to report for duty before April 1. MCI debars seven Telangana, AP doctors The Medical Council of India (MCI) has debarred three Telangana and four Andhra Pradesh doctors from teaching for five years after their names were found in a ‘ghost’ medical faculty list in a Puducherry-based private medical institute. School teacher sets ablaze former colleague following tiff over money A private school teacher killed his former colleague by setting her ablaze at her house at Boduppal on Tuesday. The victim Sridevi, 30, was the wife of one Satyanarayana, a private employee. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Chidamabram turns on UPA, says 66A was poorly drafted Former Union finance minister P Chidamabram once aimed barbs at the UPA government in which he was a minister for 10 years. Not so safe: 2 bird hits a month at Chennai airport Bird strikes don't cause as many air accidents as they used to till a couple of decades ago, thanks to better resilience and back-up mechanisms of aircraft, but they continue to be a risk. Ultrasonic what? We scare crows with firecrackers Peer through the window as your plane readies to take off from Chennai airport, and you may see a man setting off fireworks at the far end of the runway. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		HC berates Rajpath for leaflet smear The drama of Rajpath Club’s election has reached a new level of intensity. Some members belonging to one of the contesting club groups dropped leaflets at a Gujarat high court judge’s house late on Monday evening; the leaflets accuse the judges of having been “sold out”. Board cameras capture 620 cheats With the examinations for class X and XII general stream and those for semester-4 of class XII science stream concluding, a record number of copying cases — around 620 — have been reported. That’s a historic figure in the board’s annals. Mutated or not: H1N1 virus debate carried on amid deaths While the National Institute of Virology (NIV) has refuted claims of mutation in the H1N1 influenza A virus (swine flu) since 2009, another institute under the Union health ministry, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had in September 2014 found three mutation in the swine flu virus. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Bank gives away Rs 1 crore loan against fake gold Everything that glitters is not gold. The adage could be aptly applied to the guards and officials of the main branch of SBI Bhadohi who were guarding ‘gold’ worth over Rs 1 crore kept in their vault for the past several years oblivion of the fact that it was artificial. Vizianagram Hall to get a facelift The 125-year-old heritage structure -- the Vizianagram Hall and two allied buildings including department of mathematics and defence studies of the Allahabad University -- will finally be restored Women folk artistes present Haryanvi art forms to city A group of young women folk artistes of Haryana are on a mission to propagate the ‘Hariyanvi culture’, specially prevalent in the areas bordering Rajasthan, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, on the global map More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Judicial panels cost govt a fortune While opposition parties seek commission of inquiries at the drop of a hat for any incident, most such panels seem sheer wastage of money.The state government spent Rs 10.58 crore on 15 such commissions in past 10 years. Govt takes to social media, blogging to woo tourists The state government will cash in on the craze for social media to woo tourists to Puri during Nabakalebara. State seeks Delhi nod for Odissi museum plan The state government's plan to set up an Odissi museum is in cold storage ostensibly due to lack of interest by the Centre. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Bhopal girls urge police for more all-woman help desks After the launch of an all-woman help desk facility at Indrapuri C-sector in BHEL Township, police are flooded with requests to open similar facilities in other parts of the city. Probe missing record of Noor-Us-Sabah land Madhya Pradesh high court (MPHC) has directed Bhopal collector to conduct an inquiry into missing revenue records related to Noor-Us-Sabah and adjoining land Passenger movement dips at Bhopal airport Raja Bhoj International Airport, Bhopal showed a decline in passenger traffic by -11.2% between April 2014 and January 2015. On the other hand, Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport, Indore registered a 19.4% growth in passenger movement and topped the list of 15 non-metro domestic airports in the country. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Dolly Ahluwalia bags National Award for Best Costume for Haider Chandigarh-based Dolly Ahluwalia has bagged the National Award for Best Costume for her Hindi film 'Haider'. 4 arrested for betting in World Cup Pinjore police, along with the Kalka ACP, arrested four men from Dharampur Colony, Pinjore, for betting in cricket World Cup on Tuesday morning. Rock. Pop. Sufi. Fusion. You will be spoilt for choice in Kasauli The fourth edition of the Kasauli Rhythm and Blues Festival 2015, organized by the Genesis Foundation, is a line-up of non-stop entertainment for a cause. More Chandigarh News»

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