News Digest: Shivraj Singh Chouhan slams Shanta Kumar for writing letter

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Wednesday, July 22, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Shivraj Singh Chouhan slams Shanta Kumar for writing letter In a two-page letter to his party senior, Chouhan on Tuesday said that the "experienced and veteran" leader should not have written about an issue that is being raised by the opposition and that he should have first found out about the truth of the events and incidents that happened in Madhya Pradesh regarding the Vyapam scam before giving his opinion on it and making it public. Shiv Sena wants NDA convener's post revived Shiv Sena has demanded revival of the post of convener of the National Democratic Alliance in what is being seen as a pitch for a bigger say in the running of the BJP-led coalition at the Centre. Compulsory yoga for CBSE students of Classes XI, XII Yoga has been made compulsory in CBSE curricula for Classes XI and XII while for students of other classes it should be held "at least" twice a week as part of their physical activity programme, the government today said. More India News»

		Business
		Sun Pharma may shed part of Ranbaxy biz to push growth Faced with disappointing revenue and profit going forward, Sun Pharma is mulling options of exiting Ranbaxy’s “low-margin” overseas geographies mainly in Europe, and is also evaluating discontinuing the anti-retrovirals (ARV) business and API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) operations as part of its overall efforts to “discontinue certain non-strategic businesses” to fast-track growth. Call drops: Telcos told to file report by month-end With no improvement in the problem of call drops, the government has asked telecom companies to address the issue on an ‘urgent’ basis and file an action-taken report on the matter by the end of this month. IRCTC ties up with KFC Passengers used to stale fare on Indian trains may finally get some relief as some of the top fast-food chains in the country are boarding the band wagon. After pizza maker Domino’s, American chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), has tied up with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to serve consumers on trains. More Business News»

		Environment
		Par panel concerned over pollution in Taj Trapezium Zone A parliamentary panel has voiced concern over industrial pollution in the Taj Trapezium Zone Authority area "adversely" affecting the Taj Mahal. Plantation drive in Delhi begins in earnest, target is 5L With the first few showers already moistening Delhi’s otherwise arid landscape, the forest department has started its annual plantation drive. Mammals evolved fastest during mid-Jurassic era: Study Mammals underwent a rapid 'burst' of evolutionary change that reached its peak around the middle of the Jurassic age around 145-200 million years ago, a study says. More Environment News»

		World
		Car bomb in Baghdad kills 14, wounds 30 An Iraqi police official in Baghdad says a car bomb detonated in front of a busy clothing store, killing 14 people and wounding 30. Strike kills senior al-Qaeda leader in Syria: Pentagon The alleged leader of al-Qaeda's Khorasan Group was killed in an air strike by the US-led coalition in northern Syria, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Mali troops destroy jihadist camps near Ivory Coast border Malian troops destroyed two jihadist camps and arrested 15 suspected militants in the latest operation combatting radical Islamist groups near the southern border with Ivory Coast, military sources said on Tuesday. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Deepika and Katrina's 'black magic' Bollywood beauties sizzle in black sarees... Aditya Chopra offers a tailor-made script to Deepika? According to a report on Mid-day.com, YRF's scion Aditya Chopra has asked his team to work on a script, keeping Deepika in mind! Celebs who fooled us with their relationship status More Entertainment News»

		Science
		12 years off drugs, teen's HIV in check An 18-year-old French teen born with HIV has had her infection under control and nearly undetectable despite stopping treatment 12 years ago — an unprecedented remission, doctors are saying. A $10m 'fake' city spread over 32 acres to test driverless cars Researchers in the US have built a $10 million ‘fake’ city, which spans 32 acres and features dummy shops and restaurants, to test driverless cars of the future. Skin gets thinner in space. Experts look for a remedy A long-awaited human mission to the Red Planet is still many years away, with Nasa planning their first manned voyage in the 2030s. More Science News»

		Sports
		Paul van Ass is not a good coach: HI president Narinder Batra A day after India's hockey coach Paul van Ass claimed that he has been fired from the job, Hockey India president Narinder Batra hit back saying that the Dutchman was not a good coach. World Twenty20 2016 to be played across eight venues The World T20 will be conducted across eight cities, with the final to be played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on April 3. India A v Australia A: Crucial shot for Test hopefuls India A, led by Cheteshwar Pujara, start the home series against Australia A with the first of two 'unofficial' Test matches on Wednesday in Chennai. More Sports News»

		Technology
		8 cheapest 4G smartphones in India If you primarily use your smartphone for accessing the internet, you’d be delighted to know that 4G is all set to mainstream this year. Here’s a look at 8 4G phones that you can buy without burning a big hole in your pocket… Infosys' blockbuster Q1: 5 things to know India's second-largest IT services firm Infosys has posted robust first-quarter earnings. The blockbuster numbers sent the company's shares surging by as much as 15%. Toshiba CEO, top execs step down Toshiba's chief executive stepped down after an independent investigation found he had been aware the company had inflated its profits. More Technology News»

		Education
		Delhi University will promote all 2nd-year students The upheaval in Delhi University’s undergraduate courses continues for the third year. Online payment of fee in Allahabad University from today llahabad University will make available the facility of online submission of annual fee from Tuesday. The facility would provide much needed relief to thousands of students who had to spend hours standing in serpentine queue at the counter to submit fee. Don't force parents to buy non-NCERT books: CBSE to schools In an attempt to end the practice of schools coercing parents to buy textbooks other than NCERT books, CBSE on Monday issued a circular to principals of all schools warning them against the practice. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		'No blanket ban on tobacco use by cops' Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday ruled out a blanket ban on tobacco chewing among police cadres, saying even 50% legislators in the Assembly had one or the other addiction. However, he admitted that 34% of the state police force had mouth-related cancer. Central Bank withdraws circular on levy deduction It was a major embarrassment for Central Bank of India, which had to withdraw a crucial circular on deduction of union levy from arrears payable to officers and staff, after it was challenged by the Central Bank Employees Congress before the Bombay high court. Now, get ration card in 30 days A month after the government promulgated the Maharashtra Right to Public Services ordinance, the food and civil supplies department on Tuesday notified 10 services to end red tape. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Day after Bassi snub, AAP and cops clash In a clear escalation in the confrontation between the Aam Aadmi Party government and Delhi Police, the party’s youth wing members clashed with the cops on Tuesday while protesting at Anand Parbat against the murder of a 19-year-old girl. Cops soft on graft: Sisodia Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia took to twitter on Tuesday evening to share that a sub-divisional magistrate had to run after the police to get an FIR registered against DDA staff allegedly caught taking bribe. Ugandan held at IGI for forgery A Ugandan national was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday for trying to fly back to his country allegedly on forged documents. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Diamond necklace demand by Lokayukta son from JD(S) MLC: Horatti A Rs 25 lakh diamond necklace allegedly demanded by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao's son Ashwin, as a bribe to not pursue disproportionate assets case, reportedly scared a Karnataka JD(S) MLC three months ago. Author scripts change, takes app route to reach readers It's a Sunday. Your favourite author is in town for an interaction. You have no clue and are lazing around at home. The next day, you read about the event in the papers. Methane bomb's ticking away, caution experts Geologists and scientists are warning of a catastrophe if authorities don't act fast to nip the release of methane from the Lakshmipura landfill, near Anekal. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Andhra Pradesh offers beggars Rs 5,000 to stay away from river festival The Andhra Pradesh government has come up with a novel scheme to keep beggars away from the crowded ghats where Godavari Pushkaralu is now being held — they’ve been told to take home Rs 5,000 as compensation for loss of income and steer clear of the once-in-144-year event. Singapore firms to bid for Amaravati construction With the master plan for the AP capital Amaravati having been completed, the focus now shifts to its construction. According to sources, Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Development, two of Singapore’s developers, are likely to bid for the capital development. Fund-starved AP govt opens purse strings for contractors The state may be starved of funds, but that does not appear to come in the way of the TDP regime bestowing a Rs 1,000 crore payment to irrigation contractors towards what it calls cost escalation. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		When homes are a death trap Even as prices of apartments soar every passing day, houses or residential complexes across Tamil Nadu may not safe as one might want them to be. Lack of awareness leads to casualties In October last year, Pavithra, a Class 12 student in Villupuram, was killed when an LPG cylinder in her house exploded. Gujarat reefs get a helping hand from Mannar A key marine wealth that disappeared from the face of Gujarat coast has made a spectacular comeback due to the efforts of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Dad-in-denial fined for serial paternity dodge The Gujarat high court has fined Hasmukh Pandya, 42, a teacher from Limkheda — in the tribal district of Dahod — for refusing to accept that he is the father of his three children. Woman assaulted near Viramgam, files atrocity case A woman filed an atrocity complaint with the Viramgam police on Sunday, accusing a group of persons of assaulting her and using abusive words for her caste. Two 'drug dealers' caught, let off A team of Ellisbridge police caught a man and a woman on the basis of a tip-off that they were involved in drug trade in the city. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Youth kills mother for scolding him, threatens brother A 42-year-old widowed woman was killed by her son in neighbouring Pratapgarh district on Saturday night for telling him to mend his ways and start earning livelihood. Cop job aspirants protest against recruitment board Hundreds of sub-inspectors and constables recruitment exam aspirants staged a demonstration at Chandrasekhar Azad Park on Monday to protest Police Recruitment and Promotion Board’s decision to cancel results of candidates who had used whitener in prelims. Balkhadia's bone to be sent to Hyd for DNA tests Though police have collected enough evidence about the death of dacoit Sudesh Patel alias Balkhar alias Balkhadia, it would still wait for the DNA analysis and testing of samples of bones and blood stains before replacing bandit’s name with that of the new kingpin of the inter-state gang number 262. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Youngsters celebrate first Nabakalebara Rath Yatra The first Nabakalebara of the millennium was also the first for many youngsters. Thegennext did not miss the chance of being a part of the mega festival and visit various temples in the city to pull the chario Hostel guard 'Hanuman' in double role About 100 metres from the Gundicha Temple in Puri, a small crowd draws attention. The flashing of camera bulbs would give the impression a celebrity has arrived on the festive scene. Rath rush prompts airports to ask for more flights The Biju Patnaik International Airport authorities would request Air India to use two more feeder flights for international operations, encouraged by the overseas passengers during the ongoing Nabakalebara Rath Yatra festival. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Katare hospitalised, blame BJP MLAs of assault Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh assembly Satyadev Katare was hospitalized on Tuesday evening after he complained of chest pain, alleging that it was the result of being punched by two BJP MLAs on the Assembly premises for raising Vyapam issue in the House. New RRI commissioned at Itarsi station in 34 days, rail traffic to normalise soon After 34 days of restoration work on war-footing basis, new route relay system (RRI) system was commissioned at Itarsi railway station on Tuesday. Assembly reprimands advocate for breach of privilage Madhya Pradesh assembly on Tuesday reprimanded advocate Siddharth Gupta for breaching the privileges of the house. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Jathedar slams police action, seek release of arrested Sikhs Condemning the police action in shifting of Surat Singh Khalsa to hospital from his house at Hassanpur village in Ludhiana, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh on Tuesday said, "Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is taking the required action in securing release of Sikh political prisoners from jails but there are legal complexities it is necessary to take opinion of legal experts." Amritsar's heritage at stake under HRIDAY: Historian Preservation of Amritsar's heritage under Union government's much-hyped multi-crore Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojna (HRIDAY) project has come under criticism even before it can take wings. Pay farmers by Sept 10, HC tells sugar mills of Punjab, Haryana Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday directed private and cooperative sugar mills of Punjab and Haryana to make payments to cane farmers by September 10. More Chandigarh News»

		To manage your newsletter subscription settings, click here	Other Newsletters from TOI : Top Headlines | Tech | Entertainment | Movie Reviews | Life & Style