News Digest: 'Poll reforms not a priority for the political class'

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Sunday, September 06, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		'Poll reforms not a priority for the political class' Under the chairmanship of Justice A P Shah, the 20th Law Commission made far-reaching recommendations on issues ranging from death penalty to electoral reforms. After leaving office last week, he spoke to Pradeep Thakur about his work 35 of 54 heads of state to attend India-Africa summit India's Africa outreach in the form of the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit has taken off with heads of state and government of 35 nations confirming their participation in the summit to be held next month here. We lost terribly in 1965 war, Pak historian says Pakistan “lost terribly in the 1965 war” with India, a Pakistani historian has admitted. More India News»

		Business
		Global safety nets needed to check currency: FM India today strongly demanded creation of global safety nets to address concerns over volatility in currency movements and markets, a demand that has come against the backdrop of economic shocks triggered by Chinese devaluation of yuan. Grant of payments banks licence arbitrary: Swamy BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday termed RBI's decision to grant in-principle approval to 11 entities for payments banks as "arbitrary and malicious". India urges greater mobility of skilled labour at G20 India today favoured greater mobility of skilled labour besides increased movement of goods and capital arguing that it would help the developed nations which are faced with the problem of ageing population. More Business News»

		Environment
		More than 13,000 metric tonnes red sanders seized in AP More than 13,000 metric tonnes red sanders wood have been seized in Andhra Pradesh as part of efforts to curb illegal cutting and transportation of red sanders in the state, the AP Legislative Assembly was informed here today. Drones to make wildlife monitoring easier Buoyed by the success of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) procured last year, the Pench Tiger Reserve plans to procure more drones for wildlife surveillance for its 15 ranges in Umred-Karhandla, Mansinghdeo, Tipeshwar sanctuaries as well as Bor Tiger Reserve. No green nod for CIL to expand output in existing units State-owned Coal India, which is targeting 908 million tonnes of output by 2020, has been denied environment clearance for expansion of one-time production capacity by 50 per cent in existing operations without public hearing. More Environment News»

		World
		47 dead as rebels battle IS in north Syria A battle between Islamic State group jihadists and rebels for control of an opposition stronghold in northern Syria has killed at least 47 fighters, a monitor said today. Iran photographer to share prize money with Syria refugees Iranian photographer Newsha Tavakolian has said she will donate part of a 100,000-euro (USD 112,000) Dutch award to charity, including Syrian and Iraqi refugees. UAE pounds Yemen rebels after coalition's deadliest day The UAE bombarded Yemeni rebels with air strikes today as it mourned 45 soldiers, among 50 killed in the deadliest day yet for a Saudi-led coalition fighting the insurgents. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Geeta Basra, Bhajji's reception to be in Delhi Bollywood actress Geeta Basra and Indian cricket’s ace spinner Harbhajan Singh will tie the knot on October 29 in Punjab among close friends and family. 'I lived my music with Aadesh Shrivastava' Aadesh Shrivastava’s demise has come as a shock to Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. For Aadesh, Big B was family and he would fondly call him Dada. 10 Most popular Janmashtami songs More Entertainment News»

		Science
		`New notations will make many instruments useless' There are an infinite number of musical notes, the ancient Greeks discovered, yet we use just a few of them because of limitations of modern instruments. When crinkling papers make you tingle What could possibly be entertaining or engaging in watching hearing online soft whispers, the snip of a pair of scissors, a barista making an espresso shot or someone folding a wrapping paper? Meet Swarupa, the cloned calf that's raised milk hopes With the demand for milk in India projected to reach 200 million tons (MT) by 2021-22, the country's premier dairy research institute is looking at cloning as a strategy to boost the population of high-yielding, elite variety of buffaloes. More Science News»

		Sports
		Can play with five bowlers if Binny is that option: Ganguly Ganguly is of the opinion that the Kohli-led side can play with five bowlers if Stuart Binny is the bowling all-rounder although it should be situation specific. Live scorecenter: US Open 2015, Day 6 Live scorecenter: US Open 2015, Day 6 Shooter Apurvi Chandela wins silver in ISSF World Cup The 22-year-old Jaipur girl finished second on the podium after she tallied 206.9, just 0.6 behind Ahmadi Elaheh of Iran, who won the gold medal with a tally of 207.5. More Sports News»

		Technology
		7 hot smartphones with 3GB RAM under Rs 20,000 With economies of scale moving in the handset makers' favour, a number of manufacturers have started offering phones with high-end specifications at a mid-range price. Online shopping may get costlier as Delhi slaps VAT All retailers carrying out transactions on e-platforms such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon will now have to register with Delhi’s trade and taxes department and pay state sales levies. Google charged with abusing dominance in India The CCI report has noted that Google's search services produce biased results, raise conflict of interest issues and often result in users not getting the most relevant results. More Technology News»

		Education
		Panel suggests withdrawal option after second round of IIT, NIT admission In the joint seat allocation process for admissions to IITs and NITs next year, the authority may allow admission withdrawal option once at the end of the second round. Andhra Pradesh government plans to achieve 100% literacy rate by 2019: Chandrababu Naidu Calling upon teachers to help transform Andhra Pradesh into a "knowledge hub", chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said the state eyes to achieve the target of 100 per cent literacy rate by 2019. School bags of Delhi kids to get lighter To lighten the heavy school bags of students, the government is all set to reduce their syllabus by 25 per cent in all Delhi government schools, Education Minister Manish Sisodia said on Saturday. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		No meat for 8 days of Jain fast in Mira-Bhayander Residents of Mira Road and Bhayander in the northern suburbs will have to go without meat for eight days during the Jain fasting period of Paryushan this month. 'Kolkata man was hired to kill Mikhail' Investigators probing the murder of Sheena Bora have learnt that her mother and main accused Indrani Mukerjea got in touch with someone in Kolkata to kill her son Michail Bora. Celebrate the joy of giving this October The festival of giving is back. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		New service to send SMS on FIR to complainant Like many services, where you get confirmation and details through text messages, the Delhi Police have also started a new service for the complainants where they will get a system-generated text message informing them about the details of their FIR. It will be sent to the complainant as soon as the FIR is uploaded in Delhi Police’s record. Policy confusion hits farmhouses Only 250 of 4,000 regularized in 3 yrs, no clarity on FAR That cooing sound is of a pest! Feeding frenzy leads to explosion in pigeon population at the cost of other birds More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		BJP goes to governor crying foul over Cong-JD(S) alliance The BJP took out a protest march and called on Governor Vajubhai Vala on Saturday to draw his attention to the "unholy nexus" between the Congress and the JD(S) to get a majority in the BBMP council. After power, water woes stare B'luru in the face As if coping with erratic power supply was not bad enough, Bengalureans could soon have their taps running dry. Nilekani donates 50L to school fund Infosys co-founder and former Aadhaar chairman Nandan Nilekani donated Rs 50 lakh to the alumni association of Bishop Cotton Boys' School in the city. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		TDP blames KCR for ryots' suicides TDP leader Erraballi Dayakar Rao on Saturday blamed the TRS for farmers’ suicides and crisis in the agrarian sector in the state. Slapping case: TRS, Congress MLAs file complaints Achampet TRS MLA Guvvala Balaraju, who slapped Makthal Congress MLA Ch Rammohan Reddy at the Zilla Parishad meeting on Friday, filed a case under the SC/ST Atrocities Act against Rammohan Reddy, on Saturday. Apollo MoU on orthopaedics Aiming to build a pool of orthopaedic surgeons trained in revision total knee replacement (RTKR) in India, Apollo Hospitals signed an MoU with Prof Dr Heiko Graichen, medical director of Asklepios, Orthopaedic Clinic Lindenlohe, Germany, a global authority on RTKR. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Rs 12cr fish auction hall at Kasimedu yet to be opened A walk inside the fish market at Kasimedu harbour is not pleasing. Even as early as 4am, buyers, sellers, connoisseurs and many others jostle for space Ex-servicemen in city slam OROP caveats, say agitation will go on The implementation of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme by the Union government was supposed to bring cheer to the agitating servicemen and their kin, but the caveats being put has not gone down well with several officers in the city who said they will continue to support the agitation Custodial death: Political parties want cops booked for murder Members of several political parties, including MDMK and VCK, and a few Tamil activists staged a protest in front of Government Royapettah Hospital on Saturday, demanding that the inspector responsible for the death of a 45-year-old Sri Lankan at Pallikaranai police station be charged with murder. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Indian netas and their cringeworthy comments As CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjan found himself in the middle of a controversy when he commented on a condom ad done by Sunny Leone, we bring you some of other equally cringeworthy comments made by our neta brigadeOur politicians have had a histo ry of making lewd, provocative, sexist comments that sometimes shock and perplex sensible Indians. Surat traders capture palazzo pants market Palazzo pants are manufactured from crape, chiffon and knitted polyester fabrics in the country's largest manmade fabric hub of Surat. Now, mega rally to car workshops A Sola-based private bank executive was in for a shock when he found out that all the window panes of his recently bought car parked in his residential society were shattered. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Rlys to develop satellite stns to overcome bottlenecks To reduce traffic bottlenecks and detention of trains coming towards Allahabad junction, satellite stations around Allahabad -- Subedarganj, Chheoki and Prayag -- will be developed. Fight between kids leads to youth's murder A 22 years old youth was stabbed to death by a man when he tried to intervene and break up a fight between two children on Friday.The accused was allegedly in an inebriated state. RPF wins praise on raising day The main function of Railway Protection Force Raising Day was held at NCR headquarters in Subedarganj on Friday.North Central Railway general manager Arun Saksena inspected the parade. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Centre to consider state's demand for coal to OTPCL The Centre is most likely to consider state's demand for allocation of a coal block in favour of its PSU Odisha Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (OTPCL). NBFC chief bought hotels, island The promoters of Roofers Capital Management Ltd (RCML) have invested huge amounts of money in the hotel and real estate business besides diverting funds to purchase an island in the Andamans. Bana Baba vacates Kalki Ashram near Konark The Puri district administration on Friday faced stiff resistance from locals during demolition of the unauthorized Kalki Ashram of Bana Baba near Konark.Later, the Baba vacated the ashram. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		After Raj, MP in for monsoon withdrawal Monsoon has not yet begun withdrawing from MP, but expect no rain in next few days. In the absence of a strong weather system, Met dept officials have ruled out rain soon. SC had fined, censured govt for Minister's act Two years before a local court in Panna on Thursday ordered to book agriculture minister Gaurishankar Bisen in a case of defamation filed by Sanjay Nagaich, former chairman of district cooperative bank of Panna, Supreme Court in a related case had already imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the state government for removing him from the post of bank’s chairman. The court had also ordered his restoration. Madhya Pradesh Cong revamped, fresh blood injected to strengthen party After a series of debacles in Lok Sabha, assembly and civic elections, Congress on Friday reconstituted its Madhya Pradesh unit to strengthen the party and engage young members to regain political vigour. AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi released the list in Delhi. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Seize phone in Khan case: Legal expert Days before filing of chargesheet against Zulfikar Khan, the district attorney has advised the investigation agency to seize the cell phone of complainant Kanwar Pal that has four pictures of the NGO Theatre Age director in "objectionable positions with minor boys". Groundwater areas shrink in Haryana cities Sukhbir.Siwach@timesgroup.Areas having fresh groundwater have shrunk drastically in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonipat in the past two years. Road closures: Online vote today UT administration will take the views of residents through a poll option provided on www.mygov.in portal (in Chandigarh UT Group') on road closures at certain sectors to improve traffic flow and decrease traffic congestion. The poll on whether to close the road cuts between Sector 22 and 23, and Sector 22 and 17 which will be live from 11 am on Friday. More Chandigarh News»

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