News Digest: No handwritten passports after Nov 24

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, October 31, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		No handwritten passports after Nov 24 The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has set a deadline of November 24 for the global phase-out of all non-Machine Readable Passports (MRPs). 80 engineering graduates among IPS trainees Eighty engineering and 19 medical graduates will complete training as Indian Police Service (IPS) officers on Saturday. Cong: Is Moody's warning also a manufactured protest? Congress on Friday harked back to finance minister Arun Jaitley’s jibe on authors to ask if BJP also considered the warning by Moody’s Analytics on rising intolerance in India a “manufactured protest”. More India News»

		Business
		Government offers sops for exports to check fall The government on Friday announced some sops for textiles, pharma, auto parts, electronics and exporters of several other products in an attempt to check fall in exports, which have declined for 10 straight months now. Panagariya sees growth at over 8% The Indian economy is expected to grow over 8% in the current financial year as the momentum has started gathering pace, NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Friday. Government dithers on overseas flying rule Even after months of intense deliberations with stakeholders, the government has not been able to decide on new rules for Indian carriers to fly abroad. More Business News»

		Environment
		Soon, a count of leopards in mid-Himalayas The first scientific estimation exercise to count the number of leopards in the middle Himalayas, at elevations ranging from 1000 to 3000 meters, in Uttarakhand will be undertaken by the state forest department in association with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) this December. Endangered storks flock to Chinese reserve Over 700 Oriental storks, an endangered water bird, have flocked to a nature reserve in China's Heilongjiang province. The population of the large white birds with black wing feathers and long black bills is estimated at 3,000. AAP govt announces first-ever 'tree census' in Delhi The Delhi government on Thursday decided to get the capital's first-ever tree census done by a "third party", essentially an NGO, to arrive at a factual figure of the number of trees in the city. More Environment News»

		World
		EU sides with US on South China Sea incident The European Union sided with Washington on Friday over a US-Chinese patrolling incident in the South China Sea, in a move that may affect Brussels' discussions with Beijing at next week's Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) of foreign affairs ministers. 'White House will not release emails between Obama and Clinton' The White House will not release emails exchanged between President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a senior administration official said on Friday. Beijing rejects arbitration over South China Sea China on Friday rejected an arbitration tribunal’s verdict overruling Beijing’s objections that it had no authority to hear a case involving disputed South China Sea islands. The Hague-based tribunal on Thursday said it would continue with the proceedings in the case and expects to deliver a judgment on the islands’ ownership next year. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Craig: It's gotten easier to play James Bond  It was October 2005 when James Bond fans first heard of the ‘next Bond’ to take Pierce Brosnan’s place – and the reaction wasn’t quite ecstatic. Sunny to Rekha: Celebs in revealing sarees Sunny Leone showed off her curves in a rather controversial saree photo shoot. Ameesha pampered by 'Desi Magic' co-star Ameesha Patel was in for a special surprise while shooting for her upcoming home production Desi Magic. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		66m yrs on, study reveals Tyrannosaurs rex was a cannibal A recently unearthed dinosaur bone has unveiled a 66-million-year-old family secret that tyrannosaurs, including the T. rex, were not shy about eating their own kind, scientists say. Earthworks found in Kazakhstan deepen ancient mystery High in the skies over Kazakhstan, spaceage technology has revealed an ancient mystery on the ground. 'Low-fat diet futile for weight loss' Low-fat diets do not lead to greater weight loss in the long term compared to low-carbohydrate or Mediterranean diets of similar intensity, according to a new study. More Science News»

		Sports
		2015 IPL contributed Rs 11.5 billion to India's GDP: BCCI The key benefits and opportunities that arose from IPL were employment generation across sectors, tourism development and support of tier two cities. Naik writes to BCCI for action against Shastri, Arun The controversy started when South Africa posted a mammoth 438 for four in the series-decider and Shastri is said to have passed a sarcastic remark to Naik about the nature of the pitch. Paes to partner Nadal in Paris Paes on Thursday lost his quarter-final match at the Valencia Open partnering Polish Lukasz Kubot but will now look to reach the last stage of the Paris meet. More Sports News»

		Technology
		6 Apple features copied by rival tech companies While Apple is sometimes accused of copying features from Android, there are plenty of instances in which other tech companies have released products that at least somewhat resemble Apple's. Here's a look at some of the design aspects gadget makers have copied from Apple over the years. OnePlus X first impressions OnePlus has finally released its first smartphone with 5-inch screen, its smallest handset yet. We went hands-on with the latest OnePlus smartphone to see what it is all about. Here are our OnePlus X first impressions: Why HCL, Mphasis are tweaking bell curve system Bell curve may still be the most preferred method of performance appraisal with several companies swearing by it, but increasingly companies are disbanding this model or tweaking it to make their system of rating and rewarding employees more flexible and feedback-based. More Technology News»

		Education
		More students opt for biology, as engg looses sheen With engineering losing its sheen, the number of students opting for B group (physics, chemistry and biology) has more than doubled in the last five years. Harvard to soon have Tamil chair Harvard University could soon house a department dedicated to Tamil if an initiative taken by two India-born doctors in the US bears fruit. IIT-Delhi to award the highest number of PhDs in one year The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, will award the highest number of PhDs in one year – 221 – on Saturday at its 46th convocation. A total of 1880 students will collect their undergraduate, post-graduate and PhD degrees. Reserve Bank chief, Raghuram Rajan will be the chief guest. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		RTOs will now flatten illegal autos A drive will be undertaken by the suburban RTOs to ensure that autos plying without permits are taken off the roads permanently. This drive will take place from October 30 to November 15. 'Sell flats in SoBo tower to pay 140cr to BMC, firm' The Bombay high court has ordered the sale of 18 flats of a south Mumbai highrise to pay off dues of around Rs 140 crore to the BMC and construction firm Shapoorji Pallonji. A division bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi upheld a single judge's order allowing the court receiver to sell the flats in Crescent Tower at Tardeo. The bench dismissed an application filed by Crescent builders which had opposed the sale. Nalasopara school penalizes pupils for non-payment of fees Several students of a school in Nalasopara were penalized for not paying their fees. The children complained that they were segregated during an exam on Friday, the question paper was written on the blackboard and they had to run to other classrooms to get answer sheets. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		2 J&K youths thrashed in southeast Delhi Two engineering students from Kashmir studying in a private college in Noida were allegedly beaten up by a group of men for objecting to honking at Maa Anandamayee Marg in southeast Delhi's Govindpuri area on Thursday night Delhi government's advertisement misuse of public money: Opposition Opposition parties on Friday slammed the Delhi government after it released a full-page advertisement in at least eight newspapers to clear its stand on the ongoing strike by safai karamcharis. Robbers who said sorry after looting bizman's house held A gang of robbers who barged into the house of a businessman in Mukherjee Nagar and fled with cash and jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh after apologising have been arrested on Thursday night following a shootout. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Capturing migrant lives wins him hearts Among photography enthusiasts around the world, Austria-based documentary photographer Chien Chi Chang inspires quiet admira tion, the sort where they unabashedly line up to get his autograph. Taking Yakshagana on a gender bender As one of a handful of women practising the folk art form predominantly performed by men, Sharanya Ramprakash is aiming to change the rules of the 800-year-old game. Judge slaps contempt notice on activist The high court on Friday directed SR Hiremath, president of Samaj Parivartan Samudaya, and the editor of a Kannada daily to submit affidavits by November 5 explaining why action for contempt shouldn't be initiated against them. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Gas leaks from school lab, 25 kids fall sick About 25 children fell sick and were rushed to a hospital after poisonous gas leaked from a laboratory at a school in Towli Chowki. According to doctors, four of them were admitted in ICU ward and are under observation. Traffic cops bring in new system to catch violators The Hyderabad Police is all set to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at 50 strategic locations for implementation of the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system. 80 engineering graduates among IPS trainees Eighty engineering and 19 medical graduates will complete training as Indian Police Service (IPS) officers on Saturday. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Madras high court : Process Udangudi tender, but don't finalise The Madras high court on Friday said Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (Tangedco) could process fresh bids received for the Udangudi supercritical thermal power project, but made it clear that contracts should not be awarded. 88% Tamil Nadu adults register for Aadhaar, ranks lowest Eighty-eight percent of adults (above 18 years) in Tamil Nadu have registered for Aadhaar since 2010. This is the lowest among big states in the country. Kovan was working on song on judiciary The state government has come in for a lot of flak from various quarters for arresting folk singer Kovan on charges of sedition for penning lyrics for songs demanding total prohibition in the state. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		NOTA button back on voting machines Gujarat High Court , NOTA e-biz growth may hit footfalls at malls this Diwali: Study Shopping malls in the city are already under a huge pressure due to large vacant spaces and with a huge surge in e-commerce space, the malls are expected to see a sharp decline in the footfalls this festive season. IPL betting case: 5 cops in soup DGP P C Thakur has directed additional DGP (inquiries) to frame charges against five cops including two police inspectors and three police constables who were suspended following allegations of their involvement with bookies Kiran Mala and Tommy Patel. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Polling booths in dacoit infested belt of Chitrakoot turn into fortress In an attempt to ensure free and fair polling in dacoit infested belt of Manikpur, Markundi and Bahilpurwa circles of Chitrakoot district in the fourth and final phase of panchayat polls for the post of block development committee (BDC) members, the cops on Wednesday claimed to have turned all the 23 hyper sensitive booths into fortress. HC dismisses PIL against Shukla as withdrawn The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) as withdrawn that sought to restrain Rajeev Shukla, a Member of Parliament (MP), from functioning as secretary of Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA). AU researcher working on new age solar cells A young researcher from the Allahabad University’s (AU) department of physics has come up with breakthrough research in new age solar cells that could revolutionize the photovoltaic technology that harnesses solar energy. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Odisha demands inclusion of more LWE districts under skill development scheme The state government on Friday urged the Centre to extend the central scheme, ‘Skill Development of Youth in left wing extremism (LWE) districts’ to 13 more districts of the state. Kali idols to be immersed in temporary Cuttack ponds After Ganesh and Durga idols, those of Kali will also be immersed in the three temporary ponds at Devigada on the Kathajodi river.The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has started clearing waste material from the ponds. New lease of life for 126 state mines To revive mining activities, the state government has decided to extend the lease period of 126 mines by December in accordance with the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 2015. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Test ground water in Malanjkhand copper project in MP: NGT National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) to test ground water in 10 kms radius in the Malanjkhand copper project (MCP) of Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL). Science Express in Madhya Pradesh on November 18 Science Express would arrive in Madhya Pradesh on November 18. Cong declares Bhuria for Jhabua, Shastri for Dewas by-poll The All-India Congress Committee (AICC) on Friday announced names of candidates for Jhabua-Ratlam Lok Sabha and Dewas assembly by-poll slated for November 21. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Stay on quota for promotion to SC employees to continue Farmers' protest makes Bhunder 'cut short' speech Jakhar draws CM's attention towards pest-hit cotton growers Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Sunil Jakhar on Friday slammed the SAD-BJP government for not paying compensation to cotton growers affected by whitefly attack, even after one month of their struggle. More Chandigarh News»

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