News Digest: Rail Budget: Travellers seek better rail amenities, survey finds

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Tuesday, February 09, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Rail Budget: Travellers seek better rail amenities, survey finds Rail travellers want better amenities and services to be the focus of this year’s railway budget, a survey has concluded. Centre may rope in private companies to maintain Taj Mahal, Red Fort Centrally protected monuments like the Taj Mahal, Red Fort and others could be placed under private hands for maintenance and security soon. Helpline in 12 languages for tourists to check wrong information The tourism ministry on Monday launched a 24-hour toll free infoline in 12 international languages to counter “wrong information” given by some media and websites. More India News»

		Business
		India, US near pact on solar project dispute India has thrown the ball in US court as they inch towards settling a three year-old WTO dispute over domestic content requirement in New Delhi’s solar power plan as both sides look for ways to avoid spoiling the current bonhomie in bilateral tiesthathas grown withthe personal chemistry between PM Narendra Modi and President Obama. Delivery co PepperTap shuts ops in 10 cities The hyperlocal delivery space continues to beset with problems. This time, it’s PepperTap, the grocery delivery app which is shutting down operations in ten locations including metros like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Backed by online retailer Snapdeal and venture fund Sequoia Capital, PepperTap will continue operations in eight cities and suburbs out of the 18 it was present in. Hero poaches expats from Honda, Yamaha, BMW to strengthen R&D The Munjals of Hero MotoCorp have poached expatriates from erstwhile partner Honda and other global two-wheeler giants such as Yamaha and BMW as they work on building the company’s R&D strength to face rising competition. More Business News»

		Environment
		Identify wild animals in conflict with human: Govt To reduce incidents of human-animal conflicts, an environment ministry's draft wildlife conservation plan has suggested identification and documentation of wildlife species that regularly come into such conflict. Corbett Reserve tops in tiger population: Report In a report unprecedented in its detail, the Wildlife Institute of India finds out that among 44 tiger reserves of the country, Corbett Tiger Reserve has the maximum number of 215 tigers. Corbett is followed by Bandipur and Nagarahole reserves in Karnataka with 120 and 101 tigers respectively Birds of 11 rare species found in Jharkhand Birds of 11 rare species thought to be extinct have been found during a survey of the water bodies in Jharkhand, a state forest department official said. More Environment News»

		World
		Sanders, Rubio look for winning run Marco Rubio’s uneven debate performance just days before Tuesday’s pivotal New Hampshire primary has emboldened a trio of governors seeking to stem his rise in the Republican race for president. Russian troops conduct massive drills, put on high alert Russian President Vladimir Putin has scrambled troops across southwestern Russia for large-scale military drills intended to test the troops' readiness amid continuing tensions with the west. Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said that military units were put on combat alert. At least 33 migrants drown off Turkish coast At least 33 migrants drowned in two accidents in the Aegean Sea on Monday as they tried to cross from Turkey to Greece, Turkish media said. Twenty-two died when their boat sank off the district of Edremit in Balikesir province, shortly after 11 migrants died off Izmir, they said. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Yami Gautam: Now I believe in soulmates They have a lot in common. They are not opposites, but they attract. Salman Khan items we should keep in a museum Meet 'Judwaa 2' trio: David, Varun and Sajid  Judwaa 2 (J2) has been in the news since a couple of years. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Too much or too less: India battles body mass index blues A staggeringly large number of Indians in 15 states are either overweight or underweight, and suffer from anaemia, according to the latest release of National Family and Health Survey (NFHS 4). 46 years on, Beatles still boost Liverpool economy Money”, the Beatles sang in 1963, was what they wanted. Now, 53 years later, and 46 years after the group split in 1970, their home town of Liverpool is raking in more and more hard cash on the back of the Fab Four. Nasa taps sports balls to decode aerodynamics Nasascientists, including one of Indianorigin, are studying the aerodynamics involved in sports balls moving through the air in order to learn how to make aircraft more Earth-friendly or help a spacecraft take the most efficient route to Mars. More Science News»

		Sports
		Want Raina to bat No. 4 keeping World T20 in mind: Dhoni India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the team will prefer Suresh Raina in the No. 4 slot in the series against Sri Lanka even though Virat Kohli's absence has opened the No. 3 position. Door is shut on Pietersen return: Eoin Morgan England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan quashed speculation that Kevin Pietersen might be recalled for the World Twenty20, saying "that door is completely shut" for the country's leading run-scorer in all formats. Indian wrestlers end campaign with 14 out of 16 gold in SAG Indian grapplers simply annihilated their opponents, scooping 14 gold medals out of a total 16 on offer as the wrestling competition in the 12th South Asian Games ended on Monday. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Samsung Gear S2 review: Pricey, but the best smartwatch in town The new Samsung Gear S2 has a rotatable bezel that can be used to access different widget screens. The wearable revolution that wasn't Will wearables be the next big thing after smartphones? Not if Gartner's predictions are right. Managing social media for companies is the latest hot job Social media explosion and its relevance as a marketing tool have given rise to a 'cool' new career pro file - the social media manager. More Technology News»

		Education
		Biometric attendance for Allahabad University students For the first time at Allahabad University, attendance of students would be registered through biometric attendance machine. National civic fest: Students and their ideas steer change at civic level  It was a whirlwind of thought-provoking ideas at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium on Friday, thoughts that poured out of young minds and actually helped fix civic woes. GIAN attracts foreign faculty, but just in tech institutes Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), the much-touted programme to attract foreign faculty to teach for a term in India, is slowly finding its feet but primarily in IITs, NITs and techical education. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		State medical council lodges complaint against "fraud" doctor The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has lodged a police complaint against a Sangli resident, possessing a medical degree from Russia, for obtaining recognition using fraudulent certificates. Who did Gurgaon police inform about Andheri hotel operation, asks Mumbai police commissioner Sunday’s encounter killing by a Gurgaon police team has not gone down well with the city police, who are upset that they were not kept in the loop about the sensitive operation that was to be carried out at the Andheri hotel, which is located near the international airport Western Railway may link CCTV cameras in ladies coaches to train guard's cabin The Western Railway is considering a proposal to set up monitors in the train guard’s cabin to access images relayed from the CCTV cameras installed in coaches reserved for women More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Metro rail entities demand regulator for fare fixation Accommodating the demands of Metro rail companies of setting up of a regulator for timely revision of fares, the urban development ministry will now have this provision in the proposed new bill for all such projects. Species count down 15%, sets alarm bells ringing The results of Big Bird Day 2016 have left many worried as the total number of species in NCR seems to have come down significantly since 2005. Aam aadmi divided over numberplate plan rerun As the Delhi government on Monday sifted through the survey data on the odd-even scheme, it found that a section of residents was unhappy with the idea of reintroducing the numberplate plan. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Ear and eye tests must for admission to Class 1 in Bengaluru Those parents wanting to get their child admitted to Class 1 in the state will have to compulsorily produce eye and ear screening certificates from the next academic year. 16-member gang held for smuggling 32 kids to US Police have busted a 16-member gang that smuggled 32 children to the US using fake parents and forged documents. The 16 people, including three women, were arrested during raids across the city in the early hours of Monday. A lawyer who looks for the idea of justice in Shakespearean plays Let’s kill all the lawyers, wrote Shakespeare once, but that is hardly going to stop city-based lawyer Danish Sheikh from performing his plays at Cubbon Park. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Tata to partner state in double-bedroom scheme Tata Group has agreed to partner with Telangana government in implementing the state's flagship scheme of building free twobed room houses for poor. Two-bedroom houses plan upsets budget calculations The ambitious plans of Telangana government to build one lakh double bedroom houses within Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits is likely to upset the government's annual budget plans. Doc fires at doc over hospital management Financial problems in running a private hospital caused a rift between two doctors and led to one of them opening fire at the other in a bustling Himayatnagar bylane on Monday . More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Fading ritual finds new life through lens Each time Julie Wayne visited an Ayyanar temple with her camera, her viewfinder caught images of a vanishing ritual once prevalent across Tamil Nadu. Three-day-old elephant calf rescued in Tamil Nadu The calf was spotted in a village outside Odedurgam forest Worker battling for life after Sivakasi firework unit blast A worker suffered serious burn injuries in a blast at a fireworks manufacturing unit near Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu on Monday. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Pakistan boat seized off Jakhau coast, 11 arrested The Indian Coast Guard on Friday night intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat about 30 nautical miles west of Jakhau coast and apprehended 11 fishermen for violating the Indian Maritime Zone. 10 held after group clash in Mehsana At least 10 persons were arrested following clashes between two groups of different communities over a petty issue in Gojariaya village of Mehsana on Saturday. New book on male sexual abuse survivors' trauma There are very few who write on male survivors of sexual abuse in childhood and Dr Arun Sharma, a physician in Mount Abu and national vice-president of the National Association for the Blind (NBA) has made a sincere attempt dispelling myths regarding the invulnerability of males. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Around 1.25 crore devotees likely to take holy dip on Mauni Amavasya With around 30 lakh devotees and pilgrims already flocked Sangam to take holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya snan scheduled on Monday, men-in-khaki on Sunday turned the entire Magh Mela campus into a fortress. `Ayodhya issue should not be politicised' Shankaracharya of Puri Jagadguru Swami Adhokshayajananda on Saturday targeted the Sangh Pariwar outfits for “playing with the sentiments of people and raising sensitive issues keeping in mind the 2017 UP assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections in 2019." No reservation for creamy layer, says Justice Sacha Former Justice Rajinder Sachar said “creamy layer“ should not get advantage of reservation system in the present context and caste system should be abolished. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		38 block grant teachers released from jail As many as 38 block grant teachers arrested and court-forwarded by the commissionerate police on Saturday were released on Monday evening. Odisha to set up 30 district-level hospitals In order to provide health services to lower and middle class people in district-level, the state government on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a wing of the World Bank, for setting up of 30 hospitals across the state. NHRC holds Odisha govt responsible for publishing wrong Class 10 result causing girl's suicide The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has held the Odisha government responsible for suicide of a girl by publishing her wrong Class X results. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Two arrested for using fake ID to enter Gwalior airbase Two persons have been arrested while they were trying to enter the Maharajpur air force base in Gwalior on Monday. The accused have been booked under India official secret act. MP govt ends toll tax on 32 bridges In a major decision on Monday, the Madhya Pradesh government abolished toll tax recovery from 32 bridges which collected less than Rs 10 lakh revenue annually. SIT & CBI pass buck over Vyapam related case Two government investigating agencies, SIT and CBI on Monday passed the buck on each other in a special court in Gwalior over handling of a particular case related to Vyapam scam. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Waris Ahluwalia barred from plane for wearing turban Indian-American Sikh actor and designer Waris Ahluwalia on Tuesday claimed that he was banned from boarding a flight because of his turban. Dhillon, Mann back in Cong fold Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday inducted two Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders - Deepinder Singh Dhillon and Harry Mann - into party fold. Grenade found in court complex A live grenade was found in the old court complex here after a woman spotted three youths digging earth in the complex and informed the police. More Chandigarh News»

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