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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Your News Digest from Times of India

THE TIMES OF INDIA
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Today's Headlines

Taare zameen par for Modi
The campaigning for Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat is expected to flash with glamour as several Bollywood notables descend on the state to make their starry pitches. 

Scramble for 5 Lok Sabha seats rocks grand alliance plan in Andhra
The BJP, TDP, Loksatta and Jana Sena may be working towards forging a grand alliance in this election, but intense intra-party and inter-party wrangling over five Lok Sabha constituencies is threatening to come in the way of the electoral pact among the four parties.

Kissing drama: Case against Rahul, Gogoi
A police case has been filed against Rahul Gandhi, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and APCC chief Bhubaneswar Kalita in connection with the incident of a woman being allegedly killed by her husband for "kissing" the Congress vice-president at an interaction last month.

More India News»

AirAsia India's first plane from Airbus
AirAsia India’s fleet will be drawn from the 475 A320 aircraft ordered by the group.

SBI to sell bad loans of Rs 3,000 crore this fiscal
Country's largest lender the State Bank of India (SBI) will sell bad loans amounting to Rs 3,000 crore in the last quarter of the ongoing fiscal, the top official of the bank said here on Saturday.

Bhave, Abraham officers of terrific integrity: Montek
Coming in defence of former Sebi chief C B Bhave and its former member K M Abraham, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that they are officers of "terrific integrity" and CBI has not charged them with anything.

More Business News»

Climate change disturbing deep ocean currents: Study
The recent climate change may be acting to slow down deep ocean currents with potentially serious consequences for the planet's future, a study warns.

Madhya Pradesh's forest cover shrinking
Decrease in dense forest has been reported from Sidhi, Mandla, Satna, Umaria, Jabalpur, Jhabua, East Nimar, Dewas, Chhindwara, Chhatarpur and Balaghat districts.

Ginkgo plant on verge of extinction: Expert
Sir Peter Crane, professor of botany at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in the USA, said here on Friday the popular Ginkgo plant, which dominated the earth from 250 to 70 million years ago, is on the verge of extinction.

More Environment News»

Cameron: EU will back Lanka probe
Britain will vote for an international, independent investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Jackie Chan caught nuzzling singing star
Photographs showing actor Jackie Chan cuddling and cheek brushing a singing star during a closed-door meeting of the Communist Party is widely circulating over the Internet.

Op Blue Star: Politicos back call to probe UK's role
A number of British politicians backed the call for an independent public inquiry into UK’s involvement in Operation Blue Star, out of fear of losing the Sikh vote ahead of a crucial European parliament election.

More World News»

'I had a major fight with Ranveer Singh in school'
Bilal Amrohi, 30, is the grandson of Kamal Amrohi, the great director who directed cult classics Pakeezah and Taj Mahal. Naughty and affectionate, he prides himself in being the favourite of his three mothers — his tayee Mrs Shandar Amrohi, his own mother Niloufer Amrohi and Alvira Agnihotri.

Did Kareena ask Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Mastani role?
While Deepika Padukone has been finalised in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s dream project, Bajirao Mastani, buzz is that Kareena Kapoor Khan had expressed her eagerness to play the female protagonist.

CID's Daya in Rohit Shetty's 'Singham 2'
CID’s Inspector Daya has reportedly been roped in for Singham 2

More Entertainment News»

Soon, mugshots of criminals from DNA
We know that science has come far enough for us to be able to identify the perpetrator of a crime from the DNA — a strand of hair, semen etc — he might leave at the scene of the crime.

Computers can now nail people faking pain
In the everexpanding contest between artificial intelligence and the ordinary human mind, you can chalk up another one for the computer. 

Nasa searches for ideas to bring asteroids closer to Earth
US space agency Nasa has announced a formal proposal worth $6 million for projects that would help robots and astronauts grab an asteroid from deep space and bring it closer to earth for further study.

More Science News»

Raina credits Ganguly for his good form
The axe from ODIs for Asia Cup seems to have done wonders for Suresh Raina as he sought the help of Sourav Ganguly and the tips seem to be working well.

Battle of swashbucklers as India face WI
West Indies, the defending champions of the World T20, are all set to kick off their campaign against India, a team they have never lost to in tournament.

Sehwag is a leader in Kings XI: Bailey
"Given the amount of experience Virender Sehwag has, he'll be a leader of the Kings XI Punjab regardless of whether he is captain or not," George Bailey said.

More Sports News»

NSA spying revelations cost US tech firms billions
America’s cloud computing industry could lose billions of dollars in business because of revelations by Edward J Snowden that tied tech companies to the National Security Agency’s surveillance program.

Windows 8.1 update 1: What's in Microsoft's latest Windows update
A copy of Update 1 was accidentally leaked by Microsoft itself on its software updates page but will be formally announced at Build 2014. Here we'll take a look at what's new.

Obama to IT CEOs: Committed to protecting privacy
President Obama sought to assure leading tech executives that his administration is committed to protecting people's privacy.

More Technology News»

College of Air Warfare signs MoU with Osmania University
Indian Air Force's College of Air Warfare (CAW) at Secunderabad has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Osmania University for conducting PhD courses for its officers.

Telling success stories!
Studying outstanding speakers drives one point home — they are great storytellers!

Indians No 2 users of MIT-Harvard e-courses
The courses have been put together and are led by some of the finest professors in the world.Students require just an internet connection.

More Education News»

I'm not a proper conductor and I'm a college dropout: Daniel Harding
There are boys who start flailing their arms in the air, knitting stick or pencil in hand, after their first encounter with Karajan on the record player.

MLA, IPS officer lock horns over library
A toilet block and a reading room in the 80-acre State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) precinct in Jogeshwari has become a bone of contention between a politician and an IPS officer.

Hawkers may move court against eviction by BMC
Condemning the BMC’s crackdown on hawkers, the Sharad Rao-led Mumbai Hawkers’ Union has threatened to move court against civic and police personnel.

More Mumbai News»

Fake UK doctor dupes CR Park man
Joyon Majumdar (65) from CR Park had never thought that an internet chat with a “doctor” from the UK will cost his life's savings.

1 held for posing as DIG, duping woman
The crime branch has arrested the son of an IAS officer, who was duping people by posing as a DIG of police.

Sufis shine, Sena stays away
Tufail Sanjrani coolly sips piping hot tea backstage at the Sindhi Sufi Music Festival here two hours before he is scheduled to perform.

More Delhi News»

Gigs, live music shows hot up city's party scene
While pubs and restaurants are staging musical gigs to keep revelers hooked, event management companies are roping in popular artistes from across the globe to pump up the jam.

India needs young VCs to connect with students: Pitroda
In a young country like India, vice-chancellors of universities should be in the 35-40 age group, and not 60-plus, said Sam Pitroda, adviser to the prime minister on public information, infrastructure and innovation.

Rejected, man attacks girl with blade
Just a day after a crazed Dhanaraj stabbed Sunitha Kumar outside the Bangalore Turf Club for rejecting his overtures, a man attacked a girl with a blade in Bapujinagar, Mysore Road, on Friday night.

More Bangalore News»

2 held for publishing pirated books
Two persons, who were indulging in piracy of books belonging to prominent publishers like Penguin, Tata McGraw Hill, Simson & Schuster, were arrested by Central Crime Station (CCS) officials on Saturday.

MCI blow to Nizamabad govt medical college
In a setback to several MBBS aspirants, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has recommended to the central government not to renew permission for admission of the second batch at the Government Medical College, Nizamabad.

Mayor's resignation rejected by GHMC council
The Congress did a U-turn a day after Greater Hyderabad Congress president Danam Nagender hinted at an understanding with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in the ensuing elections.

More Hyderabad News»

Suspended I-T officials held for staging fake raid
Two suspended Income Tax department officials were arrested on Friday for taking away 25 lakh from a private firm in Aminjikarai, after staging a fake I-T raid.

3 class 12 students held for stealing doctor's bike
Three class 12 students were on Saturday detained for stealing a doctor’s two-wheeler.

Rural TN faces 6-hour power cuts
With temperatures soaring, the demand is also going up. Shortage, which was below 1000MW until March 19, has increased to 2,500MW.

More Chennai News»

Fake examinee caught writing English paper
A fake examinee was caught writing the English exam for an SSC student here on Saturday. A complaint has been filed at Amraiwadi police station in this regard.

Pooja Diamond in the lead
Pooja Diamond, owned by Mukesh Mehta and led by Jyotin Gor, is in the lead with 583 points in the Kensville Taega tournament 2014 currently underway at the Kensville Golf and Country Club course.

Era of entrepreneurship heralds IIM-A convocation
The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, (IIM-A) held its 49th annual convocation on Saturday on its campus.Anand Mahindra, chairman and managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra, was the chief guest of the event.

More Ahmedabad News»

Demand for 'Gandhi caps' unites parties
Political parties might have varied opinions when it comes to following the ideology of the Father of the Nation - Mahatama Gandhi - but the 'Gandhi cap' enjoys a universal acceptance, cutting across party lines.

Distilleries, warehouses to be under video surveillance
All the 70 distilleries and 150 warehouses of the state would be put under round-the-clock video surveillance to monitor production, storage and distribution of liquor during elections.

Girl's body found in village well
Panic gripped Bahadurpur Kachar village and adjoining areas under Jhunsi police station on Friday following recovery of the body of an 18-year-old unidentified girl from a well.

More Allahabad News»

BJP eyeing post-poll pact with BJD: Pyarimohan Mohapatra 
Odisha Jan Morcha (OJM) president Pyarimohan Mohapatra on Friday alleged that BJP has entered into a secret pact with BJD for mutual benefit in the forthcoming twin elections and possible post-poll tie-up.

Turf worry for Srikant
Union minister Srikant Jena has seemingly developed cold feet to seek re-election from Balasore Lok Sabha (LS) constituency and is eyeing Kendrapada.

Government agencies not eager to lend vehicles for elections
Though the transport department has started requisitioning vehicles (both government and private) for poll duty, several government agencies are found reluctant to spare their cars and vans.

More Bhubaneswar News»

Sand mafia rains bullets on officers to evade arrest
Two years after brutal murder of IPS officer Narendra Kumar, a team of police and forest officials faced a hail of bullets from sand mafia in a Bollywood flick-like attack in Morena on Friday.

After failed rape bid, teen murdered
A 13-year-old girl was abducted and strangled to death after a failed rape attempt in Jabalpur district.The accused, who lived in the neighbourhood of the girl, has been arrested on Friday.

Frail bones, but crime veteran nabbed at 86
At an age when most of his contemporaries would be confined to their homes if not bed, Nanhe Khan is exceptionally mobile.

More Bhopal News»

Women tourists from Delhi molested in Amritsar, 3 arrested
Four women tourists of a family from Delhi were allegedly molested by a group of drunk people in full public view at Amritsar Railway station here, police said today.

Lack of proof weakens claim of molestation on woman cop
Although, a videographer from the local crime branch reached the spot, he arrived half-an-hour after the incident and custody of the students.

Private bus runs over 40-year-old
A 40-year old cyclist, Suraj Kumar, was run over by a bus of a leading engineering institute of Mohali near a traffic light point in Sector 47 on Friday night.

More Chandigarh News»

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Lakshmi Sahasranamam in MP3; Devi Suktam of the Rig Veda

Friday, March 21, 2014

Your News Digest from Times of India

THE TIMES OF INDIA
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Today's Headlines

RSS did not nudge Advani to revise decision on Lok Sabha seat
RSS leadership kept itself at arm's length from the high-wattage drama in senior BJP leader LK Advani's abortive move to leave his Gandhinagar constituency for Bhopal.

Satpal Maharaj shifts to BJP, puts Rawat on razor's edge
Congress MP Satpal Maharaj joined BJP on Friday in a pre-election jolt to the ruling party that increased the vulnerability of its government in Uttarakhand.

NK Singh parts ways with Nitish, set to join BJP
Former JD(U) MP NK Singh who had parted ways with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is set to join BJP having quit his membership of JD(U).

More India News»

Govt raises Rs 5.6k cr from Axis stake sale
The government raised nearly Rs 5,560 crore by divesting 9% of its stake in the leading private sector lender Axis Bank through block deals on the BSE on Friday morning.

Food chains ride home on tweets, apps
Mumbai/ About 5,000 registered customers tweet to order desi style wraps and rolls from fast food chain Faaso's.Domino's Pizza has had a million downloads of its delivery mobile app launched 24 months ago.

Fate of 30,000 people hangs in balance
Poongothai's (name changed) voice trembled when she was asked 'what's your April plan'. At 26, she is the only wage-earning member of her family of five.

More Business News»

Madhya Pradesh's forest cover shrinking
Decrease in dense forest has been reported from Sidhi, Mandla, Satna, Umaria, Jabalpur, Jhabua, East Nimar, Dewas, Chhindwara, Chhatarpur and Balaghat districts.

Ginkgo plant on verge of extinction: Expert
Sir Peter Crane, professor of botany at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in the USA, said here on Friday the popular Ginkgo plant, which dominated the earth from 250 to 70 million years ago, is on the verge of extinction.

Kovai celebrates World Sparrow Day
Various programmes were held and initiatives undertaken as part of the 'World Sparrow Day' in and around the city, including seminars and distribution of leaflets and nest boxes by several voluntary organizations.

More Environment News»

China to raise monitoring in disputed islands
China will enhance environmental monitoring of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea and Sansha in the South China Sea, the government authorities said on Friday.

EU to reduce energy dependency on Russia
The European Union (EU) said on Friday that it would reduce Europe's high gas dependency rates to the external markets, notably on Russia.

N Korea test-fired 30 missiles into sea: S Korea
North Korea test-fired 30 short-range missiles into the sea on Saturday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, the latest in a series of launches that have provoked criticism from Seoul and Washington.

More World News»

'Sex is one thing that is totally recession free'
There is a lot of buzz surrounding Sunny Leone, but this sexy star is much more than what meets the eye.

Sex for a cause: Ranveer Singh to endorse condoms
Just couple of days we had made a list of actors who should endorse condoms to spread the social message of 'prevention is better than cure'. However, now our wishlist has turned reality as one of our top contenders Ranveer Singh has actually been signed on to endorse a leading condom brand.

'Bollywood is full of biggest cowards in the world'
Actor, producer, director Kamaal R Khan of Bigg Boss and Desh Drohi fame doesn’t believe in mincing his words, even when he’s ready to don a politician’s cap and fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

More Entertainment News»

Anti-anxiety drugs could help 'balance' the autistic brain
New research in mice suggests that autism is characterized by reduced activity of inhibitory neurons and increased activity of excitatory neurons in the brain, but balance can be restored with low doses of benzodiazepines.

Social groups reduce depression
A new study from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research says that building a strong connection with a social group helps clinically depressed patients recover and helps prevent relapse.

Nasa finds glass-like sea on Titan
New radar measurements of an enormous sea on Titan — Saturn's second largest moon — has shown a mirror like smoothness.

More Science News»

India strangle Pakistan in opening game
India won their ninth World Cup tie against Pakistan and the fourth in ICC World T20 when they emerged victorious in a opening Super-10 clash by 7 wickets.

'Won't change ODI rules till World Cup'
"We wanted to create a more attacking 50-over game, one that could compete on the entertainment scales with T20 cricket," says ICC CEO David Richardson.

Film stars and IPL teams keen on ISL
Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor and IPL teams in the fray to buy franchises in the Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament.

More Sports News»

Microsoft admits to snooping on Hotmail to track leak
Microsoft has acknowledged it had searched emails in a blogger's Hotmail account to track down who was leaking company secrets.

Becoming Microsoft CEO beyond wildest dreams: Nadella
Becoming Microsoft CEO was beyond his wildest dreams, Satya Nadella said in a recorded video telecast at a conference organized by the computing giant here on Thursday.

Google enhances encryption technology for email
Google has enhanced the encryption technology for its flagship email service in ways that will make it harder for the National Security Agency to intercept messages moving among the company's worldwide data centers.

More Technology News»

Indians No 2 users of MIT-Harvard e-courses
The courses have been put together and are led by some of the finest professors in the world.Students require just an internet connection.

Past record to be factored in for MBA admission at LU
Admissions to management courses at Lucknow University will not purely be based on scores of Common Admission Test (CAT) or LU Management Aptitude Test (LU-MAT).

Archives' book on Bihar in DU M Phil syllabus
"Yes, the department of history of Delhi University has included the book in its regional studies section for M Phil syllabus.

More Education News»

Have made final offer on wage hike: Toyota
"I believe that we have made our final offer.We have given enough explanation, chapter and verse, on why we can't increase our offer.

Govt raises Rs 5.6k crore from Axis stake sale
The government raised nearly Rs 5,560 crore by divesting 9% of its stake in the leading private sector lender Axis Bank through block deals on the BSE on Friday morning.

Mumbai university to seek exemption for its teachers from poll duty
The Mumbai University will write to the election commissioner asking them to exclude their teaching and non-teaching staff.

More Mumbai News»

3 held at IGI with gold
A new trend in gold smuggling may be emerging at IGI airport. Over the past few weeks, smugglers are using the airport as a transit point to exchange the cache among themselves.

Dhananjay bail hearing today
A trial court will hear on Saturday arguments on the bail plea of BSP MP Dhananjay Singh who, along with his wife Jagriti Singh, has been charged in connection with the murder of his maid.

4 held with fake currency
The crime branch has arrested a two member gang of robbers from Jahangirpuri and recovered a mobile phone from them.

More Delhi News»

'Ananth and Nilekani represent corrupt parties'
Child rights activist Nina P Nayak is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Bangalore South Lok Sabha constituency from where Nandan Nilekani and HN Ananth Kumar are the candidates from Congress and BJP, respectively.

Summer to go through rain-shine cycle
Already feeling the summer heat? But the days are only going to get hotter for at least 10-15 more days.Thankfully, relief is in the horizon as pre-monsoon showers are expected anytime thereafter.

Striking a chord in Bangalore centre
At ease in a pair of jeans, a shirt and chappals, Bala, as Balakrishnan is commonly known, hits the road at 9.15am for a door-to-door campaign in Shivajinagar.

More Bangalore News»

Three held with illegal weapons near court in Hyderabad
Police on Friday arrested three persons for possessing illegal weapons near Nampally court.

Hyderabad: Woman, driver held for murder
An event manger and her driver were arrested on Friday by the Cyberabad police for their alleged involvement in the murder of a 90-year-old man.

Fresh fire singes Seshachalam; Nallamala blaze rages
A series of fire incidents in the picturesque Nallamala forest continue to threaten the flora and fauna in Srisailam and Mahbubnagar districts.

More Hyderabad News»

Denied ticket, TN Congress leader goes on protest
Aday after Congress released the first list of 30 candidates to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu, there were protests by some ticket aspirants in Chennai and Cuddalore. 

Working class can tip scales in North Chennai
After the secretariat, the smooth six-lane Beach Road closes in on you. A few quick turns lead you to the Kasimedu fishing harbour where at least one lakh fishermen come ashore every morning with their catch.

Why BJP front matters in TN
The six-party BJP alliance in Tamil Nadu, though considered an opportunistic grouping trying to cash in on a perceived Narendra Modi wave, can pose a credible challenge to the bi-polar dominance of DMK and AIADMK in the state. 

More Chennai News»

Modi seeks young professionals for Kashi campaign
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has planned to launch a door-to-door campaign in Varanasi through an 'army' of young professionals who have volunteered to canvass for the BJP's candidate for PM.

Sex ratio, low registration reflect in voting figures
The skewed sex ratio in Gujarat not only has an impact on the state's social fabric but also affects the overall voting percentage in elections.

Two arrested for looting truck in Odhav
A team of special operations group (SOG) of the city crime branch arrested two persons for looting a truck carrying goods worth Rs 18 lakh, from Amraiwadi on Friday.

More Ahmedabad News»

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader's murder: Cops still grope in dark
However, police on Thursday claimed to have sped up investigation and said they hoped to crack the case soon.

Girl gang-raped, two booked
A girl was kidnapped by a youth and made hostage in Risia town, where she was raped for two days.

Allahabad University apprehends students using unfair means during exams
As many as 13 examinees were apprehended by the Allahabad University authorities for using unfair means during the ongoing final exams on the varsity campus on Thursday.

More Allahabad News»

India Surf Festival 2013 kickstarts at the Ramachandi beach near Konark in Bhubaneswar
As the annual surfing carnival kicks off, TOI catches the action

Conch debuts in Sambalpur
This year BJD for the first time will fight elections in Sambalpur assembly segment on its own symbol.Due to coalition compulsion, it had left the seat to BJP in 2000 and 2004.

Morning classes in state schools from April 2
In view of rising temperatures across the state, the school and mass education department has ordered morning classes in all schools from April 2."The classes will start from 6.30 and continue till 10.30.

More Bhubaneswar News»

Kishor Dangle's painting exhibition held at the art gallery of Alliance Francaise in Bhopal
The art gallery of Alliance Francaise de Bhopal recently witnessed many city-based artists and art lovers attending to take a look at Kishore Dangle’s artwork at the exhibition titled Bhav

Anil Gulati exhibits his photographs titled Ode To Nature at Swaraj Bhawan in Bhopal
Bhopalites got to witness various aspects of Mother Nature when Anil Gulati showcased his collection of photographs titled Ode To Nature at Swaraj Bhawan recently.

Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission issues fresh notices to collector, SP
Serving notices, the commission also sought a report of the programme within three days.

More Bhopal News»

'We are not just muscle, we can govern too'
Fifteen under-30 citizens of Chandigarh joined the discussions on the second day of TOI's initiative under the I Lead India campaign to create a Youth Manifesto.

Armed with vote, youth pledge to be changemakers
Members of TOI's Youth Brigade, formed as part of the I Lead India campaign to motivate youth to exercise their franchise, got 125 youngsters to pledge to cast vote on April 10.

HC asks UT to pay compensation every month
The division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul also appointed maternal grandmother of the children, Saroj Devi, as the guardian who would be entitled to receive the compensation amount.

More Chandigarh News»

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