Your News Digest from Times of India

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

		India
		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»

		Business
		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»

		Environment
		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»

		World
		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»

		Entertainment
		'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»

		Science
		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»

		Sports
		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»

		Technology
		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»

		Education
		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»

		Mumbai
		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»

		Delhi
		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»

		Bangalore
		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»

		Hyderabad
		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»

		Chennai
		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»

		Ahmedabad
		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»

		Allahabad
		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»

		Bhubaneswar
		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»

		Bhopal
		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»

		Chandigarh
		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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