News Digest: A PERI good effort towards archiving rural India

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Sunday, December 21, 2014
		Today's Headlines

		India
		A PERI good effort towards archiving rural India The word ‘archive’ conjures images of dusty rooms with musty cupboards, populated with people long dead. India's 'Liar's Dice' out of Oscar race India’s official entry “Liar’s Dice” is out of Oscars’ race after it failed to make the cut in the Academy’s shortlist in the best foreign film category. Never approached Facebook to pull plug on parody page: Swamy Following the Friday Facebook fan page fracas, BJP member Subramanian Swamy told TOI that he did not personally approach the social media giant against the Facebook page parodying him, but he does mind the parody page using his picture on its profile. More India News»

		Business
		Gadkari to seek RBI help for infra funds from banks Gadkari said roads, highways and port projects worth Rs 50,000 crores are still stuck up on account of various clearances including environment related clearances as well as due to interventions of various courts. Reform or 'miss the bus', warns finance minister Finance minister Arun Jaitley appealed to opposition parties Saturday to cooperate in passage of economic reform legislation, warning otherwise Asia's third-largest economy "will miss the bus" again. Govt should not rush through Coal Bill: Anand Sharma Government should not rush through the Coal Bill as it would lead to litigations given the contradictory provisions in it, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said today. More Business News»

		Environment
		Vultures on way back to UP? Critically endangered vultures might be on their way back to the state. At least 900 vultures have been counted in 13 districts in the first ever vulture census conducted in the state. Bengal mulls Sunderbans tourism committee West Bengal may soon have a separate committee to look into any impact of eco-tourism in the Sunderbans mangrove region, a minister said here on Friday. Drones to guard Delhi forests, monitor encroachments Drones will soon fly over Delhi's forests to monitor encroachments and breach of boundaries of protected forest areas. More Environment News»

		World
		2 NYC officers dead in ambush shooting in cruiser An armed man walked up to two New York Police Department officers sitting inside a patrol car and opened fire Saturday afternoon, shooting both of them fatally before running into a nearby subway station and committing suicide, police said. US seeks China's help after cyberattack The United States is asking China for help as it weighs potential responses to a cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment that the US has blamed on North Korea. Pak issues arrest warrant against TTP chief, 7 others PM Nawaz Sharif vowed on Saturday to eliminate terrorism from the country following the brutal Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar. More World News»

		Entertainment
		BB8: Upen Patel is insecure, says psychiatrist Neetu Singh speaks about Ranbir-Kat's wedding Mother Neetu Singh is keen to see her son tying the knot and it was reported that she wants Ranbir to get married by 2016. Bigg Boss 8: Puneet Issar's controversies Bollywood and TV's noted actor Puneet Issar has once again grabbed eyeballs of late as he is one of the contestants from Bigg Boss 8 season. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Exercise changes DNA, shows study We know that exercise can make us fitter and reduce our risk for illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. Supercars get furry cover Velvet cars appear to be the latest craze for the super rich after a £300,000 supercar wrapped in the fabric was spotted outside Harrods in swanky Knightsbridge. Storytelling your way to a better job It's been called a strategic tool with “irresistible power“ by Harvard Business Review. More Science News»

		Sports
		ISL: Atletico de Kolkata beat Kerala Blasters 1-0 to win title Mohammed Rafique scored in extra time as Sourav Ganguly's Atletico de Kolkata beat Sachin Tendulkar's Kerala Blasters 1-0 to win the inaugural ISL title. Sterling Silva gives strikerless City win over Palace David Silva filled in for Manchester City's absent strikers as the champions beat Crystal Palace 3-0 to move level on points with EPL leaders Chelsea. Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly voice support for football Indian football got another dose of encouragement from legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who said they were all for the growth of the sport. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Flipkart raises $700 million, files to go 'public' The new round catapults Flipkart right up into the top-tier of the world's most valued privately-held tech startups like Uber, Snapchat, Airbnb and Dropbox. 6 best Bluetooth speakers under Rs 6,000 Here are the best budget Bluetooth speakers that you can buy... 10 best smartphones of 2014 We’ve compiled a list of 10 best smartphones of 2014, in no particular order… More Technology News»

		Education
		Will improve government schools: Arvind Kejriwal Promising to improve the condition of government schools and making them as attractive as private ones", Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said good education was the basic right of every child. Only 5% of IIT-Madras PhD candidates land jobs Only around 5% of PhD candidates at IIT-Madras have been placed in companies at the end of the first session of this year's placement season. National Math Day is now 'GANIT' Continuing with the new tradition of giving Hindi names to policies and programmes, National Mathematics Day, celebrated on December 22 to mark the anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan, has been now christened GANIT (mathematics). More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Report abuse at Bhandup school, cops urge parents The police have put up posters outside the Bhandup school, where a junior KG (4) student had been sexually assaulted by one of its staffer, Kesari Upadhaya, on December 9, asking parents to come forward and register a complaint if any of their wards too had undergone similar trauma. Jumpstart Sunday with coffee art and capoeira Equal Streets is back with a plethora of new workshops including charcoal and coffee powder art workshops, self-defence training, and a sport and fitness programme for kids. For these Nerul students, there is no controversy over learning Sanskrit While the government toys with the idea of making Sanskrit a compulsory subject in schools, the 25 boarders of the Ved Pathshala located on the SIES College campus in Nerul, are oblivious to controversy. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		No cabs? PCR van hai na! A Delhi girl who's stuck late at night somewhere and can't manage to arrange safe transport back home has one option that she's often unaware of: calling up the Women's Helpline and having a PCR vehicle ensure she gets back safe. Apne Aap Women Worldwide organises event in memory of Nirbhaya at Connaught Place in Delhi It's been two years since the Nirbhaya gang rape, and while authorities have done their bit in ensuring that cases are filed, painters and theatre persons are also working towards changing the `wearing short clothes invites rape' mindset. Poor drug quality may have caused sterilisation deaths: Minister in LS Infection and sub-standard quality of drugs used could have been the cause of deaths at a recent sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarh, the government told Lok Sabha on Thursday More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Karnataka BJP's anti-cow slaughter bill withdrawn The Congress government fulfilled one of the assurances it had made during the assembly polls in 2013 — withdraw the bill banning cow slaughter that was introduced by the BJP during its tenure. Session ends amid BJP dharna The 10-day winter session of the legislature was adjourned sine die here on Saturday after the BJP stalled the proceedings in both houses demanding debate on three ministers accused of land scams. Government tables bill to take over mutts in trouble; invites BJP's ire In a move that’s likely to invite the wrath of religious outfits, the Congress government on Saturday introduced a bill to amend the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act to allow it to take over mutts and temples in trouble. More Bangalore News»

		More News»

		Chennai
		DMK men spend lavishly in party polls Candidates contesting for the influential district secretaries posts of the DMK in Tamil Nadu are spending lavishly. Corporation tweaks Chennai's speed breakers The usual trouble motorists experience while travelling over speed breakers — humongous humps or tiny rubber-plastic ones — may soon end. The city corporation has re-engineered 400 speed breakers on interior and bus route roads as per Indian Roads Congress (IRC) standards. Chennai schools restrict entry after Peshawar bloodbath Parents can no longer walk into schools on a whim. Attacks on children within and outside the country, especially the Peshawar massacre, have put schools on alert. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Only Gujarati makes building good for use! What has an establishment or residential society’s name board got to do with granting building use permission! Keshubhai to continue as chairman of Somnath trust Former chief minister of Gujarat and chairman of the Somnath trust, Keshubhai Patel will continue to head the trust for one more year. Narayan Desai out of ICU The tallest surviving Gandhian, Narayan Desai, 89, was finally brought out of the ICU of a Surat hospital. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		RTI activist injured in attack An RTI activist and two of his associates were injured in an attack in Payagpur on Saturday. A case had been registered against 11 persons, including village development officer (VDO) and gram pradhan. Police probe rules out conversion in Bahraich village Police investigation into Kamlapur village conversion issue has said that it was a rumour spread by a few persons. However, magisterial inquiry into the alleged conversion of 70 village is still underway. Saints factions' fight for supremacy hits land allocation Allocation of land to seers’ organization – Khak Chowk – has been hit hard by the fissures in the organization. On Saturday, head of Khak Chowk Mahamandaleswar Mahant Madhav Das threatened a hunger strike if mela authorities failed to allocate equal land to all seers. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Aviation experts to voice ozone concern Concerned over the depleting ozone layer because of the emission of aviation fuel, civil aviation experts and environmentalists here will discuss measures to be taken to check pollution on Saturday. AT scam: Nayagarh DSP in CBI net The CBI on Friday arrested a DSP-rank officer, identified as Pramod Panda, in connection with Artha Tatwa (AT) Group Ponzi scam. Ponds in Ward 44 gasp for fresh air Three natural ponds in Ward 44, Badagada, have become victims of neglect with sludge and weeds overflowing in them and surrounded by overgrowth, making them unsuitable for bathing. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Constructed 3086 km of new roads in a year: MP minister The Madhya Pradesh public works department (PWD) constructed 3086 km of new roads in the first year of the BJP's third term in the state. SIMI network in 21 districts of MP: MP home minister Banned radical outfit SIMI (Students' Islamic movement of India) has laid its network in 21 out of 51 district of Madhya Pradesh. Paddy sold for a song, scrapes coffers of Rs 100 crore Officials of Madhya Pradesh food department sold 2.65 lakh metric tonne paddy procured during 2012-13 at throwaway prices, draining the exchequer of around Rs 100 crore. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Cops oversee distribution of slips for urea to farmers in Haryana Haryana policemen have been entrusted to maintain law and order to ensure smooth distribution of urea as the farmers of the state are furious over the shortage of the fertilizer this rabi season. New norms soon to prevent misuse of CLU permissions To avoid further misuse of change of land use (CLU) policy, the Haryana government has planned to plug loopholes in it. After SC ire, 30 FIRs for missing children in Doaba region Ater the Supreme Court pulled up the authorities, 30 FIRs have been registered by the police in the cases of missing children in four districts of Doaba region .18 reports were filed in Jalandhar district alone. More Chandigarh News»

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