News Digest: Assam Congress rules out truck with AIUDF, AGP

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Wednesday, January 06, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Assam Congress rules out truck with AIUDF, AGP The Congress leadership in the state has dismissed an ambitious plan by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and election strategist Prashant Kishor to mould a Bihar-like RJD-JD(U)-Congress ‘mahagathbandhan’ in the state with Congress, AIUDF and AGP to defeat BJP in the coming assembly election in the state. 'Material recovered has Pak stamp' Four days after six heavilyarmed men sneaked into the Pathankot air force station, defence minister Manohar Parrikar visited the base on Monday and announced that all six terrorists have been killed. All courts in TN to get CISF protection in phases, says HC The Central Industrial Security Force (CSIF) protection being given to the principal seat of the Madras high court since November 16 will be extended to its Madurai bench and other courts in Tamil Nadu in a phased manner, Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said on Tuesday. More India News»

		Business
		India Inc's Q3 revenue to grow 2%, says study Despite a low base effect, India Inc is expected to report a marginal 2% growth in revenues on a yearly basis during the just concluded October-December 2015 (Q3-FY16), thanks mainly to tumbling commodity prices, weak investment demand and flagging rural consumption. Hoping for a relief in income tax this year? It may not happen The government is unlikely to offer any major relief on personal income taxes in the 2016-17 budget due to lack of fiscal space, senior officials have said. Drug cos face five-fold hike in regulatory fees  Pharmaceutical companies may have to shell out more to do business in India. The government has proposed an over five-fold hike in regulatory fees for testing, manufacturing and selling medicines in the country, a move that is likely to impact both domestic as well as multinational pharmaceutical companies operating here. More Business News»

		Environment
		US condor that helped save species returns to wild Banking into the wind and then gliding out of sight, a male California condor flew back into the wild after a captive breeding program that helped save North America's largest species of land bird. 'Banning phosphate in detergents can be looked into' Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar today said the government will surely think of banning use of phosphate in detergents when there was an alternative to do so. Javadekar said he would see what best practices could be put to use in making phosphate-free detergents. Norway to help India manage construction waste India will sign an MoU with Norway for training of human resource to handle construction and demolition waste, in tune with the Clean India Campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. More Environment News»

		World
		Saudi alliance puts US in tough spot The Obama administration on Monday confronted the fundamental contradiction in its relationship with Saudi Arabia. It could not bring itself, at least in public, to condemn the execution of a dissident cleric who challenged the royal family, for fear of undermining the fragile Saudi leadership that it desperately needs in fighting the Islamic State and ending the conflict in Syria. Venezuela opposition controls congress after 17 years Venezuela's opposition was sworn in today as the majority in the National Assembly. It's the first time in 17 years that opponents of the socialist revolution begun by the late Hugo Chavez have controlled the legislature. "Recent tensions" will not affect Syria talks: Saudi Arabia Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday regional tensions would not affect talks aimed at ending Syria's war, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, in an apparent reference to Riyadh's severing of ties with Iran. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Irrfan Khan's surprise gift for his boys Irrfan is not the one to celebrate birthdays. However, this year, the actor has decided to take the conventional path. Jackie Chan lends his trainer to Amyra Dastur Jackie Chan is personally helping Bollywood actress Amyra Dastur in perfecting her kicks and punches. Most expensive celebrity divorces They say marriages are made in heaven, divorces on the other hand definitely aren't part of that deal. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Found: An efficient & cheap way to develop hydrogen biofuel Scientists have created a cheap and efficient biomaterial that catalyses the formation of hydrogen, an advance that may lead to environmentally friendly ways of producing biofuel. Oxygen rise didn't lead to evolution Oxygen is crucial for the existence of animals on Earth, but an increase in the gas did not lead to the rise of the first animals on our planet, a study has found. Largest blue star sapphire worth $100m found in Lanka The world’s largest blue star sapphire, weighing 1404.49 carats and valued at $100 million, has been found in a mine in Sri Lanka. More Science News»

		Sports
		Will think about retirement at right time: Dhoni India's limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he will think about quitting the game at the "right time". "I am a person who lives in the present and the focus right now is the Australian tour leading up to the World T20 Championships. I will think about it at the right time," he said. Kohli wins Cricketer of the Year award, Kirmani honoured too Kohli said that the greatest moment of his career so far is the Test series in Australia, which India lost 0-2, but not before giving a tough fight to the hosts. How did a scoreboard manage to show 1009 not out? Keeping with Pranav Dhanawade's mind-boggling score, here’s a look at some of the more unique scorecards seen on cricket fields down the years. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Lenovo Vibe K4 Note first impressions Less than a year after the launch of the feature-rich K3 Note, Lenovo is out with the next edition model. Predictably named K4 Note, the latest Lenovo smartphone is a major upgrade over last year's handset not in terms of specs, but in terms of features instead. We went hands-on with Lenovo K4 Note at the launch event to find out what the smartphone is all about. Here's what we thought about it... Micromax Canvas Pulse 4G review: This smartphone could have been better Indian rural and urban youth is quickly adapting to the smartphone culture. Probably this is the reason why new smartphones are being launched almost every week in the sub-Rs 10K segment. CES 2016: The gadget extravaganza CES, the biggest gadgets extravaganza of the year, is about to kick off, where a host of companies will showcase technologies that will become the norm in the future. Catch all the action of CES 2016 and latest updates here... More Technology News»

		Education
		Urdu varsity dismisses chief vigilance officer The Maulana Azad National Urdu University (Manuu) on Tuesday decided to terminate the services of its chief vigilance officer (CVO) Chandra Mouli. The move is being construed by many as the varsity's first step to crack down on “irregular“ appointments. IIM Bangalore school courses top-ranked in Central Asia Three post-graduate courses of the state-run Indian Institute of Management have been ranked top in Central Asia by Paris-based international agency Eduniversal, which specialises in higher education, the B-school said on Tuesday. CBSE announces timetable for 2016 examinations The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced the dates for the class X and XII board examination 2016. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		First inter-state heart transplant patient goes home Kandivali resident Rajan Desai (58), who was the fifth in the city to undergo a successful heart transplant, went home on Tuesday after nearly a month of hospital stay. A brain dead man from Surat had donated the organ that was flown across 296km from Surat to Fortis Hospital in Mulund within 92 minutes. ATS seeks change in court time to record Headley's evidence The AntiTerror Squad (ATS) of Mumbai police on Tuesday made an application asking for a change in court timings for the David Headley hearing to record his evidence as an approver in the trial of 26/11 accused Sayed Zabiuddin Alias Abu Jundal. Helmetless BARC employee dies in hit-and-run on Vashi Creek bridge A 45-year-old BARC employee, who was heading to his Mankhurd home on his bike on Sunday night, died in a hit-and-run on Vashi Creek bridge More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Don't test Delhiites patience, give them more buses, SC tells Kejriwal government After following the odd-even vehicle rule like most Delhiites by resorting to car pooling with his brother judge A K Sikri, Chief Justice of India T S Thakur on Tuesday told the Arvind Kejriwal government not to test the patience of citizens by not providing them adequate public transport. 'Develop markets on drains to generate revenue' The Leader of the Opposition in East Corporation, Varyam Kaur has come up with a proposal for generating revenue that would help the civic body tide over its ongoing financial crisis BJP in line of fire over South Corporation budget The opposition in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) went on a spree to lambast the ruling party saying that it is corrupt, inefficient and opaque in its functioning. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Fans multiply for this maths whiz There were Nobel Prize winners, distin guished academics from across the India and the globe, but Indian Science Congress had just one rockstar, Fields medalist Manjul Bhargava. Bhargava's lecture on Ramanujan was rapturously received on Monday night, and demands for more mathematics were so strong that the organizers set up another speech, this time in the senate hall on Tuesday . Withdrawal of cases against Mutalik a rumour: G Parameshwar Home minister G Parameshwar said reports of withdrawing cases against Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Mutalik are just rumours and there is no truth in it. Karnataka CID claims breakthrough in Kalburgi murder case Home minister G Parameshwar said Crime Investigation Department (CID) has got major breakthrough in the case of rationalist MM Kalburgi’s murder. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Donation voluntary, says Ganta In its eagerness to “involve everyone“ in Pro ect Amaravati, the Andhra Pradesh government has instructed all district educational officers to collect Rs 10 each from all students and teachers in about 64,000 educational institutions spread across the state. 15 new cases against illegal financiers As complaints started pouring in from victims of private financiers, South Zone police on Tuesday filed 15 new cases against illegal financiers. Talking to TOI, K Sravanthi of Misrigunj said that in 2011, her mother had borrowed Rs 4.5 lakh from a private financier, Ramesh of Vanasthalipuram, and till date, they had paid Rs 20.1 lakh, but the financier was still harassing them. GO issued waiving Rs 457.75 cr water dues Taking chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's announcement on water dues forward, the municipal administration & urban development (MA&UD) department on Tuesday issued a GO (Rt No: 13) waiving Rs 457.75 crore water dues. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		The Paganini of Carnatic music Two years ago this week, M S Gopalakrishnan (MSG) who played Hindustani and Carnatic styles with ease on the violin passed away . BMW, Audi & Porsche on auction, start at Rs 5L Cars damaged in floods to go under hammer at throwaway prices. ICUs at govt hospitals in need of critical care A day after a fire damaged a section of the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, the ward wore a deserted look. A fresh coat of white paint covered the soot on the walls and medical equipment had been moved to a corner. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Lions hand Wolves their maiden defeat Ahmedabad Wolves had been playing superb football so far, but on Sunday night they ran into a spirited Ganesh Loins who scripted an amazing comeback in the second half to stun Wolves 2-1 in the Maaza and Juggernaut five-a-side football tournament at the Juggernaut arena. Anti-Corruption Bureau arrests 2 RTO clerks on graft charges A team of state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials caught two clerks working with Ahmedabad RTO in connection with a corruption case registered in November. HC exonerates cop of rape charges levelled by woman Army officer Gujarat high court on Tuesday junked rape charges against former HC security in-charge, PI Farooq Qureshi, who was arrested for planting crude bomb outside the court campus in 2012. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Mob fury over demolition of illegally built place of worship Violence erupted in Allahabad on Monday after the authorities demolished an illegally constructed place of worship. Following the demolition, a mob resorted to heavy stone-pelting and torched a state-run bus, prompting police to lob teargas shells and fire in the air. Kalka Mail completes 150 years of operation One of the prestigious and oldest trains of India, the Howrah-Kalka Mail dating back to British period, has completed 150 years of its existence. History was created as this train chugged in at Allahabad junction on Saturday making its tryst with destiny. Air Marshal Sinha to be CAC chief Air Marshal SBP Sinha would take over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command (CAC) on Thursday. He would take charge from the outgoing AOC-in-C Air Marshal Kulwant Singh Gill, who retired on Thursday. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		CMC writes to DCP to take action against 9 illegal ration card holders Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Commissioner Gyana Ranjan Das on Tuesday wrote letter to DCP to lodge FIR and initiate action against nine persons,who illegally got ration cards under National Food Security Act (NFSA). Odisha govt to compensate ASHAs' death on duty The Odisha government has decided to provide compensation to families of accredited social health activists (ASHAs) if they die on duty. Around 45,000 ASHAs form the backbone of healthcare in the around 51000 villages in the state. Puppet show spreads social message Six tribal teenagers have taken it upon themselves to spread messages of social relevance at Parab-2015, which is on here from January 2 to 4.They are doing so through finger puppet show that is a huge crowd puller. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Unhappy with Vyapam scam probe, HC pulls up CBI Six months after CBI took over the Vyapam scam investigations, Gwalior bench of high court hauled up the premier agency for its failure to present a status report on investigations. Mahila Thana books man on wife's e-mail complaint In probably a first FIR based on a complaint sent through an e-mail in state capital, Mahila Thana police on Monday registered a case against a man for sexually harassing his second wife and her daughter. Cabinet expansion speculation rife in MP as CM visits Raj Bhavan Hectic political speculation was abuzz as soon as the convoy of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan entered the premises of Raj Bhavan on Tuesday morning. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Expanding cities eating up defence site buffer zones The Pathankot attack is a warning sign for other airfields, where ballooning cities have led to encroachments around the sensitive installations. Punjab govt joins hand to strictly implement Language Act to promote Punjabi The Punjab government and Punjabi Sahit Academy (PSA) would work in tandem for the promotion of Mother Tongue ‘Punjabi’ and for the implementation of Language Act in all the schools of the state. PU IAS centre admission test on January 14 The Centre for IAS and other competitive examinations, Panjab University (PU), has fixed January 14 for holding the entrance test for admission into four-month coaching classes for civil services preliminary examinations to be conducted by UPSC in 2016. More Chandigarh News»

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