News Digest: India ranks 4th in number of thinktanks

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Sunday, January 31, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		India ranks 4th in number of thinktanks India ranks fourth on the list of nations with the most number of thinktanks, with nearly 100 new ones taking the country’s total to 280 in 2015. BJP: University saw 9 Dalit suicides under UPA, where was Rahul then? Hours after Rahul Gandhi joined the protesting students of the University of Hyderabad for a daylong fast, BJP on Saturday accused the Congress vicepresident of using the campus as a political platform for “narrow” partisan interests over the suicide of PhD student Rohith Vemula. World to cash in on India's newfound wanderlust The intrepid Indian traveller is being wooed by the global travel industry. With 3 crore Indians expected to travel across the globe by 2018, tourism boards and destination management companies are leaving nothing to chance. More India News»

		Business
		Budget session of Parliament likely from February 23 The Budget session of Parliament is likely to begin on February 23 as the Cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs headed by home minister Rajnath Singh meets on February 4 to finalize the broad schedule. Usually, the budget session begins in the third week of February and concludes early May. Govt to use unviable coal mines to make urea: Gadkari The government will soon exploit economically unviable coal mines for gasification to produce cheaper urea to cut down on huge Rs 55,000 crore annual subsidy on the fertilizer, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday. SpiceJet raises cancellation, excess weight charge Low cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet will hike its cancellation and excess weight charges, apart from advancing the no show time for cancelling tickets, from Monday, February 1. More Business News»

		Environment
		Drying of animal hides on Ganga banks banned In a bid to save the river Ganga from increasing pollution, the district administration has banned drying of animal hides and production of organic fertilizers on its banks Mali's desert elephants face extinction in three years Mali's elephants, one of just two remaining desert herds in the world, will be gone in three years unless the government does more to protect them, a conservation group said on Thursday. Russia's goat-tiger odd friendship may be over A romance that enchanted Russia may be over: Timur the goat and Amur the tiger have had a fight and aren't together anymore. Timur started pushing Amur, constantly annoying and butting the tiger. Finally, the tiger couldn't hold back, grabbed the goat by the withers and tossed him. More Environment News»

		World
		Turkey accuses Russia of new airspace violation Turkey today accused Russia of a fresh violation of its airspace, warning Moscow it would "face consequences" as relations between the two countries hit a new post-Cold War low. Cellphones come to rescue of trapped Chinese miners Mobile technology played a key role in the rescue of four miners who were rescued after 36 days from an underground mine in eastern China’s Shandong province that had collapsed after an earthquakeon Christmas Day last year. Now, Japanese book monks online for rituals at home In Japan, where communal ties to local Buddhist temples are fading, families have in recent years been able to go online to find a Buddhist monk to perform funerals and other rituals. More World News»

		Entertainment
		BT Exclusive: Katrina's views on infidelity She’s on a high. A sugar high. It’s not often that one gets to chat with the gorgeous actress while she’s lounging, sprawled on a sofa — indulging in the guilty pleasures of life. Why Yami refused to kiss Ayushmann? Bollywood celebs who faced racism More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Reason why children develop food allergies explained Consumption of a normal diet stimulates cells in the gut that suppress rejection of food by the immune system, scientists have found, explaining why some children are more susceptible to food allergies. Revealed: How this prehistoric bird went extinct The study is the first to provide direct evidence that these early human inhabitants preyed on the remarkable large animals that once thrived in Australia but disappeared after people got there, University of Colorado geological sciences professor Gifford Miller said. Not just kids, doctors urge adults to take vaccines too Vaccines are not just for children. For long, doctors, particularly in the private sector, have recommend that adults get a dose of a wide range of shots including those for flu, typhoid, hepatitis, and pneumonia. More Science News»

		Sports
		Kerber stuns Williams to win Australian Open title Angelique Kerber became the first German to win a Grand Slam title since her childhood idol Steffi Graf in 1999 when she upset world number one Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to clinch the Australian Open. 3rd T20I: Series in bag, India aim for a clean sweep India have already pocketed the series but will hope for a clean sweep when they face Australia in the third and final T20I at Sydney. ICC U-19 WC: Sarfaraz, Avesh guide India to quarters India stormed into the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup quarterfinals after producing a clinical all-round performance to wallop New Zealand by 120 runs in their penultimate group D encounter on Saturday. More Sports News»

		Technology
		6 things no one tells you about working at Google Here are some things that you may not have heard about working at the search giant. Frederique Constant Horological: The classic timepiece Through the day , the watch's motion tracker counts the steps you've taken and relays this data to your smartphone. Stick PCs will be hot sellers in the future The PC-on-a-stick might be small, but it's going to make a big impact on the computing world as we move into the next decade. More Technology News»

		Education
		Colgate launches its 2016 scholarship offer Oral-care company Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited has announced the commencement of its national scholarship initiative from January 29 to serve as a platform to provide impetus to children with potential. JNU VC: IIT professor Kumar picked over Irani's choice IIT professor Jagdeesh Kumar was appointed as JNU vice-chancellor by President Pranab Mukherjee after he was selected from a panel of four names that also included scientist VS Chauhan, who was reported to be HRD minister Smriti Irani's preferred choice to lead the prestigious institute. English teenagers 'are most illiterate in the developed world', report reveals English teenagers are among some of the least educated in the developed world, a report reveals. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Smoke from Deonar fire keeps Mumbai pollution near record high Even as the Deonar dumping ground fire raged on for the third day on Saturday , chief minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered an inquiry by the police commissioner into the allegation that the blaze was an act of sabotage. Centre selected only 3 of state's Padma nominees NDA Government Picked 13 Others On Its Own City schools take up road safety cause With growing number of road accidents and the celebration of the Road Safety Week earlier this month, several schools in the city took up the cause and conducted workshops, planned year-long activities and held performances to spread awareness. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Delhi's Oberoi hotel to take 2 years off for facelift The iconic Oberoi hotel — a landmark in the heart of Delhi for the last 50 years — will be shut down for major renovation from April 1. East India Hotels (EIH), the parent company of Oberoi Hotels, has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the property is expected to reopen by April 1, 2018. East Delhi chokes on filth, snarls East Delhi resembled a waste dump on the fourth day of the strike called by municipal workers. Streets littered with garbage and resultant stink made life miserable for residents and commuters in areas like Laxmi Nagar, Shanti Vihar, Karkardooma, Jamuna Sports Complex and Shahdara. 6-year-old drowns in South Delhi school A six-year-old boy studying in Class I at Ryan International School in Vasant Kunj was found dead in a water reservoir of the school on Saturday afternoon. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Refugee camps to Adarsh Gram: Tales from an East Bengal trail There’s an East Bengal trail that ends in the dry and hot district of Raichur in North-West Karnataka. It’s no secret this “Little Bangladesh” as some locals call the settlements--mostly in huts granted in four camps when they migrated 45 years ago-- it’s a growing fight. Belagavi MLA to take 'shramadana' in large scale on Sunday Belagavi (North) MLA Firoz Sait has organized 'shramadana' programme in three different locations of the city in large scale on Sunday, along with hundreds of his followers. Air Force School Hebbal bags Teenovator prize at national-level competition for innovation Air Force School Hebbal, Bengaluru won the coveted Teenovator of the year first prize at the national-level competition for innovation by students at Manipal University on Saturday. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		After FTII, Rahul baba wades into another campus tussle A high-pitched political slugfest over Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the University of Hyderabad marked the ‘Justice for Rohith’ campaign that took off in the wee hours of Saturday on the occasion of the 27th birthday of the UoH student who had committed suicide two weeks ago. Unending wait for RuB irks North Zone voters The construction of a rail under bridge in Addagutta division remains an important issue as plans to ground the project have failed to take off even after three decades. Development in South Zone going south? Apart from bad roads, acute shortage of parking space and water woes, it appears that sanitation in the 42 wards of South Zone is perpetually on the backburner for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		One constable, five wives, two complaints A 42-year-old policeman who successfully chased several women to be made his wives is now on the run after two of them complained to police. Mobile vet clinic on mission to eradicate rabies There is little to distinguish the van from other luxury vehicles of its ilk zipping along city roads. Only the stickers on its sides indicate its true purpose -to train local vets in sterilizing community dogs as part of an `eradicate rabies' programme. Corpn clears LED project at speed of light In less than a minute, the Chennai Corporation passed 82 resolutions including a `120-crore project to install 28,808 LED street lights, without any discussion at the council meet on Saturday. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Addicts move Gujarat high court over ban on poppy capsules Addicts of poppy capsules have moved the Gujarat high court against the state government’s complete ban on the addictive substance saying it is a violation of their fundamental rights. Water shortage hits rabi sowing in Saurashtra Lack of adequate water supply has already put a dent in rabi crop cultivation in Gujarat.Data released by the state's agriculture department shows a 39% drop in land cultivated for rabi crop this season in Saurashtra. Gujarat University colleges asked to send voter lists The Gujarat University has asked colleges to send names for preparing the voter list for the 10 seats of students' senate. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		IED found in Mahanagri Exp, tragedy averted A major tragedy was averted when a bomb defusing squad (BDS) from Allahabad defused an improvised explosive device (IED) near Manikpur Railway Station in Chitrakoot district during the wee hours of Friday. HC directs district judge to inspect Banda jail The Allahabad High Court on Friday directed the district judge (DJ), Banda to make an inspection of the Banda jail and submit a report before the court by next date. Transformer down, Ghausnagar in dark for 5 days Residents of Ghausnagar in Kareli have been living in dark for about five days now just because the transformer broke down and hasn't been replaced yet. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Fire at IOCL oil refinery week ahead of PM's visit Fire broke out in the Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s (IOCL) oil refinery project premises at Paradip on Saturday evening, just week ahead of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 7. PM Modi's Puri darshan: How close to the deity can he get? Uncertainty looms over whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi can go close to Lord Jagannath when he visits the 12 thcentury shrine in Puri to pay obeisance on February 7. Huge cache of arms seized from gangster Dhal Samant brothers residence A day after arrest of gangster brothers Sushil and Sushant Dhal Samant, police has seized 9 sophisticated guns, including a carbine, and huge cache of ammunitions from their residence at CDA sector 7 area. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Madhya Pradesh: Dalit boy dies as babus sits on free surgery file for five years District collector in Vidisha has ordered a magisterial inquiry to probe lethargy of government officials that led to tragic end of a 7-year-old dalit boy with a hole in his heart. Hindu Mahasabha garlands Godse's portrait on Gandhiji's death anniversary in Madhya Pradesh Members of the Hindu Mahasabha celebrated Mahatma Gandhi's assassination by offering garlands portraits of his assassins - Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte at its Gwalior office on Saturday. Nepalese woman delivers baby in general coach A Nepalese woman delivered a baby in the general coach of a Gorakhpur-bound train in the early hours of Saturday. The new-born was delivered with the help of railway staff and women in the coach. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		SAD forcing me to be out of poll fray: AAP rebel Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member Sumail Singh Sidhu, who is contesting Khadoor Sahib assembly bypoll in Punjab as an independent candidate, on Saturday alleged the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal was pressurising him to withdraw his candidature. Independents demand para military forces' deployment for Khadoor Sahib assembly constituency byelection Independent candidates contesting Khadoor Sahib assembly constituency byelection demanded deployment of para military forces in the constituency. Videos of cruelty to dog go viral Videos of cruelty to a stray dog in Sector 48 went viral on a social networking site and enraged city residents so much that they decided to take the matter to a logical conclusion. More Chandigarh News»

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