News Digest: Terror attack at Air Force base in Punjab's Pathankot, 2 militants Killed

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, January 02, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Terror attack at Air Force base in Punjab's Pathankot, 2 militants Killed In what could be a terrorist attack, gunshots were heard near Pathankot Air Force station early on Saturday morning. Fight for Guru legacy scripts new politics in God's Own Country A no-holds-barred fight for a slice of the “Hindu vote-bank” is on stage this election year in Kerala, known as laboratory of coalition politics. It’s a struggle in which the Congress, which has always preached its own version of secularism, playing a proactive role, mindful of the BJP’s Hindutva appeal. Youth radicalised by deceased al-Qaida recruiter's speeches Maaz Hasan Farooqui, an alleged sympathizer of the so-called Islamic State arrested by cops last week, was inspired by alQaida's slain top recruiter Anwar al Awlaki. More India News»

		Business
		New scheme to create 30L textile jobs, says govt The Union government’s decision to introduce an amended technology upgradation fund scheme (A-TUFS) in place of the existing revised, restructured TUFS has brought cheer to the textile industry. No more rate cuts in FY16, says SBI chief The State Bank of India is unlikely to bring down interest rates in the current fiscal, the bank's chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said on Friday. Airline stocks jump up to 9% on 10% cut in jet fuel prices  Aviation stocks are on cloud nine with the old listed companies - Jet Airways and SpiceJet - touching a five-year high and newly listed IndiGo touching a life high on Friday. More Business News»

		Environment
		'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. Chill not to freeze New Year's Eve thrill in Himachal hills The snow will not freeze the thrill in the hills of Himachal Pradesh as the sun will add warmth to the celebrations. Tourists will thus herald the New Year on a sunny note, the Met office cheerfully says. There will be long sunny days at most of the tourist destinations in the state till the New Year dawns. More Environment News»

		World
		Erdogan's Hitler comments misconstrued: Turkish presidency The Turkish presidency said on Friday comments by president Tayyip Erdogan about the system of governance in Hitler's Germany had been misinterpreted and that he had not suggested it was an example of an effective presidential system. China floats new PLA unit for nuke arsenal China has created a new People’s Liberation Army unit to manage and enlarge its missile and nuclear strike capabilities. Yemen pro-government fighters kill al-Qaida leader in south Pro-government fighters in Yemen attacked and killed a senior al-Qaida leader and three people traveling in his convoy near a security checkpoint in the southern Abyan province on Friday, Yemeni officials said. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Nenu..Sailaja... a heartwarming tale: Sravanthi Ravi Kishore Nenu..Sailaja… a heartwarming tale: Sravanthi Ravi Kishore Aalia: I am more than just my breasts Pooja Bedi's daughter, Aalia Ebrahim, religiously posts sizzling pictures of herself on her social media account. However, things turned ugly when a blog site decided to introduce her to the world. Nana Patekar's firebrand dialogues Think of Nana Patekar and his most famous dialogue ‘Sala ek machchar aadmi ko hijra bana deta hai’ comes to mind. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Rare space radio waves to test Einstein's theory Scientists have developed a new way to test one of the basic principles of Einstein’s theory of general relativity using brief blasts of rare radio signals from space. Gene editing tool to help treat muscular dystrophy Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have successfully used a gene editing tool to treat a genetic disease in a fully developed living mammal for the first time, an advance that may be translated in humans. Researchers from Duke University used CRISPR to treat an adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Graphene could be used to detoxify N-waste This is the first time that graphene — which consists of a crystal lattice of carbon arranged in layers just one atom thick — has been shown to act as a subatomic filter. More Science News»

		Sports
		PBL should help Indian players not foreigners: Kashyap Parupalli Kashyap, who will be making a comeback after two-month injury lay-off, sounds very excited to play in the upcoming PBL as he spoke his heart out with TOI Sports. Kohli highest paid player in IPL, outscores Dhoni Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli has outscored ODI captain MS Dhoni to draw the highest salary of whopping Rs 15 crore in the IPL, BCCI revealed on their website on Friday. Mohammad Amir named in limited-overs squads for NZ tour Pakistan named Mohammad Amir in its squads for three Twenty20 internationals and three ODIs in New Zealand next month, four months after the left-arm paceman completed his five-year ban for spot-fixing. More Sports News»

		Technology
		16 people to watch out for in 2016 Here is a list of 16 founders we believe the startup world must watch out for in 2016. Odd and even plan: 8 apps to your rescue Delhites are also gearing up to cope up with the city government's odd and even plan. So, here we bring a list of eight apps that surely will come handy during these 'odd-even days'. Awards for the most fascinating stories of 2015 Here are the awards for the most fascinating stories of 2015, with the added bonus that the qualifying events have implications that will reverberate into 2016 and beyond. More Technology News»

		Education
		Varsities to face cut in research funds by UGC Already reeling under a financial crunch, the state universities in Telangana may have to suffer further as the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to disburse funds based on the research work undertaken. NIIT offering programme in banking sales and marketing NIIT Institute for Finance, Banking and Insurance (IFBI), India's largest banking training institute, has launched a certificate programme in banking sales and marketing (CPBSM) in association with Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB). EWS parents hassled on day one of nursery admissions Friday was only the first day of online economically weaker sections (EWS) admissions and parents from this category are already exasperated. The page itself was down for a while and since it takes time for information to spread among parents of this category, many went to schools to inquire. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Travel site con victim nails lie in court, says he didn't get refund The lawyer of travel portal fraudster, George Fernandes, was exposed in court on Thursday when one the victims present refuted his claims. Shakeel aide held over plan to kill ex-journalist The anti-extortion cell (AEC) of the crime branch has arrested Sayyed Abbas Tublani (47), an old-time conduit of underworld gangster Chhota Shakeel, who was allegedly hatching a plot to kill former journalist S Balakrishnan after the latter won the bidding for don Dawood Ibrahim’s restaurant at Pakmodia street. Balakrishnan was provided with round-the-clock security. 9L cable connections cut for not switching over to set-top boxes More than 8.75 lakh cable TV viewers, who had not switched to digital cable, lost their connections on Friday. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Delhi beats the odds on Day One Delhiites put their weight behind the most drastic anti-pollution measure conceived in India by largely embracing the odd-even scheme that kicked in on New Year’s day, with experts saying the compliance on Day One had immediately led to a dip in levels of particulate matter in the air. Delhi's odd-even formula: Phase 2 on cards, minus exemptions A largely trouble-free first day of the odd-even trial has set the government thinking of the next phase of the plan — one which could do away with the exemption to two-wheelers and women drivers, a concession questioned by the Delhi high court as well. 50 cops, 500 goons & 1,000 rounds at shootout When a 25-member Delhi Police team reached Mathura to nab Mohammed Inam on Thursday, it had little idea about the virtual battleground that awaited it. There were residents—almost 500—from two villages to join the goons, armed with AK-47s, carbines, lathis and stones; all ready to attack and chase the policemen away. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Govt publishes final notification on KPSC recruitment The state government has published the final notification on the amendments to the Karnataka Civil Services rules and regulations which stipulates that marks of competitive examinations for Group A and B recruitments will be kept confidential even from interview members. Bengaluru's oldest womans' college becomes a university The Centre has approved the proposal of Bengaluru’s s oldest women’s college to become a university. State rings in new year with hike in milk prices by Rs 4 per litre The state government has decided to hike the prices of milk by Rs four per litre from January 5. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Domestic power consumers to be categorized in AP? People in Andhra Pradesh are all set to expe rience an indi rect bur den as power compa nies ha ve pro posed categorization of domestic consumers. Citing anomalies in the present five-slab domestic tariff, power distribution companies have proposed a new three-tier structure, which is aimed at garnering higher revenue. Temporary assembly bldg to come up in Amaravati The AP government has decided to construct temporary assembly building in the upcoming capital city, Amaravati. This will be housed in the temporary secretariat complex being planned at Mangalagiri that falls under Amaravati city limits. Telangana to improve biz-friendly rank The latest goal of the Telangana government is to improve its score and ranking as a state capable of implementing business reforms. The state government received 13th rank in World Bank's Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms that was released More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Few takers for big online food discounts The Indian fondness for a good bargain notwithstanding, big discounts of more than 30% on online food orders actually fail to attract loyal customers, a recent report by food portal Zomato shows. Measuring a six-week retention rate, it found that 43% of repeat customers used discounts of 10% to 15%; 38% used discounts of 20-25% but only 14% made use of steep discounts of 30% or more. 450 hospitals may be off CM's insurance scheme At least 450 hospitals empanelled under the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme risk being struck off the list if they fail to initiate the process for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) certification by March 31. Brick Kiln Road hides under slush, sewage & potholes While roads in the city are mostly in disarray, perhaps nothing describes a motorist's nightmare better than Brick Kiln Road in Purasawalkam. From Purasawalkam junction to Otteri, the road has a dose of almost everything - the familiar potholes, slimy puddles, overflowing sewage and leaking water from pipes underground. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Health minister Nitin Patel faces Patel fury in Mehsana Gujarat police, reeling under the sixmonth Patidar reservation stir where at least nine Patels were killed in police action to control violent mobs, is all set to change the way it controls riots. In era of BRTS, users of public transport shrink Since its launch in October 2009, the Rs 1,200 crore Ahmedabad BRTS has decorated the CVs of senior bureaucrats and politicians apart from becoming a trophy for the state government to flaunt -BRTS has won three national and six international awards. Zydus M-cap dips Rs. 5.8k-cr in a day after US warning In a major setback to city-based leading pharmaceutical company Cadila Healthcare Ltd, the US Food and Drug Ad ministration (USFDA) has issued warning letter for two of its manufacturing facilities at Moraiya and Changodar near Ahmedabad for not fully complying with Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		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. MNNIT to devote proposed research centre to Kalam Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) has decided to set up a state-of-the-art centre for interdisciplinary research and projects in specified fields. It would undertake studies in the fields of climate change, energy, environment and disaster management. Coming soon, English classes for government teachers Come January and the government teachers would hone their skills in speaking English so as to improve the standard of teaching. State government's designated institute would conduct special workshops for such teachers from the new year so that they can, in turn, help students learn basic English. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Odisha doctor, attendant held on graft charge Vigilance sleuths of Sambalpur division on Friday arrested a doctor and another attendant of a community health centre (CHC) at Birkera in Sundargarh district on charges of accepting bribe of Rs 20,000 from a vehicle owner to release his dues, involving Rs 1.2 lakh. What you can look forward to in 2016 As the New Year 2016 begins, here are some of the key milestones and events the state can look forward to this year. Jan 15 deadline for National Food Security Act card name recall With reports coming in from many parts of the state about names of elected representatives mostly from BJD featuring on the list of National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries, the state government on Thursday came up with an escape route from the possible controversy. O Friday, it will issue a directive giving all ineligible persons on the NFSA list 15 days to withdraw voluntarily from the scheme. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		IAS officers go for court marriage in Guna They were batch mates at Lal Bahadur Shastri national academy of administration when they were undergoing training of Indian Administrative Service . Man rapes 76-year-old mother-in-law in Madhya Pradesh A 45-year old man raped his 76-year-old mother-in-law in Jabalpur town of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday night. The incident took place in Madhotaal locality of the town. Man axes 2 kids with learning disability, before hanging self A 33-year-old man axed his two differently-abled children before he committed suicide in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Free India's first voter keeps date with polls Ninety-eight-year-old Shyam Saran Negi, India's first voter, cast his ballot in the panchayat elections in Kinnaur district on Friday. "I have exercised my right to vote," Negi, who is partially blind and hard of hearing, told reporters in Kalpa. 2015 instilled confidence of common man in Haryana: Haryana CM Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said that during 2015, the state government succeeded in not only improving the atmosphere in the state but also instilling in the people a sense of trust and confidence in the administration. Punjab on alert after Gurdaspur cop's 'abduction' A high alert was sounded in Punjab after Gurdaspur superintendent of police (SP) headquarters, Salwinder Singh, was allegedly attacked by a group of five men in Army fatigue in the wee hours on Friday while he was returning from Pathankot. More Chandigarh News»

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