News Digest: In 369% leap, 1.17L tourists came on e-visa in Feb

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, March 12, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		In 369% leap, 1.17L tourists came on e-visa in Feb As many as 1.17 lakh people arrived in India on online visa in February as compared to 24,985 during the same month last year, registering a growth of 369.1%. Ration shops to be fully computerised by '19: Govt Paswan said ePOS costs around Rs 20,000 and there are different provisions to install them as states can also do so by buying such devices. MPs bat for tobacco lobby on pictorial warnings Sources said though a number of committee members was not present, those present have authorised Chairman Dilip Gandhi to finalise the report. More India News»

		Business
		Mallya's private jet lies unsold at airport Former UB group chairman Vijay Mallya certainly didn’t leave India on this jet plane. Paytm borrows Rs 300cr from ICICI Bank Online payments and commerce platform Paytm has taken a loan of close to Rs 300 crore from ICICI Bank in two tranches, a move that analysts say reflects the slowdown in venture capital (VC) investing. EPFO to probe airline's PF dues Nearly four years after grounding of the Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is still trying to find out whether the company has done any "significant" violation of provident fund rules by not depositing workers' dues. More Business News»

		Environment
		Animals starve as zoo workers strike Toughening their stand, the workers said they won't allow visitors on Saturday too, but said they would feed the animals as per schedule. Students exchange school books to preserve trees With the motive of preserving environment and to avert wastage, parents of some city schools have joined hands to promote the 'books exchange system'. India to formally adopt UN's green development goal More Environment News»

		World
		S Sudan offers militia women to rape as reward South Sudan’s government operated a “scorched earth policy” of deliberate rape, pillage and killing of civilians during the civil war in 2015, a report published on Friday by the UN human rights office said. Ex-Putin aide died in US hotel of head injuries: official A former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin found dead in a Washington hotel suffered blunt force injuries to the head, not a heart attack as initially claimed, the US capital's chief medical examiner said. China to start civilian flights from disputed S China Sea island China will begin civilian flights to and from a disputed South China Sea island within a year, state media reported, as the government expands infrastructure on islands and reefs also claimed by other countries in region. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Sanjay denies probe against 'Kaabil' writers We had reported earlier that the cyber crime cell will now investigate actor-turned-writer Sudhanshu Pandey’s complaint against Siraj Ayaz Ahmed and Vijay Kumar Mishra, the writers of Hrithik Roshan-Yami Gautam-starrer- 'Kaabil' Irrfan: I am pleased with my destiny There are few actors in Indian cinema who manage to surprise the audience each time with their performance. One of them is Irrfan. Akshay Kumar's alleged love affairs Khiladi Akshay Kumar has had a colourful history as far as his love life is concerned. Starting from Pooja Batra to his wife Twinkle Khanna and Priyanka Chopra, the actor has had a series of alleged love affairs. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Baby in China as small as diaper survives A premature baby in China, who was born smaller than a diaper, has survived and was discharged from a hospital today after nearly three months of treatment. New frog species found in China World's thinnest lens created by Aus scientists Australian scientists have claimed to have created the world's thinnest lens which is 2,000 times thinner than human hair, a breakthrough set to revolutionise nanotechnology. More Science News»

		Sports
		Pakistan clears team's departure to India for World Twenty20 Pakistan on Friday announced it would send its national cricket team to India for the World Twenty20 following security assurances from New Delhi after months of uncertainty. Saina Nehwal bows out of All England Badminton India's campaign at the All England Badminton Championships came to a disappointing end with Saina Nehwal, B Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma all exiting from the tournament on Friday. Benitez appointed new Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez returned to English football on Friday with the task of saving Newcastle United from Premier League relegation after the struggling north-east side announced the Spaniard as their new manager. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Apple's March 21 iPhone launch event: 5 things to expect Apple has announced that it is hosting an event on March 21, without giving much information on what to expect from it. Take a look at the 5 things to expect from Apple’s March 21 launch event... Samsung Gear VR review: Amazing but it will be a one-time watch for most Samsung Gear VR costs Rs 8,200 and is compatible only with flagship Samsung Galaxy smartphones. Here is the review. 10 must-have apps to boost your productivity We have compiled a list of apps that will help you increase your productivity and enhance your efficiency, so that you can swiftly finish or manage work. More Technology News»

		Education
		RTE mandate fails to achieve even half-mark They were supposed to go to school with everyone else.But the move towards equal education has been marred by contorted reasons and handicaps like slow admission process and lack of awareness among families. Aptitude test to filter students for JEE put on hold HRD ministry has shelved its plan to reform the Joint Entrance Examination by introducing an aptitude test that would filter students for a single entrance test for admission to IITs/NITs and engineering institutions. Copernicus, Pythagorus not removed from textbooks, Smriti Irani says HRD minister Smriti Irani denied that the names of historic western intellectuals like Nicolaus Copernicus and Pythagoras had been removed from school textbooks. She also said there was no proposal for "cleansing" the textbooks from foreign influence. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Own MLA, ally Sena slam Maha BJP over beef ban A day after he criticised the ban on the floor of the assembly, Dhonde reiterated his views before the media on Friday."There is a major drought in Marathwada and farmers are committing suicide. Doesn't Aamir show violate national emblem: HC The Bombay high court questioned the Centre as to how it could say that the talk show Satyamev Jayate, hosted by actor Aamir Khan, does not violate the national emblem only because the phrase is a part of the national emblem. Cops: Hasnain dabbled in land deals but failed Data In His Computer Lists Plots He Wanted To Broker But Found No Buyer More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Fest begins after NGT asks AOL to pay Rs 25L for now AOL lawyers said it was difficult for them to pay Rs 5 crore before the start of the festival, as ordered by the NGT on Wednesday, and sought four weeks. DDA plans housing schemes in Dwarka, Vasant Kunj, Rohini The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) plans to build new housing projects in Dwarka, Vasant Kunj and Rohini. City gridlocked, traffic crawls The city virtually came to a standstill on Friday. Traffic snarls began around noon on the Ring Road and the arterial road along Mayur Vihar when people started heading towards the World Cultural Festival venue More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Paytm borrows Rs 300cr from ICICI Bank Online payments and commerce platform Paytm has taken a loan of close to Rs 300 crore from ICICI Bank in two tranches, a move that analysts say reflects the slowdown in venture capital (VC) investing. With Gas Bhagya, free LPG connections won't be a pipe dream After its pet project Anna Bhagya which feeds rice to innumerable mouths, the government is planning to launch Gas Bhagya - women members of poor households will get LPG connections for free. Day 1: II PU students breeze through biology, electronics Relief was writ large on their faces as II PU students stepped out of the exam hall - both biology and electronics papers were easy to crack. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Storm brews at JNTU-H A raging debate has mired the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTUH), with students and the management at loggerheads over thousands of detentions in the 2014-15 academic year. Only 24 heart transplants conducted in city hospitals since 2004 Despite available expertise and high success rate, heart transplants performed in city hospitals have remained at a mere 3% when compared to liver transplantation surgeries, statistics reveal. Multi-level parking lots: Only vows, no action A day after the Hyderabad Traffic Police announced jail term for repeat 'parking offenders', the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation's (GHMC) ambitious multi-level parking projects have come under the scanner. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Secretariat slips into coma, but election control room abuzz At noon on a weekday , the control room set up by the office of the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer at the Secretariat is buzzing with activity. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the Secretariat where activity is relatively muted, after the Model Code of Conduct was imposed by the Election Commission (EC) on March 4. `DMK's reluctance to share power with DMDK forced Captain's hand' While observers were specu lating how DMDK rank and file will take the decision since partymen had in gen ral preferred a tie-up with the DMK, a enior DMDK leader said that the Cap ain's gameplan was well thought out.Vijayakanth's announcement to contest alone has set off different reactions from different political parties, with the responses indicating the gameplan of ach party in the event of a multi-cornered election without a key ally. Once a rising son, now a thorn in the party flesh Alagiri couldn't resist taking a dig at the DMK's reluctance to respond to the barbs that Premalatha, Vijayakanth's wife, threw at the party on Thursday. He wanted to know if the DMK's standing had declined so much that it couldn't respond. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Cheaper fuel leads to 353.45 cr fall in VAT revenue State-run power generation down in Gujarat Hardik Patel moves high court for bail Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel, who is behind the bars in a sedition case, on Friday filed a bail application in the Gujarat high court. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Cops clueless as youth Cong puts up anti-Kanhaiya poster A controversial poster by Youth Congressmen against JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar came up at Civil Lines on Thursday even as police said they did not know about it. High Court seeks report on probe against Higher Education Service Commission secretary The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to file a report on the probe conducted in the case of missing records related to appointment of S K Singh as secretary of UP Higher Education Service Commission (UPHESC). Allahabad University Student Union chief protests on campus Allahabad University Student Union (AUSU) president Richa Singh staged a protest on the university campus on Wednesday against what she termed as “saffronisation“ of the varsity campus by forces inimical to the interests of the students. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Odisha earns Rs 90 crore under DMF The state government has so far collected Rs 90 crore under the district mineral foundation (DMF), an additional source of revenue meant for holistic development of the mineral-bearing districts. GMC team in Bhubaneswar to take Smart City lessons A four-member team of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), led by its commissioner Narayan Konwar, interacted with Bhubaneswar mayor Anant Narayan Jena and top officials of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) here on Thursday to understand the BMC's plan on the smart city project and development work in the city. Cops suspect Jena smuggled arms Police suspect that former MLA (Sanakhemundi) Ramesh Jena was involved in an illegal gun business with more firearms being recovered from his house at Gambhariguda village in Ganjam district on Thursday. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		5 including Madhya Pradesh minister's kin killed in road accident MP employees' strike : Congress walkout over govt 'apathy' towards employees Opposition Congress on Friday raised the issue of daylong state-wide strike by the state government employees and staged a walkout in the assembly over the alleged indifferent approach of the government towards their demands. Five die in road accident in Sagar district More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		After kids' Ladakh jaunt, teen sets off for Nalagarh Around 10 days after two children took off for Ladakh on their cycles, a 15-year-old boy cycled around 52km from his Panchkula residence to the house of his maternal grandmother in Nalagarh on Thursday night. What made Dev's transfer advisable, ask industrialists In the backdrop of Chandigarh residents protesting against the sudden transfer of UT adviser Vijay Dev, members of industrial associations, on Friday, said the government must explain the reasons for his transfer before the fulfilment of his tenure. Wear your attitude \We want to be head turners of our college each single day, but playing "dress up" daily turns out to be too tasking for most. More Chandigarh News»

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