News Digest: Ratan Tata meets RSS chief, discuss social work initiatives

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Thursday, December 29, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Ratan Tata meets RSS chief, discuss social work initiatives Tata Sons interim chairman Ratan Tata met Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat at the right-wing group’s headquarters here on Wednesday. The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of ongoing boardroom battle after unceremonious removal of Cyrus Mistry from the group’s chairman post and subsequently from boards of a few Tata companies. Russia, China and Pakistan for flexible ties with Taliban, India ignored Here's why rates of some vegetables are seeing a dip More India News»

		Business
		Tax cash payment to public utilities beyond a limit: Panel Noting that India’s cash-to-GDP ratio of more than 12% is the highest in the world, the report has set a vision of reducing this to 6% over a period of three years. Watal, who is currently principal adviser, NITI Aayog, has suggested special emphasis on increasing digitisation in low-value transactions. Govt sanctions Rs 200 cr for Tirupur dyeing industry The government has sanctioned Rs 200 crore to the Tirupur dyeing industry which was reeling under severe financial crisis on account of their huge investments in the first ever Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) projects in the country. Rupee hits 4-week low, plunges 18 paise to 68.24 Piling on Tuesday's massive loss, the rupee today fell by another 18 paise to close at a 4-week low of 68.24 on month-end dollar demand from importers coupled with sustained foreign capital outflows. More Business News»

		Environment
		Cooking emissions a contributor to air pollution The skyline on this part of the country turns grey by afternoon. By dusk, a thick layer of smog envelops the horizon. With winter setting in, millions living in rural and suburban India has many reasons to worry about, one of it being air pollution. Paris Climate deal among UN's big achievements in 2016 The long-pending Paris Climate Agreement finally came to fruition after Ban, in his final of year at the helm of the world body, mobilised nations to ratify the agreement, which calls on countries to combat climate change and limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Poaching at all-time high, tiger numbers still rose The records of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) show that at least 129 tigers and 419 leopards died in 2016 as compared to 91 tigers and 397 leopards in 2015. Of these, at least 50 tigers and 127 leopards were poached, a record in the last 10 years. More Environment News»

		World
		Tunisian contact of Berlin attacker arrested Tripartite meet on Afghanistan to include Kabul, others Strong quake hits northeast Japan, no tsunami risk More World News»

		Entertainment
		Top 5 grossing films of 2016 With 2016 coming to an end, we take a look at Top 5 grossing films of the year. 2016: When things fell apart for celebrity couples The film industry power couples and their romance may give fans major relationship goals but in 2016 'pyaar' seemed 'impossible' for celebrities, signalling the end of many fairy-tale love stories. 15 Pictures that will make you follow Amy Jackson on social media Here are 15 pictures of the British bombshell that will make you hit the follow button, in case you aren’t already following her. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		China launches high-resolution remote sensing satellites The satellites, SuperView-1 01/02, blasted off at 11:23 am Beijing time on the back of a Long March 2D rocket. They are able to provide commercial images at 0.5-meter resolution. China plans to form a BeiDou network consisting of 35 satellites for global navigation services by 2020. 2016: A year that unlocked mysteries of our solar system! Scientists used stereo images from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft to create a high-resolution topographical map of Mercury to discover a broad valley. The newly discovered “great valley” in the southern hemisphere of Mercury provided more evidence that the small planet closest to the Sun is shrinking. ISRO to launch record 83 satellites in one go in Jan ISRO today said it would launch a record 83 satellites in one go using its PSLV-C37 rocket toward the end of January. Of the 83 satellites, 80 belong to Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland and the US. More Science News»

		Sports
		Sports ministry issues showcause notice to IOA; Kalmadi declines post The move to elevate Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Chautala triggered a storm with the ministry issuing a showcause notice to the IOA and also threatening to severe ties with the body if it failed to sack the duo. Dravid, Laxman were the best batsmen I bowled to: Asif Pakistan's tainted pace bowler Mohammad Asif has described former India stars Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman as technically the best batsmen he bowled to in his roller-coaster career. All ties with IOA remain cut till it reverses decision: Vijay Goel "Suresh Kalmadi and Chautala being made IOA's life presidents is against its constitution and unacceptable to the ministry," sports minister Vijay Goel said a day after he said the IOA's decision came as a shock for the government. More Sports News»

		Technology
		WATCH: LG G6 may not be 'modular' this time Another minor change is that the smartphone’s render shows two separate volume keys. In contrast, the LG G5 has a single volume rocker. The speaker is at the bottom edge, along with a USB Type-C port. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge users may receive this new Android 7.0 Nougat feature The changelog of the fifth Android Nougat Beta for Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones doesn’t mention anything about this change and talks only about fixes. This may be the 'end' of Freedom 251 smartphone Here’s a whole new twist to the biggest innovation that was to come out of Noida in 2016. More Technology News»

		Education
		Sharp fall in number of offers at IITs this year A 'global slowdown' has resulted in a sharp decline of job offers in the first phase of the recruitment process in IIT campuses across the country. Though the number of recruiters has gone up, the number of jobs offered per company has gone down. IIT-Kharagpur to slash fee hike by half Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur looked poised to slash the proposed hike in registration fees for MTech and PhD scholars by half following unprecedented protests at the institute for over a week. ​New IITs have better faculty-student ratio Despite their more comfortable situation at the moment, the newer IITs are not slackening pace. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Rise in post-breakup 'rapes', Bombay high court worried Maharashtra curtails New Year's Eve liquor parties along highways Corporator disqualified over invalid caste certificate More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		AAP-BJP tussle kills revival plan of dying city lake A plan to revive the dying Naini lake in Model Town was prepared a year-and-a-half ago by a top biologist but it hasn't been implemented as control of the lake changed hands from the city government to the municipal body. Delhi: Nod for public works near monuments? Former IAS officer Anil Baijal to succeed Jung as Delhi lieutenant governor More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Karnataka was laundry, but what was source of cash? Investigation into the seizures in Karnataka has revealed that the state could be a prominent part of well-oiled operations, with 70% of all cash seized belonging to currency chests from other states. 12k people waiting for BSNL landlines India has sent successful missions to Mars and the Moon, boasts of an ICT industry on a par with the best, and dreams of leapfrogging into the digital world; but still has about 12,000 applications waiting to get landline fixed-line connections from state-run BSNL. Revenue generation takes a beating in state govt depts; ensure targets are met, says CM More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Special 26 redux: Fake CBI officers rob gold worth Rs 8crore In a plot that seemed straight out of the Bollywood hit, Special 26, robbers posing as CBI officers raided a private financing firm in Cyberabad on Wednesday and decamped with gold worth Rs 8.22 crore and Rs 1 lakh cash. African strain of bluetongue virus found Rights tiff might hit city star hotels hard More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		AIADMK meet to urge 'reluctant' Sasi to be general secretary For those who witnessed the ‘sacrifice’ of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi saying no to the Prime Minister post in 2004, the AIADMK general council meet in Chennai on Thursday may give a deja vu. Sasikala Pushpa says her husband missing New rules make filing accident claims tough More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Cops ask bank for Tehmul Sethna's accountant statement City cops have written to concerned banks for detailed statement of the account held jointly in the name of chartered accountant Tehmul Sethna, and his wife Kamalrukh. Sethna’s wife has lodged a complaint of cheating and breach of trust against the chartered accountant, who recently made headlines as the advisor of Mahesh Shah, the man who made the Rs13,860 crore dud disclosure under the Union government’s IDS scheme. Sethna’s wife has alleged that the CA has withdrawn Rs1.38 crore from the couple’s joint bank account by forging her signature. Restaurateur accuses travel firm owner of cheating Owner of a restaurant in Thaltej, Amit Barot, on Tuesday lodged a complaint of cheating against Dhruti Pooch, the owner of Isabella tours and travels at Sola police station. He has accused Pooch of refusing to return Rs 22 lakh. Gujarat high court notice to Auda, Nirma school Gujarat high court (HC) on Wednesday issued notices to Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda) and Nirma Education & Research Foundation after residents of Bodakdev placed a notice issued by the Auda to Nirma Vidyalaya in 2011 to remove construction put up at a public playground in violation of usage agreement. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Fog clears by noon but chill continues Cold sends people rushing to OPDs Cow's that! Learn with fun about bovines More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Odisha urges Centre to strengthen banking infrastructure in rural areas to promote cashless transactions OIC asks govt to give info on mining scam The Odisha Information Commission (OIC) has directed the state government to disclose information to an RTI applicant on the action taken following recommendations of the M B Shah Commission of inquiry into the mining scam. Odisha administrative service officer jailed in graft case Thirteen years after a senior Odisha administrative service (OAS) officer was arrested by vigilance for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000, a court here on Tuesday sentenced him to three years in prison. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		School boy arrested in Madhya Pradesh for extorting money in the name of 'ISIS' Person who had threatened a 30-year-old woman in Jabalpur district while demanding to pay Rs 2 crore in Bitcoins if she wanted to stop him from uploading her pictures on pornographic portals claiming to be a Pakistan based ISIS man, has turned out to be a teenaged boy. People will get more than expected after Dec 30: Shahnawaz Hussain PM pays tributes to Sunder Lal Patwa More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Notebandi murder: Man kills help, fakes own death A property dealer from Haryana has been arrested for murdering his domestic help and fake his own death to claim Rs 3.25 crore in life insurance money. And all this because he had lost a huge amount of money in the demonetization of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. AAP fields 'shoe-thrower' MLA from SAD bastion Aam Aadmi Party took the fight to the doorstep of the first family of Punjab ­ the Badals ­ by announcing the candidature of its Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh from Lambi constituency for the upcoming assembly election.Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is yet to announce its candidate from the constituency that is considered a Badal clan bastion. Man kidnaps landlord's 3 minor kids; 2 found with injuries In a bid to settle scores with his landlord for forced eviction from rented shop, a man kidnapped his (landlord’s) three minor children at Kabirpur village in Sonipat district on Tuesday night. While two of the three kidnapped siblings have been found with stab injuries on their bodies, police are on the lookout for the third child and the accused. More Chandigarh News»

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