News Digest: Natural selection: IIT-M develops stealth ships

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Monday, January 02, 2017
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Natural selection: IIT-M develops stealth ships If only one could soar with the birds on a whim or dive into the deep blue sea with the fish. Man has always looked to nature for inspiration to do things distinctly unlike humans. So we’ve had the Icarus [late, of tragic legend] and the Wright brothers [of more recent and well documented success]. Rape victim's kin seek President's nod for self-immolation Nearly seven weeks after the alleged rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in Sonepat district of Haryana, her family on Friday wrote to the President, seeking permission for self-immolation. In their letter to the President, Pranab Mukherjee, the distraught family highlighted the inaction of Haryana Police officials in investigating the rape and murder case and sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case. Muslim minor can legally wed, but can't sign agreement: HC The Gujarat HC has given legal sanction to the marriage of a minor Muslim girl who had eloped with her 21-year-old lover, citing an earlier judgment enabling a Muslim girl to marry when she reaches puberty. More India News»

		Business
		In sudden move, Infosys' chief compliance officer quits Infosys’ chief compliance officer and general counsel David Kennedy has quit, a sudden departure that immediately led to speculation about whether it had something to do with the controversy around the severance agreement with former CFO Rajiv Bansal. Govt to rework ease of biz rankings PSU insurers post losses in H1FY17 on higher claims More Business News»

		Environment
		China to ban ivory trade by end of 2017 China says it plans to shut down its ivory trade by end of 2017 in a move designed to curb mass slaughter of African elephants. Chinese government will end processing and selling of ivory and ivory products by end of March as it phases out legal trade, according to a statement released on Friday. World's oldest male panda dies: Officials The world's oldest male panda, with more than 130 descendants, has died aged 31, officials said. Pan Pan Pan, whose name means “hope” in Chinese was a prolific father, siring many cubs over the years that have gone on to have offspring of their own. Delhi's air quality enters 'severe' zone yet again Level of pollutants had seen a rapid build up before Christmas; however, the situation improved a little thereafter and remained so for at least two days. Air quality had started falling again on December 27. The average AQI of December 27 and 28 were 329 and 385, both in the very poor category. More Environment News»

		World
		N Korea's Kim says close to test launch ICBM North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Sunday that the nuclear-capable country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). North Korea tested ballistic missiles at an unprecedented rate during 2016 'No computer is safe': Trump wants couriers, no emails Bangladesh ruling party lawmaker shot dead More World News»

		Entertainment
		Hottest celebrity Instagram accounts of 2016 Priyanka Chopra can't say no to this director See: Bipasha-Karan's vacay pics from Australia More Entertainment News»

		Science
		NASA solar observatory to add leap second to master clock Pan Pan, whose name means “hope” in Chinese was a prolific father, siring many cubs over the years that have gone on to have offspring of their own. On Dec 31, official clocks around the world will add a leap second at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). NASA's Curiosity rover discovers purple rocks on Mars The image captured from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Curiosity Mars rover shows purple-hued rocks near the rover’s late-2016 location on lower Mount Sharp. Variations in colour of the rocks hint at the diversity of their composition on lower Mount Sharp, NASA said. NASA may build ice homes on Mars to protect astronauts The surface of Mars has extreme temperatures and the atmosphere does not provide adequate protection from high-energy radiation. The researchers believe that their “Ice Home” design provides a sound engineering solution to offer astronauts a safe place to call home. More Science News»

		Sports
		Matter of time before I do well in all formats: Pujara Cheteshwar Pujara was one of India's most consistent batsmen in 2016. The 28-year-old, with 836 runs from 11 Tests in the year, is looking to keep the good work going and develop into an all-format cricketer. EPL: Pogba seals late Man United comeback win Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial scored late goals as Manchester United came from behind to beat Middlesbrough 2-1 on Saturday and spare Jose Mourinho the embarrassment of losing to his former assistant Aitor Karanka. Will assess Indian Olympic Association's situation: IOC Asked if the IOC plans to take action on IOA for elevating Kalmadi and Chautala to life presidents, IOC media relations manager Michael Noyelle said in a written reply that it will first get in touch with the NOC of India. More Sports News»

		Technology
		All that ruled the technology world in 2016: Glimpses It's again time to bid goodbye to the current year and welcome a new one. And with all this, it's aloso the time to look back at all that dominated the world of technology during the year -- good, bad and no-so-good. The hottest product launches of the year, the startups that made a mark and the ones that dissapeared and more ... This is the new smartphone Asus is working on As per the information available on Tenaa, it may have a 2GB, 3GB, or 4GB RAM configuration padded with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB storage options. Android Nougat manual for Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge reveals more upcoming features A few screenshots seen in the manual show the behaviour of the new top row of Quick Toggles. More Technology News»

		Education
		Medical students will have to clear exit test for 'Dr' tag The draft Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill 2016 said the medical students will have to pass the National Exit Test (NEXT), which is expected to create a level-playing field in medical education. An official said NEXT would improve the quality of medical education and help benchmark students. Centre to set up five new universities for minorities The Centre has decided to set up five new universities for imparting higher education including medical to students belonging to minority communities, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi announced here on Thursday. 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 IITs. Though the number of recruiters has gone up, number of jobs offered has gone down. India Inc, both public & private, though have not directly linked the trend to demonetisation. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		On January 1, air quality hits `very poor' mark 2 killed, 6 injured in 5 bike accidents Muslims must get Rs 7,000 crore in BMC budget: Asaduddin Owaisi More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Party time brings Delhi to a screeching halt 'Rogue' list gets longer The gate crashers More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Narendra Modi makes EMI cheque smaller, low-cost housing on Bengaluru outskirts gets a boost This New Year, the urban poor, who were unable to own a property in and around Bengaluru with real estate prices skyrocketing in the past one-and-a-half decades, could materialize their dream. They could well own a house at approximately 30km from Vidhana Soudha for just Rs 12 lakh. Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike: Regularize building violations or face demolition If you own a structure that violates building norms and think you can get away by not applying under Akrama-Sakrama, think again. Foreseeing poor response to the proposed regularization scheme, the state government will make it mandatory to regularize illegal constructions and unauthorized structures in urban areas. Bengaluru: Brain dead man gifts life to three More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Hyderabad-based engineering & construction company bags Rs 242.56 crore project in Karnataka Rahul Gandhi likely to address rally in Hyderabad next month The party is demanding that the BJP Government adequately compensate women and small businessmen who have incurred losses during the past 50-days. Natotsav begins on an emotionally high note More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Another spell may rain hope for Chennai's reservoirs Partygoers' gift to Chennai: 20 tonnes of garbage Right track: Deaths on rail lines down by 5% More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Gujarat goverment begins smart services under Wi-Fi project at Gandhinagar Chief Minister Vijay Rupani showed confidence that the capital of Gujarat is now equipped with Wi-Fi facility and will create not only prestige of Gujarat but of India among the national-international dignitaries to visit forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit-2017. Biggies bite dust, small firms shine Even as the sensex ended 2016 on a positive note, gaining 260 points on December 30 - the final trading session of the year, it was mixed bag for investors. BPA gets new Braille printer Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union minister of social justice and empowerment, inaugurated a state-of-the-art Braille press at the Blind People's Association (BPA) premises on Friday evening. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		BJP bikes arrive in city for door-to-door drive BJYM activists want Maurya as CM if BJP wins Saving on Rs 50LPA bill, police lines to run on solar power More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		State Election Commission imposes restriction on publicity of schemes and distribution of booklets Odisha government seeks public suggestions to prepare annual budget The state government on Saturday sought suggestions and inputs from common men, civil society organisations and different advocacy groups to shape the annual budget 2017-18. Cash worry hits rural poll aspirants in Odisha During poll season, money flows like liquor. From lunch to freebies to posters, candidates can’t do without ‘vitamin M’. But demonetisation has put a spanner in their works and with traders and contractors, people who would generally come forward to support aspirants, putting their hands up, those contesting the panchayat polls are in a bit of a fix. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		2 booked for hunting ducks at Bairagarh The forest department booked two men on Thursday for illegally hunting protected migratory ducks at Bairagarh near Sehore Naka. The two are being questioned to find out if they were involved in poaching in the past as well. Traffic cops on toes to check drunk driving on New Year Bhopal traffic police would run a dedicated vehicle checking drive to check driving under the influence of alcohol in the city on New Year's Eve. Officials said apart from traffic police, cops from police stations would also be deployed in the vehicle checking drive. Use khadi once a week, government staff told The Madhya Pradesh government has appealed to its employees to promote khadi and handlooms by wearing khadi clothes at work once a week. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Rape victim's kin seek President's nod for self-immolation Nearly seven weeks after the alleged rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in Sonepat district of Haryana, her family on Friday wrote to the President, seeking permission for self-immolation. In their letter to the President, Pranab Mukherjee, the distraught family highlighted the inaction of Haryana Police officials in investigating the rape and murder case and sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case. Cleanliness drives marks the second day of NSS camp at Panjab University 'De-addiction centres to cover tobacco addicts' Punjab government has been making serious efforts to tackle the problem of tobacco use. In its endeavour to save the youth and children from addiction to tobacco/nicotine, the government has been strictly implementing various laws and provisions. More Chandigarh News»

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