News Digest: Flat buyers' group to map delayed projects

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, March 18, 2017
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Flat buyers' group to map delayed projects Ex-judges: Karnan a loner with no qualms targeting Dalit colleagues Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express was original target of module More India News»

		Business
		Repair rural household economy to sustain growth: SBI chief Calling for focussing on farm sector growth to sustain overall higher growth, the State Bank of India on Friday said revival in credit demand will stay low until the balance sheets of the rural households are repaired. Banks are facing two challenges - growth capital and asset quality concerns. Nifty brings up a fresh closing peak, ITC in sweet spot Buying activity picked up after the GST Council on Thursday paved the way for roll out of the new tax regime from July. The new-found optimism spurred stocks to new levels as the Nifty ended at a new peak of 9,160 today and the sensex notched up minor gains, with liquidity giving investors much confidence. Vinod Rai reaches out to PMO on bad loans The government set up the BBB in February 2016 with a mandate to recommend candidates for the top posts at state-run banks and financial institutions. More Business News»

		Environment
		Indian grey hornbills make nests early this year Indian grey hornbills, the birds that nest in cervices of trees have shown a remarkable change in their nesting behavior in the city. This year the birds have built their nests a much earlier. Tata Chemicals Haldia plant gets shutdown notice The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed Tata Chemicals to shut down its fertilizer plant in Haldia (West Bengal) for violating liquid waste discharge rules. The CPCB directive follows an analysis of the company’s samples, which showed a non-compliance in effluent discharge norms. Arctic ice loss driven by natural swings: Study The study indicates that an ice-free Arctic Ocean, often feared to be just years away, in one of the starkest signs of man-made global warming, could be delayed if nature swings back to a cooler mode. More Environment News»

		World
		Iran pilgrims to join this year's hajj: Saudi For the first time in nearly three decades, Iran's pilgrims did not attend last year's hajj after Riyadh and Tehran failed to agree on security and logistics. But, Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that despite ruptured ties between them, Iranian pilgrims will participate in this year's annual hajj. Donald Trump: Different strokes China denounces US bill for sanctions on Chinese firms China on Friday criticized some US Senators for bringing a bill seeking sanctions on Chinese firms engaged in "illegitimate activities" in the disputed South China Sea, saying the move showed their "arrogance and ignorance". More World News»

		Entertainment
		Aamir cuts his birthday cake with Azad-Imara Aamir Khan celebrated his 52nd birthday on March 14, and all his Bollywood friends wished the actor, some even attended a late night party thrown by his wife at his Bandra residence. Movie Review: Machine This machine has been put together without any manual and starts falling apart as soon as it is turned on. Watch: Akshay in 'Naam Shabana' new trailer Taapsee Pannu is back with yet another brilliant performance in her forthcoming flick, ‘Naam Shabana’, which also sees Akshay Kumar in an extended cameo. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Indian aerospace startup plans to brew beer on the moon as an experiment Bengaluru-based aerospace startup, Team Indus, may launch a spacecraft on-board ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to conduct a series of experiments on the Moon including brewing beer to observe survivability of yeast in space. SpaceX launches communications satellite into orbit SpaceX on Thursday successfully launched a communications satellite into space from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The satellite will be placed in orbit more that 35,000 kilometers above the earth and provide telecommunications service to Brazil. Having children may add two years to your life: Study Despite giving you sleepless nights, constant worry and financial headaches, parenthood may be key to having a longer life, particularly in older age when health and capacity start to decline, a new study has claimed. More Science News»

		Sports
		Ranchi Test: India solid in reply to Australia's 451 After Ravindra Jadeja picked up 5/124 to help dismiss Australia for 451, India responded well with KL Rahul's 67 and finished Day 2 of the Ranchi Test at 120/1, trailing by 331 runs. Didn't want this to be my last Test, says Maxwell Glenn Maxwell became the 2nd Australian after Shane Watson to hit tons in all three formats of the game. He is 13th overall in all-time list. Maxwell established himself in the list of modern cricket greats like S Africa’s Faf Du Plessis, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene. Real Madrid to play Bayern in Champions League quarterfinals Defending champion Real Madrid will play Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, a pairing that pits Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti against the team he won the trophy with three years ago. More Sports News»

		Technology
		WhatsApp breaks silence on its 'Status' feature Once the update is rolled out, users will be to set text-based status updates by navigating to the ‘About’ section of their WhatsApp profiles. Google may be working on a third smartphone besides Pixel, Pixel XL successors: Report For those unaware, Google assigns names of aquatic animals as codenames for its devices. The Nexus 5, Nexus 6 and Nexus 6P were codenamed ‘Hammerhead’, ‘Shamu’ and ‘Angler’ respectively. Google Nexus 6 gets downgraded from Android 7.1.1 to 7.0 Nougat Some Reddit users also revealed that apps on the Nexus 6 are crashing continuously after the downgrade. The device needs to be wiped to restore normal functionality. More Technology News»

		Education
		60% of engineering graduates unemployed Karnataka government sets 3-month deadline for pre-schools to register Karnataka government has set a three-month deadline for all pre-primary schools across the state to register with the education department. Pre-primary schools that fail to comply are liable to be declared “illegal”. UGC recast to free up higher education put on fast track The Prakash Javadekar-led ministry of human resource development has finalised the first roadmap to bring in a new system that is less prescriptive and encourages minimal regulation. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Row over Humboldt penguin enclosure inauguration at Byculla Zoo There was a showdown at the Humboldt penguin enclosure inauguration on Friday evening at Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and zoo in Byculla. Three held in connection with Dharavi cash van robbery A special team of the city police has picked up three people from Satara in connection with the Dharavi robbery and recovered around Rs 18 lakh on Friday, a police officer said. 7 who protested against statue desecration held Seven people who had staged a protest against the desecration of a Mother Mary statue in Kurla in February were arrested on Friday. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Dhoni, Karthik & state teammates evacuated from Dwarka hotel fire AIIMS emergency shuts for 1st time as nurses take leave Family of missing Dargah duo hunts for information Anxiety clouding their faces, members of the Nizami family of Nizamuddin have been “running from pillar to post to get some information”, as one of them put it. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		IAS officer will face action if allegations are true: CM Siddaramaiah Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said he would initiate action against IAS officer Srivatsa Krishna if allegations of him taking an anti-Kannada stand were found to be true. I failed to tackle it: Ex-chief secretary “Bengaluru's garbage is an eyesore and I failed to check the menace as chief secretary. I could only stop dumping of waste at Mandur as it was a temporary arrangement,“ said former chief secretary Kaushik Mukherjee. Cabinet clears elevated corridor to Sarjapur Road, toll at 19 highways was initially proposed under the now-defunct Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM). More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		No tariff hike, but KCR power punch to farmers, sop to go Chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Friday announced that there will be no power tariff hike for 2017-18.Even as he promised relief to Telangana residents, he also talked about a possibility of farmers losing free power supply soon. The CM made these revelations during a reply to a debate on budget proposals for 2017-18 in the Assembly. Chirp on window is back: Sparrows return to capital, census from today Hyderabad will join the Great Sparrow Count in the run-up to the World Sparrow Day that falls on March 20. The worldwide three-day sparrow census will begin on Saturday for a rough but scientific assessment of the population of this little bird, which once freely nested in our homes, shops, schools, and offices. The mega drive is to create awareness among people to help the return of the sparrow to cities and towns. Runaway Hyderabad girls' beach trip to Vizag finally ends in zoo The five girls aged below 13 who went missing in Hyderabad on Thursday were traced to Visakhapatnam on Friday and are being escorted to their homes by the police. According to the girls, they wanted to go sight-seeing, including getting a glimpse of the ocean and hence decided to go to Vizag and visit the beach front and other places. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Five more held in hospital assault case Accord fair treatment to striking doctors, HC tells govt Patients wilt as GH doctors continue stir More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Sloth bear killing riles wildlife activists 6-km Metro route to start ops this yr Ramanlal Vora apologizes to Cong MLA More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Number of youths opting for RSS up after BJP's victory Call it impact of BJP's resounding win in the Assembly election or RSS's well-planned outreach programmes in Prayag region, there has been a sudden surge in the number of youths willing to join the Sangh since announcement of poll results on March 11. Where Holi celebrations begin days after the festival Be they traders, shopkeepers or employees of government or private firms, people came out on streets with a predominance of colours as traditionally Holi is played in these localities on the third day of the festival. Chetak helicopter topples during emergency landing in UP A chetak helicopter of the Indian Air force toppled at an open field of village Kataula Ghauspur under Pipri police station of the Kaushambi district, on Wednesday morning. The ill-fated chopper was on a routine training sortie from IAF Bamrauli, Allahabad for the training of army pilot. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Tribal leaders vow not to allow child marriage in their community Railways to begin work of staff training centre in Odisha Logjam in Odisha assembly over farmers' suicides The stalemate in the state assembly that started with alleged suicide of a farmer in Bargarh district on February 27 showed no sign of subsiding on Friday. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Madhya Pradesh: Plugging leakages in subsidies can help 56L BPL become APL Madhya Pradesh: Woman sarpanch alleges caste bias and harassment by upper castes Verma's ouburst detrimental to Congress unity, says Goyal More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Navjot Singh Sidhu not to miss TV duties, sparks row Newly-appointed Punjab local bodies minister in the Congress government Navjot Singh Sidhu sparked a controversy on Friday, just one day after taking oath, when he told reporters that he would continue with appearances on his popular comedy TV show. Ex-cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu takes charge as Punjab minister Cricketer-turned-politician was widely speculated to become the Deputy Chief Minister but got the number three slot in Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's Cabinet. World Sikh Environment Day celebrations held Gurgaddi Diwas (Enthronement Day) of the seventh Sikh Guru, Guru Har Rai, has been endorsed by Jathedars (leaders) of all the five Takhats of Sikhism jointly, as Sikh Environment day (SED). More Chandigarh News»

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