Author: Samikhsya Bureau

(UNI) Riding on the buzz around the film and the combination of actor-director duo of Ranveer Singh and Rohit Shetty , ‘Simmba’ earned Rs 20.72 crore on its opening day on Friday, trade sources said.

The sources said that with opening day earnings of Rs 20.72 crore, ‘Simmba’, directed by Rohit Shetty and featuring Ranveer and Sara Ali Khan in lead roles, has emerged as Ranveer Singh’s highest opener till date, crossing the opening day collections of “Padmaavat”.

Trade analysts say that given the strong buzz around the film, ‘Simmba’ is likely to see a jump in its collections over the weekend.

The film is the fifth highest opener for Rohit Shetty, behind films like ‘Singham Returns’, ‘Chennai Express’ and ‘Golmaal Again’.

The film, which released on January 28, opened to positive reviews from critics as well as the audience. Sara Ali Khan, who made her Bollywood debut with Kedarnath earlier this month is also part of the film. ‘Despite her limited presence in the film, she provides several flashes that suggest that Simmba would have benefited no end had her character been etched out better,” Saibal Chatterjee wrote.

The film also stars Sonu Sood and Ashutosh Rana in key roles.

(UNI) Backing the controversial film ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ which is based on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bollywood actor and BJP MP Kirron Kher on Saturday called it “a cult and path-breaking film”.

Talking to reporters, Kirron, whose husband and film actor Anupam Kher plays the lead role of Dr Manmohan Singh in the film, said,’It is a cult and path-breaking film. Those who talk on freedom of speech i.e Rahul Gandhi, must now practice what he preaches.’

The actress also said that it should be India’s official entry to the Oscars.

‘Anupam told me people will fall in love with Manmohan Singh ji,” the BJP MP said.

The very name exudes quality in filmmaking. Mrinal Sen, the legendary filmmaker is no more. Awards appear small when seen at the quality he infused in film making right from realistic to surrealism. Dadasaheb Phalke award winner Sen, who was conferred with Padma Bhyushan award has passed away at the age of 95. Be it ‘Mrigaya’ or Ek Din Achanak or ‘Padatik’ Sen had his own way and always stood apart,

(UNI) Thiruvananthapuram MP and Senior Congress Leader Dr Shashi Tharoor introduced a Private Member’s Bill, titled the Sports (Online Gaming and Prevention of Fraud) Bill in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament on Friday.
The Bill, 2018 is aimed to introduce an effective administration to maintain the integrity of sports in India by preventing and penalising sports fraud and for regulation of online sports gaming.
Elaborating on the bill, Dr Shashi Tharoor said, “The integrity of sports is essential to preserve its beneficial aspects. Sports integrity is increasingly under threat due to unabated acts of fraud and corruption. My Bill addresses this issue by criminalizing sports fraud, including match fixing and spot fixing.”
“Sports is a major source of commerce and revenue for many entities, especially in the field of betting or gaming in connection with sporting events. The increasing commercial nature of sports, increases the possibility of sports manipulation by vested interests to make financial benefits. A complete prohibition on betting on sports has not been a successful approach, rather it has driven the market
further into the black economy.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Saturday strongly criticised US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) for making uncalled for statement calling recent changes made by the Government in FDI Policy in e-commerce as regressive.

It is clearly an attempt of Walmart and Amazon like companies to fire the shot on the shoulders of organisations like USISPF to pressurise the Government to bring further changes to their advantage, the CAIT said and cautioned that any change made under the undue pressure of these lobbies will be strongly and stoutly opposed by the traders of the country.

Forum president Mukesh Aghi on Friday issued a statement and hit out against FDI regulations introduced by the Government in e-commerce sector. It called the latest regulations as “regressive” and “anti-consumer”. It also said that amendments lack transparency in policy and demonstrates unpredictability.

CAIT national president BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal while strongly condemning the statement of USISPF termed it as an interference of an outside agency in internal policy matters of the government.

They said when the companies they are advocating for indulge into unhealthy business practices including exclusivelivity, predatory pricing, deep discounting and loss funding, where are these advocacy organisations. Today they are crying uselessly.

The two leaders said, “The multinational companies and big countries create international forums and under the garb of consolidation and advocacy they try to create pressure on representatives of developing countries to adopt the policies in favour of multinational companies, a live example of forthcoming meeting of World Economic Forum at Davos.

“However in a matured economy country, India will not accept any pressure which may result against livelihood of its citizens.”

India is a country where self-employment is major source of employment. In India, the retail business is conducted not by only an individual but a family as a whole. Retail trade in the country gives employment to a family and not to an individual. Along with promoter family there are 7 to 8 dependent family on that promoter of business. It is providing direct and indirect employment to about 25 per cent of Indian population.

It is Constitutional duty of any Government to protect rights of doing business and earn livelihood for its citizen. Securing boundaries of a country includes protection of its internal trade against foreign economic attack on economy of the country as well.

The CAIT added that the consumers are going to be benefited with this new policy. In many cases it has been seen that in name of discounts the effective price is much more and the consumers are not getting material at discounted price as it appears from the advertisement. MSMEs are also complaining about non-receipt of timely payment from such online companies.

It is highly regretted that powerful MNCs through their respective government try to act as a big brother and in name of consumers and farmers they try to change policies of developing countries. The CAIT is in close watch on each and every step being taken by these MNCs and their lobbyist groups to encroach upon economy of India and will take suitable steps to oppose them tooth and nail.(UNI)

(UNI) Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Saturday said the party will lead a ‘#BJP_bhagao_bhagwan_bachao’ campaign from January 12 to 13 from Ayodha to Kashi in order to highlight BJP’s pseudo-religion policy.

Talking to mediapersons after the AAP’s 7th National Council meet, Mr Singh said,’The BJP’s pseudo-religion policy is to be highlighted and that is why from January 12 to 13, from Ayodhya to Kashi, #BJP_bhagao_bhagwan_bachao campaign will be done by AAP.’

‘This is the government of the pseudo-Hindus and the pseudo-nationalists and they are engaged in making Hanuman ji a Muslim for the sake of their votes. They are also trying to make Hanuman ji a Dalit. Somewhere they are making Hanuman ji Jat, somewhere Kshatriya and Brahmin,’ he said.

He also informed about the major topics of discussion of the AAP’s National Council meet.

He said the party will demand compensation in lieu of loss of crop and crop failure of farmers across the country.

‘AAP will demand arrangements for two crore employment and a mass movement will be run for demanding legislation to stop sealing in Delhi,’ he added.

(UNI) India on Saturday submitted its sixth national report (NR6) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The report was submitted online to the CBD Secretariat by the Union Environment Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, during the inaugural session of the 13th national meeting of the State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) organised by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in the national capital.
The Minister also released the document ‘Progress on India’s National Biodiversity Targets: A Preview’ on the occasion.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that India is among the first five countries in the world, the first in Asia and the first among the biodiversity rich mega diverse countries to have submitted NR6 to the CBD Secretariat.
“While globally, biodiversity is facing increasing pressure on account of habitat fragmentation and destruction, invasive alien species, pollution, climate change and over use of resources, India is one of the few countries where forest cover is on the rise, with its forests teeming with wildlife”, said the Minister.
Submission of national reports is a mandatory obligation on parties to international treaties, including CBD.

(UNI) An exhibition ‘Dandi Yatra” , showcasing the unseen drawings of artist Chhaganlal Jadav and also the master works of NGMA’s collection of contemporaneous artists to Gandhi ji like Nandlal Bose, Upendra Maharathi and Ram Kinkar Baij, who also gave their impressions on this great event, was on Saturday inaugurated as part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Being organised by the National Gallery of Modern Art under the Ministry of Culture, the exhibition was inaugurated by Dr. Y.P Anand, a Senior Gandhian and former Director, National Gandhi Museum, New Delhi.

This exhibition is part of the celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, to propagate his message of peace.

This exhibition showcases the unseen drawings of artist Chhaganlal Jadav and also the master works of NGMA’s collection of contemporaneous artists to Gandhi ji like Nandlal Bose, Upendra Maharathi and Ram kinkar Baij, etc, who also gave their impressions on this great event.

Speaking at the event Mr Adwaita Gadanayak, Director General, NGMA Delhi, said,’the exhibition showcases historical drawings of the journey of the Salt March from Sabarmati Satyagraha Ashram, Kochrab to Dandi, a small coastal village in Gujarat. The journey, covering 240 miles took 12 night halts and was witness to the breaking of the British law for salt.

At that time, a veritable ocean of people had been drawn to this march, making it one of the largest mass movements of the world. A large number of media persons and artists from across the world were also drawn to this event. An unsung Satyagrahi and artist Chhaganlal Jadav, in his tiny drawing book, had captured some known/unknown faces from amongst the participants of this epic journey towards Swaraj.’

These landmark drawings that are part of our living history are presently a part of the personal collection of the Dr. Rizwan Qadri from Ahmadabad, who brought these drawings to light and shared them with NGMA for purpose of showcasing them for the first time, through the exhibition, he added.

The exhibition will be open for public from December 30 onwards from 11.00 am to 6.30 pm on all working days expect for Mondays and National Holidays.

The function was also attended by Dipankar Gyan , Director, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti and Mr S C Barma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture among other dignitaries.

(UNI) After postponing IAS week scheduled to be held from December 13, the annual event of the Uttar Pradesh IAS association will now be held here from January 31 to February 3, 2019.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will address the meeting of the association on February 1. On the same day CM will host the lunch for the IAS officers at his official residence.

The general body meeting of the UP IAS association will be held on February 2 and on the same day Governor Ram Naik will host a dinner for the officers at Rajbhawan. Besides taking up the issues of the association and members, the meeting will also elect the office bearers of the body in the association meeting .

The traditional cricket match of the UP IAS officers with the IPS officers will be held on February 3.

(UNI) During the past four years, the ratio of number of complaints received and of closed, have been increasing with every passing year.

According to official sources, the number of complaints of cyber crime against women received in National Commission for Women (NCW) and the closed showed that in 2014, complaints received were 209 and closed were 53, 223 and 86 in 2015, 311 and 119 in 2016 while they were 370 and 250 in 2017 respectively.

As per laid down procedure these complaints are taken up with authorities concerned including police.

National Commission for Women had provided comments on project “Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC)” under Nirbhaya Fund.

The Empowered Committee constituted under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development has already approved the project “Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC)” of Ministry of Home Affairs.

Further, the Centre has developed Cyber Crime Reporting Portal under the project of CCPWC for addressing the complaints of online harassment of women, the sources said.

At a time when extradition of Christian Michel has sparked off a major political row vis-a-vis ‘naming’ of Sonia Gandhi in AgustaWestland chopper scam, the ruling dispensation is keeping fingers crossed on possible extradition of other ‘economic offenders’.

“The ruling NDA regime is delighted at Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe and developments in the court case. We also want other extradition process to follow soon. The political impact will be huge of those extraditions,” a BJP source told UNI without elaborating.

Sources said the government through Ministry of External Affairs has been getting in touch with all governments concerned including the Malaysian authorities on the possibility of extradition of radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

“The moot point is government is serious of extraditing people who have fled the country either as economic offenders or otherwise,” a source said.

In this context, an official source also said that “the Ministry of External Affairs is also putting up its best foot forward. We are making all efforts at the Ministry to ensure that we are in touch with the governments concerned and that documents are in order and so on”.

Sources also clarified that despite assertion by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad in July this year that Zakir Naik will not be extradited, apparently the government has not given up its hope yet.

“We do not see presence of Zakir Naik in Malaysia as a hiccup in diplomatic relations between India and Malaysia,” the source said pointing out the obvious that the Islamic preacher Naik has been in Malaysia for quite some time now.

“At the end of the day, these are legal matters and there is an extradition process on the matter,” the source said.

Naik is facing a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and also the ED after his sermons on his Peace TV were cited as principal factor by Bangladesh for an unprecedented terror attack in Dhaka in 2016, which killed 22 people.

The source also has made it crystal clear that – “We have good relations with Malaysia and Prime Minister Mahathir and that Narendra Modi has again met PM Mahathir at East Asia Summit in November in Singapore”.

Indian side also believes that there are also ‘good relations with the Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’ – and hoped that things can turn into India’s favour once legal procedures are over.

The BJP sources, in fact, agree with the government version that – even for others – like fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, the normal extradition procedures are on in Antigua and Barbuda.(UNI)

(UNI) Attacking the BJP on the Ram temple issue, National president of the Kisan Kranti Morcha and Gujarat leader Hardik Patel on Saturday here said that the party had not kept the promise of constructing the temple in the city.

While talking to the media on his way to Kushinagar, the leader here said that the BJP had deceived the people.

“They had promised to construct a temple but the promise wasn’t kept. Now, the public will teach them a lesson in the upcoming General elections, he said.”

He added that the Ram temple in Ayodhya had been unlocked by the then Congress government led by Rajiv Gandhi whereas the BJP government was consistently leading the people astray by giving them the reference of the Supreme Court.

(UNI) After retiring from international cricket in September this year,
former England captain Alastair Cook has been knighted in the New Year’s Honours.
Cook played his last Test against India at The Oval, ending his glorious 12-year
career on high with a memorable hundred in his final innings. He walked away leaving
behind a legacy and a number of records to his name.
To name a few, he has played the most number of Tests for his country – 161 – and
also holds the record for being their longest reigning captain, skippering the side in
59 Tests. With 12472 runs, he is also the highest run-getter in England’s Test history
with the most number of centuries for his side – 33.
Earlier, Cook was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in
2011 and five years later with a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).
He has now become the first English player since Sir Ian Botham, who was
honoured 11 years ago, to receive a knighthood, an ICC report on Saturday said.
Cook was among the four people associated with the sport to receive a New Year’s
Honour. One of England Women’s all-time greats, Enid Bakewell, has received an MBE,
while Alvin Kallicharran and Peter Wynne-Thomas have both been honoured with a
British Empire Medal.

Bollywood actress Twinkle Khanna and her husband and superstar Akshay Kumar remembered the 70s heartthrob Rajesh Khann on his birth anniversary on Saturday.

On the occasion, Twinkle Khanna posted on her social media account a photo of the superstar from the archives.

In her post, Twinkle, who shares her birthday with her father Rajesh Khanna, revealed an interesting trivia.

“As a toddler, I was convinced that all the truckloads of flowers that would arrive for his birthday were actually for me,” Twinkle said in a caption for Rajesh Khanna’s picture.

Twinkle’s post was liked by several celebrities, including Tahira Kashyap, Sikander Kher and Smriti Irani who also commented on the post.

On this occasion, superstar Akshay Kumar also wished his wife Twinkle and her father Rajesh Khanna on their birthday.

‘’While growing up I’d heard fascinating tales of his superstardom, never imagining one day I’ll marry his fascinating daughter…thank you for giving me this precious one Happy birthday to both of you,’’Akshay said in a twitter post.

Born in Amritsar, Punjab as Jatin Khanna, Rajesh Khanna, who debuted in Bollywood in 1966 with Aakhri Khat, featured in more than 160 films in a career spanning over four decades.

The actor, who featured in several superhits like ‘Aradhana’, ‘Anand’, ‘Kati Patang’, ‘Amar Prem’, ‘Aap Ki Kasam’ and ‘Safar’, was India’s first superstar.(UNI)

(UNI) Egyptian police killed dozens of suspected militants in security raids, one day after the killing of three tourists in a bomb blast in Cairo, according to the country’s interior ministry on Saturday.

Three Vietnamese tourists and an Egyptian guide were killed on Friday in a roadside bomb blast that targeted a tourist bus near the world-famous Pyramids in Gaza province, west of Cairo.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a statement, the interior ministry said security forces killed at least 40 suspected militants in raids in the provinces of Giza and northern Sinai, Anadolu Agency reported

(UNI) Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan has been reportedly hospitalised in Canada for breathlessness, and megastar Amitabh Bachchan prayed for his recovery and well-being.
The doctors have transferred Kader Khan from regular ventilator to BiPAP ventilator, according to the reports.
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter,Amitabh Bachchan said,”KADER KHAN .. actor writer of immense talent .. lies ill in Hospital .. PRAYERS and DUAS for his well being and recovery .. saw him perform on stage, welcomed him and his prolific writing for my films .. great company, a Libran .. and many not know , taught Mathematics!”
Amitabh Bachchan and Kader Khan worked together on films like ‘Do Aur Do Paanch’, ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’, ‘Mr Natwarlal’, ‘Suhaag’, ‘Coolie’ and ‘Shahenshah’.
Kader Khan is an Afghan-born Indian-Canadian film actor, screenwriter, comedian, and director.
As an actor, he has appeared in over 300 films after his debut film in the 1973 film ‘Daag’, starring Rajesh Khanna.
He was also a prolific screenwriter for Bollywood films in the 1970s and 1980s.

(UNI) While India’s neighbouring countries are busy strengthening their armed forces, the Indian Army is still struggling to induct Sniper rifles into its stable.

Since last few years, the Army is facing problems at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir due to Pakistani troops sniper fire. Last month, two soldiers and an Indian Army porter were killed and another was injured in Pakistani sniper fire.

On December 21, two Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) were killed in the same action across the border in Kupwara district.

However, in a bid to overcome it – the government has issued Request for Proposal (RFP) in September this year for acquiring 5719 8.6mm Sniper rifles. But it would take another 3-4 years for actual signing of the deal.

Nearly 50,000 rounds of ammunition will be imported while rest to be made in India after receiving Transfer of Technology from vendor.

(UNI) A scheme has been approved under which Mahila Police volunteers will mobilise community to form Mahila and Shishu Rakshak Dals (MASRD) to act as community watch groups.
”The Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs has envisaged engagement of Mahila Police Volunteers (MPVs) in the States and Union Territories who will act as a link between police and community and help women in distress,” official sources said.
All Chief Secretaries of States/UTs were requested to adopt this initiative in their respective States.
Haryana is the first state to adopt the initiative at Karnal and Mahindergarh District on a pilot basis under Nirbhaya Fund during the financial year 2016-2017.
Further, the proposals of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have also been approved for implementation of MPVs.

(UNI) The Railways Ministry has decided to increase the combined reservation quota of lower berths earmarked for senior citizens, female passengers 45 years of age and above and pregnant women.

The Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that it has revised the quota and enhanced it to 13 seats for normal mail or express trains having single coach of the designated class while the trains which have more than one coach of the designated class the number of lower berths seats reserved will be 15.

The Ministry said in Rajdhani, Duronto and other AC trains, the number of seats earmarked for this category will be nine.

At present 12 lower berths are designated in sleeper, AC-three tier and AC-two tier classes for senior citizens, female passengers 45 years of age and above and pregnant women. In Rajdhani, Duronto, the fully air-conditioned express trains, the quota was of seven seats.