Tag: odishanews

(UNI) Sony SAB is all set to launch horror-comdey show ‘Band Baja Bandh Darwaza’ from January 26.
The show stars Mukesh Tiwari (Sanjeev Sharma), AmitoshNagpal (Rocky), Neelu Kohli (SaritaKhurana) and Rajendra Sharma (ChandanKhurana), which will take viewers on a roller-coaster ride with ‘abhootiya’ twist.
Talking about the show during launch, Mukesh Tiwari aka Sanjeev Sharma said,” ‘Band Baja Bandh Darwaza’ is a comedy show which stands far away from any slapstick comedy, more specifically it is a horror comedy. It is a story of some regrets and wishes which the ghost couldn’t fulfill while he was alive and now haunts a house for revenge. I loved the story of this show and hence, agreed to do my television debut with it.”

Flagship smartphone Huawei Y9 2019 goes on sale on Thursday with free Boat Bluetooth earphone at Rs.2,990 on Amazon India. Jio customers can get benefits worth Rs.4,450 along with 100GB 4G data on its purchase. Vodaphone prepaid customers will get 1.1 GB additional data on recharge of Rs.199 with 28 day validity.

(UNI) The Supreme Court on Thursday nixed some provisions of law imposing restrictions on the licensing and functioning of dance bars in Maharashtra, paving the way for their reopening.

A bench, headed by Justice A K Sikri, relaxed stringent conditions imposed by the state government for obtaining licenses for dance bars.

The bench revoked certain provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016 like the mandatory installation of CCTVs, saying there was no need for surveillance inside dance bars as it violates privacy.

Colors’ upcoming historical drama ‘Khoob Ladi Mardaani – Jhansi Ki Rani’ will revive the unknown saga of a commoner Manikarnika, who evolved into Jhansi’s warrior queen, thus becoming an integral part of our country’s history.

Known as the valorous queen, this show will not only explore Manikarnika as the warrior but will also shed light on the compassionate side of this courageous young girl who fought many battles both internally and externally to put Jhansi on the map of India.

Playing this magnificent role will be the young and talented, Anushka Sen. Joining Anushka Sen will be Vikas Kashyap, the very well acclaimed veteran actor, who’s been a part of many notable films like Gandhi and some popular historical series.(UNI)

Union Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Thursday
slammed the manner a section of lawyers and others had attacked former Chief Justice Dipak Misra and maintained that the threat to the independence of judiciary can also come from the ‘public pressures’ the ‘Compulsive Contrarians’ exert on Judges.

“There are a set of extra-adventurist lawyers practising in the highest Court, as in every other Courts. Their strategy is to over-awe the Court. They threaten to walk out of cases, they move impeachment motions in their Political capacity to flex their muscles and clout, they make public comments on Judges. They use media to intimidate the Court,” Mr Jaitley wrote in a lengthy blog piece posted on Facebook.(UNI)

(UNI) Reacting to reports that a snowcat operator had a narrow escape during a snow clearance operation in Srinagar, National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah said the men who keep roads open in the snowy conditions, along with the power department linemen who restore electricity when the lines come down are the unsung heroes of winter in Kashmir.

“I’m glad he escaped unscathed. The men who keep our roads open in the snowy conditions are indeed the unsung heroes of winter in Kashmir along with the power department linesmen who restore our electricity when the lines come down,” Mr Abdullah, who is the former chief minister of the state, wrote on micro-blogging site twitter.

(UNI) The Government on Wednesday constituted a seven-member group of ministers (GoM) to look into the goods and services tax (GST) related issues in the lottery sector.
Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar will be the convenor of the GoM, a Finance Ministry statement said.
The panel would submit its report to GST Council in next meeting for its consideration.
The Group would analyse whether the disparity in tax structure on the same product be continued or a uniform rate be prescribed for both and whether private persons authorised by states are misusing the lower rate and getting enriched themselves at the cost of the state and suggest measures to curb it.
According to the Ministry, the GoM would also examine any other issue related to enforcement including the legal framework, so as to prevent evasion of tax on lottery and suggest appropriate tax rate to address the problem.
Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, West Bengal’s Amit Mitra, Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, Punjab’s Manpreet Singh Badal, Karnataka’s Krishna Byre Gowda, Goa’s Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho and Arunachal Pradesh Taxes and Excise Minister Jarkar Gamlin are its members. CBIC joint secretary Manish Sinha would be the secretary of the GoM.
The panel was constituted in the wake of decision taken in the 32nd GST Council Meeting held on January 10, this year. 

(UNI) Rajya Sabha Secretary-General Desh Deepak Verma said on Thursday a shift in the ‘mindset’ towards ‘zero tolerance’ towards sexual harassment is required to enable women contribute to their full potential at work place.
Inaugurating a sensitisation workshop here on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, he said that sexual harassment of women at workplace violates the right to equality, life, liberty and dignity of living of women as envisaged under the Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties in the Constitution of India.
While the Act provides a broad framework for prevention of such harassment through preventive and punitive actions, a change in the `mindset’ was required, he said.
In a first of it’s kind since the Act came into fore, the Rajya Sabha organised a two- day sensitisation workshop beginning Thursday on various aspects of the issue and the provisions of the Act.
Quoting official statistics, Mr Verma noted that based on the complaints received in the National Commission for Women, the cases of sexual harassment of women at workplace increased from 371 cases in

 (UNI) Zaggle, a fintech company offering digitized solutions for employees tax benefits, expense management, corporate gifting and rewards and recognition programs, has launched its Expense Management Solution here on Wednesday .

The platform provides a 100 per cent digital and fully automated business spend management solution, the company said in a release here.

The new product empowers enterprises to efficiently manage their entire expense process easily in a safe and secure manner and manage cash flows efficiently using data analytics, thus, eliminating cases of fraudulent spends and need of cumbersome paperwork, the release said.

The solution delivers innovative functionalities like real-time expense reporting, smart scan, AI-powered fraud detection and prevention mechanism – all of these features will enable enterprises to efficiently take care of Travel and Expenses, Business Expenses, Petty Cash, Employee Reimbursement, and Benefits.

Speaking on the occasion, Zaggle Founder and Chairman Raj N Phani said, Zaggle’s solution will help the companies bring in transparency, real-time control over expenses and most of all, digitize and automate the process of expense management.

At least 890 villagers were reportedly killed in the western Democratic Republic of the Congo last month, following brutal inter-communal clashes, United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said.

Human rights reports suggest that the apparent massacre took place between 16 and 18 December in four villages in the Yumbi territory, Mai-Ndombe province, in what appear to have been clashes between the Banunu and Batende communities.

Most of the area’s population has reportedly been displaced, and voting in the December 30 presidential poll for the Yumbi area, was postponed due to violence and insecurity.

In a statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, condemned the “shocking violence” and highlighted the importance of “investigating and bringing the perpetrators to justice”.

Bachelet added that it was essential to “ensure justice for the victims of these horrific attacks, but also to prevent new episodes of intercommunal strife, and to address the anger and feelings of gross injustice that may otherwise lead to repeated cycles of violence between communities.”

At least 82 people were also injured in the attacks, according to the “credible” reports received by OHCHR and some 465 houses and buildings were burned down or pillaged, including two primary schools, a health centre, a health facility, a market, and the local office of the independent electoral commission, known by its French acronym, CENI.

Both the OHCHR and national judicial authorities, have launched investigations into the reported attacks.

At the beginning of January the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR reported that 16,000 people from DRC had arrived in neighbouring Republic of the Congo – also known as Congo-Brazzaville – after fleeing deadly intercommunal clashes.

According to UNHCR, this represents the largest influx of refugees in over a decade, since 130,000 people were forced to seek shelter amid ethnic clashes in DRC’s former Equator Province, in 2009.

(UNI) To sharpen their political edges to take on the BJP in the crucial Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Mahagathbandhan comprising SP, BSP and RLD are likely to participate in the opposition rally called by Trinamool Congress chief and west Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee in Kolkata on January 19.

SP sources here on Thursday confirmed that party president Akhilesh Yadav along with party’s vice-president Kironmoy Nanda would attend the opposition rally to be held at the Brigade ground in Kolkata on Saturday.
However, there are reports that BSP chief Mayawati could also attend the opposition unity rally along with RLD chief Ajit Singh. But if they do not attend, then their representatives, Satish Chandra Mishra of BSP and Jayant Choudhury of RLD will go to Kolkata.

New Delhi, Jan 16 (UNI) The Intelligence agencies have sounded high security alert in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Republic Day, a source in the intelligence agency said here  on Wednesday.

According to the source, the banned terror outfit Jaish-e Mohammad is planning for big attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

”There are substantial inputs, which indicate that JeM is trying to execute major terror attacks or IED blasts in the state and they can also execute a ‘fidayeen’ attack in J&K,” the source revealed.

The entire planning is being done by Jaish commander Mufti Abdul Rauf Asgar, who is the brother  of terrorist Maulana Massod Azhar, the main conspirator of Mumbai attack in 2008, the source added.

Interception of the messages by the security agencies have also confirmed that the terrorists across the border are planning to do something big, before or on January 26 this year.

The JeM is desperate to regain its foot in J&K, as the sustained operations by the security forces have killed over 200 terrorists in the valley in 2018.

”All the security forces, including the Army, have been asked to remain on highest alert, ahead of Republic Day, in the state,” the source further added.

Both  Maulana Masood Azhar and Rauf Asgar are living in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and operating against India from there.

New Delhi, Jan 16 (UNI) The Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari was on Wednesday chosen for the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015, while Akshaya Patra Foundation and Sulabh International were chosen as joint winners for 2016  and Ekal Abhiyan Trust have been chosen for the Gandhi Peace prize for 2017, a statement from the Ministry of Culture said.

Mr Yohei Sasakawa has been conferred the Gandhi Peace prize for 2018, for his contribution in Leprosy Eradication in India and across the world.

The jury, under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Leader of the single largest Opposition Party in the Lok Sabha  Mallikarjuna Kharge and Member of Parliament LK Advani, after detailed discussions on January 16, unanimously decided to select the above organisations/persons, in recognition to their outstanding contributions in the fields mentioned above.

Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari have been conferred the Gandhi Peace prize for 2015 for their contribution in Rural Development, Education, Development of Natural Resources.

The award for 2016 has been jointly given to Akshaya Patra Foundation for its contribution in providing mid-day meals to millions of children across India and Sulabh International for its contribution in improving the condition of sanitation in India and emancipation of manual scavengers.

The prize for 2017 has been conferred on Ekal Abhiyan Trust for their contribution in providing Education for Rural and Tribal Children in remote areas pan India, Rural Empowerment, Gender and Social Equality.

Mr  Yohei Sasakawa has been conferred the gandhi Peace Prize for 2018, for his contribution in Leprosy Eradication in India and across the world.

The annual award was instituted by the Government in 1995 during the commemoration of 125th Birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The award carries an amount of Rs one crore, a Citation in a scroll, a plaque as well as an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.