Srinagar: More than 3,500 babies were born in government hospitals in Kashmir at the peak of devastating floods that affected most of the tertiary care hospitals in the Valley.

Nearly 2,300 normal deliveries and 1,260 Caesarean sections were conducted from September 4 to 20 in various hospitals of Kashmir, which were functional during this period, an official spokesman said on Tuesday.

The spokesman said statistics now available show that 5,77,595 patients came to the OPDs in all the district hospitals across the Kashmir Valley during the fortnight ending September 20.

"Nearly 34,600 patients were admitted for treatment while 1,435 major surgeries and 1,03,160 lab tests were conducted at these hospitals," he said.

During this period, 145 medical camps were set up, including 62 in Srinagar city, and essential medicine was provided in most of the areas, the spokesman said.

Despite having suffered losses to the tune of Rs 100 crore, the SMHS Hospital authorities set up a free medical camp in which patients suffering from diabetes, hypertension and other chronic ailments were given consultation and treatment.

The Bone and Joint Hospital Barzulla was made functional immediately after the floods. The out patient department of Lal Ded and G B Pant hospitals have been made functional after water was drained out and clean up operations conducted yesterday.

After securing India’s maiden women’s singles squash medal at the Asian Games, a vindicated Dipika Pallikal has said she will continue to fight against the “manipulated” draw with higher authorities after being let down by the officials back home.

Pallikal, who lost to World No.1 Nicol David in the semifinals on Monday, said she was pleased with her marathon winning effort against teammate Joshana Chinappa that assured her of a bronze on Sunday, especially because it proved the “authorities and her doubters” wrong.

“This win (against) was really important for me. Some people thought I did not want to face Joshana when all along I maintained that the draw was manipulated. And I still feel the same even after I have won a medal for my country. Imagine we could have won two medals if Joshana was in the other half. For future, I am exploring options how I can pursue this matter,” Pallikal told PTIfrom Incheon.

For one, Pallikal has the option of appealing to the ad hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) set up at the Incheon Games. The CAS is an arbitration institution founded in 1984 and specialises in the resolution of sports law disputes.

The first Indian to break into world’s top-10 had considered pulling out of the Games after expressing her displeasure over the draw pitting her and Chinappa in the same half. She even wrote to the Indian squash federation (SRFI) but said she did not even get a reply. The SRFI had refuted Pallikal’s claims.

“This apathy of authorities doesn’t bother me anymore. I have been dealing with it ever since I was 14. Whatever I have done, it is my own effort and the support of my coaches and family. Besides that, there is no better feeling than representing India and walk around wearing national colours.

That is mainly why I made up my mind to play here,” said Pallikal.

While the women’s draw courted controversy this time, top male player Saurav Ghosal had won back-to-back bronze medals in Doha 2006 and Guangzhou 2010 beating compatriots Ritwik Bhattacharya and Siddharth Suchde respectively in the quarterfinals, leading to allegations of a fixed draw.

The Chennai-born Pallikal, who turned 23 on Sunday, narrated how she felt in the run-up to the Games.

“The whole episode took a toll on me and I shut myself off from everything else for sometime. I was determined to prove all of them wrong. I especially need to thank my trainer (Basu Shankar), who convinced me to take part in the Games,” she said adding that fiancé and cricketer Dinesh Karthik also helped her get out of the tough phase.

It was exactly what it was meant to be—an organised mess. Aimed at drawing public attention to the pothole-ridden roads in Kochi, a group of clowns on Monday organised a ‘colourful protest’ to mourn the sad ‘demise’ of the agencies entrusted to repair the damaged roads. Instead of shouting, the protesters used squeaky toys, whistles and laughter to run the show.

The event, attended by celebrities like directors Ranjith Shankar and Aashiq Abu and musician Bijibal, was staged in the form of a street-play near the Edappally signal junction.

The 45-minute long satirical skit was enacted by clowns, who came from the city to the venue to pay homage to the deceased government authority. The clowns also ridiculed the inaction by the city corporation and other agencies with regard to fixing a problem that put the common man at the receiving end.

The message they wanted to share was that the authorities looked silly, said Gireesh Menon, one of the organisers. “We are dressed like clowns but you are the ones that look funny,” he added.

Organised by the Pothujanam Theatres, the play also gave an opportunity for the people turning up to share their experience of travelling along the city roads.

Meanwhile, the organisers admitted that the show was not going to have much of an impact among the general public. “Most of the onlookers were amused to see our clown attire. We were expecting it and are not disappointed at all, since it is sure to ignite more discussions on the need for better roads,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister in over a decade to stay at the U.S. President’s guest house — the 190-year-old Blair House — when he travels to Washington on September 29.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the last one to stay at the guest house.

“Built as a private home in 1824, Blair House has played an important role in nearly 190 years of American political, diplomatic and cultural history— from Andrew Jackson’s `Kitchen Cabinet’, to private chats with Abraham Lincoln, to Harry S Truman’s crucial leadership as World War II ended and the Cold War began.

“Now, as then, U.S. Presidents continue to rely on Blair House as a significant foreign policy tool,” as per the official information.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh never stayed in the Blair House and always preferred a hotel during his U.S. visits.

The Blair House is the designated guest house of the U.S. president where all his state guests are traditionally known to have stayed.

Located across from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, Blair House has served as the President’s Guest House since its purchase by the U.S. government in World War II and under the stewardship of the Department of State, it welcomes visiting heads of states and other top dignitaries.

In New York, Mr. Modi, like Dr. Singh, will stay at the New York Palace Hotel in Manhattan when he arrives on September 26 late afternoon.

His first public engagement next day would be a visit to Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Centre which was destroyed in the terror attacks by al-Qaeda in 2001 followed by a visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum built in the honour of the victims of 2001 attacks.

Mr. Modi will then proceed towards the United Nations to deliver the speech at the General Assembly, scheduled in the first half of the day.

The Prime Minister will then have a series of bilateral meetings including one with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

In the evening, Mr. Modi is scheduled to visit the Central Park where he will attend Global Citizen festival.

This came a day after the two American nationals - Richard Miller and Sara Lee - exchanged the vows on Mount Kilimanjaro, located in the northern part of Tanzania to fulfil their long-time dream, Xinhua reported.

Pascal Shelutete, a spokesperson of Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa), described the event as unique and which needs to be emulated by other stakeholders in the tourism industry and ordinary people in and outside the East African nation.

"We have never experienced such a wedding held on Mount Kilimanjaro," Shelutete said.

Cyril Akko, executive officer of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), also hailed the move which is unique in Tanzania's history.

He said: "The event is going to be a catalyst that would promote Tanzania's tourist destinations across the globe."

"Sometime back, during last Christmas in Minnesota, United States of America, we had an engagement event with my hubby Richard Miller and committed ourselves that the wedding event must be done on the roof top of Africa and this is none other than Mt. Kilimanjaro," Lee said.

"Thereafter, we started planning for this historic and unique event by raising money for our trip to Tanzania and in particular Mt Kilimanjaro," she said, noting that their parents and other relatives were aware of the wedding plan.

"People, other than very close friends and relatives, do not seem to relate well to those who constantly share photos of themselves," said lead researcher David Houghton from the Birmingham Business School at the University of Birmingham.

The researchers found that an increased level of sharing photos of the self prompted a decreased level of support - in terms of "likes" achieved - from friends and colleagues.

"It is worth remembering that the information we post to our friends on Facebook, actually gets viewed by lots of different categories of people and each group seems to take a different view of the information shared," Houghton explained.

He also found that partners in relationships feel less supported when people share more photos of friends than family.

"Young women were most likely to find support in the form of 'likes' on Facebook. Older users and men received less support when they shared online," the study noted.

Google on Monday said that it was collaborating with the government to support and enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for 'Digital India'. The company said that as part of the plan, it would run a number of campaigns in collaboration with the Indian government.

The noteworthy among these programmes are:

• MyGov, the citizen engagement platform of the government, and Google will soon launch contest to develop a mobile app for the PM's Office. Google claimed that the "mobile app will bring the PMO to every citizen and the contest will showcase how Indians can build a world class app".

• Google would build a multi -language ecosystem on the web to help the government transition into the increasingly 'mobile' India.

•  The company will push programmes like Helping Women get Online and getting Indian SMEs Online in a bid to promote the digital empowerment of citizens. It will also continue to map and photograph heritage and culture sites to bring them online.

• To encourage digital literacy and Internet safety, Google will introduce curriculums for schools, officials and elected representatives.

While announcing the initiative, R S Sharma, secretary of the Department of Information Technology said, "The Digital India Program has been launched with the vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. It can truly transform India and bring it on par with other developed countries. I'm happy Google is coming forward to roll out initiatives that will contribute to the Digital India vision. I'm sure others will come forward and join this movment."

Rajan Anandan, vice president and managing director of Google India, added: "India is already home to the 3rd largest number of internet users globally with 245 million users as of June 2014. We are on track to become the 2nd largest user market by 2015 and a 500 million-user market by 2016. Yet, there are more than a billion people who will need to be brought online for India to realize the vision of a digitally connected, knowledge economy. Prime Minister Modi's Digital India program will play a transformational role in achieving this."

Kochi: Asset Homes, one of the largest real estate companies in Kerala, would be launching seven new projects across seven districts in the state with an investment of Rs 500 crore.

The projects are coming up at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur, Managing Director V Sunil Kumar told reporters here.

About 10 lakh square feet of space, housing about 700 apartments, will be built as part of the seven projects. "As part of our seventh anniversary celebrations Asset Homes is planning to launch seven new projects across seven locations in Kerala," he said.

The company is organising an exclusive event titled Mehfil in Dubai, featuring Ghazal Maestro Pankaj Udhas in connection with the project launches.

On plans to foray into other states, Sunil said they do have plans to go to Tier II and III cities. "We have identified such cities and will be taken up in 2015-16 as part of affordable housing projects."

Expressing happiness at their project Asset Kasavu at nearby Kalamassery getting the coveted seven Star Rating, he said this was their third residential project to get it and Asset was the only builder in the country to have achieved this.

Asset Kasavu with 50 villas spread over 4.10 acres is priced at around Rs 1.5 crore each, Anil Varma, Executive Director said. The project has a dedicated 10,000 sq ft Club house and amenities such as air conditioned health club, multipurpose banquet hall, sauna, jacuzzi, library and furnished guest rooms. The builder has completed and delivered 34 projects in a period of seven years.

Kochi: The star studded event of Kochi Fashion Week has witnessed a marvellous blend of glamour and exquisite and new collections on day two. It was an exhilarating experience for the visitors as the magic moments of the fashion event unravelled one by one.

The event was dominated by new collections of leading fashion designers Sanjana Jon, Shivali Singh, Verma D' Mello. With the arrival of star actress Nagma as the show stopper the second day of the biggest fashion fiesta in Kerala turned out to be an exquisite event.

Titled 'Shakthi' Sanjana Jon in her series showcased her line reflecting strength, solidity and cordiality of womanhood. It was a beautiful blend of Indian and western styles. Intense shades filled the ramp as if manifesting the diverse cultures of the country. The new experiments tried on skirt, jacket and cocktail dresses enchanted the audience.

Prominent models, Alka Choudhury, Kunal Arora among others set the ramp on fire. The first of the shows on the ramp was the collection titled 'Stripe Up' presented by Shivali Singh, who exhibited a fabulous repertoire of cotton attires that could match with the diverse characters of city life. Actress-model Sija Rode walked the ramp in the Stripe-Up series.

Meanwhile Verma D' Mellow's collection added to the woman's persona along with fashion. Noted model Himagini Singh won hearts of the audience while introducing Verma's collection at the show.

The Kochi Fashion Week, at Hotel Casino in Willingdon Island in Kochi, is being organised jointly by Kingfisher Ultra and Storm Fashion Company.

Meanwhile, the official teaser of the film has crossed over 18 lakh views in a day.

The hero, Vikram, also plays the role of an eye-sorish man and make-up for the character was done by Weta Digital, which offers digital production services, including special visual effects, animation besides art work, make-up.

"We wanted aesthetic eyesorish looks," P.C. Sreeram, cinematographer of the movie, said in the 'Making of I', audio-visual presentation.

Director Shankar said he approached Weta as the job was challenging. "This is the first time Weta is doing an Indian film."

Weta is noted for the making of apes in the 'Rise of the Planet of Apes' and the 'Dawn of the Planet of Apes.'

The studio won academy awards for best visual effects in movies, including James Cameron directorial 'Avatar' and Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings'.

Portion of 'I' shot in China, says Shankar

Shankar says that about 25 per cent of 'I' was shot in China.

"About 25 per cent of the film was shot in China. We shot some action sequences and a song under very extreme climatic conditions," Shankar said in the making video of 'I'.

"For the stunt sequences, we hired the best in the business from China. The action you see is the combination of Chinese martial arts and international style fighting," he said.

The film, which has been on floors for over two years, is slated to release Deepavali.

Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman has scored tunes for 'I', which is reportedly made on a budget of Rs 150 crore, and produced by Aascar Films.

Kannur: The vehicle used to transport Vikraman, the prime accused in the murder of RSS leader Manoj, belongs to CPM Kannur district secretary P.Jayarajan, according to the investigating officials.

The vehicle seized by the team was bought by Jayarajan while he was the Patyam Social Service Society president and was used by CPM leader C.Prakashan to transport Vikraman.

The team has also seized the Innova car used by Vikraman to flee to Kannur. Meanwhile, those who were summoned by the investigating officials did not turn for interrogation on Tuesday.

Prakashan, also the secretary of the Patyam Social Service Co-operative Society, was earlier remanded by the court for 14 days.

The Crime Branch has also initiated steps to take into custody Aneesh, Prakashan's driver.

As per Vikraman's confession, efforts are on to arrest the Payyanoor natives who sheltered to him.

Amitabh Bachchan on Tuesday revealed talks were on for a film with Jackie Chan but it was too early to confirm the same.

"There is some talk... but have not met anyone yet," said Big B, when we quizzed him on reports that appeared on Tuesday, declaring the Indian superstar was all set to work with Chan, widely regarded as Hong Kong's best export to Hollywood, in an ambitious Indo-Chinese project.

During his visit to the Capital in 2013, Chan had expressed his love for the vibrancy of Indian cinema, and added that he would love to work with Indian artists.

The Chan-Bachchan project on the anvil is said to be titled Gold Struck and is seen as the outcome of a strategic treaty that may be signed between India and China during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to this country this week.

Gold Struck, reports have stated, will also star Abhay Deol and Jacqueline Fernandez. It is said to be an adventure set against the backdrop of reincarnation.

During his 2013 visit, Chan gave this message of peace: "India and China have been neighbours for thousands of years, so why not be friends? Let's sing a song together at the border and end all the tension."

A song at the border is not likely to happen, but a film may have an equal impact in easing tensions.

Alcohol, perfume or candles are some of the things that can make your allergy worse.

To keep them in check this season, learn what common culprits are not your friends when it comes to allergies, reports huffingtonpost.com:

Contact lenses

Soft contact lenses especially are prone to absorbing airborne irritants like pollen or smoke, because they're permeable.

"A soft lens lets more oxygen through, but can absorb anything in the tears," said Steven Shanbom, an ophthalmologist.

If you're set on wearing contacts and don't like hard lenses, you may want to look into disposable ones that you can throw out daily to prevent pollen buildup.

Stress

Stress makes you more prone to sniffles. The easy solution to this allergy trigger is to chill out. Meditate or find things to help you relax.

Alcohol

Alcohol and red wine in particular can make allergies go haywire. Some people are very sensitive to the sulfites, and it makes their allergies a lot worse. These compounds occur naturally in both beer and wine.

Taking the wrong medications

There are dozens of drugs to choose from and they all promise to cure your sniffles and sneezing. An antihistamine typically relieves sneezing, itchiness and runny nose, while decongestants combat congestion from swollen nasal passages. Some drugstore options may come packaged with both, but you would only need to use a decongestant if your nose is stuffed up in addition to your other symptoms. If bothersome symptoms persist, that's when you should really see an allergist.

Perfume and candles

Anything with fragrance added can irritate the lining of the eyelids and nasal passages. It includes perfume, scented candles, incense and holiday decorations. Whether you're in a department store or walking down the street, it's nearly impossible to avoid every smell out there, so your best defence is to eliminate these irritants from your home and to medicate yourself to ease symptoms when you encounter them in public.

Chlorine

Swimming in a chlorinated pool or even just sitting near one can be just as bad for your allergies as candles and perfume. Chlorine is an irritating gas. Indoor pools are worse than outdoor ones because the chlorine is contained to a smaller space.

Acid attack victim Laxmi will walk the ramp at the third edition of India Runway Week (IRW) in New Delhi on Friday.

Laxmi, who has been selected for the prestigious International Women of Courage Award, will walk as a showstopper on the first day for designer Dolly J.

The three-day fashion trade event, organised by Indian Federation For Fashion Development, is a platform created for budding designers. It will be held at Ocean Pearl, Chhattarpur.

Bollywood actors Randeep Hood and Ameesha Patel will be joined by "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa" host and actor Manish Paul on stage when they will walk for designer Kirti Rathore on the same day.

The fashion extravaganza will feature 32 designers, who will present their Winter/Festive collection.

"I am so excited to see young and experienced designers showcasing their splendid collections in IRW," Kiran Kheva, fashion director, India Runway Week, said in a statement.

Avinash Pathania, director, Indian Federation for Fashion Development, said that they are providing the platform to "budding as well as established designers of tomorrow to showcase their talents".

Depleted by the absence of some high-profile cricketers, IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will have a tough task at hand when they lock horns with the formidable Chennai Super Kings in the opening Group A match of Champions League T20 here on Wednesday.

Buoyed by its thumping success in the IPL T20 tournament this year, KKR is raring to go for the kill in the Champions League but their build-up to the tournament has been plagued by injuries to Chris Lynn and Morne Morkel and the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, who failed to get an NOC from the Bangladesh Cricket Association.

Led by the stylish Gautam Gambhir, the team has not given a good account of itself in the CLT20 competitions so far as even though they reached the Group Stage in 2011 and 2012 editions, they failed to go beyond. "Our record in Champions League is not that great. Hopefully we have to rectify that. There is lot to play for. CLT20 is the tournament that we have not won and we have the side that can win any tournament. So this time we are motivated to win the tournament," Gambhir said.

Besides Gambhir, KKR boasts of some high-octane performers such as Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan, though it is missing the services of Shakib and Morkel.

"Obviously (we will miss them). I would be lying if I say I won't miss them. They are quality performers. Especially Shakib is an unbelievable performer. But it gives opportunity for other young guys who have been waiting. Hopefully they can grab the opportunity and deliver it for us," Gambhir said.

"This will also help us in next IPL if they perform well. We will have big pool to select the team for IPL," he added. The Kolkata side has practiced hard, including playing a practice match with Hyderabad XI, at the Rajiv Gandhi cricket stadium here yesterday. In the 20 overs practice match yesterday, Kallis has scored 58 runs (43b, 3x4,4x6).

The 2010 champions, Chennai, led by Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is equally poised to put its best foot forward. In a shot in the arm for the team, seasoned Dwayne Bravo is back in the side.

"We have a very good side. About the chances, it all depends on how well we adapt. The good thing for us will be, we missed Bravo during the IPL. He got injured. That really affected the strength of the side, that combination and stability of the side. It is good to have him back," Dhoni said.

"Also, most of the players have been playing international cricket and most of them have scored runs in the recent series. So, it's looking good. Still, we will have to see how quickly we adapt to the conditions," he added.

The Chennai outfit has some brilliant players like Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Francois du Plessis in its ranks who make it a formidable force.

Teams(from):

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir(c), Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa(wk), Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Ryan ten Doeschate, Pat Cummins, Andre Russel and Manvinder Bisla

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni(c/wk), Suresh Raina, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Pavan Negi, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, John Hastings, Brendon McCullum, Samuel Badree and Francois du Plessis

The rise of Indian badminton on the global stage has been phenomenal. For a country which has produced All England champions like Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand, it is the women who now make news.

Flying out of New Delhi's IGI airport on Monday night, the badminton squad was busy rushing through the last minute formalities and was virtually unnoticed. Once it arrived in Incheon on Tuesday after a long flight via Singapore, it was time to check into the Games Village so that the players could get rid of jetlag as quickly as possible.

Mail Today caught up for a freewheeling chat with Gopichand. Dressed in a tracksuit, Gopi looked as fit as any of the players from his academy in Hyderabad, who have been doing very well in recent months. The latest addition to the list is H.S. Prannoy who won the Indonesian Masters title on Sunday.

Gopi has been very careful with his words to the media after 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal decided to shift base to Bangalore. Like in his playing days, Gopi believes more in action on the court, where he has shaped the careers of so many players. Even though rising star P.V. Sindhu has won two back-toback bronze medals at the world championship, Gopi is not willing to hazard a guess about the Indian medal prospects in Incheon.

"When I submitted my report to the Sports Authority of India and the sports ministry, I made it clear that winning a medal at the Asian Games will not be easy. They felt that as badminton has done so well in a whole gamut of competitions, the players deserved to go to Incheon," said Gopi.

This is the most realistic assessment the chief badminton coach could have made, as in the last edition in Guangzhou, Saina had crashed out in the quarter-finals.

To be sure, each time at the Majors, be it the All England or the world championship, Saina has found it tough to be at her best. Gopi cautiously avoided talking about his famous ward even as he was all praise for the depth in Indian badminton. He is even happier that regional centres will be coming up and that will provide a chance for India to produce more champions. In his view, broad-basing badminton has worked very well and results are there to see.

As Gopi and coach Madhumita Bisht were waiting to board the flight, Saina and new coach Vimal Kumar were spotted together. The soft-spoken Vimal talked about the challenge at the Asian Games for his superstar ward.

"It has been a good fortnight with Saina in Bangalore and a change always helps," Vimal told Mail Today.

Having worked with Gopichand when he was the hot star of Indian badminton, Vimal believes there is no harm in changing coaches. "There are times when a player needs a change in environment. Saina has been training hard," he said.

Each sport has its share of rivalries and the one between Saina and Sindhu is turning out to be very fascinating for the knowledgeable and the discerning. What will happen with the Indians in Incheon on the badminton courts cannot be predicted, but you can be sure this racquet sport is now at an all time high.

Buoyed by the initial response to Android One smartphones, chip maker Media Tek today said it expects as many as two million handsets to be sold this year in India, the world’s second largest market for mobile phones.

The Taiwan-headquartered company has partnered with US-based tech giant Google on Android One, an initiative to provide a family of high-quality, yet affordable Android devices for consumers in emerging markets like India.

Yesterday, Google launched three devices in partnership with Micromax, Karbonn and Spice under the Android One initiative. India is the first country to have the Android One handets, priced at Rs 6,399 onwards.

“We expect 1.5 to 2 million Android One handsets to be sold this year in India,” MediTek VP (US Business Development) Mohit Bhushan told PTI when asked about the his expectations on the sale of the handsets.

With prices starting at Rs 6,399, the hardware and software being provided on Android One will give users an amazing experience, he added.

The first set of Android One devices feature MediaTek’s MT6582 mobile System-on-Chip (SoC), which is based on quad ARM CortexTM A7 processors.

The processors deliver superior multi-tasking performance and excellent sustained performance-per-watt for a premium mobile experience.

When asked about the impact on Android One on the smartphone market, Bhushan said: “In the short term, there can be disruptions. But, this will eventually lead to handset makers not part of Android One to invest on innovating the mobile experience.”

He added that companies will have to realise that Android One will give users an unmatched device experience at affordable prices and for them to match it, they will have to follow suit.

With Android One, Google aims to win customers in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market with low prices and better quality software.

Currently, many affordable smartphones in India already offer customised versions of the Android operating system.

In case of Android One, the eventual software upgrades on the Android One phones would come directly from Google. This would give Google better control of the operating system and ensure users get a consistent service.

Reports suggest, an initial lot of Micromax Canvas A1 handsets, that were put up for sale on Amazon, were sold out.

PwC India Leader (Telecom) Mohammad Chowdhury said: “The festive season regularly sees an uptick in handset sales and we should expect this in the next few months. In particular there is hot competition in the segment priced from Rs 7,000 upwards.

Mumbai: Dancing diva Madhuri Dixit has hit the benchmark of three million followers on micro-blogging site Twitter.

The 47-year-old actress, an avid user of social media, is looking forward to increase her fan base online. "Just hit 3 million followers on Twitter! Thanks for all the love and support!! Looking forward to more good times with all of you," Madhuri, who joined Twitter in 2010, posted.

The 'Dhak Dhak' girl keeps her admirers entertained by frequently tweeting about her personal and professional life. Madhuri is currently busy preparing her act for reality show 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7' finale.

"Been practising for the Jhalak finale! Pushing the limits hard... Hope you like it!,' she tweeted.

Bhai, what is this “love jihad”?

“Arre hai kiya? Humein nahin maloom, (What is it? I don’t know it) ” Home MinisterRajnath Singh tells the media with a smile.

Digvijaya Singh promptly writes an open letter to the minister asking him to brush up on his reading of RSS mouthpieces Panchjanya and Organizer. “The cover stories are on love jihad,” says Singh.

Or Rajnath Singh could just go to Garba nights in Godhra. Or Indore.

Apparently that’s the newest battleground for love jihad.

According to the Indian Express, the newly formed Hindu Asmita Hitrakshak Samiti will create a team of “volunteers” who will ensure no Muslim youth can get inside a garba venue this Navratri though a Muslim councilor in Godhra insists he has got invitations every year and these directives from “unelected” people were “baseless”.

However Jaimin Shah, a member of the Samiti is clear. “Why should they be so keen on participating in garbas? They do so to lure Hindu girls. We are here to oppose such intrusions and stop them,” Shah tells Indian Express.

Shah does not explain what irresistible charm these Muslim garba-crashers wield to seduce Hindu women right in the middle of a big dance hall while surrounded by throngs of festive gaily caparisoned Hindu men. Were they hitting on the twirling women while the men were lining up for plates of khandvi and dhokla?

Shah did say the presence of Muslims “made no sense” at a religious event for “our wives, daughters and sisters”. Even last year the organizers had asked around half a dozen Muslim men to leave the venue.

Were they causing a ruckus? They “might” have created a nuisance says Shah.

When it comes to garba-poaching, pre-emptive measures are very important.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, led by Praveen Togadia has blessed the endeavour.Togadia has demanded that ID cards of participants be checked at all garba venues.

“Navratri is the festival of Mother Amba’s prayers and worship, so we cannot allow beef-eating Muslims to enter into garba places," says Togadia. No word about beef-eating Christians or for that matter beef-eating Hindus.

Togadia who has a long history of crossing swords with Modi clearly relishes fishing in troubled waters. He wants to bait and draw out Modi more than anything else. Godhra remains potent shorthand for the starting point of the 2002 bloodbath after 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were burned in a train there. As PM Modi tries to put 2002 well behind him, Togadia would like nothing better than to try and bring Godhra back into the spotlight and an inflammatory decree trying to ban Muslims from Garba is just the ticket. It’s not about banning Muslims from Garba, it’s about the idea of it.

But while Rajnath Singh can coyly feign ignorance about “love jihad”, other BJP politicians are happy to rush in where Singh fears to tread.

The Daily Bhaskar reports that Indore’s BJP MLA Usha Thakur is planning to write to all garba organizers in the state asking them to “restrict entry of Muslim men to the dance venues and seducing women”. Thakur alleges nearly 4.5 lakh Hindu girls got converted last year during the garba festival. Wherever she gets this number from, this points to an urgent need, more than anything else, for the Hindu Asmita Hitrakshak Samity to invest more energy in Romancing 101 workshops for Hindu men.

The Congress leader Manish Tewari tells ANI that the “synchretic culture of India” is strengthened when we participate in each other’s festivals. We can be skeptical about whether young Muslim men, if they do indeed show up at Garba festivals, are there for an interfaith project of synchretic nation-building or just to have fun and yes, watch women dancing. But ogling is hardly a character trait unique to Muslims men. Or is it that during Garba, Hindu men only look at the dancing women fondly as maa-behen-beti while their Muslim counterparts are making their chhupa Rustam moves?

This would all be utterly ludicrous if it was not becoming used as a political organizing tool. The beauty of the love jihad conspiracy is it does not really need facts and figures. Like all good conspiracies it thrives on rumour and anecdote. BJP leaders Shahnawaz Khan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi might be married to Hindus but there’s always a counter example like that of Tara Shadeo and Ranjit Kumar Kohli/Raqibul Hasan Khan to keep the conspiracy fires stoked.

Love jihad conspiracy theorists are also quick to trot out the story of a sex scandal in Britain from 2010 where a group of Pakistani men were found guilty of sexually exploiting teenaged white girls some as young as 12, many from troubled homes, in the town of Rotherham by plying them with gifts of alcohol, drugs and gifts. This was an abominable sex abuse story now being dressed up as Exhibit A in the Love Jihad conspiracy. But it was a horrendous sex trafficking racket, nowhere close to a proselytization mission to marry women from another religion under false pretexts and turn them into good Muslim wives. The authorities said they were slow to act because of political correctness, afraid of being perceived as racist. That argument wears a little thin after 1400 girls fall prey to this racket over 16 years and the Guardian says that’s also to cover up for a “cozy indifferent bureaucracy” with their “own prejudices about the poor”.

“Like all slanders, 'love jihad' works best in places where communal violence has already stoked distrust and hostility,” writes Mukul Kesavan on NDTV. He says it’s not a “coincidence” that after the Muzaffarnagar riots an allegation that used to be part of the “Parivar’s lunatic fringe” is now “the BJP’s favourite meme.” And Amit Shah can bothcall it a “media creation” and at the same says there is nothing wrong with the BJP responding to “a grave social problem” in “genuine cases of injustice”.

In short, you can deny your love jihad and have it too.

The UP by-election smack for the BJP is not a referendum on Modi who is now safely PM but it is hopefully a comment on that kind of wink-and-nudge divide-and-rule policy using the likes of Yogi Adityanath. It hardly means the Samajwadi Party with an Azam Khan is the standard bearer of secular “synchretic” values but as Tavleen Singh notes on Twitter “The BJP could pay in U.P for changing the subject form 'vikas' to love jihad. The PM did not win a full mandate for Hindtuva.”

That lesson will likely not percolate to Hindu Asmita Hitrakshak Samiti or Usha Thakur who want to drag the politics of majoritarian victimhood inside the dance circle. And despite UP, Modi will not want to publicly smack down a Praveen Togadia and thus give him the recognition he craves. But someone should alert Modi to the annual Sheri Garba organized by the alumni association of St Xavier’s College spearheaded by folks like Shaunak Parikh and Naved Siddique.

It’s happening this year, as always, St Xavier’s College confirms to Firstpost and best of all it’s in the PM’s own backyard of Ahmedabad. Mr. Modi could even stop by and prove that sometimes a dance move can speak way louder than words.

New Delhi: The Centre has sanctioned Rs 2700 crore financial aid for the renovation of Kochi Shipyard and for developing infrastructure to transport Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said the fund allotted was part of ‘Make In India’ scheme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence day address.

Three ships will be constructed to transport LNG and Rs 4500 crore has been earmarked for the purpose. The Centre has also sanctioned Water bus service in Kochi-Andaman route.

Passenger Cargo arrangement will be upgraded to international standards and for this, technical help will be sought from France.

Gadkari said the Kochi shipyard, where only local ships are currently manufactured, would be added with new facilities to manufacture foreign ships. A dredger factory would also be installed in Kochi.

Sheena Sabarwal did not have the faintest idea of what was in store for her when she agreed to drive her friend's gypsy in the Dakshin Dare 2014. But that did not stop her nor her partner — Poonam Das — from entering the less travelled path by any woman –rally racing.

Poonam Das from Kolkata and Sheena Sabarwal, a native of Pune, are not merely passionate drivers but have dared to enter an arena that has not been explored by many women. While Poonam was no stranger to rally driving, Sheena had never given the sport a shot. The two women were introduced by a common friend.

"I told my friend that I wanted to be part of the Dakshin Dare 2014 but I had no navigator," said Poonam. "Then, a friend of ours, Amol, had contacted me and said that he wanted somebody to drive his car for the rally. I said okay," added Sheena.

"I was aware of such sports, but had never actively taken part in such an event. So I said – why not? I will drive to where ever Poonam wanted me to," she added.

Unlike bike rallies, car rallies involve the two people – a navigator, who directs the driver in terms of time taken or time left to cover a particular distance, speed etc. as well as a driver. This is applicable to both TDS and extreme categories of rallying, unlike the extreme bike rallies, where the rider is on his own.

Poonam, incidentally, is also an expert at bike rally races. "I became inclined to rally racing because of the man my husband is. He loves rallies and also loves to drive. I figured if I wanted to spend more time with him I should tag along," Poonam commented. She had begun her journey in the area of rally racing on two wheels primarily due to her passion for bikes.

Poonam said that bike rallies are harder primarily because it is a solo affair. "When you are inside a car, it feels more secure. But when you are riding a bike, in case a part of your vehicle falls off, you have no scope of trying to fix it back again," she added.

This team is also the only all-girls team at the sixth edition of the Dakshin Dare.

The duo would be competing in then endurance category at the rally. The endurance or TDS category requires the participant to cover a particular distance in the most effective combination of Time, Distance and Speed.

When asked whether they hope to venture into the world of extreme rallying racing, Poonam said that she would do so within a year while Sheena laughed and said, "Yes. I am an 'extreme personality.' I can’t hold the speed."

Teamed up with his wife, Sreejith drove his Baleno with all pride at the flag off ceremony of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare 2014.

When asked why he chose his wife as navigator he said, in a most witty manner, "She wouldn’t let me choose anybody else for the job."

Sreejith and Krishna hail from Ernakulam. Rally racing is something they are passionate about. While Sreejith runs his own advertising firm at Ernakulam, Krishna is a counselor. Sreejith and Krishna are proud parents of a six year old son named Amith. Both of them are avid travellers and enjoy driving long distances. Random and spontaneous road trips are quintessentially them. Krishna, interestingly, enjoys a long drive in the rain.

So what motivated them to enter a rally? Sreejith had begun driving at a very young age. His father worked at Popular Mechanics in Ernakulam. It was him who had encouraged Sreejith to enter such an arena. Sreejith said that he was no stranger to rally racing. In the initial stages, Sreejith would attend simpler and less risky rallies held in Coimbatore. Over a period of time, he became more confident and had decided to enter higher and more complicated rallies. Ever since they were married, his wife Krishna had developed a love for rallying. "There is a certain thrill in being part of the rally," said Krishna.

This is the couple’s third appearance in the endurance category of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare. While many seem to be adventurous, Sreejith and his wife believe in being adventurous after taking calculated risks. "While driving during the rally, we had hit spot that was rather dangerous. We were expected to cover that distance at nearly 40 km/hr but in reality, one shouldn’t consider travelling at more than 10 km/hr to cover the distance. On the one side, we saw a canal, while on the other it was an endless patch of fields. We chose to not be too adventurous. Had we done as specified we wouldn’t have survived and the car would have been destroyed," explained Sreejith.

According to them, the route plan during this Dakshin Dare was the toughest. "In the previous editions, the endurance stage was quite a child’s play. One could relax and take things easy. Now, it has become complicated. But it is fun nonetheless," said Krishna and Sreejith.

When asked about why people tend to take to such adventure sports despite all the mishaps, Sreejith said, "Sometimes one must take chances." The couple said that they experience a sense of joy while being part of such activities. Curious to know what their greatest risks were, Sreejith commented rather jokingly, "I would say there is no greater risk than getting married."

Is there any scope of conducting such an event in Kerala? Sreejith said that there doesn't seem to be much scope. He believes that it is too complicated to do so in Kerala. Despite the natural terrain and previous records of rallies held within the state, he said that such as event can never be conducted in Kerala.

So what next? The couple hopes to explore the whole of India and also take part in the extreme category next year. Would Amith, their son, be encouraged to enter the rally arena? Either ways, the proud parents said that they would support their son whatever be his decision. According to Krishna , he does seem inclined to the world of automobiles.

Perhaps this is one couple to whom distances really don't matter for they welcome adventure with open arms.

After ‘North 24 kaatham’, Anil Radhakrishnan Menon is out to play with ‘Sapthamashree Thaskaraha’, displaying his affinity for stutter-causing Sanskritized words along with fine film-making.

Seven thieves, one goal. While you can extend this tagline to make up the whole story, what’s to be seen is how it all unfolds.

The seven thieves get to know each other in jail. All of them have lost something—reputation, family, trust. But it isn’t a dismal story; it puts together events from all the seven lives that affected them in myriad ways and also landed them in jail.

Among the bunch of jailbirds, the quiet one is Krishnanunni (Prithviraj), whose case coincides with that of Noble (Nedumudi Venu) leaving them with a common bad man-to-be-vanquished. And this becomes everybody’s motive for making a master-plan to hit back at the bad man—Pious (Joy Mathews).

What ensues is how they devise plans to get to their goal once they’re released from jail. But why should everybody get involved in two peoples’ personal vengeance? Money is the factor.

The movie isn’t strictly a thriller; it has excellent comedy, some light flirtation with social issues, and elements of a thriller, in ways that one would wonder where the story is leading to.

What’s on display is fine direction, one that doesn’t stray from the main plot; the only problem being, it gets slightly drab when one plan takes so long to be executed, and there aren’t as many hurdles or setbacks as a thriller is expected to have.

As for the story, if it was more layered, since there were a bunch of very interesting ‘thaskaras’, and if the adventures and misadventures were more sporadic, the fun would have multiplied.

An amusing aspect is how the movie has taken a rather serious past, involving murder and death, and placed it in the ‘present’ of the thieves, who aren’t out to avenge themselves by unleashing violence. There’s enough humour to pull the darkness out of the frames.

Although it will make one wonder how a sullen Krishnanunni with a rather painful trail of events that preceded his jail tenure comes to terms with it soon as he’s out. So quickly, that he specifies that he’d only drink milk when a host serves him black tea.

It’s Annamma (Sanusha) who reminds the viewers with her temperament that all’s not hunky-dory and personal woes remain. This might give way to some mixed feelings, but all’s to be forgotten as we wait for more surprises!

Where humour counts, the most effortless performances came from Chemban Vinod and Neeraj Madhav. The Thrissur slang was slapped on aplenty, and Chemban Vinod masterfully handled the role of a small-time thief in Thrissur with his fleeting expressions and fine-tuned intonations.

Neeraj Madhav stirs up quite a ruckus too, as the gullible Brahmin boy, whose livelihood depends on the highly misuse-able video cameras that he makes! The strength of the movie is that it finds good humour even in unlikely places.

Director Lijo Jose Pellissery makes an effective priest, with a role that seems Innocent’s domain of expertise with his quirky brand of comedy, and is impressive. Asif Ali rides an Enfiled and bashes up people intermittently.

Rex Vijayan’s BGM is good for the movie, but it’s been tried and tested way too many times.

The movie has a subdued Prithviraj, and it’s meant to move slowly and cautiously. While the end result brings in much appreciation, the detailing that could have gone into the story-telling is missed.

You sit through this one since you can get a whiff of something big about to happen towards the end, since nothing great happens throughout! As for the thieves, a couple of them do steal your heart for good.