[wanabidii] News Digest: India names new heads for four state-owned banks

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Wednesday, December 31, 2014
		Today's Headlines

		Business
		India names new heads for four state-owned banks India on Wednesday named chief executive officers for four state-owned lenders, as part of plans to reform a sector constrained by a pile of bad loans and lagging private peers in profitability. TRAI recommends 22% lower base price for 3G spectrum auction Telecom regulator TRAI today recommended a base price of Rs 2,720 crore per Mhz for pan India 3G spectrum, about 22 per cent lower than the previous auction which would provide some relief to mobile operators. Now, post offices can provide ATM cards, account statements Post offices moved a step closer to becoming banks. More Business News»

		Environment
		China imposes record fine of $26 m in water pollution case A court in eastern China has issued the country's biggest environmental fine resulting from public interest litigation against polluters as China tries to crack down on widespread environmental degradation. Tehran air pollution puts nearly 400 in hospital Almost 400 people have been hospitalized with heart and respiratory problems caused by heavy air pollution in Tehran, with nearly 1,500 others requiring treatment, an official said today. Bengal's new target: Tourism hubs with eco-friendly practices West Bengal, in its bid to prioritise sustainable development and eco-friendly practices, has got the ball rolling to promote eco-tourism on a large scale in the state. More Environment News»

		World
		53 dead in Philippines flooding and landslides The death toll from flooding and landslides in the Philippines wrought by tropical storm Jangmi rose to 53 today, officials said, with some regions saying they were caught off guard by the deluge. Australia bans commercial sun beds over cancer fears Most Australian states and territories are set to ban commercial sun beds from Thursday, in a crackdown on artificial tanning in a country that has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. 2-yr-old boy accidentally shoots, kills mother at US store In a tragic incident, a 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother after taking a gun from her purse while she was shopping at a Walmart store in US. More World News»

		Science
		NASA instrument to measure soil moisture on Earth NASA is launching a new remote sensing instrument in space that will measure the moisture lodged in Earth's soils with unprecedented accuracy and resolution. New graphene-like particle discovered In a breakthrough, researchers led by an Indian-origin scientist have discovered half-light, half-matter particles in atomically thin semiconductors made of a 2D layer of atoms. UK students aim to grow lettuce on Mars by 2018 A student team in the United Kingdom plans to grow lettuce on Mars by 2018 using the atmosphere and sunlight on the Red Planet. More Science News»

		Technology
		Microsoft sues Indian company for fraud Microsoft has sued several companies, including an Indian one, alleging they falsely claimed to be Microsoft-affiliated technical support. 9 tech startups to watch out for in 2015 Here are the 9 startups that are likely to make it big in 2015. Some are trying to transform messaging, some are attempting to conquer the sharing economy and some are media companies trying to make it big 2014: The year that was in tech More Technology News»

		Education
		Odisha formulates new guideline to curb school student dropout In an effort to curb student dropout, the School and Mass Education department has decided to implement a new set of guidelines with effect from tomorrow. FYUP closed book, nursery a page-turner The year 2014 witnessed many controversies on the education front. It began with the demand for scrapping of the four-year-undergraduate programme introduced by Delhi University. Delhi schools told to put up nursery admission criteria on website The Delhi government's directorate of education (DoE) today directed private schools to upload the criteria adopted for nursery admission for the academic year 2015-16, offering some relief to the parents. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Pizza Hut serves detergent water to customer An afternoon meal on Monday at a famous global pizza chain located in a Vashi Mall turned out to be a horrid experience for Dombivali resident Avinash Pai after he was allegedly served water that seemed to have been contaminated with dishwashing detergent. Young city designer dies at Goa dance fest Young city designer dies at Goa dance fest Chembur pool revamp to be floated before civic panel in Mumbai A proposal to repair and reconstruct an Olympic-size swimming pool in Chembur is finally expected to come up before the civic standing committee on Friday. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Rajesh Mann and Shamsher Singh launch 'Dubai Nights' at 'Peppers' in Gurgaon Arabic music lovers in the city were in for a treat recently at the launch of Dubai Nights at Peppers. Delhi Metro's Rajiv Chowk station to close at 9 pm The Delhi Metro will shut down one of its busiest stations in central Delhi Wednesday 9.00 pm. following security concerns on the occasion of New Year's Eve, an official said. Few new lots but parking rates raised Without upgrading infrastructure, civic agencies have increased parking rates in the city. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Cops seek to mine info from terror suspects in jail With clues from ground zero not providing enough leads, city police have got down to brass tacks to unravel the labyrinthine network of terror groups they suspect was involved in Sunday's subversive act on Church Street. Drones to keep eye on Bengaluru revellers New Year revelry will not be the same in Bengaluru this time around as police will put in place unprecedented crowd-management and surveillance techniques. No entry at Nandi Hills this New Year's eve Authorities have decided to ban entry of public and vehicles into the hill station between 4pm on December 31 and 6am on January 1. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Rabia and Sameer's nikah in Hyderabad Rabia and Sameer's nikah in Hyderabad Tollywood in major crisis The Rs 1,000-cr Telugu film industry is in a crisis. It has fallen into an abyss and as things stand now, it will be near impossible for it to come out of it. Government in a hurry on land pooling Hurried attempts of land pooling for the state capital is expected to further complicate the matter as the government is yet to publicise the rules and regulations of land pooling, say experts. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		TN bus strike withdrawn Bus services in Tamil Nadu, which were hit due to a strike called by unions for the last three days, will return to normalcy from Thursday. Widow to get pension after 26-year legal battle Ending a widow's 26-year court battle, the Madras high court has said she was eligible for family pension even though her husband had died within a year after joining the government service. Teen arrested for theft forced to perform sex acts, says mom A 19-year-old youth arrested for a bike theft was recently admitted to a government hospital in Chennai with severe infection and injuries to his private parts after policemen allegedly forced him to have oral and anal sex with three others in custody over two days. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		IMA moots protection for docs treating accident victims The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has recommended to the Centre that doctors treating accident victims not be exposed to criminal liability. Nigerian drug dealer's bail plea rejected A ‘homesick’ Nigerian citizen, who is serving a jail sentence in a drug peddling case, sought a month’s bail from Gujarat high court so that he could celebrate Christmas and New Year with his family in Africa. New Zealand MP, UK liquor baron among key speakers at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Gujrat The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2015 will see an interesting array of NRI speakers — from historians, doctors and businessmen to liquor baron, member of parliament, and chief ministers from various states. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		FIR against guards who clashed with Hindu activists The district magistrate has directed the Naini police on Tuesday to lodge FIR against security guards of an educational institute who clashed with activists of a Hindu organisation, protesting against alleged conversion at the institute. Little relief for citizens as Sun shines after four days Citizens heaved a sigh of relief when the cold and cloudy weather gave way to a sunny and bright Tuesday. The intense cold wave had created much trouble for the people since the past four days. Medical care of adolescent girls must: Health ministry The National Health Mission (NHM) is set to introduce Menstrual Hygiene Plan (MHP) and Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFAS) programme in educational institutes from January to help adolescent girls studying in upper primary schools. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Sulia sacrifice on despite government ban Around 10,000 animals were slaughtered at six places during the annual Sulia festival in Balangir district on Tuesday though the administration clamped prohibitory orders. Cop mobile application from Jan 15 in twin cities After making its presence felt on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, the commissionerate of police is all set to launch a mobile application. Millennium City gears up to welcome New Year with a big bash Party goers in the Millennium City have geared up to welcome the New Year in a big way. Police have eased restrictions, including increasing the time for late night parties from 10pm to 1am. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Uncertainty over Satpura plant due to poor ash disposal Satpura Thermal Power Plant, Sarni, one of the oldest thermal power plants in Madhya Pradesh, faces an uncertain future owing to poor utilization of fly ash. Its sole fly ash pond is full to capacity while a Union government committee has turned down a request from Madhya Pradesh Power Generation Company Limited (MPPGCL) to construct a new ash pond. Over 4.5 lakh children out of school in MP More than 4.5 lakh of children in MP still don’t go to school. Also the state has earned the dubious distinction of having one of the worst dropout rates in the country, much higher than the national average. MP Cong suspicious of EC's working before civic body polls On Monday, the Election Commission announced the elections for nine urban civic poll bodies including the Bhopal and Indore Municipal Corporations to be held on January 31 More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Anti encroachment drive in Chandigarh Center sub-division of Chandigarh administration on Tuesday conducted an anti-encroachment drive in sector 25 and removed the unauthorized structures. PUTIA demanded immediate release of funds Punjab Unaided Technical Institutions Association (PUTIA) demanded the immediate release of funds meant for scholarships of students of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other backward classes from the Punjab Government as more than 400 Unaided Technical Institutions of Punjab and their students are facing hardship due to delay in the release of funds. Dhindsa cautions SAD on anti-BSF protests Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secretary general and Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Tuesday disagreed with the party’s decision to protest against the Border Security Force (BSF). More Chandigarh News»

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