[wanabidii] News Digest: HUL launching Ayurvedic products to counter Patanjali

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Today's Headlines

HUL launching Ayurvedic products to counter Patanjali
Given HUL’s determination to take on Patanjali, and the latter’s aggressive future plans, 2017 may see another classic corporate battle in the FMCG space.

BJP encourages cadre to go digital
BJP claims its staff at headquarters - security personnel, clerks, peons, drivers - are getting salaries in their bank a/cs and are being encouraged to use digital ways.

Gold prices rise by most in a month as US dollar declines
The dollar sagged against the yen on Thursday, weighed down by U.S. yields slipping to two-week lows and an ebb in risk appetite that favoured the safe-haven Japanese currency.

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Environment

Cooking emissions a contributor to air pollution
The skyline on this part of the country turns grey by afternoon. By dusk, a thick layer of smog envelops the horizon. With winter setting in, millions living in rural and suburban India has many reasons to worry about, one of it being air pollution.

Paris Climate deal among UN's big achievements in 2016
The long-pending Paris Climate Agreement finally came to fruition after Ban, in his final of year at the helm of the world body, mobilised nations to ratify the agreement, which calls on countries to combat climate change and limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

Poaching at all-time high, tiger numbers still rose
The records of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) show that at least 129 tigers and 419 leopards died in 2016 as compared to 91 tigers and 397 leopards in 2015. Of these, at least 50 tigers and 127 leopards were poached, a record in the last 10 years.

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World

Bangladesh cyber heist: Suspicion on IT technicians
In a series of interviews this month, Mohammad Shah Alam, a Bangladesh police deputy inspector general who is heading investigations in Dhaka, went into some detail about how insiders at Bangladesh Bank may have helped in the execution of one of the world's biggest cyber-heists last February.

Needs at least 30 days to find cause of Black Sea plane crash: Russia
"We hope to reach final conclusions no earlier than in 30 days," Sergei Bainetov, lieutenant general with Russian defence ministry, told a briefing.

Philippine leader says once threw man from helicopter, would do it again
Duterte's latest threat comes just a few weeks after he admitted killing people during his 22 years as a mayor of Davao City, sometimes riding a motorcycle looking for "encounters to kill". He said those killings were part of legitimate police operations, including a hostage incident. Some senators have warned Duterte he risks impeachment over his comments.

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Science

NASA satellite spots stunning view of northern lights
Just hours after the winter solstice, a mass of energetic particles from the Sun smashed into the magnetic field around Earth stirring up a stunning display of northern lights, which was captured by a NASA satellite.

This year to last a second longer!
This year will last a second longer as a “leap second” will be added to the world's clocks on New Year's Eve by timekeepers. The extra second will be inserted at US Naval Observatory's Master Clock Facility in Washington, DC at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

NASA astronauts to conduct spacewalks for power update
Astronauts on the International Space Station are to conduct two spacewalks in January for a “complex” upgrade to the orbital outpost’s power system, NASA said. The spacewalks will allow the crew members to install adapter plates and hook up electrical connections to the orbital laboratory.

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Technology

All that ruled the technology world in 2016: Glimpses
It's again time to bid goodbye to the current year and welcome a new one. And with all this, it's aloso the time to look back at all that dominated the world of technology during the year -- good, bad and no-so-good. The hottest product launches of the year, the startups that made a mark and the ones that dissapeared and more ...

Amazon introduces an 'extra feature' for users in Bengaluru
E-commerce giant Amazon has introduced a new service called ‘Sell as Individual’. Currently available only in Bengaluru, the service is aimed to allow users sell used goods through Amazon’s platform. Using ‘Sell as Individual,’ users can sell their products locally. Amazon is also offering doorstep pickup and delivery of the used goods that are sold through the platform.

Apple iPhone's 'hidden' photo feature searches, tags people & objects
Did you know your iPhone photo app has the potential to search photos and tag both people and objects? If your phone runs on iOS 10, it definitely can.

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Education

Sharp fall in number of offers at IITs this year
A 'global slowdown' has resulted in a sharp decline of job offers in the first phase of the recruitment process in IITs. Though the number of recruiters has gone up, number of jobs offered has gone down. India Inc, both public & private, though have not directly linked the trend to demonetisation.

IIT-Kharagpur to slash fee hike by half
Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur looked poised to slash the proposed hike in registration fees for MTech and PhD scholars by half following unprecedented protests at the institute for over a week.

New IITs have better faculty-student ratio
Despite their more comfortable situation at the moment, the newer IITs are not slackening pace.

More Education News»

Mumbai

Road safety week to be observed in city from January 9
The city RTOs have planned a series of events in view of the Road Safety Week which will be observed from January 9 onwards.

MUTP-III projects to enable faster economic growth
The Mumbai Urban Transport Project –III , which got a green signal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, will enable faster economic growth of Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA), Boisar and Palghar, senior railway officials said.

Constable dies, two injured as police jeep guarding minister meets road accident
One police constable died and two injured after police jeep guarding Tribal Minister Vishnu Savra while returning towards Vasind police station met with road accident on Mumbai-Nashik highway on Thursday wee hours.

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Delhi

Levy will take toll on commuters: Activists

Delhi government to bump up teacher training, create more jobs

Operator's bid to revive Gurugram toll plaza

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Bangalore

Suburban rail project goes off track as Karnataka cannot agree to Centre's cost-sharing ratio
The much promised and awaited suburban rail for Bengaluru city has hit a roadblock yet again, as the state government has rejected the terms of the Railways, which intends to implement the draft suburban rail policy across the country.

Farmers, traders distressed by sharp fall in vegetable prices
Although citizens across the city are happy with the sharp drop in the price of vegetables the wholesale price of a few vegetables has declined by 50% - traders and farmers appear none too pleased about it.

BBMP orders resurvey of two malls and one five-star hotel
BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad on Wednesday ordered for a resurvey of two malls and a five-star hotel that are facing allegations of drain encroachment.

More Bangalore News»

Hyderabad

One dead, one injured in blast at pharma co.
One industrial worker died while another was critically injured when a cylinder exploded in a pharmaceutical company in Gaganpahad exploded on Wednesday.

Here's the irony on heist day: Cops claim crime graph down
The number of dacoities in Hyderabad city has increased, as a fallout of demonitation. This can be seen from 18 cases reported in 2016 compared to 11 last year. Crooks in the police department were also responsible for the rise in dacoity. Rape cases too have seen a steep rise to 161 from 115 last year. And the police made these claims on a day of the daring loot at Muthoot.

No first-aid boxes top violation by pvt buses
A large number of private buses operating out of Hyderabad have been flouting norms blatantly. Checks conducted by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) reveal dangerous lapses in safety in many of the buses. Among the most serious concerns are buses operating without a second driver, absence of fire extinguishers and first-aid boxes, as well as non-existent passenger lists.

More Hyderabad News»

Chennai

Stalin demands white paper on demonetisation
Stalin’s demand comes on the penultimate day of depositing the demonesited currency notes.

4-year-old girl dies after falling off balcony in Chennai
A four-year-old girl died after falling off a balcony in her house on the third floor of an apartment complex at Esplanade in Chennai on Wednesday.

Burglar hopping from one terrace to another falls down, caught
The burglar, identified as Rajasekar of Vyasarpadi, broke one of his legs.

More Chennai News»

Ahmedabad

Farmers bear the brunt of plunging vegetable prices
Soon after demonetisation of high value currency notes by the Union government, wholesale as well as retail prices of vegetables have plummeted significantly. However, farmers are having to bear the brunt of the situation, as they are failing to get sufficient returns on their harvest. The impact was evident with the suicide of a farmer in Mansa, who reeled under losses.

Give your November 8 to December 30 bank transaction details, Jitu Vaghani tells BJP MLAs

Youth facing rape charge saved by nikahnama
A resident of Walled City area, Mohammed Zaid Mansuri, 21, was acquitted of rape charges on Wednesday even after DNA samples of the child born to the minor rape survivor established that Mansuri was the father.

More Ahmedabad News»

Allahabad

Fog clears by noon but chill continues
Sangam city continued to witness biting cold on the second day on Tuesday. The city woke up to thick fog but bright sunshine made things easier by noon.

Cold sends people rushing to OPDs
While fog has derailed routine life in Sangam city, the cold has also caused a spurt in the number of patients with weather-related ailments reporting at OPDs of various hospitals.

Cow's that! Learn with fun about bovines
Love cows, but don’t know how to tend a bovine? Here is some good new for you. Starting the New Year, a gaushala in the city is starting a programme called ‘Chalo shahar se gaushala ki ore’ (Let’s go to gaushala).

More Allahabad News»

Bhubaneswar

Odisha urges Centre to strengthen banking infrastructure in rural areas to promote cashless transactions

Odisha Information Commission asks govt to give info on mining scam
The Odisha Information Commission (OIC) has directed the state government to disclose information to an RTI applicant on the action taken following recommendations of the M B Shah Commission of inquiry into the mining scam.

Odisha administrative service officer jailed in graft case
Thirteen years after a senior Odisha administrative service (OAS) officer was arrested by vigilance for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000, a court here on Tuesday sentenced him to three years in prison.

More Bhubaneswar News»

Bhopal

Railways marks area for use in MP Nagar, residents fume
Bhopal railway division has been working hard to complete third line project. But, it seems the project is dogged by controversies at every step. Now, the railway division has drawn a line in a residential area at MP Nagar Zone II. The railway division looks set to use the land to keep construction material. Once it happens, it will block entry of residents living in BDA-built Mira Complex in the area.

School boy arrested in Madhya Pradesh for extorting money in the name of 'ISIS'
Person who had threatened a 30-year-old woman in Jabalpur district while demanding to pay Rs 2 crore in Bitcoins if she wanted to stop him from uploading her pictures on pornographic portals claiming to be a Pakistan based ISIS man, has turned out to be a teenaged boy.

People will get more than expected after Dec 30: Shahnawaz Hussain

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Chandigarh

Genius-2016: Awarding the brightest young minds

Sirsa youth in New Zealand stabbed by 'girlfriend' on Christmas dies

Sukhbir performs `bhumi poojan' of landless projects

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