Actor-model-fitness enthusiast Milind Soman shared a throwback photograph of himself from his childhood days on Instagram. In the picture, he is seen sitting on a tree and smiling at the camera, while his father clicked.

"Milind Soman sitting in a tree with shoes .. 1969. Trying to be cheerful today, after the sad news of yesterday and this morning... #throwbackthursday pic taken by my father, Prabhakar Soman," he captioned the image.

 

 

 

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Milind Soman sitting in a tree with shoes .. 1969 . . . Trying to be cheerful today, after the sad news of yesterday and this morning.. . . . #throwbackthursday pic taken by my father, Prabhakar Soman.

A post shared by Milind Usha Soman (@milindrunning) onApr 30, 2020 at 1:12am PDT

Milind's wife Ankita Konwar commented: "My cutie."

Amid lockdown, Milind recently suggested meditation for peace of mind in these times of COVID-19 stress, often triggered off by all the rumours, speculations and fake news emanating about the disease.

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If there's one friendship in the Hindi film industry that probably lasted the longest, it was of Rakesh Roshan and Rishi Kapoor. Their friendship spanned over four decades and they stayed friends forever and ever. The duo was always accompanied by another veteran star Jeetendra. The trio redefined companionship in cinema. Taking about the unfortunate and untimely demise of Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan spoke to Bollywood Hungama about it and poured his heart out.

Speaking about meeting his friend for the last time, he said, "I met him last on March 15 over dinner. Only Chintu (Rishi), his wife Neetu and I were there, and we chatted for nearly three hours. We discussed each other's health. I am a hundred per cent cured, touchwood. Chintu asked me why I didn't start a new film. I told him I will wait until September when my final medical tests will happen. I would rather wait until I'm fully sure. Health comes first. And this is what I told Chintu also."

In February, Rishi Kapoor had to travel to Delhi to attend a wedding but Roshan advised him to take rest, but it seems the actor was adamant. Speaking about it, Roshan said, "Both of us had cancer, though different kinds. I am aware of how infection-prone we are. So when Chintu told me about his plans to go to Delhi in February for a wedding I advised him against it. But he still went and had a relapse there. When I met Chintu he admitted he should've listened to me and that he made a mistake by going to Delhi."

Roshan and Kapoor's friendship began and eventually blossomed on the sets of their film together, Khel Khel Mein, a thriller that came out in 1975 and also starred Neetu Kapoor. And ever since then, as stated above, they continued staying friends forever. It's nearly impossible to even imagine a bond like this exist in today's competitive times. Rishi Kapoor, you shall be missed!

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It has been a rough and tough journey for Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor in these last few weeks. She was tested Coronavirus positive four times and what followed next was some investigation by the Lucknow police. Amid all this panic and pandemonium, she has been majorly missing her three kids, her lifelines- Aayana, Samara, and Yuvraaj.

Taking to her Instagram account, she posted a picture of the three kids and wrote- "I miss you soo much." (sic) Bhavana Pandey commented on the post with a black heart whereas Seema Khan commented with two red hearts. There was another picture along with this that had the quote- "When you love what you have, you have everything you need."

Have a look right here:

 

 

 

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I miss you soo much 💙💛💜

A post shared by Kanika Kapoor (@kanik4kapoor) onMay 4, 2020 at 3:24am PDT

Kanika Kapoor has been on a very difficult journey and all her fans are elated she's now fine. She became everyone's favourite after the blockbuster success of Baby Doll in 2014 and now we can't wait for her to croon again once the lockdown is over.

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As several stars pledged contributions to aid the fight against the Coronavirus, actor-businessman Sachiin Joshi announced a Rs 3 crore programme to distribute food packets to the frontline workers. The move came as a surprise to former employees of Joshi's Viiking Ventures, who have claimed non-payment of dues over past several months.

Taskeen Naik, who had joined as the social media head, and public relations officer to the chairman in August 2018, says she has been waiting for her full and final payment to be cleared since her exit in May 2019. "When I personally reached out to Mr Joshi, he blocked my number. Despite following up [with the HR team] every month, I have yet to be paid," she rues.

This paper is in possession of a document that lists 30 former employees of Viiking Ventures and its communications wing Think Tank, whose salaries have not been cleared since as early as March 2019. The cumulative amount stands at a little over Rs 30 lakh.

Krishna Choudhary, former marketing manager at the company that has verticals across FMCG products, realty and entertainment, reveals that since his joining in October 2018, the salaries would usually be deferred. "On March 26, 2019, Mr Joshi sent an e-mail assuring that the salaries will be timely from April. That month, they cleared all our salaries up to February 2019. But I was not paid a dime after that. I tendered my resignation in June, and have since been pursuing the HR to clear my four months' salary. While my pleas fell on deaf ears, the department sent an e-mail last December citing lack of funds as the reason for delayed payments. How does the company have money for charity, but not to pay our pending salaries?"

A snapshot of the complaint  submitted to the Chief Labour Commissioner by an employee  

When mid-day reached out to Joshi, his spokesperson issued a statement that read, "We hired a particular CEO [now no longer with us] who undertook unlawful practices and fraud, with a bunch of employees. All those people working with the said CEO are now under scrutiny and their payments are being held. The procedure should be completed by end of June 2020. Those who are given a clean chit will get their rightful dues, and the management will take legal action against those found guilty."

However, the former employees in question maintained that they were not informed about being part of an ongoing investigation. Interestingly, another former employee, on condition of anonymity, revealed that he had joined the company in May 2019 — long after the said CEO's departure — and was still subjected to similar fate. "Of my eight-month stint, I have not been paid for three-and-a-half months. I was not allowed inside the office premises when I went to meet Mr Joshi. When he recently went live on Instagram, many [former employees] asked him to clear their dues, in the comments section. I'm contemplating legal action."

Joshi was in the news in 2017 when he bought Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Villa in Goa for Rs 73 crore in a bank auction.

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With things being serious and upsetting with the number of coronavirus cases on the rise in the country, it's nice to have a tiny bit of respite from it all. It may come in the form of listening to your favourite music, watching a good web show, or just scrolling through Instagram for some cute videos.

And for your daily dose of cuteness, all you have to do is log on to Karan Johar's Instagram account for videos of his babies, Roohi and Yash! To say that Roohi and Yash are aww-dorable would be the understatement of the year. Now, a video has gone viral of his son Yash discovering Karan's well-hidden locker behind a sliding door. In the video, Yash declares the closet as a "washing machine". Upon being asked by Karan for the location, Yash slides a wooden door with a locker behind it. The filmmakers then says that it is a tijori, but would have been more useful during lockdown if it was actually a washing machine.

 

 

 

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Well we are now back in the closet but this time with a twist #lockdownwiththejohars

A post shared by Karan Johar (@karanjohar) onMay 6, 2020 at 11:08pm PDT

Just a day before, Karan had shared a sweet video of his babies giving their father a reality check about his bathroom. Roohi declares that bathtub is "useless", to which Karan replies, "It is rather useless. I have to say because I have never used it ever". He moves his attention towards Yash who goes about fiddling with one of the taps to the tub. Karan asks him what he is doing to which Yash answers, "I am washing dadda".

 

 

 

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Now in the bathroom! We have moved from the closet #lockdownwiththejohars

A post shared by Karan Johar (@karanjohar) onMay 5, 2020 at 11:30pm PDT

Earlier, the filmmaker had shared a video of his kids calling him a "bad dancer".  Sharing the video on Instagram Karan wrote, "Ok I have had enough!!!!!!!! I want to weep into my blanket! I am the Talentless MR JOHAR according to my children! #lockdownwiththejohars (sic)."

 

 

 

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Ok I have had enough!!!!!!!! I want to weep into my blanket ! I am the Talentless MR JOHAR according to my children! 😪😪 #lockdownwiththejohars

A post shared by Karan Johar (@karanjohar) onApr 11, 2020 at 12:30am PDT

In another video that he shared, the kids were seeing body shaming their father. "I have been body-shamed!!!! #lockdownwiththejohars #toodles (sic)", he wrote.

 

 

 

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I have been body shamed!!!! #lockdownwiththejohars #toodles

A post shared by Karan Johar (@karanjohar) onApr 6, 2020 at 11:56pm PDT

There are a lot of other videos that you all must see to cheer yourselves in case you have a bad day!

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Several Bollywood personalities have spoken about facing the casting couch or having met people who asked for sexual favours in order to get a good project. The latest celebrity to speak about this issue was Ayushmann Khurrana, who was asked by a casting director to show him his 'tool' to get the role in a film. 

Now, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi actress Chitrangda Singh, in an interview with Spotboye has spoken about sexual favours asked for in Bollywood. She shared, "There are people like this everywhere. Right from my modelling days to Bollywood - I have seen them at all times."

Saying that this happens in the corporate world too, Chitrangda added, "Corporate industry is just as bad. Yes, it has happened to me but, I would like to say that the Bollywood industry is not the place where anybody forces you. There is enough space and respect for everyone and their choices."

Chitrangda further added, "You do feel bad when you lose an opportunity but then those are the choices you make. So, you don't sulk about it. It feels bad and I have lost out on projects too but at the same time if you are comfortable with it, then go ahead and do it. I am not here to judge anyone."

In fact, Chitrangda emphasised that its not just sexual favours that are sought, too. "There is not just sexual favour but other sorts of favours too, which people seek. That's the way world functions, so you make your choices and live the way you like. I am not taking away from anyone who has been in the situation, I am not judging. This is just my point of view."

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Veteran Gujarati actor Arvind Trivedi, who became a household name all over India playing Raavan in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, got emotional while watching the re-run of the popular mythological serial.

In a video circulating on social media, Trivedi, who is in his eighties now, is seen watching the 'Sita Apaharan' (Kidnapping of Sita) episode with great attention. The video has gone viral on the internet.

In the video, Trivedi folds his hands in the end. The scene got him very emotional, as per a report by timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

Have a look:

 

 

 

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So touching. 84 year old veteran #ArvindTrivedi ji watched his #Ravana role after 30 years & seeks forgiveness from others 🙏🙏

A post shared by @ koro_na_hunter onApr 12, 2020 at 7:54am PDT

Amid the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown, the popular mythological series is being re-telecast on Doordarshan.

Ramayan aired in 1987-1988 and is created, written, and directed by Ramanand Sagar. The show was a television adaptation of the Indian Hindu epic of the same name.

The show was a game-changer for Indian television, hooking the nation to the show. Sunday mornings were never the same for families in India after the first episode of "Ramayan" aired on television. The impact was such that the actors associated with the show, continue to live under the shadow of their characters, with people remembering them for the roles they played in the show, which narrated the life story of Lord Ram and Sita.

The role of Ram was played by Arun Govil, Sita played by Deepika Chikhalia, Lakshman was played by Sunil Lahiri, and Hanuman by late Dara Singh. It also featured Sanjay Jog, late Vijay Arora, Sameer Rajda, late Mulraj Rajda and late Lalita Pawar.

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Kumkum Bhagya actress Shikha Singh and her husband Karan Shah are all set to welcome the newest member in their little family. Shikha is pregnant with her first child, and the actress shared a couple of photos on Instagram flaunting her baby bump and looking super pretty while doing so!

Sharing the pictures, Shikha simply wrote, "Boom Boom Ciao" with a firecracker emoji. The actress looks lovely in the photo, wearing a maxi dress, leaning against her husband while their cute dog looks distracted.

 

 

 

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Boom Boom Ciao 💥

A post shared by Shikha Singh Shah (@shikhasingh) onApr 22, 2020 at 10:46am PDT

Karan Shah, too, shared these pictures on Instagram and wrote, "Us: Yayyy; Goku: Nooooo, peace gonna be ruined mannn! What did u do!"

Shikha Singh tied the knot with Karan Shah in April 2016. Talking about being pregnant in the time of corona, Shikha said in an interview with ETimes, "When Karan and I were planning to go the family way, nobody thought that Corona would come upon us. I had informed the production house that I would be taking a break due to my pregnancy around April, and the production house also agreed to it, but now with COVID19, I have been on a break since March. My husband is a pilot and because of the lockdown, he is at home, otherwise, he would have been travelling."

The actress further stated, "My mother and sister were going to join us from Haryana, but that won't be possible now. We are near to the hospital and doctor's clinic and they are giving us online classes on how to take care during pregnancy."

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A lot of Bollywood filmmakers and actors have said that the legacy of Hindi Cinema will now be split into pre-Corona and post-Corona. And during this lockdown, nobody will forget the fact that it was all also the time when we got the opportunity to see some unseen and amazing throwback pictures of Television and Bollywood celebrities. Joining the bandwagon is Ramayan's Sita aka Dipika Chikhlia.

For all those who grew up in the 90s, this picture will surely put a smile on your face. But here's a genuine question- How many of you knew that Superstar Rajesh Khanna also graced her wedding reception? In case you feel it's not true, here's some proof.

Have a look at the picture right here:

 

 

 

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Rare Rajesh khana attending Dipika Chikhliya Marriage photo #90s #Ramayan #ramayan #dipikachikhlia #sita #bollywoodmovies #rajeshkhanna

A post shared by The90sIndia (@the90sindia) onApr 20, 2020 at 6:02am PDT

Such was the legacy of the TV show that they all got a call from the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and he personally wanted to meet the team and facilitate them. And the actress even took to her Instagram account to share a picture with him, have a look:

 

 

 

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This is the 1st time we were felicitated ....we realized we were a part of a legacy Ramayan ..we created history ...remember the day vividly when we got a call from delhi to meet the PM ...#rajivgandhi#feliciate#delhji#ramayan#ramayanworld#sagarworld#shivsagar#lockdowndisriessa

A post shared by Dipika (@dipikachikhliatopiwala) onApr 25, 2020 at 8:39pm PDT

Ramayan and Mahabharat were truly historic in their own ways, and the reruns have been phenomenal with never-seen-before TRPs. Well, as they say- Old Is Gold!

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Ramanand Sagar's epic "Ramayan", a show re-telecast almost three decades later, has become the most-watched entertainment show in the world. Actress Deepika Chikhalia, who gained popularity playing Sita, is ecstatic with the love that the serial has received yet again. She feels the magic created 30 years ago has helped make the re-run very successful.

On Thursday, a tweet from the official account of channel Doordarshan read: "WORLD RECORD!! Rebroadcast of #Ramayana on #Doordarshan smashes viewership records worldwide, the show becomes most-watched entertainment show in the world with 7.7 crore viewers on 16th of April"

According to media reports, the show has overtaken the popular "Game Of Thrones" in terms of viewership.

"I am really overjoyed that it has overtaken 'Game Of Thrones'. I thought it was one show that everyone has viewed and when I looked into it that 'Ramayan' has overtaken 'Game Of Thrones', I was really very happy. I am really very happy about it. It is great news," Deepika told IANS.

What according to Deepika is the reason behind the smashing success? "I have not analysed. I am not the sort of person who sits down and analyses. The only immediate thing I can think of is -- it has always had a story and a background. It always had a legacy and an era. When people started watching I would get messages that 'now, we are also part of that legacy and the magic'."

She added: "I think the word of mouth that people had loved it 30 years ago was the first kick-off. And once they started seeing and watching I think they kind of believed in the magic. I think that is how the circle moved. The series already had a name for itself and I think that the re-telecast rode on the success of original success. That's how I see it."

Deepika credits all the hard work of all departments for the show's success.

"I see it as a genuine labour of good work when it comes to performances, narration, direction. As an actor, when I see my own performances, I am baffled that at the age of 18, I had so much maturity to carry forward the lines, dialogue and there was so much patience in me. I performed with my eyes. Ramanand Sagar said that I want someone who emotes with her eyes because the body language should be that of Sita."

"Today, I see his vision. He had a vision and it's really, really wonderful. It is a genuine piece of work in every department. They all added to the success," she said.

Would she like to be a part of "Ramayan" again, if re-made? "If I am Sita I would like to," she said.

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Bigg Boss 13 has to be the most popular, memorable, and explosive season of all time. Love stories were born and so were stars. Two of them were Paras Chhabra and Mahira Sharma, and fans have combined their names to Pahira. And for all the Pahira fans, here's something fun. The duo shared a rather unique video where they both could be seen grooving to the Bole Chudiyan song and the actress reminded us of Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Taking to her Instagram account, this is what she wrote, "This is for you all #pahira fans." (sic) Well, this is truly a fantastic gift for all their fans, a fun-filled video that they can watch on loop. And Kareena would be happy after seeing this too.

Have a look right here:

 

 

 

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This is for you all #pahira fans❤ï¸Â @parasvchhabrra #pahiraourpride

A post shared by Mahira Sharma (mau) 💎 (@officialmahirasharma) onMay 3, 2020 at 3:45pm PDT

Dancing is a part of her soul and makes her happy. This was confirmed by this caption on her next Instagram post. Have a look right here:

 

 

 

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dancing part of my Soul, makes me Happy ♥ï¸Â

A post shared by Mahira Sharma (mau) 💎 (@officialmahirasharma) onMay 5, 2020 at 5:32am PDT

The lockdown is going to take a while to end, so all we have is their videos to enjoy and cherish! When is the next one coming?

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The man with outstanding sense of humor and exceptional wit Maniesh Paul always takes his audience by surprise be it on stage or off stage. His comic timing and intelligent banters always lifts up everyone's mood.

Well when it comes to hair styling,our mothers hold a special place as they were out first hairstylists and Maniesh shares a glimpse of his cute childhood days where his mother had given him an adorable hairstyle and we are gushing over the cute picture forever now.

Maniesh recently posted a picture of his childhood where he mentioned about his mother tying ponytails or buns when he had long hair. He took his Instagram and shared his picture where he captioned it saying, "Ek toh meri mummy ko meri pony-tail banana bada acha lagta tha....yahan pe juda (bun)banaya hai!!hahahahaha but what amazing and stress free days those were!!"

 

 

 

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Ek toh meri mummy ko meri pony-tail banana bada acha lagta tha....yahan pe juda (bun)banaya hai!!hahahahaha but what amazing and stress free days those were!! #mp# childhood #free #mast #happy #memories #days #parents #delhiboy

A post shared by Maniesh Paul (@manieshpaul) onMay 6, 2020 at 11:50am PDT

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Representational image

London: Parents, take note! Your kids may get along with their pets better than their siblings, according to a new study which shows that children get more satisfaction from the relationships with animals. The new study by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK adds to the increasing evidence that household pets may have a major influence on child development and could have a positive impact on children's social skills and emotional well-being.

Pets are almost as common as siblings in western households, although there are relatively few studies on the importance of child-pet relationships.
"Anyone who has loved a childhood pet knows that we turn to them for companionship and disclosure, just like relationships between people," said Matt Cassells from University of Cambridge, who led the study.

"We wanted to know how strong these relationships are with pets relative to other close family ties. Ultimately this may enable us to understand how animals contribute to healthy child development," said Cassells. Researchers surveyed 12 year old children from 77 families with one or more pets of any type and more than one child at home. Children reported strong relationships with their pets relative to their siblings, with lower levels of conflict and
greater satisfaction in owners of dogs than other kinds of pets.

"Even though pets may not fully understand or respond verbally, the level of disclosure to pets was no less than to siblings," said Cassels. "The fact that pets cannot understand or talk back may even be a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgmental," Cassels added. "While previous research has often found that boys report stronger relationships with their pets than girls do, we actually found the opposite," he said.

"While boys and girls were equally satisfied with their pets, girls reported more disclosure, companionship, and conflict with their pet than did boys, perhaps indicating that girls may interact with their pets in more nuanced ways," he added. The study was published in the Journal of Applied
Developmental Psychology.

New Delhi: If you think your spouse is not watching Netflix shows in your absence, you are wrong. Forty-six per cent Indian couples -- second only to Hong Kong -- cheat on their significant other by binging ahead to watch Netflix shows, a new survey has revealed.

Surprisingly, 39 per cent streaming couples in India even said watching 2-3 episodes ahead would be a reason for a breakup.

Conducted by the online survey firm SurveyMonkey and involving 30,267 responses for on-demand streaming website Netflix, the report defines cheating as watching a TV show ahead of your significant other.

"In India where 79 per cent couples believe that streaming is a way to spend time together, almost 60 per cent of couples consider binging ahead as cheating and nearly half have even admitted to this 'offence,'" the findings showed.

The Indian culture has a reserved place for humour. So unsurprisingly, 61 per cent of the couples cheat on comedy shows -- higher than the global average of 44 per cent.

"A third or more of Indian respondents have watched ahead on every other genre polled, including documentaries, sci-fi, fantasy, drama and horror," the study noted.

Netflix cheating in India is not intentional as 78 per cent of cheating is unplanned. It is the temptation that makes Indian couples fallible.

Forty-three per cent of Indians 'cheat' out of 'fear of missing out' (FoMO) so that they could keep up with conversations with friends and co-workers.

Cheating on your partner even when you share a room requires special skills. Forty-two per cent Indians said that when one partner falls asleep, they secretly watch Netflix shows.

But some relationship rules are bizarre. A quarter of Indians said that a partner who falls asleep deserves to be cheated on.

Hong Kong has 59 per cent of cheaters in Asia followed by 46 per cent in India. Globally, the Netherlands has the most loyal viewers at 73 per cent.

Representational image

New York: Far from giving your sex life a leg-up, watching porn may lead to reduced happiness in relationships -- both sexually and generally, suggests new research.

For the study, Paul Wright from Indiana University in Bloomington and colleagues analysed the findings of 50 studies collectively including more than 50,000 participants from 10 countries.

"Pornography consumption was associated with lower interpersonal satisfaction outcomes," the researchers found.

The study, published in the journal Human Communication Research, however, found that porn viewing hardly affects relationship satisfaction in women.

"Associations between pornography consumption and reduced interpersonal satisfaction outcomes were not moderated by their year of release or their publication status. But analyses by sex indicted significant results for men only," the study said.

Male participants' porn-watching was associated with lesser happiness in their relationships -- both sexually and generally, Vocativ.com reported.

The researchers also reviewed studies looking at porn viewing and sexual self-esteem and body confidence, but they found no link.

The finding could come as a surprise for those who argue that pornography leads to unrealistic and unhealthy beauty standards.

Representational picture

Children born to single women without a partner appeared to enjoy a similar parent-child relationship as those in heterosexual two-parent families, researchers say.

Fertility treatment for single women -- who wish to become pregnant without a partner (i.e., single mothers by choice) -- is an increasingly popular procedure in most European countries.

The study showed that there were no significant differences in emotional involvement or parental stress between family types.

Single-mothers-by-choice, however, showed significantly higher scores on the social support -- such as parents, other family, friends, neighbours -- they received, but also on wanting more social support.

There were no significant differences in the children's internal and external problem behaviour (well-being) between both family types, the researchers said.

"Single-mothers-by-choice and their children benefit from a good social support network, and this should be emphasised in the counselling of women who want to have and raise a child without a partner," said Mathilde Brewaeys from the VU University Medical Centre, in the Netherlands.

The results were presented at the annual meeting of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Geneva.

Experts had raised concerns about the well-being and development of children born to single-mothers-by-choice.

However, it seems likely that any negative influence on child development depends more on a troubled parent-child relationship and not on the absence of a father, the researchers said.

"The assumption that growing up in a family without a father is not good for the child is based mainly on research into children whose parents are divorced and who thus have experienced parental conflict," Brewaeys explained.

For the study, the team compared 69 single-mothers-by-choice (who had knowingly chosen to raise their child alone) and 59 mothers from heterosexual two-parent families with a child between 1.5 and 6 years.

Dipika Chikhlia rose to fame with her performance as Sita in Ramanand Sagar's show Ramayan. Owing to the lockdown the show is being aired on television for the viewing of the younger generation. Now, Dipika is once again going to be seen on screen as she will be playing Sarojini in her new film.

Dipika took to her social media handle to unveil the first look poster of the movie which is based on freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu. Dipika is seen posing in a thoughtful mode in the poster.

#sarojininaidu...1st look....poster pic.twitter.com/zN5hhdSJmX

— Dipika Chikhlia Topiwala (@ChikhliaDipika) May 7, 2020

Sarojini is directed by Akash Nayak and Dhiraj Mishra. The story has been written by Dhiraj Mishra and Yashomati Devi. The venture is produced by Kanu Bhai Patel under the Royal Film Media banner. Sarojini Naidu is a strong personality in India's freedom struggle and is known as the Nightingale of India.

This is the first full-length feature film on Sarojini Naidu that will show her political career.

ALSO READ: Dipika Chikhlia reveals that people in small town think of her as Sita and touch her feet even today

As coronavirus pandemic deepens, over 117 million children in 37 countries are expected to miss out on receiving live-saving measles vaccine, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Measles immunisation campaigns in 24 countries have already been delayed and more will be postponed, the World Health Organization and the UN children's fund UNICEF said. "Together, more than 117 million children in 37 countries, many of whom live in regions with ongoing measles outbreaks, could be impacted by the suspension of scheduled immunisation activities," Measles and Rubella Initiative (M&RI) said in a statement.

New WHO guidelines endorsed by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation aim to help countries to sustain immunisation activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The @MeaslesRubella Initiative supports recommendations to: temporarily pause preventive immunisation campaigns where there's no active outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease continue routine immunisation services, while ensuring the safety of communities and health workers," the statement added.

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. Before the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred approximately every 2-3 years and measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year globally. More than 140,000 people died from measles in 2018 - mostly children under the age of 5, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.

The coronavirus has affected 210 countries and territories around the world. There have been 1,391,468 positive cases of COVID-19 globally and 591,751 people have died due to the deadly infection so far.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's father Anand Singh Bisht passed away at AIIMS in the national capital on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says he will not take part in the last rites of his father tomorrow, to ensure enforcement of lockdown and to defeat coronavirus pandemic in the state. pic.twitter.com/PPjy9xxLgB

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 20, 2020

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel expressed grief over Bisht's death. Several leaders including Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kamal Nath have condoled the death of Adityanth's father.

"Received Sad news of the death of Shri Anand Singh Bisht ji, father of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth. May his soul rest in peace and provide courage to his family in this difficult time," Singh tweeted.

"My deepest condolences on the death of Shri Anand Singh Bisht ji, father of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. May God give courage to the family to suffer pain in this hour of grief. Soulful tribute," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.

Kailash VIjayavargiya tweeted, "I am saddened by the news of the demise of Mr. Yogi Adityanath ji's father Mr. Anand Singh Bisht ji. I will salute the devotion of Yogiji, who completed the COVID-19 meeting, despite getting the information of his father's death".

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Monday, once again addressed the state and spoke about the mob-lynching incident that took place in Palghar. He said that the state government has taken action and has arrested all the accused who attacked the two godmen, one driver and police personnel, on the day of the crime itself.

CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray addressing the State https://t.co/IicTWk6t7w

— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) April 20, 2020

Speaking about things being eased out in green and orange zones, Uddhav Thackeray said that the lockdown has not been lifted yet. "We have just tried to revolve the wheel of the economy a bit. I have heard that some people are treating the relaxation period as lifting of the lockdown. If they continue to behave in the same manner we'll take strict measures." he said.

Talking about the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, Uddhav said that it has been six weeks since the first coronavirus positive case was detected in the state.

Uddhav also informed citizens that he spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah over the Palghar mob-lynching case. He also spoke about the steps taken by the Maharashtra state government in order to nab those involved in the crime.

We've suspended 2 policemen&appointed ADG CID Crime Atulchandra Kulkarni to investigate the matter. Over 100 persons arrested incl 5 main accused. There is nothing communal in this whole incident. I have spoken to Amit Shah ji this morning: Maharashtra CM on Palghar incident https://t.co/ONKnhXzD0s

— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2020

Divulging furthermore into details about the Palghar incident in his speech, Uddhav Thackeray said, "We have suspended two policemen and appointed ADG CID Crime Atulchandra Kulkarni to investigate the matter. Over 100 persons including the five main accused have been arrested so far. There no communal angle in this entire incident," he stated.

With inputs from Agencies

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India's new norms featuring "additional barriers" for foreign direct investment from specific countries violate WTO's principle of non-discrimination and are against the general trend of free trade, a Chinese embassy spokesperson said on Monday.

The impact of the policy was clear on Chinese investors, the official said, adding India's action was also against the consensus arrived at the G20 to realise a free, fair and non-discriminatory environment for investment. Last week, India made prior clearance by the government mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share land border with India to curb "opportunistic takeovers" of domestic firms following the Coronavirus pandemic.

Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Rong said China hoped that India would revise the "relevant discriminatory practices" and treat investments from different countries equally while fostering an "open, fair and equitable" business environment.

India's decision to tighten norms for FDI came amid reports of China eyeing to take over several Indian entities following fall in their valuation after the economic downturn in the wake of the pandemic.

"The additional barriers set by Indian side for investors from specific countries violate WTO's principle of non-discrimination, and go against the general trend of liberalisation and facilitation of trade and investment," the spokesperson said in a statement.

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A unique initiative by Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur Police to teach lockdown offenders a lesson and create awareness about the spread of the novel coronavirus has taken the internet by storm. A viral video shared by a meme page on Facebook shows police officers in Tamil Nadu teaching people violating the lockdown guidelines a lesson for life.

In the three minute 50 seconds video clip, police officers of Tiruppur Police can be seen stopping people roaming freely without face mask amid lockdown across the country. In order to teach a lesson to those defying lockdown rules, the Tamil Nadu police came up with their own unique initiative which has been appreciated by netizens.

As the video moves forward, the police officers are seen pushing the lockdown violators into an ambulance which has a man posing as a COVID-19 patient. Once pushed inside, the violators can be seen begging the officers to let them comes out of the ambulance van.

The hilarious yet creative video ends with a police officer making an appeal to people to not roam without face masks. The officer says, "When you roam around, anyone can have the novel coronavirus and you may not know. The government and the police officials have been stressing on the importance of staying indoors. If at all you need to come out to buy essentials, please wear masks."

The funny video which aims to create awareness to combat the spread of COVID-19 has garnered over 2.3 million views and about 73 thousand shares. Hundreds of people took to the comments section of the viral video to laud the Tamil Nadu police and shower praise on their unique initiative.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to interact with Chief Ministers on Monday, via conferencing, on the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country.

"At 10 AM, Shri Narendra Modi will be interacting with state Chief Ministers via video conferencing. They will be discussing aspects relating to the COVID-19 situation," PMO tweeted.

Today's meeting comes just a week ahead of the scheduled ending of nationwide lockdown. On March 24, the Prime Minister had announced a 21-day lockdown as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was later extended till May 3.

Meanwhile, speaking on the forthcoming meeting with the Prime Minister, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said, "The CMs will explain the situation in their respective states at the conference. There will be some estimate on the situation in the country and in the states. Opinions on how the next plan of action will also be figured on Monday's conference. Hence, there will be clarity on the future course of action."

The Prime Minister has already held two such interactions with the Chief Ministers over the COVID-19 situation in the country.

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Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said India should look at converting the world's "hatred" for China amid the coronavirus pandemic into an economic opportunity for itself by attracting large-scale foreign investments.

Interacting with overseas Indian students via video conferencing, the minister for MSME and Road Transport and Highways said across the world now, there is "hatred for China. Is it possible for us to convert it into an opportunity for India?" Referring to the economic package announced by Japan for its businesses exiting China, Gadkari said, "I feel that we should think on that and we will concentrate on it. We will open the Indian scenario for that. We will give the clearances and everything to them and attract foreign investment."

Asked if India can take any action against China incase it is found to have deliberately "suppressed" information on coronavirus, the minister said this was a sensitive subject related with the Ministry of External Affairs and the prime minister, and therefore it will not be appropriate for him to comment on it. Gadkari said all government departments, particularly the finance ministry as well as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), are formulating policies to win the "economic war" post the COVID-19 pandemic and fulfil the prime minister's dream of making India a USD 5 trillion economy. "At the same time, we can make infrastructure of Rs 100 lakh crore," he added.

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Governments must borrow to meet their deficits and not impose higher tax burdens when economic activity has ground to a halt amid the coronavirus pandemic, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Wednesday after the Centre and the Delhi government hiked taxes on petroleum products. New or higher taxes are justified only when the economy is booming, the former finance minister said, dubbing the imposition of taxes as "cruel". Tax burdens on the middle class and the poor is actually taxing distress, he said in a series of tweets.

"Governments should give money to the people in times of distress, not squeeze and take money from the people," Chidambaram said. "We have been pleading for cash transfers from the government to the bottom half of the people/families. Instead governments are doing a reverse transfer of money from the people to the government! Cruel," he said.

New or higher taxes will impoverish families further, Chidambaram asserted. "Governments must borrow to meet their deficits, not impose higher tax burdens when economic activity has ground to a halt," he said. Chidambaram's remarks come after the central government on Tuesday night hiked the excise duty on petrol by a steep Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre.

Retail prices of petrol and diesel will not be impacted by the tax changes as state-owned oil firms will adjust them against the recent fall in oil prices, industry officials said. Petrol prices in the national capital were hiked by Rs 1.67 a litre and diesel by a steep Rs 7.10 per litre after the Delhi government raised local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT) on the two fuels.

Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 71.26 a litre as against Rs 69.59 previously, oil industry sources said. Diesel price has been hiked to Rs 69.39 per litre from Rs 62.29. Struggling with low revenues during lockdown, several states have also hiked taxes on alcohol.

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Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said that he will hold a meeting with the Maharashtra Chief Minister to discuss the worsening COVID-19 situation in the state, as 34 out of its 36 districts are affected by the infection.

"The situation in Maharashtra is certainly a matter of concern right now as 34 out of 36 districts are affected by COVID-19. I will hold a meeting with the Chief Minister as well to discuss further course of action to control spread of the virus in the state," the Minister said at a press conference here.

The situation in Maharashtra is certainly a matter of concern right now as 34 out of 36 districts are affected by #COVID19. I will hold a meeting with CM as well to discuss further course of action to control spread of the virus in state: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan pic.twitter.com/g2Ez09pNLM

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020

"Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Solapur, among the 34 districts are a cause of concern for us," he added. The Union Health Minister further said the Centre's aim was to ensure that no new cases come up from districts in Maharashtra and assured all help to the state in the coming days.

"There are 1,026 containment zones in Maharashtra right now, as per my knowledge. The team from Centre and doctors are stationed there and we will give further help to Maharashtra as per the need," the Minister said.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Maharashtra had 15,525 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday morning, including 617 deaths. However, 2,819 patients have been cured and discharged after receiving treatment for the disease.

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Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Gautam Sawang on Saturday said that the gas leakage from LG Polymers has been plugged and the situation is absolutely under control. Twelve people were killed and over 400 taken ill following leakage of toxic Styrene gas from one of the storage tanks of LG Polymers in the early hours of Thursday. Sawang told reporters after a visit to the chemical plant that more technical teams from Delhi will be reaching here later in the day to have further look into the situation and decide the way forward.

"The situation is absolutely under control. All that reactions and leakages have been plugged. There is no matter of concern anymore," he said. More technical teams from the areas of chemical and petroleum industry will be arriving to have further look into the situation. DGP said he reviewed the situation and had discussions with the technical teams on the ground. The police chief said he had a meeting with technical experts, scientists and the special team from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), personally visited the site and found everything completely under control.

Stating that there is no need for panic, he said the experts on Friday asked people of the five villages near the plant to remain in the relief camps and wait for another 48 hours. "Experts yesterday sought 48 hours as per protocol to bring everything under control and to meet all parameters. Everything is under control but to be on the safer side they have sought the time,a he said.

Asked about the investigation, the DGP said it was still on. "The committee has been set up. It will come here and take all expert and technical inputs. We will wait as they are more technically competent to say how, why and under what circumstances this happened." The police chief said it was not correct to say that only simple sections were invoked in the case against the company. "What sections had to be applied were all applied. The investigations are still on. We have to wait. There are a lot of technical elements in this. At this stage all must come together to overcome this challenge to bring normalcy. This is more important."

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Avanthi Srinivas said the situation had improved a lot in three days and was totally under control. He said the temperature in the leaked tank had come down to 90 degrees Centigrade from 150 degrees on Friday. Stating that there was nothing to panic, the minister appealed to people not to believe the rumours. He said the government was committed to ensure public safety and public health and was taking care of the people of five villages currently living in relief camps and 400 people undergoing treatment in hospitals.

He said seven ministers, chief secretary and several other officials were working to restore normalcy while Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was regularly monitoring the situation.

Asked about the delay in bringing the normalcy, the minister said the experts had to move with caution to handle the situation. "Styrene is aggressive gas and any hasty step in dealing with could have resulted in another disaster," he said.

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Amid the lockdown, veteran actor Richard Gere has welcomed his second child with wife Alejandra Silva. According to Spanish magazine Hola!, they are now parents of a baby boy, reports dailymail.co.uk. It is believed that they are enjoying the new addition to their family at their ranch outside New York.The reports that Gere, 70, Silva, 37, were expecting their second child first surfaced in November. The immensely-private couple never officially confirmed the news.

The couple got married in April 2018, and announced they were expecting their first child together in August that year. Silva and Gere, who met in 2014 at a luxury Italian boutique hotel Silva bought with her former husband, welcomed son Alexander in February 2019. Ahead of the birth that time, Gere said he was "not all at" worried about becoming an older parent, and wanted to be a "hands-on dad".

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Actor Chris Pratt and his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt are expecting their first baby together. The two had exchanged vows on June 8 last year and now they are gearing up for the next chapter in their lives, sources told people.com.

The baby on the way will be Katherine's first child while Pratt already has a son Jack, whom the actor shares with ex-wife Anna Faris.

This comes after Katherine, who is currently on a virtual book tour for her bestseller, The Gift Of Forgiveness, was spotted out walking her dog with her mother, Maria Shriver on Friday, sporting what looked to be a baby bump, reports dailymail.co.uk.

For the day outing, she chose a baggy, beige striped low-cut jumper, which looked to be a piece of maternity clothing.

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"Jurassic Park" child star Joe Mazzello says he is not coming back to the franchise yet. Mazzello as a child essayed the role of Tim Murphy, grandson of the park founder John Hammond, in 1993's "Jurassic Park" and the 1997 sequel "The Lost World: Jurassic Park". Recently, actor Chris Pratt said that the original cast is slated to return for "Jurassic World 3".

According to a source, Mazzello hasn't yet been contacted by the studio to reprise his role in the film franchise, reports pagesix.com.

"I hope we get to find out someday (what happens to Tim)," Mazzello told fans during a YouTube Q&A recently after watching the movie on a live-stream together.

The 36-year-old then hinted that he wasn't reprising his character, saying: "I do think about it all the time because there's so much I think that you could like do with this character."

He said: "Like, he was like sort of the obvious heir to, like, John Hammond's fortune. He was the heir to Jurassic Park and, like, would this experience have turned him away from dinosaurs and make him hate dinosaurs?

"I do think it would be amazing to see what happened to Tim Murphy, you know as an adult, and I don't know … there's so much you can do with that character and yeah, you never know, but maybe one day we'll be able to find out," he added. "They got to make a lot more movies, that's what I'm saying, OK? A lot more films," he added.

According to the source, "millions of 'Jurassic Park' fans have been extremely upset" since Mazzello made the remarks.

"This character is iconic and part of so many of the fans' lives. Joe's comments alluded that there needed to be more movies in order for his character to possibly come back. It's not up to Joe, it's up to the studio and director if they want the entire original cast or not," added the source.

The film has "no set timetable to start production" amid the ongoing coronavirus shutdown. It has a tentative release date of June 11, 2021.

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Fashion model Gigi Hadid and her boyfriend Zayn Malik are expecting their first child together. The news of the 'Victoria's Secret' model's pregnancy was reported by TMZ.

"Gigi is 20 weeks along, and both their families are happy" the publication quoted the family sources for the couple as saying. The model who rang in her 25th birthday on April 23, took to social media to share multiple pictures from the celebration.

As reported by E! News, the couple who started dating in 2015, officially called it quits in 2018.

However, Gigi and former 'One Direction' member came back together just before the December break and the singer reached out to Gigi last month and she seemed to be giving him another chance.

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A 40-year-old man allegedly attacked his wife with a chopper after he felt she was giving more importance to watching a show, 'Pakistani Drama', on her mobile phone than speaking to him, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, Asif Sattar Nayab, has a business of installing hoardings and stays with his family in the Salisbury Park area, they said. Nayab was arrested by the Swargate police and booked for attempt to murder after his wife registered a complaint against him on Monday evening, the police said. According to the police, the couple had a quarrel on Monday morning.

"The woman had sent her son to bring milk from a shop but when she found that the milk pouch was damaged and some milk had spilled over, she started scolding him. "Listening her voice, Asif intervened, which led to a heated argument between the couple," said a senior officer from the Swargate police station. The woman, in her complaint, said the quarrel escalated in the evening when Nayab came home and found she was not speaking to him, he said.

"When Asif came home from work, his wife went to the bedroom. When he went to the bedroom to speak to her, she kept watching a show named 'Pakistani Drama' on her mobile. "Asif felt she was ignoring him and giving more importance to the show on her mobile phone. Felt ignored, Asif attacked her with a chopper (a knife-like tool) in which her right hand's thumb broke," the officer said.

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In a shocking revelation in the Palghar mob-lynching case, nine out of 110 men arrested in the barbaric killings of three people at Kasa Taluka, are juveniles. Mid-day was the first to report that 110 men were taken into police custody in connection with the horrendous crime that surfaced on Thursday evening.

The Palghar police said nine out of 110 who are juveniles, have been sent to remand home in Bhiwandi.

“We have checked the Aadhaar cards of all those who were taken into custody in the mob lynching case. Nine out of 110 are juveniles and they have been sent to children remand home in Bhiwandi,” Palghar police Public Relations Officer (PRO) told mid-day.

The officer further added that the roles of these juveniles are being ascertained as the investigators are scanning the CCTV cameras of the spot where the trio including two priests and a cab driver were lynched by aggressive mob of nearly 450 men who belong to the tribal community of Kasa Taluka in Palghar district.

The combing operation to arrest accused absconding in Palghar mob lynching case is on full swing.

A woman officer who was fired upon while probing a Rs 200-crore bank fraud case some weeks ago has been appointed temporary in charge of Kasa police station in Palghar where three people were lynched by a mob late Thursday night.

The incident happened near Gadchinchale village on the Dhabadi-Khanvel road under Kasa police station limits. Three people from Kandivali in Mumbai, identified as Chikne Maharaj Kalpavrukshagiri (70), Sushilgiri Maharaj (35) and driver Nilesh Telgade (30), were pulled out of their car and beaten to death in the presence of a police team that had rushed to the site to save them. Officials said Palghar Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh appointed Assistant Inspector Siddhava Jaibhaye as Kasa police station incharge after the incumbent API and PSI were placed under suspension for Thursday's incident.

Jaibhaye's car took a bullet hit on March 7 at Virar Phata, some days after seven people were arrested for trying to steal Rs 200 crore by hacking the bank account of a corporate entity. Jaibhaye, attached to the Palghar Crime Branch at the time, was instrumental in foiling the hacking bid. Meanwhile, a new case had been registered in Khanvel in Silvassa against a mob which attacked a Talasari police team that was rushing to the lynching site as reinforcement, officials said.

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<em>Chicken Curry Law</em> is the story of rape of a foreigner in India and the court drama that follows. The film stars with Maya Johnson (Natalia Janoszek), who is a foreigner who works as a belly dancer in India. One day, after a performance in a hotel, she is sitting in the bar where Makrand Joshi (Ganesh Pai), son of an influential politician, Sharad Joshi (Zakir Husain), spikes her drink and takes her in his car. Accompanying him is his cousin, Nana Patil (Anirudh Sharma). The two men rape her in their bungalow and keep her captive for two days. They inject her with drugs with the aim of killing her. But she manages to escape. She is found by the police in a condition that makes it clear that she has been brutally raped. Social activist Satya Deshmukh (Nivedita Bhattacharya) takes up her case and convinces lawyer Sitapati Shukla (Ashutosh Rana) to fight her case in court. Shukla had given up his law practice after being convinced that the legal system in India was not for honest people like him. While Sharad Joshi appoints Muthu Swamy (Makarand Deshpande) to argue the case of his son and nephew, Maya is represented in court by Sitapati Shukla. The police are on the side of the rapists as Sharad Joshi is very influential. They try to prove that Maya is a girl of easy virtues and hence it was not a case of rape. Along the way, the rapists eliminate Satya Deshmukh. The aim had been to kill Sitapati Shukla but the bullet hits Satya who dies. Shukla gets lucky when he gets evidence of Makrand Joshi raping the wife of his own employee. He manages to record the evidence on his cell phone and also convinces the employee to give his witness in court. He also manages to convince the waiter in the bar, who had seen Maya’s drink being spiked by Makrand Joshi, to change his false evidence in court. But both the prospective witnesses are found dead before the date of the hearing. Sitapati Shukla is at his wits’ end. Maya is dejected and loses hope of getting justice. But Shukla makes a promise to her that he would get her justice. Does Sitapati Shukla win the court case? Or do Sharad Joshi, his lawyer and the police manage to fool the court? Is Shukla able to keep his promise to Maya about getting the rapists jailed?

Karan Johar's kids Yash and Roohi certainly have a fascination for their father's closet, and are hovering around that place most of the times. Quite understandable, given that Karan is a known fashion freak and has piles of interesting clothes in his closet.

And apart from that, he also has a tijori inside one of the cupboards! This was a discovery for us, and the credit goes to Yash who thought it to be a washing machine and opened the cupboard door for us! Karan can't stop laughing when Yash tells him it is a washing machine, and says that his tijori is empty, thanks to the present economic condition, and a washing machine would actually be much more useful. LOL! He shared the video on Instagram and wrote, "Well we are now back in the closet but this time with a twist".

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Well we are now back in the closet but this time with a twist #lockdownwiththejohars

A post shared by Karan Johar (@karanjohar) on May 6, 2020 at 11:08pm PDT

The huge closet might attract them, but Yash and Roohi aren't always very delighted with their dad's choices. Just some days ago, they mistook one of his fancy Manish Malhotra kurtas as their grandmother Hiroo Johar's dress. Another time, they were seen picking Karan's frames and calling them stupid.

Stern critics in the house!

Arti Singh was one of the most popular contestants of Bigg Boss 13. The actress who is comedian Krushna Abhishek's sister had a rather interesting journey while inside the house and even made it to the top 5.

Arti's marriage was one of the most discussed topics on the show. She had expressed her desire to get married by the end of the year. The viewers started pairing her with some of the co-contestants and her sister-in-law Kashmera Shah also suggested that she explore her friendship with fellow contestant Sidharth Shukla.

Talking to a daily, Arti Singh said that she is searching for the right man. She said that she would prefer a love marriage but is open to an arranged match as well.

Arti said that she wishes to meet someone during the lockdown because they will then get ample time to chat with each other, even if they cannot physically meet.

ALSO READ: Arti Singh shares a jaw-dropping before and after picture of her physical transformation

Time is an illusion, breakfast time doubly so. In future, human workers might not be alone in experiencing frenetic mornings thanks to EU-funded researchers who have equipped robots with human-like time perception capabilities – and tested them in the kitchen.

A free parenting programme based on EU-funded research has won a 2019 Horizon Impact Award for its success in helping families to avoid child abuse in low-and middle-income countries. Now parents everywhere can access online tips to cope with COVID-19 lockdown life.

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been using some of his spare time in lockdown to teach British kids how to speak Spanish.

The Argentina international has been signed up by the BBC as part of its home-schooling initiative while educational establishments are closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Aguero is teaching kids how to count in Spanish. His lessons became available on a day kids in Britain would have usually returned to school after the Easter holidays.

Aguero says it's a tough time for children at the moment, and also for parents trying to keep them focused on their education from home. Aguero hasn't played a competitive match since March 8 because soccer is shut down in England and across most of the world during the outbreak.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

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Spanish League LaLiga President Javier Tebas has made it clear that cancelling the 2019/20 season is not an option and they are exploring various options and scenarios as the situation develops amid the ongoing outbreak of novel coronavirus. Spain's football industry is one of many-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and like any other sector, next steps will depend on the advice of health authorities. "Nulling and voiding the season is not an option on the table. But we are reviewing multiple scenarios, such as what happens if we play behind closed doors and what happens if we play with crowds and what happens if games aren't played," Tebas told reporters on videocall.

"We have to look at all possibilities, but we're not working towards a situation where we don't complete the season. "We're looking to ensure the best health conditions for players for when they resume training and we're looking to reduce the economic risk. "This is a health pandemic, but also an economic pandemic," he added.

The league President provided figures for each of these situations, outlining that the estimated total economic impact for not resuming the season would be 1bn euros. Completing the season behind closed doors would lead to losses of 300m euros and it would be 150m euros for resuming it with fans after this delay. On the likelihood of matches being resumed behind closed doors, Tebas said: "We will not have fans until the health authorities allow it. The decision does not depend on LaLiga or the clubs. We know it can affect future seasons so we are calculating the potential impact."

Tebas explained that LaLiga is considering all of the finer details that various scenarios could entail, such as whether or not matches can be held at the usual stadiums due to planned renovation works, the need to extend player contracts, pending fees due to clubs from past transfers, maintaining Financial Fair Play rules, payments from broadcasters and the knock-on effects for the 2020/21 season.

Tebas also mentioned that the last weekend of May is the first possible date for LaLiga to resume, with European competitions playing in July. A later option would be for LaLiga and European competitions to start on June 6 and play an alternating schedule. Finally, LaLiga and other domestic leagues could start on June 28 with European competitions starting again in August after the domestic leagues finish.

"We can't put an exact date on when we'll return as the Spanish government's health authorities have to set that," he said. "There are two options for organising the schedules, one with domestic leagues at the weekends and European matches midweek or another option is to work towards finishing the domestic leagues first." The league President also underlined that the football industry plays a major role in Spain's economy. It accounts for 1.37 percent of Spain's GDP and an estimated 185,000 jobs, meaning that any losses suffered could have a domino effect elsewhere.

"The most important aspect of this is that we protect our future," Tebas noted. "What we're working towards here is to save the future of football."

"By acting now, we can ensure that we have a sustainable model," he added."We will not forget the responsibilities we have to everyone."

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The head of the English Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has raised the possibility of playing shorter matches to lighten the load on players if the season can restart. English clubs remain committed to completing the campaign despite severe concerns over player welfare. Players could be tested up to three times a week and be forced to stay quarantined in hotels away from their families for a number of weeks to help limit the risk of them becoming infected with coronavirus. With 92 matches in the Premier League season still to be played, players could have little preparatory time to work on their fitness in group training before being rushed back into playing twice a week.

FIFA have proposed increasing the number of substitutes allowed per side from three to five to also lessen the risk of fatigue and injuries for players on their return. "Safety has to be paramount," PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor told the BBC. "We don't know the future. What we do know is what propositions have been put, what ideas have been put, the possibility of having more substitutes, games possibly not being the full 45 minutes each way.

"There's talks of neutral stadiums. There's been lots of things being put forward. "Try and wait and see what the proposals are, and then have the courtesy to let the managers and coaches and players also assimilate all those and come to a considered view." The Premier League's "Project Restart" has been met with some resistance over plans for all remaining games to take place at up to 10 neutral venues.

The remaining matches would need to be played behind closed doors, but there are fears fans could congregate around stadiums. Some top-flight clubs have argued that under those circumstances there should be no relegation as the sporting integrity of the competition is compromised. However, chairman of the English Football League (EFL) Rick Parry said denying promotion to three Championship clubs would end up in legal battles.

"The lawyers are going to get wealthy if that happens," Parry told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee on Tuesday. "There would be a degree of outrage from a number of clubs in our Championship, and it would be a breach of the tripartite agreement. "The safe answer is that it would get very messy. Our expectation is there would be three clubs promoted from the Championship."

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The residents of Gujarat are known for their entrepreneurial spirit and in recent times, films like KAI PO CHE [2013], MITRON [2018] etc were partly based on this aspect. Now debutant director Mikhil Musale takes this one step ahead with his Diwali release, MADE IN CHINA, which incidentally also stars KAI PO CHE actor Rajkummar Rao as the protagonist along with many other talented names. So does MADE IN CHINA manage to give the audiences a great time? Or does it fail in its endeavour? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1034261 size-full" title="Movie Review: Made In China" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Made-In-China123.jpg" alt="Movie Review: Made In China" width="720" height="405" /> MADE IN CHINA is the story of a man who beats all odds to become an expert businessman. Raghu Mehta (Rajkummar Rao) is based in Ahmedabad and is a failed businessman. He has tried his hands in various kinds of businesses but the effort has been futile each time. He then accepted his deceased father’s advice and began to run his family-owned clothes shop. Even here, he tries to experiment and stocks Nepali mattresses but nobody is interested to buy it. Raghu is married to Rukmini (Mouni Roy) who is understanding and supports him through thick and thin. But Raghu’s father-in-law Vitthal (Manoj Joshi) and Devraj (Sumeet Vyas) don’t appreciate Raghu’s attempts. They advise him to sell his shop at a good price and also to go to China and help Devraj set up his venture of providing a herbal soft drink. Raghu reluctantly takes up the China offer where sadly, the deal with Tanmay Shah (Paresh Rawal) fails to materialize. However, Raghu befriends a local colleague there, Xui Lee (Danni Wang). She introduces him to Hou Lee (Jeffrey Ho) who claims to have made an effective aphrodisiac called Magic Soup that too from the reproductive organs of tiger. Hou Lee insists Raghu to sell it in India and make millions for both. Raghu returns to India, impressed with the idea, and he decides to do ground research. He meets several sex doctors, tantric babas etc and realizes that most of them are only interested to financially exploit the desperate people struggling with sexual problems. Raghu then comes across Dr Tribhuvan Vardhi (Boman Irani) who is honest and not money-minded. Immediately, Raghu insists that Dr Vardhi should sell Magic Soup to his patients and in return, he’ll get 50% share in profit. Dr Vardhi refuses at first but after much cajoling, he accepts the offer. On the advise of Tanmay Shah, Raghu turns Dr Vardhi into an online sensation which in turn helps in the sales of Magic Soup. All is going well until one day, a high-profile Chinese national, General Zeng (Dawei Yu), consumes Magic Soup and passes away in a few minutes. Consequently, Raghu and Dr Vardhi are caught by the police. Considering the gravity of the situation, the government dispatches two CBI agents, Gupta (Chitranjan Tripathi) and Sharma (Abhishek Banerjee) to investigate. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Mikhil Musale, Karan Vyas and Parinda Joshi's story is juvenile and unconvincing. There are far too many characters and justice is not done to many of them. Mikhil Musale, Karan Vyas and Parinda Joshi's screenplay (with additional screenplay by Niren Bhatt) is a bigger culprit. The poor storyline could have been still made for a slighter better film. But that doesn’t happen as the film lacks drama, tension and even sufficient humour. Niren Bhatt and Karan Vyas's dialogues could have been much better worded and unique. For instance, the way Dr Vardhi’s speech goes viral seems difficult to digest as he didn’t say anything that’s not been said before. Mikhil Musale's direction is weak. He knows the shot taking techniques but storytelling wise, his approach is flawed. There are too many jumps in the timeline. The entire China trip episode is bewildering as viewers never get to know where Devraj disappeared and when and how did Raghu return to India. The film, moreover, begins as a murder mystery, but this bit is kept unexplained till the very end. On the positive side, a few scenes are entertaining like Raghu roaming around with Xui Lee, the scenes of Tanmay Shah and the scene in the library involving Raghu and Dr Vardhi. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>‘Double Meaning’ quiz: Rajkummar &amp; Mouni’s most hilarious &amp; closely fought battle | Made In China</strong></span> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/videos/celeb-interviews/double-meaning-quiz-rajkummar-mounis-most-hilarious-closely-fought-battle-made-in-china-2/?jwembed=1" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> MADE IN CHINA begins on a high note and the murder is shown at the very onset. One expects the narrative to get better as the film goes on a flashback mode. But nothing of that sort happens. The first half is dry and story-wise, nothing much happens. The interval arrives all of a sudden. In the second half, there’s some movement in the story as Raghu finally rises to the top. But even here, the scattered and disjointed plot spoils things. The track of Akash Chopra (Gajraj Rao) seems forced and doesn’t add much, especially his last scene. The finale is convenient and the film ends, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Talking of performances, Rajkummar Rao tries to put up a genuinely good show but the end result is not that impressive. The scene where he really stands out is when he shows Rukmini’s picture to Xui Lee in China. Mouni Roy looks sizzling but is decent at best. Boman Irani is far better and he’s actually the best performer in the film. He especially does very well in the twin monologues in the second half. Gajraj Rao is wasted. Paresh Rawal entertains. Manoj Joshi and Sumeet Vyas put up a good show. Danni Wang is sweet. Jeffrey Ho is over the top but it works for his character. Chitranjan Tripathi and Abhishek Banerjee fail to entice. Sanjay Goradia (Natukaka) raises laughs in the beginning. Dawei Yu is hardly there. Amyra Dastur (Roopa) gets no scope. Sachin-Jigar's music doesn’t have recall value. <em>'Odhani'</em> is used for a less than a minute in the film and plays in the end credits. <em>'Sanedo'</em> is foot-tapping. <em>'Valam'</em> is well shot. <em>'Naari Naari'</em> is not there in the film. Sachin-Jigar's background score is far better and the Chinese feel is brought alive well. Anuj Rakesh Dhawan's cinematography is neat. Sheetal Sharma's costumes are straight out life while those of Mouni Roy are appealing yet in sync with her character’s financial condition. Mayur Sharma's production design is fine. Manan Ashwin Mehta's editing should have been smoother and the film should have been shorter. On the whole, MADE IN CHINA lacks a good story and execution to make a mark. At the box office, it’ll have a tough time as it clashes with a biggie in the form of HOUSEFULL 4.

Cinegoers and trade experts were surprised when the trailer of the film SHIMLA MIRCHI dropped on the internet on December 26, 2019 without any intimation. The film, directed by SHOLAY director Ramesh Sippy is a long delayed romcom that is releasing five years after its making. Ramesh Sippy made the film in 2014 and it was meant to be a small and sweet romantic story set in Shimla. It is yet unclear as to why the film was delayed. However, the film which was made on a small budget is now set to release in theatres on January 3. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1058604" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Movie-Review-Shimla-Mirchi.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="450" /> Without giving any spoilers, the film is about Avi (Rajkummar Rao) who visits Shimla during his holiday and falls in love with Naina (Rakul Preet Singh). Avi takes up a job in the hills to act on his love for Naina. However, his only weakness is that he is never able to confess his feelings for the woman he loves. Avi, on the advice of his friend writes a love letter, which lands in the hand of Naina’s mother Rukmani (Hema Malini). Rukmani is a woman who is struggling from low self-esteem after her husband left her for another woman and comes to the conclusion that Avi is her secret admirer. Naina who is aware of the situation plays up to this to keep her mother sane. Talking about the film, there are no surprises when it comes to the script of SHIMLA MIRCHI. However, the script (Ramesh Sippy, Kausar Munir, Rishi Virmani and Vipul Binjola) is tight and comes straight to the point. What stands out the most, and lights up the film are the characters and dialogues in the otherwise tried and tested genre. The dialogues are good and play a huge part in keeping the audience engaged. The stark commentary on the love life of the lead actors is sure to generate some laughs. The film marks Ramesh Sippy's return to direction after a long time — while he returned to direction after 20 years, he will see his directorial venture release only after 25 years. Ramesh Sippy focuses completely on the central characters and does not care to indulge much into the external environment of these characters. Sippy has a great hold over the plot and at no point does he deviate from the central topic. Coming to the performances, at the time of filming, Rajkummar Rao was fairly new to the industry and has still managed to win our hearts with his performance. Those unaware of Rakul Preet Singh’s work down south will be in for a treat to watch Rakul as the beautiful small town girl who has a thousand responsibilities to attend to. However, her constant need to take charge over her mother's life under the garb of care might get to your nerves. She does come across over the top at times because of her energy but when she shares screen with the calm natured Rajkummar Rao, it balances out well. Hema Malini is at the top of her game and puts life into the film with her infectious and vibrant screen presence. Shakti Kapoor as Captain Uncle does a great job. Though not much is revealed about his character, he will be remembered for his situational poetry. The music by Meet Bros Anjjan sets the tone for a small town romance. The lyrics penned by Kumaar beautifully capture the mood of the film. This is also the last collaboration by Meet Bros Anjjan who are behind successful songs like ‘<em>Chittiyan Kalaiyyan’</em> and ‘<em>Baby Doll’</em>. The film is largely set in the backdrop of a house and a cafe. Cinematographer Jitan Harmeet Singh gives this romantic journey a dreamy affect by capturing the moods of the characters with close-ups. The editing (Vijay Venkataramanan) is very crisp except for the climax, where the audience could easily do with one less song. On the whole, SHIMLA MIRCHI makes for a decent small town romance with impressive performances. At the box office, the low buzz and lack of promotions will ensure that the movie will fizzle out eventually.

Unnerving movements for debt mutual funds investors!

Just last week my colleague, Divya explained the fiasco at Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, which took a decision to abruptly wind down six debt mutual fund schemes, namely:

• Franklin India Low Duration Fund
• Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund
• Franklin India Credit Risk Fund
• Franklin India Short Term Income Plan
• Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund
• Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund

In all, the above debt mutual fund schemes had an AUM of Rs 30,854 crore as of March 31, 2020.

The fund house cited, "severe market dislocation and illiquidity in the fixed income space" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the reason behind the decision.

Investors in these schemes are now left in the lurch: they cannot sell (nor buy) these funds and will have to rely on the fund house to get back their hard-earned money. Investors will have to hold their investments in these schemes until liquidity is available to the mutual fund house by either selling securities in the fund's portfolio or receiving maturity proceeds.

Currently, a fact is, not just Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, but debt mutual fund schemes of many other fund houses are have a remarkable exposure to stressed assets.

According to portfolios disclosed on March 31, 2020, mutual funds collectively held Rs 1.38 trillion of exposure to debt securities issued by Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs). Approximately Rs 51,000 crore of the exposure in debt securities has a maturity profile of less than 3 months; and now, mutual funds fear that there will be defaults.

NBFCs and other corporate borrowers claim that they do not have enough liquidity to fulfil their obligations and have requested for additional time. Given that, rating downgrades from rating agencies look likely.

However, some companies are playing smart: they are approaching the Courts to prevent a rating downgrade, plus seeking a stay on sale of pledged shares. Of course, they are well within their right to approach the judicial authority or Courts and contest.

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But the capital market regulator, seems to be in no mood in offering them any leeway. On the contrary, the regulator is asking the mutual fund industry to act against the issuer of securities who are possibly carrying high credit risk; facing asset quality problems.

Delays in repayments would mean the creation of more side-pockets by mutual funds. And in my view, more the losses investors suffer, more frustrating it will be for mutual fund houses and their investors. Eventually retail and High Net-worth Individuals, particularly, will lose confidence and may not be keen to invest in debt funds.

If you are wondering what has gone wrong, here's everything you may like to know about liquidity, credit risk and the exposure of mutual funds to corporate debt in the present scenario.

If you remember, the capital market regulator had mandated large corporations to source at least 25% of their borrowings from the bond markets from the beginning of FY 2019. This move was expected to deepen Indian bond markets and reduces the stress on banks. Just a year later, the same move is proving fatal for companies that went to the bond markets to raise money.

Now that the COVID-19 lockdown has forced many business units to shut off temporarily or operate much below their optimal operational capacity with a skeletal staff, companies, including the large organisations that relied heavily on debt markets, are finding it difficult to honour maturity claims on Commercial Papers (CPs), Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), and Bonds.

They were hoping for an 'at-par treatment' with Banks when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) offered a moratorium period to borrowers. But the RBI circular came to them as a shocker. The devil was in the details.

On March 27, 2020, the RBI issued a notification allowing a three-month moratorium on all outstanding term loans and working capital facilities on account of disruptions caused by the outbreak of coronavirus. This circular did not cover around 10 thousand NBFCs, who mainly depend on CPs, NCDs, and Bonds for their funding requirements.

As far as NBFCs are concerned, the RBI has already provided them with a liquidity facility through the banking channel. The RBI directed banks to utilise funds infused under Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTRO) facility to invest in 'investment-grade' CPs, NCDs, and Bonds issued by NBFCs. Also, RBI mandated banks to allocate 50% of Rs 50,000 crore of liquidity introduced by way of TLTRO 2.0 to small and mid-size NBFCs and small finance banks.

But NBFCs seemed not too happy with just liquidity and many of them are now approaching courts to prevent rating downgrades. This is not a best practice for the industry, although fund houses may be well within their rights to contest.

Recently, Indiabulls Housing Finance was successful in receiving the interim order from Delhi High Court, throttling any coercive action against the housing finance company for its inability to repay its bondholders. The Delhi High Court will hear the case further on May 19, 2020.

This has added to the worries of mutual fund houses that now fear other NBFCs will follow the same path.

The capital market regulator, only recently (a few days ago) following the three moratorium by RBI (due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic) has relaxed the valuation norms for debt and money market instrument held by mutual funds vide a circular dated April 23, 2020, wherein it states as under:

• Based on assessment, if the valuation agencies appointed by AMFI are of the view that the delay in payment of interest/principal or extension of the maturity of a security by the issuer has arisen solely due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and/or in light of the moratorium permitted by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) (vide notification no. RBI/2019-20/186, dated March 27, 2020) creating temporary operational challenges in servicing debt, then valuation agencies may not consider the same as a default for the purpose of valuation of money market or debt securities held by Mutual Funds.
  
  However, in the scenario, as stated above, if there is any difference in the valuation of securities provided by two valuation agencies, the conservative valuation shall be accepted.

But then what is the point of coming up with these valuation norms as an afterthought, and not in close synchronisation when the RBI came with its notification a month ago?

The damage now is already done and companies are anyways approaching the Courts to prevent a rating downgrade.

Let's say shares of a company are pledged and to recover the proceeds -- if they cannot be sold due to a court order -- then such lending would be as good as unsecured lending.

Also, why should that not be construed as an instance of deviation from the stated fundamental attributes of a debt mutual fund scheme? After all, mutual fund investors invest in debt fund schemes taking into account a certain level of risk. Change in the risk profile of a scheme is a change in the fundamental attribute/s.

According to India Ratings, NBFCs having the asset base of Rs 500 crore to 5,000 crore, largely fall between "A" and "BBB" rating categories.

The mid-path could be a decision on payment or deferring the payment in consultation with all stakeholders, including debenture trustees. The industry will require a blanket resolution because a case-to-case resolution approach is cumbersome and may create more chaos.

Unless the RBI takes a clear stance on NBFCs and other financial institutions, mutual fund houses are likely to feel the heat of redemptions. Suppose, there's no further statement issued by the banking sector regulator; mutual funds will have to be prepared to handle large-scale defaults, which might look inevitable. After all, a majority of NBFCs' customers are retail borrowers and they enjoy a moratorium on the EMI payment for 3-months. This has been the trickiest part for NBFCs.

While COVID-19 outbreak has been the genuine reason for the potential defaults this time, asset-liability mismatches of NBFCs are well-known. Many NBFCs have gone overboard with cheap credit available during stable market conditions. Their credit underwriting has been questioned widely. The industry has also witnessed belly-up instances such as IL&FS and DHFL. Many mutual fund houses have burned their fingers badly in such defaults.

At the time of writing this piece, to ease the liquidity pressure on mutual funds, the RBI today decided to provide a special liquidity facility of Rs 50,000 crore for mutual funds. Under this facility, the RBI will conduct repo operations of 90 days tenor at the fixed repo rate. This will be on-tap and open-ended, and banks can submit their bids to avail funding on any day from Monday to Friday (excluding holidays). The scheme is available from today i.e., April 27, 2020, till May 11, 2020, or up to utilization of the allocated amount, whichever is earlier. The Reserve Bank will review the timeline and amount, depending upon market conditions.

The RBI has stated further that the liquidity support availed under the Special Liquidity Facility for Mutual Funds shall be used by banks exclusively for meeting the liquidity requirements of mutual funds by, 1) extending loans; and (2) undertaking outright purchase of and/or repos against the collateral of investment-grade corporate bonds, CPs, debentures and certificates of Deposit (CDs) held by mutual funds.

Having taken this measure, keep in mind that it does not make investing in debt mutual funds risk-free. Considering the prevailing investment environment, you should stay away from mutual fund schemes whose portfolio characteristic appears compromised. Also, avoid credit risk funds and corporate bond funds as they are likely to be more vulnerable amidst the financial crisis followed by COVID-19 pandemic.

As a thumb rule: Choose mutual fund schemes from fund houses that follow prudent judicious investment processes and stringent risk-management systems.

In these uncertain times, it would be wise sticking to liquid funds and overnight funds while considering debt funds.

Our friends at Quantum Mutual Fund have highlighted the secret behind their debt management strategy which has helped them provide safety and liquidity to investors when it comes to investing in quantum funds. Don't Worry, Quantum Liquid Fund always aims for Safety and Liquidity.

As with all financial matters, better be safe than sorry!

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Author: Rounaq Neroy

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

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Saqib Saleem swings the bat in a CCL Tournament

A love for cricket is common between Saqib Saleem and coach Rajeev Mehra, much like most Indian men. What sets them apart though, is how much they want to give back to the game. Saleem, who hails from Greater Kailash in Delhi, is poised to start a cricket academy in his hometown, that will cater exclusively to underprivileged children. The two have known each other since the time Saleem, a state-level cricketer, was playing for Delhi in a match against Mumbai, that Mehra was part of. "I remember Delhi won that game," laughs Mehra as we get the two chatting. "Saqib was very keen on the game, wanting to learn new things. His discipline during practise sessions was admirable." After Delhi, Saqib went on to play for Kashmir too. "I played for a year, after moving there. My mother is Kashmiri. However, as much as I loved the sport and was devoted to it, life clearly had other plans," the actor says.

While the two kept in touch, they only got the chance to meet again, four months ago. "I was toying with the idea of starting a cricket academy because I missed having to do something with the game. I was clear that I did not want to build an institution that would become one more of many. It's Rajeev who suggested we do something to help those in need." Mehra interjects, "I have worked with the less fortunate. I make it a point to have at least four of them in each training session. So, yes, it is familiar territory." It was Mehra's approach to the game, that convinced Saleem about the collaboration. "I needed someone who had a connect with the children. And Rajeev was perfect."

Coach Rajeev Mehra at his training academy in Mumbai

Making cricket, that is largely seen as an elite sport, accessible to those deprived of opportunities could be a task. But Mehra doesn't want to complicate things. "Ultimately, it's about helping the kids play. Give them the space, the equipment, the push." It is the uber glamorisation of the game that has turned it into an occupation of the elite, opines Mehra. "Cricket has always been India's top sport, but the way it has been commercialised, is affecting the talent pool. Coaches are demanding crazy amounts — currently the price of one personalised session in Mumbai can go up to Rs 2,000 — and parents are willing to pay. I don't remember receiving formal training. Most of us have learnt the sport by playing with friends who were equally serious about it." The 30-year-old coach who runs his own academy in Mumbai, often attends inter-school matches where municipal schools participate, to spot talent. "The lower strata is a goldmine of talent."

Saleem shares a slightly different view. It is not the sport that is elite, he argues, but that access is tough. "Today, a decent cricket bat costs Rs 20,000. So, even though we have abundant talent, not everyone can afford it. We want to find the gems who can't," he says, adding, "I spend a lot of time watching interviews of veteran cricketers. I remember one of Imran Khan, who spoke of how he discovered Wasim Akram, then a young boy from a small city, and groomed him for the national side. And gave the world a cricketing legend. That is my inspiration."

Mehra is in the process of formulating a curriculum for the academy that will train no more than 40 kids aged seven to 18 at a time. "I want each kid to get adequate personal attention," Saleem says, ahead of travelling to Delhi next month for selection. "I think I was being selfish, I just wanted a chance to go back home and find more excuses to play the game," he laughs.

Vikramaditya Motwane. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

Vikramaditya Motwane, who is readying for the release of his upcoming film Bhavesh Joshi: Superhero, says the movie is about a b*****d child. Except, the protagonist is not a person, but a city. This city. With star kid Harshvardhan Kapoor playing Bhavesh, the film uses a superhero premise to discuss the water mafia, and what happens when vigilantes take matters in their own hands. The story started off as one film about a man, keen to take care of his street, but changed gears somewhere.

"I have been here 40 years, but my love for the city faded away when Bombay became Mumbai. I have mixed feelings about it now, although I can't live anywhere else. It's treated like a b****** child, which no one cares about. Everyone just wants to leech off it. People around the world take pride in where they live. Not us," says the director before he gets into the studio for a morning edit. At 41, Motwane is old enough to know that a superhero cannot solve a megalopolis' crises. But Batman and Superman arrived on the scene, he argues, because justice failed. "It takes one brave person to change society. Come watch my movie, and have fun, and if you walk away with being inspired to do the right thing, great. Make a change, and be a hero yourself," he smiles. Like Bhavesh then, Motwane is grappling with ills that threaten to destroy his city. Mid-day discusses what gets Vikramaditya Motwane's goat, over a cup of morning coffee.

Bhavesh Joshi: Superhero

Traffic
Traffic management is a nationwide problem. Cars are weapons; how can you let anyone and everyone drive? We all know how easy it is to get a license. I read somewhere that around 382 people die every day on our roads. Anywhere else, there would be a suit filed against the RTO for murder. And, we don't have pavements. Pedestrians have first right of way, but if they don't have anywhere to walk, they will walk the road and it's up to motorists to avoid them. This often leads to traffic snarls and accidents. Bombay has a phenomenal public transport system, but it's ageing. And so, people like myself drive. But traffic makes it stressful.

Garbage disposal
My apartment in Juhu started a waste management programme six months ago. It's 2018 and we are talking about segregation now! An incident, actually one of many, that led me to make Bhavesh Joshi was watching a mother and son eat pizza in heir car, and then fling the box and remains on the street. The other side to this conundrum is that the city doesn't have enough dustbins, and those that are there get stolen. But how do you blame a scavenger for wanting to make money off scrap metal?

Water harvesting
My father owns a building in Juhu. A few years ago, he got a waste water harvesting system installed there. Through it, dirty water is cleaned up and goes back into loos for flushing. It cost him only two-and-half lakh rupees. Every housing society can do it. We suffer floods every year in low lying areas because we get sufficient rain and our drains are clogged, but we waste that water.

Pollution
I have a three-year-old daughter and she gets a cold every other day. It's nothing but the polluted air that we breathe that's causing it. No one is working towards stopping it. We use too many cars, especially older cars. We don't have an incentive to use public transport anymore. I love walking — I walk to my mixing studio, which is one kilometre from home. I don't mind the heat, but just give me a pavement to walk. Because if you can't walk comfortably, you will end up using transport.

Also Read: Here's Why Vikramaditya Motwane Put Bhavesh Joshi Superhero On Hold For Over 5 Years

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China has made a number of announcements on anti-dumping duty orders, including to launch an investigation into US, Korean, and Taiwanese exports of styrene, which is used to manufacture plastics and resins.

Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries. In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars. A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session. It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service. During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said. Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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