In a recent turn of events, it was discovered that Devoleena Bhattacharjee's cook was tested positive for Coronavirus and it has led to the actress being under quarantine for the next 14 days and her residential building has been contained. Currently, she is living alone as her mother and brother are stuck in Assam during the lockdown.

In her recent conversation with another portal, Devoleena revealed that this is the fourth time in the last five months that she has been quarantined. Starting off with Bigg Boss, then her back injury required her to be on best rest, then the lockdown and now finally when she managed to head out for groceries, her cook's condition has led her to stay stuck among the four walls of her house.

Speaking of her cook, Devoleena said that he’s being taken care of by the government and has been asked to stay in some hotel.

Also Read: Devoleena Bhattacharjee quarantined for 14 days after her cook tests positive for COVID-19

In 2017, Aamir Khan started a project to boost budding writers in the Indian film industry. The second edition of Cinestaan India's Storyteller Script Contest, a nationwide hunt for scripts where the five winners take home a total cash prize of Rs. 50 lakh was launched this February. From the past few months, the four-member jury consisting of Aamir Khan, Anjum Rajabali, Juhi Chaturvedi and Rajkumar Hirani has gone through numerous entries to choose five compelling stories that can be taken to screen. 

However, this time instead of the on-ground event to announce the winners, Aamir Khan will unveil the winners on social media. Meanwhile, Khan is urging writers to not let the prevailing situation dampen their creativity. He said that budding writers should write with more enthusiasm, especially during these times. 

Says Rohit Khattar, Chairman of Cinestaan Digital, “I am grateful to our esteemed jury in working with us to bring Indian storytelling talent to the forefront especially during these surreal times. Thank you to the thousands of writers who had applied. The quality of the work was stellar and we would like to congratulate the winners who are truly deserving and wish them success.”

Speaking about the winners, Anjum Rajabali, the Jury Chairperson said, ‘We started this contest with the larger objective of attracting more people to write scripts. It’s very important that we improve the quality of our scriptwriting so that the quality of our cinema goes up. The caliber of scripts in this edition was better than last year and it’s heartening to see that the talent is developing. Thank you to the jury members for giving their valuable time in reading and assessing the scripts. Truly appreciate the Cinestaan team’s hard work. I have not seen this kind of unconditional support and generosity before, with the only reward being to encourage good writing in this country.’

Juhi Chaturvedi says, ‘As a writer, I understand the joy of being appreciated, especially on a big platform like this which motivates us to write more. Congratulations to the winners. I’m very happy that through this contest I was able to be a small part of your journey.’

Raju Hirani while congratulating the winners said, ‘I’m happy that the objective with which this contest was started, to inspire scriptwriters and give them a platform to send their scripts from all parts of the country - slowly and steadily we are moving towards our goal. The caliber of scripts this year has been better than last year.’

All the entries of the second edition of the contest went through a transparent and stringent process of evaluation at various levels. The shortlisted synopsis were asked to send in a complete script which were then assessed and then the winners selected by the jury. All scripts have been registered by the contestants with the Scriptwriters Association and other similar recognized bodies to ensure that the writers' content is completely protected.

‘Cinestaan India’s Storytellers Script Contest’ was launched by Cinestaan Digital Pvt. Ltd. and is India’s biggest Script Contest. The winners of the contest are awarded cash prizes worth Rs. 50 lakhs.

ALSO READ: Aamir Khan dismisses distributing money to the poor in wheat bag, says “Robin Hood doesn’t want to reveal himself”

A district magistrate court in Rohtak opened its doors on the night of April 13 to solemnise the wedding of a local boy marry a Mexican girl under the Special Marriage Act as both could not tie the knot due to the ongoing lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus. The couple met on a language learning app in 2017 and got engaged the next year.

Niranjan Kashyap: On Feb 17 we applied for marriage under Special Marriage Act which has 30-day notice. The notice was to end on Mar18 but lockdown started on Mar 19 so we couldn't get married.We submitted an application to District Collector after which he conducted our wedding. https://t.co/BuZtjVQFFm

— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2020

According to Niranjan Kashyap, who hails from Surya Colony in Rohtak he and and his Mexican-origin partner Dana Joheri Oliveros Cruise applied to get married under the Special Marriage Act on February 17. "We met on a language learning app. In 2017, she came to India on my birthday. Then this February 11, Dana and her mother came to India for the wedding. On February 17, we applied for marriage under the Special Marriage Act which has a 30-day notice," Kashyap told ANI.

"The notice was to end on March 18 but by then the lockdown began so we could not get married. We submitted an application to the District Collector after which he conducted our wedding," he said. He further said that Dana had booked a flight back to Mexico on March 24 but with the lockdown being extended further till May 3 she has now rescheduled her flight to May 5

Dana said, "I came to meet him in 2017. We later got engaged in December 2018 and I returned to Mexico. I spent two years in Mexico. Due to lockdown, we couldn't marry. Deputy Commissioner helped us to marry."

Advocate Niranjan Kashyap, who helped the couple get married said: "Both of them came to us. Since the girl was from Mexico, they can marry under the Special Marriage Act. Later, we approached the District Magistrate and he sent requests to the Mexican Embassy and other offices for a no objection certificate. After NOC was obtained, the District Magistrate opened the court and performed the marriage on April 13 at 8 pm."

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Amid fears over the spread of coronavirus, a 25-year-old man was allegedly shot at by another person, following an argument that was triggered by his "coughing" during a game of ludo at Greater Noida, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place around 9 pm on Tuesday at a temple in Dayanagar village under the Jarcha police station limits, where four people, including the man who received gunshot injuries, were playing the board game, they added.

The injured man, Prashant Singh alias Pravesh, was hospitalised, while the accused, Jai Veer Singh alias Gullu (30), is yet to be arrested, the police said. Both are residents of Dayanagar village and engaged in agriculture, according to the police.

"Prashant and three others were playing ludo at the village temple on Tuesday night when Gullu arrived there. An argument broke out between Prashant and Gullu when the former coughed. Gullu got angry thinking he was doing it deliberately," a police official told PTI.

"As the argument intensified, Gullu pulled out a pistol and shot at Prashant," he said. An injured Prashant was rushed to a private hospital, where his condition is stable now, the police said, adding that an FIR was registered against the accused and efforts were on to arrest him.

Coughing, fever and difficulty in breathing are some of the symptoms of the novel coronavirus, a highly contagious disease, according to government advisories.

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A video that captures a rare sight of four majestic tigers taking a stroll in the Satpura forest in Madhya Pradesh has been amusing netizens for quite some time now. In the undated video, the family big cats were seen taking a stroll as a vehicle of safari-goers parked behind them watched the sight in shock.

The 28-minute-long video posted by forest officer Ravindra Mani Tripathi on Twitter shows the big cats, some moving around while others seated. As a sight of the tiger would frighten anyone in real life, as one of the women can be heard in the video asking the driver to reverse the vehicle.

The video that was also shared by Ramesh Pandey IFS on Twitter was captioned as, "Such frequent sightings of 4 or more tigers were not so usual a decade back." The post has garnered more than 6,400 views and 500 likes and was retweeted 98 times.

After Pech, Panna, Tadoba and Dudhwa here goes a worth watching video from Satpura Forests MP as shared by @ravindramtripa1.
Such frequent sightings of 4 or more tigers were not so usual a decade back. #conservation pic.twitter.com/ukofC6cRmy

— Ramesh Pandey IFS (@rameshpandeyifs) April 16, 2020

The users commenting on the video has been praising the beauty of Satputa tiger Reserve and how lucky they were to catch a glimpse of the big cat in their tours.

Wow !! Beautiful. We did not opt for a safari at Satpura tiger reserve during our recent stay at Pachmarhi, as the chances of sightings are less. Next time we will try our luck :).

— Abhishek Jagdale (@CSABHI84) April 16, 2020

Lovely but why are people so loud and talkative even at this moment . Surprisingly it doesn’t distract the wildlife

— Liberator (@Tiksmum) April 16, 2020

Woww.. Satpura sighting is pretty difficult. Surprised to see four!! I remember forest guard saying, "Satpura is land of all animals cos predator is less here". And now here they come😮

— Chittra M (@masalaboxtravel) April 16, 2020

I have to say the IFS has done a tremendous job and everyone else who supported them

— Naveen Naidu (@NaveenN81477836) April 16, 2020

What do you think about the video?

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The government on Sunday prohibited e-commerce platforms from selling non-essential items during the lockdown, four days after allowing the companies to sell mobile phones, refrigerators and ready-made garments. Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla issued an order excluding the non-essential items from the cart of e-commerce companies.

The order said the following clause — "e-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions" — is excluded from the guidelines. Asked why the government made a U-turn on the matter, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry, Punya Salila Srivastava said the COVID-19 situation has been very dynamic and the government is taking decisions on a day-to-day basis. When the government has realised that allowing non-essential commodities to sell through e-commerce platforms may affect the proper implementation of the lockdown, the decision was reviewed and reversed, she said at a daily joint briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak. The April 15 order had said e-commerce platforms were allowed to sell such items from April 20.

The reason for reversing the order was not known immediately, but there was a talk of some retail traders mounting pressure on the government that local shops be also allowed to sell non-essentials items, like e-commerce giants. e-commerce platforms, however, are allowed to sell essential commodities such as food, pharmaceutical and medical devices. The previous order said, "Supply of essential goods is allowed, as under: All facilities in the supply chain of essential goods, whether involved in manufacturing, wholesale or retail of such goods through local stores, large brick and mortar stores or e-commerce companies should be allowed to operate, ensuring strict social distancing without any restriction on their timing of opening and closure." A day later, Home Ministry officials said electronic items such as mobile phones, TVs, refrigerators, laptop computers, ready-made garments, stationery items for schoolchildren would be available on the e-commerce platforms from April 20.

Coronavirus maintains its grip on India

Thermal screening of security personnel being conducted as they stand guard on a street in Bhopal, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

. There is no proposal for reduction of pension and no action is being contemplated by the government in this respect, the Centre said on Sunday. The assertion assumes significance as rumours are afloat that the government is contemplating reduction or stoppage of pension.

. The Uttar Pradesh government has removed a second chief medical officer in Gautam Buddh Nagar, a hotspot of Coronavirus, within a fortnight, the health department said. A P Chaturvedi was shunted out late on Saturday and D K Ohri, the principal of Agra's Regional Family Planning Training Centre, was appointed the additional CMO, the department said in an order.

. A one-and-a-half-month-old baby has died of Coronavirus infection at a hospital in Delhi, officials said on Sunday, in perhaps the first fatality of an infant due to COVID-19 in the national capital. The baby died at Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital attached to the Centre-run Lady Hardinge Medical College.

. SpiceJet has decided to send employees earning more than '50,000 per month on leave without pay on a rotational basis, sources said on Sunday amid flight services remaining suspended till May 3. This arrangement would be in place for three months, they added. The sources also told PTI that the salary for April is likely to be paid to staff for the days they were on duty.

. As COVID-19 continues its depredation across India and the world, a major row has erupted in West Bengal, with many in the medical fraternity and Opposition parties claiming the state is reporting fewer cases as only a minuscule proportion of the population is getting tested for the inscrutable enemy.

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With some relaxation amid lockdown in non-hotspot areas, the daily wage labourers gathered at labour chowks in Mumbai in search of work, find remote possibility of getting any work during the lockdown that will continue till May 3. Raju Tiwari, one of the migrant labourer waiting for work, told ANI, "I am a daily wage labourer who does all sorts of work to earn for a living. Though since the lockdown we did not get any work, even now I do not think that anybody would come to hire us for work."

Echoing similar sentiments, Sunil Tiwari, another daily wage earner, said, "All my savings have been exhausted and now I do not have any work. For now, we are dependent on others giving us food." "Though the relaxation has been given by the government on the daily wage labourers working, the police beats us and stops us in going anywhere. If we do not go then how will we earn?" he added.

The Union Home Ministry on April 19 had allowed intra-state movement of the migrant labourers, if found asymptomatic upon screening, from their relief camps and shelters to their respective places of work.

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The Centre on Monday said that around 50 journalists testing positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai is very unfortunate.

"Journalists testing positive for COVID-19 is very unfortunate news. When you (journalists) attend your call of duty, kindly take the required precautions, follow the norms of social distancing and wear face masks," Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare said at a daily briefing here.

#WATCH Journalists testing positive for #COVID19 is very unfortunate news. When you (journalists) attend your call of duty, kindly take the required precautions, follow the norms of social distancing & wear face masks: Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/0Xu9vP9xLw

— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2020

This comes as 53 journalists in Mumbai tested positive for COVID-19. All of them are under isolation, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Responding to a question of whether asymptomatic people need to be tested, Agarwal said, "80 per cent cases are asymptomatic and mild symptoms and we can track them. Sampling criteria is very clear that anyone who needs to be tested will be sampled."

"We have been highlighting that there are two criteria of concerns -- areas having a large number of cases, areas having the rate of growth of cases is high and the doubling rate is low," he added. Agarwal stated health officials are ensuring effective intervention so that affected areas do not lead to a large number of cases further.

"We are coordinating with states and district administration and take necessary action. Three teams of the central government have been sent to Maharashtra which is working in Pune, Mumbai and a team co-ordinating between Maharashtra state with central government and district administrations," he said. Agarwal said that India's COVID-19 doubling rate has improved to 7.5 days from 3.4 days before the lockdown was enforced.

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A four-month-old baby girl, who had tested positive for COVID-19 and suffering from congenital heart disease, died in a hospital here on Friday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest, officials said.

The baby was admitted to the Medical College Hospital here on Apr 21 with history of fever, cough, breathing difficulties and seizure and the end came at 6 am, a medical bulletin said.

She hailed from Payyanad at Manjeri in Malappuram District.

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The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) has suggested commencement of regular and normal working of courts in a phased manner with compliance of social distancing norms and wearing of masks after lifting of COVID-19 lockdown."We believe that physical court hearings, albeit in a phased manner, have to be commenced with meticulous and scrupulous compliance of social distancing norms, wearing of masks, maintaining the highest standards of sanitisation and hygiene etc," the DHCBA said in a statement.

The suggestions by the DHCBA in a letter to the committee headed by senior High Court judge Justice Hima Kohli include:

Courts have to be operational not only to extent of providing "urgent relief" but also to cater to other legal remedies which may be availed by common litigants. Scope of matters that may be listed includes injunctive reliefs, bail applications, suspension of sentence, objections to arbitration awards, execution petitions, writ petitions of all types, criminal appeals etc.

By notification by the court and judicial orders by Supreme Court, limitation periods have ceased to run during lockdown period, to avoid last minutes rush of filings when courts do reopen, ordinary e-filings/online filings of all matters be allowed, though they might not be heard till normalcy is restored. Petition boxes be used to acknowledge filings made therein.

Till normalcy is restored, litigants and interns shall not be permitted to access court/chamber blocks. Restriction may continue on advocates representing a party.

Lawyers, operating from their chambers and offices need access to chambers to prepare their cases, access their files, records, books and infrastructure. Client conference may be permitted after court hours.

Kiosks and shops inside court complexes may be kept closed. However, cafeterias and kitchens catering to chamber blocks may only be permitted to service lawyers by offering 'take away' options.

Only one entry point may be allowed per courtroom building. Entrants may be subjected to thermal temperature scanning. The option of making entrants pass through sanitisation tunnels may also be explored.

Public conveniences must be maintained with the highest level of sanitisation and for using these social distancing norms can be employed. An adequate number of sanitisers may be provided at various points throughout the court buildings.

Both District Legal Services Authority and Mediation Centres require the physical presence of litigants, the same may not be functional till normalcy is restored. As arbitration proceedings can go on without the presence of litigant, arbitration centre may be functional.

The Bar Association also assured the court of its utmost cooperation.

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With 2,293 new cases in the last 24 hours, the highest number of cases in a single day, India's COVID-19 tally reached 37,336 on Saturday, including 1,218 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As many as 71 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Out of the total number, 9,951 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

In the state of Maharashtra, the number of coronavirus positive cases has crossed the 10,000-mark with at least 485 deaths. The positive cases in Maharashtra has reached 11,506, including 1,879 discharged cases. After Maharashtra, Gujarat has the most number of COVID-19 cases (4,721). The state has reported 236 deaths, while 735 people have been discharged.

The Centre on Friday extended the ongoing nationwide lockdown for two more weeks with effect from May 4 till May 17 while allowing different sets of relaxations in red, orange and green zones.

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Around 1,000 migrant labourers, mostly from northern parts of India, came on to the streets in Maharashtra's Chandrapur on Saturday to demand that arrangements be made for their return to the native places, police said. The incident took place around 9.30 am at Ballarpur in the district, an official said. "More than 1,000 labourers, mostly staying at a construction site in a government medical college, hit the streets and demanded that arrangement be made for their movement to their home states. They tried to block the highway and started walking towards the railway station," he said.

"The labourers want to go back to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Some of them are from West Bengal. They said they have been facing hardships due to the lockdown as their source of income has stopped," the official said. On being alerted, personnel from the Ramnagar Police Station rushed to the spot and the situation was brought under control.

"The police staff told the labourers that proper procedure has to be followed if they want to return to their home states as special trains are being arranged. They were asked to fill the application forms to get a place in the special trains," he said.

The police provided food to them, he said that the labourers later returned to local residence.

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With 1,074 COVID-19 patients getting cured in the last 24 hours, India's recovery rate has further moved to 27.52 per cent, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday. Talking to media persons here, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said: "A total of 1,074 people have been cured in the last 24 hours. This is the highest number of cured patient in a day. 11,706 people have been cured till to date. The recovery rate is 27.52 percent."

Till now, 11,706 people have been cured. In the last 24 hours, 1074 people have been cured.This is the highest number in terms of cured patients noted till date. Our recovery rate is now 27.52%. Total number of COVID19 cases is now 42533: Lav Agrawal, Joint Secy, Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/cyf6HDy5VK

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2020

On April 30, 630 COVID-19 patients had recovered in the 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to 25.19 per cent in the country which was 23.3 per cent on April 28.

According to the official data, India has registered 2,553 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which have surged the total number to 44,532.

"A total of 2,553 cases have been increased in the last 24 hours which led the total number of cases to 44,532," Agarwal said.

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Twenty eight-year-old freelance journalist, Rizwana Tabassum, committed suicide by hanging herself. Samajwadi Party leader Shamim Nomani has now been arrested for abetting the extreme step after a suicide note recovered from her room blamed him.

"Shamim Nomani is responsible," her suicide note said. Tabassum killed herself in Harpalpur of Varanasi district on Monday.

SSP's PRO Sanjay Tripathi, told IANS on Tuesday that Shamim had been formally arrested. He was detained and interrogated on Monday night.

The PRO further said that the post mortem report of Rizwana had confirmed death by hanging.

According to Varanasi Sadar CO, Abhishek Pandey, a case has been registered against Lohta resident Nomani on the charge of abetment to suicide under Section 306 on Tabassum's father complaint.

Nomani has been detained for interrogation and the body has been sent for post-mortem.

Shamim and Rizwana reportedly were friends for a long time but no one is aware of what happened suddenly.

According to reports, when Tabassum did not come out of her room on Monday, they called out to her but there was no response.

The police were informed about the incident and when the policemen broke open the door, Tabassum's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan.

Her father said, "She never told about anything nor did she have any enmity with anyone. She was a good daughter as well as a good journalist."

She had completed Mass Communication from Banaras Hindu University and worked as a freelance journalist for several portals and publications.

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The COVID-19 epidemic has caused shock and grief to Pune Police after a 58-year-old cop lost his life in the battle against the novel coronavirus. Taking to Twitter, the Pune Police handle, which is known for its witty tweets and informative posts, on Monday announced the sad news to its followers.

ASI Shri Dilip Popat Londhe (57) from Faraaskhana Police Station lost his life this afternoon, battling Coronavirus.
Pune Police prays for his his soul to rest in peace and offers its condolences to the bereaved family. pic.twitter.com/XuGFTjqkIG

— PUNE POLICE (@PuneCityPolice) May 4, 2020

In its tweet, the official handle of Pune Police said that they lost ASI Dilip Popat Londhe from Faraaskhana Police Station due to the COVID-19 crisis. While paying tribute to the cop, the Pune Police also offered condolences to the deceased's family.

फरासà¤Â–ाना पà¥Â‹लà¥Â€स सà¥Âà¤ÂŸà¥Â‡शनà¤Âšà¥Â‡ सहायà¤Â• पà¥Â‹लà¥Â€स फà¥ÂŒà¤Âœदार शà¥Âरà¥Â€ दिलà¥Â€प पà¥Â‹पà¤ÂŸ लà¥Â‹à¤Â‚ढà¥Â‡ हà¥Â‡ à¤Â•रà¥Â‹ना रà¥Â‹à¤Â—ाशà¥Â€ बाधित à¤Â…सलà¥Âयानà¥Â‡ à¤Â‰पà¤Âšार à¤Â˜à¥Â‡त à¤Â…सताना à¤Â†à¤Âœ रà¥Â‹à¤Âœà¥Â€ तà¥Âयाà¤Â‚ना वà¥Â€रमरण पà¥Âरापà¥Âत à¤Âालà¥Â‡ à¤Â†हà¥Â‡.
भावपà¥Â‚रà¥Âण शà¥Âरदà¥Âधाà¤Â‚à¤Âœलà¥Â€ 🙏 Our Prayers pic.twitter.com/7oNIOY14fq

— CP Pune City (@CPPuneCity) May 4, 2020

As per the tweet by Pune Police, ASI Dilip Londhe, who had been fighting the novel coronavirus for the past few days succumbed to the deadly virus on Monday afternoon. While speaking to ANI, Dr. Jitendra Oswal, Deputy Medical Director of Bharati Hospital, where the cop was admitted said, "He was on the ventilator for the last 12 days. He was suffering from hypertension and obesity."

To date, Pune has reported 2,051 positive cases of the COVID-19 infection. Amid the lockdown being extended till May 17, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has identified 69 containment zones where all shops carrying essential services shall remain open between 10 am and 2 pm.

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a PIL by former Uttar Pradesh police chief Vikram Singh seeking direction to quash nearly 75,000 FIRs registered for violating orders of lockdown and petty offences during the coronavirus pandemic.

The #SupremeCourt on Tuesday declined to entertain a PIL by former #UttarPradesh police chief Vikram Singh seeking direction to quash nearly 75,000 FIRs registered for violating orders of #lockdown and petty offences during the #coronaviruspandemic. pic.twitter.com/1xiNJ5qoqQ

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) May 5, 2020

A bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B.R. Gavai questioned Singh's counsel, "You want there should be no FIR and this (Section 188 IPC) should not be invoked...then how can the lockdown be enforced?"

The bench wondered why such petitions were coming to the apex court? Singh's PIL sought quashing of nearly 75,000 FIRs registered under Section 188 of the IPC and other provisions for violation of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said this person has been on the field and also has experience. "The submission is that we cannot have rule of law, which is selective. You cannot have one rule of law for those who have to travel by chartered flights...," said the advocate.

Justice Kaul replied he "can see an agenda". The lawyer contended that if the law didn't permit registration of FIRs then the NDMA law cannot be allowed for registration of FIRs. He told the bench that cases have been registered against migrants and those withdrawing money from ATMs.

Singh filed the PIL in his capacity as the Chairman of a think-tank -- Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC). He requested the apex court to issue directions, under the Disaster Management Act 2005, to state governments to not file complaints under Section 188 of the IPC or for other petty offences during the lockdown.

"Police action on an individual who is perhaps suffering from distress and lack of information as a result of the circumstances has ramifications which can extend beyond the coronavirus lockdown, and cannot be good for a constitutional democracy. The situation needs to be handled humanely, and it will be best to avoid adding aspects of criminality, wherever possible," Singh's plea stated.

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A day after reopening the liquor shops, Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday increased alcohol prices by 50 per cent. The government said the move was aimed at discouraging liquor consumption. The shops had reopened on Monday with a hike of 25 per cent in liquor prices.

A day after reopening the #liquorshops, #AndhraPradesh government on Tuesday increased alcohol prices by 50 per cent.

The government said the move was aimed at discouraging liquor consumption. The shops had reopened on Monday with a hike of 25 per cent in liquor prices. pic.twitter.com/u3cb6rO5f6

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) May 5, 2020

However, the hike failed to deter the tipplers, who gathered in large numbers at the shops across the state, flouting the social distancing norm to check the spread of COVID-19. As the scenes of long queues and chaos raised fears of further spike in the number of corona cases in the state and the government came under criticism for encouraging liquor sale during a pandemic, it hiked the prices by 50 per cent on Tuesday.

Officials said the new prices will come into force with immediate effect. However, shops will open only after the issue of formal orders and the new prices are updated online. There was utter confusion on Monday when the shops reopened for the first time after the lockdown began as the prices following 25 per cent hike were not updated online.

The government claimed that another 50 per cent hike has been taken as further step towards discouraging alcohol consumption. With the latest hike the prices have increased by 75 per cent in two days. Officials said the latest decision was taken to discourage liquor consumption in view of the conditions that prevailed on Monday.

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government said the number of liquor shops would be further reduced by 15 per cent by the end of this month. The YSRCP, which had promised total prohibition, started phase-wise implementation after coming to power in May last year.

As a first major step towards prohibition in October last year, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government took over the state. The state-owned Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation Limited (APBCL) took control of the liquor shops from private contractors after reducing the number of outlets to 3,500 from 4,380 earlier.

In December, the government had claimed that as a result of its steps the liquor consumption came down in the state.e retail liquor business and increased the price to discourage consumption.

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As many as 3,900 new COVID-19 cases and 195 fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, the biggest spike in a single day, the health ministry said on Tuesday and asserted that "some states" were not reporting cases in a timely manner, which is now being addressed.

Addressing the daily briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country, joint secretary at the health ministry, Lav Agarwal said the total number of cases stand at 46,433 and the death toll at 1,568. "We are dealing with an infectious disease. Thus timely reporting of cases and their management is very crucial and gaps in these areas were noted in some states, which after due persuasion are being addressed," Agarwal said.

The ministry said 1,020 COVID-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of those cured to 12,726, a recovery rate of 27.41 per cent. "We are very comfortable in terms of managing COVID-19 as of now, but any laxity at the field level may have consequences," he said. The lockdown has yielded very positive results, doubling time of cases has improved from 3.4 days before lockdown to 12 days now, he added.

JEE, NEET exams to be held in July

Engineering entrance examination JEE will be held from July 18-23, while medical entrance exam NEET will be conducted on July 26, Union HRD Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal announced on Tuesday. The two crucial exams were postponed due to the lockdown imposed in the country to combat COVID-19. "JEE-Mains will be held from July 18-23, while JEE-Advanced will be held in August. NEET will be conducted on July 26," he said. "A decision will soon be taken on the pending CBSE Std X, XII board exams," he added.

Vistara sends seniors on LWP for four days

Vistara CEO, Leslie Thng on Tuesday announced that senior employees will have to go on compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to four days per month in May and June as a measure to conserve the airline's cash flow to tide over the difficulties faced by the aviation sector due to lockdowns across the world. Vistara had sent the same set of senior employees on compulsory LWP for up to six days in April.

BJP demands Mamata's resignation

After the West Bengal government released fresh data about the COVID-19 situation in the state, the BJP launched a scathing attack on it. State BJP in-charge and party General Secretary, Kailash Vijayavargiya demanded the resignation of Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. Vijayavargiya said that Banerjee should speak in a serious manner and take responsibility. She has no right to continue in office, she should resign. He said that Mamata is only doing politics, she has nothing to do with the lives of people.

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The Karnataka government has withdrawn its request to the railways to run special trains to ferry migrant labourers to their home states, hours after builders met Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa to apprise him of the problems to the construction sector in case they left.

The principal secretary in the Revenue Department, N Manjunatha Prasad, who is the nodal officer for migrants, had requested the South Western Railways on Tuesday to run two train services a day for five days except Wednesday, when the state government wanted services thrice a day to Danapur in Bihar.

Karnataka CM, B S Yediyurappa addresses the media about the ongoing COVID-19 situation, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

However, later, Prasad wrote another letter within a few hours that the special trains were not required. Several migrants in the city were desperate to return home as they were out of job and money. “Since the train services are not required from tomorrow, the letter cited under reference above is withdrawn,” Prasad wrote to the SW Railway general manager on Tuesday.

The Railway officials said they have received the letter seeking withdrawal of the previous one for running special trains. However, Prasad was not available for comments. The builders had apprised the CM about the shortage of labourers if they were allowed to go back home, said a source privy to the issue.

Rs 1,610-cr package for the distressed

The Karnataka government announced a '1,610-crore relief package for the benefit of those in distress due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The measures announced by Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa would bring relief to farmers, flower-growers, washermen, auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, MSMEs, large industries, weavers, building workers and barbers. While the government will reach out to about 7.75 lakh auto and taxi drivers by providing a one-time compensation of '5,000 each, a similar assistance will also be extended to barbers and washermen (dhobis), who are also facing the heat of joblessness due to the lockdown.

WB asked to open cross-border transportation

With the Bengal government not adhering to the Centre's guideline on goods transportation through the India-Bangladesh border, the MHA has issued strict direction to the state to implement it “without any delay”. The state was also asked to submit a compliance report immediately. “You are directed to allow cross land border transportation through all Indo-Bangladesh borders without any delay and send the compliance report,” Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla said.

Delhi's Twitter handle for COVID queries

The Delhi government launched a Twitter handle for addressing COVID-19 related queries and complaints. The handle @DelhiVsCorona will ensure authentic information about the disease and serve as a one-stop solution for all the COVID-19 related queries and complaints, the government said. Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal has formed a team to monitor this Twitter handle. The team will gather live status of the situation and provide authentic information, it said.

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With a surge of 3,390 new cases and 103 new fatalities, the total tally of novel Coronavirus cases in India stood at 56,342 on Friday, the Union Health Ministry said. Of the total cases, 37,916 are active while 1,886 people have lost their lives. A total of 16,593 though have recovered as India undergoes the third-phase of the nation-wide lockdown. The total tally also includes 111 foreign nationals and one migrated patient, said the Health Ministry.

Maharashtra continues at the top of the tally with 17,974 cases and 694 fatalities, while 3,301 people were cured in the state. It is followed by Gujarat with 7,012 cases and 425 deaths and 1,709 recovered. There are at least 5,980 cases in the national capital with 1,931 recoveries and 66 deaths. Other states which saw an increased number of cases are Tamil Nadu (5,409), Rajasthan (3,427), Madhya Pradesh (3,252) and Uttar Pradesh (3,071).

States which have reported more than thousand cases are Andhra Pradesh (1,847), Punjab (1,644), West Bengal (1,548) and Telangana (1,123).

While Goa conyinues to be Corona-free, in the Northeast it is Tripura that surpassed Assam and now has 65 cases as Assam reported 54 cases. Other NE states that have reported COVID-19 cases are Meghalaya (12) Manipur (2), Mizoram (1) and Arunachal Pradesh (1).

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The Supreme Court on Friday observed that the state governments should consider online sale or home delivery of liquor during the nationwide lockdown that's in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The remarks came from a bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B.R. Gavai during the hearing of a PIL through video conferencing. The PIL complained of indiscriminate flouting of all social distancing norms at the liquor vends after they were reopned on May 4.

The top court observed that it is not feasible to pass orders on the PIL filed under Article 32 and instead asked the state governments to consider selling liquor through other viable options, keeping in place social distancing norms. The court said, "We will not pass any order. States should consider indirect sale or home delivery of liquor to maintain social distancing." Advocate Sai Deepak, representing the petitioner, submitted that the opening of liquor shops should not meddle with the lives of the common people.

The petition under Article 32 of the Constitution sought direction from the apex court to the Centre in order to declare the new Covid-19 guidelines issued by the Union of India, which permit the sale of liquors at liquor vends through direct contact sales during the lockdown period "as unconstitutional, null and void". The petition argued that prohibition of sale of liquor for human consumption at liquor vends through direct contact sales during the lockdown period would eventually contribute to containing the spread of Covid-19 in India, until the National Disaster Management Authority or the Centre declares India to be Covid-19 free.

Serpentine queues were reported across Delhi and many other parts of the country after the liquor vends opened in the third phase of the lockdown. At many liquor vends in Delhi-NCR, people disregarded social distancing norms while queuing up to purchase liquor.

Liquor shops had been shut down across India after the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24 midnight. They reopened on May 4.

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Sophie Turner, who stars as Phoenix in the film series "X-Men", has said that she would relish the opportunity to reprise her role in the future.

"I don't even know what the deal is, whether Disney wants to continue on the 'X-Men' journey. I would always be down to go back to that character and that cast and that experience ... We had the best time on those movies. I would kill to go back," she said in a video chat seen on Twitter, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Turner is currently starring in the TV series "Survive", where she plays a survivor of a plane crash who has to make it back to civilisation. She hopes the new show will make those suffering with mental illness feel "less alone".

Turner said: "What drew me to the script was the way that mental illness was written so accurately in my opinion. It felt real to me. I also loved the notion that this girl who wanted to die so badly ends up fighting for a life that she never wanted to live in the first place."

She also feels "Survive" will help to make people feel less alone. "I hope that the story of this girl finding something to live for helps others find the ability to do that, too," she said.

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Branded Harry Potter buses that generally take fans to Warner Bros.' The Making of Harry Potter studio tour in the UK are now being used to transport key National Health Service (NHS) workers for free between hospitals battling coronavirus.

The buses have been provided by Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and bus operator Golden Tours to transport key workers between West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust's three sites, reported Variety.

"Our workforce has been depleted due to sickness or self-isolation and so it's really important that those staff who are well but have transport issues can come back," Variety quoted Paul da Gama, chief people officer at West Herts Hospitals as saying.

"A special shuttle bus, which will have strict social distancing rules, is the perfect solution and we are so grateful to Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and Golden Tours for making this happen. Our staff might not be travelling to exotic locations or seeing behind the scenes of a major movie, but they will be making magic happen in their own way," he added.

The free service runs its first journey just after 6 a.m. and its last drop-off at 10:40 p.m. (local time) between the Trust's three sites.

"We couldn't think of a better way to use the buses at this time. We are delighted to play a part in supporting our local NHS in its time of need," Variety quoted a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden as saying.

The UK has reported more than 90,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus while the toll due to the coronavirus has surged past 12,000.

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Known for belting out hits like "Love story", "Blank space" and "Look what you made me do", singer Taylor Swift is spending her lockdown hours cooking, sipping wine and listening to old classic numbers. "I love spending a full evening cooking a meal while sipping a glass of wine and listening to old music," Swift told People, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

She had earlier told the portal SiriusXM that she has been watching old films that she had not seen before. "A lot of people have been watching lots and lots of TV in this time of quarantine. I have actually been going back and watching old films that I hadn't seen before. I went and watched - I actually hadn't seen 'Rear Window' and if you haven't seen that film go check it out. It's got Grace Kelly, it's phenomenal, it's (by) (Alfred) Hitchcock," she said.

Recently, the singer lashed out at Big Machine Records after it was revealed that they were releasing an album of live performances of Swift's old songs. Earlier this month, Swift participated in pop star Lady Gaga's COVID-19 relief concert "One World: Together at Home", which raised almost $128 million in the US.

The two-hour event also saw the participation of Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra, besides international stars as Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Elton John and Lizzo among others.

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An actor par excellence with an impressive array of roles under his belt, Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan died yesterday at the age of 53, triggering an outpouring of condolences.

Hailing from Jaipur, the seasoned actor was born in a Muslim nawab family, to Begum Khan and Jagirdar Khan.

While studying for his Master's degree, it was in 1984 that he earned a scholarship to study at the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi.

Following his academic completion, Khan made his way to Mumbai, where he kicked off his career as an actor.

New to the industry, he started acting in numerous television serials, including 'Sara Jahan Hamara', 'Chanakya', 'Star Bestsellers', 'Chandrakanta', and more which went on air on Doordarshan and Star Plus.

He played the role of a psycho serial killer opposite actor Kay Kay Menon in the 1995 TV series 'Darr'.

His portrayal of the famous revolutionary Urdu poet and Marxist political activist of India Makhdoom Mohiuddin in 'Kahkashan' was widely lauded.

Flexible in acting, Khan gave life to varied characters onscreen with ease.

In 1988, the actor made his big-screen debut in the drama film 'Salaam Bombay', though his role was not meaty enough.

By the 90s, the actor made his presence in movies such as 'Ek Doctor Ki Maut' and 'Such a Long Journey,' but they went unnoticed.

It was when London-based director Asif Kapadia gave him the lead in 'The Warrior', that Irrfan took the road of uncertainty to glory.

In 2001, the adventure drama took international film festivals by storm, making Irrfan Khan a known face, world over.

Thereafter, the actor tasted success in his acting career with movies like 'Road to Ladakh,' which received rave reviews at international festivals and 'Maqbool,' an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

After his first Bollywood breakthrough in 2005, with him being the lead in 'Rog,' the star was a frequent face in movies, either in the lead role, supporting, or the villain.

It was his performance as a villain in the 2004 released movie 'Haasil' won him the Filmfare Best Villain Award, followed by a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in 2007 for his role in the box-office hit 'Metro.'

His performance in the English-language drama 'The Namesake' was appreciated overseas, which was again closely followed by his appearance in international films 'A Mighty Heart' and 'The Darjeeling Limited'.

The Hollywood recognition did not make him forget his roots - his ties with television. He took over the stage for many television shows as an anchor.

He played a police inspector in the 2008 film 'Slumdog Millionaire', for which he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Following the many credits from overseas, in 2012, the actor set the benchmark in the industry with his acting in the widely lauded adventure movie 'Life of Pie.'

After giving his fans few of his best performances in the recent critically acclaimed Bollywood movies 'The Lunchbox', 'Piku and 'Hindi Medium', in March 2018 his acting career slowed down.

He had been on a year-long break after being diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour for which he was undergoing treatment in London.

However, the actor always stayed connected with his followers through social media, where he also thanked everyone for the love, wishes, and prayers that were bestowed on him.

Last year, on September 14, the actor returned to Mumbai after a 'successful surgery' and wrapping up his last film 'Angrezi Medium' in London.

Three days ago, on April 25, he lost his mother, who passed away due to age-related illness at the age of 95.

Khan is survived by wife Sutapa Sikdar who's also an NSD graduate and sons Babil and Ayan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, several Union Ministers, politicians and members of the Bollywood and Hollywood industries have extended heartfelt condolences on Irrfan's death.

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Actor Priyanka Chopra seems headstrong when it comes to fitness. Despite not hitting the gym due to lockdown, the actor has a solution to maintain her workout routine at home. The star on Saturday posted a video of herself on Instagram in which she could be seen half-laid on the couch while pulling up a kid with her hands.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

No gym, no problem. @sky.krishna @divya_jyoti

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) onMay 2, 2020 at 12:05pm PDT

The 37-year-old was pounding out reps over reps as she lifted the little young girl instead of dumbells. Taking to the captions, the 'Don' actor wrote: 'No gym, no problem'.

The 'Fashion' actor is currently staying indoors with her singer husband Nick Jonas in the United States.

Recently, the actor shared a picture of herself in a stunning blue saree, saying she 'felt like wearing' one at home.

Earlier, Chopra pledged USD 100,000 in total to four incredible women who rose above the challenges to make a difference during the coronavirus crises.

Moreover, she along with Nick donated to several organisations including PM CARES Fund, Goonj, Feeding America and others to combat COVID-19 which has affected over 10 lakh people globally.

The 'Baywatch' actor took part in WHO's live stream event 'ONE WORLD: TOGETHER AT HOME' to raise funds for COVID-19 relief.

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Actor John Boyega, who made his final appearance as Stormtrooper-turned-hero Finn in "Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker", recalled shooting for the franchise. In an interview with CinemaBlend, the 28-year-old shared how he keeps on thinking about his 'Star Wars' moments amid the lockdown, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"I've still got my audition scripts. I've still got notes for what time I'm supposed to get to the audition and schedule, all of that stuff.

"So it's more of a time, for me anyway, to just kind of be a bit nostalgic and really take in the moments that I was able to enjoy. Now I have time for family, so it's really, really a win-win," John said.

He also spoke about how leaving the sci-fi series behind allowed him to reflect on the changes in his career.

"I think for me, honestly, it's all been good. It's been great because I've been able to go home and ask that fundamental question that I couldn't answer through the six years (which) was, 'What just happened to me?'," John added.

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The six-year-old boy who fell into a 200-feet-deep borewell near Manchar tehsil in Pune was safely rescued on Thursday after a 16-hour operation.

The boy, identified as Ravi Pandit Bill, was stuck at a depth of 10 feet in the borewell, informed SHO Ambegaon Police station.

The boy fell into the borewell around 5 pm on Wednesday in Thandale village of Pune.

Ravi, son of a labourer working on road constructions, fell into the borewell while playing.

The work of road construction was underway in the area and Ravi's family was deployed at the site.

Soon after receiving the report of the incident, the National Disaster Response Force team (NDRF) and police were pressed into action to rescue the trapped boy.

The operation was very critical and required constant meticulous planning to avoid any injury to the child.

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During Holi 2019, certain people were forcefully throwing colours and water balloons in a public place in Pune's Pimpri Chinchwad area which prompted the police to detain 84 youth. A case was filed under the relevant section 68 under the Bombay Police Act.

This unruly behaviour which began at 7 am, ended at 2 pm. The entire police station was filled with these accused that the cops had to resort to locking some of them up in another police station.

Detained youth during Holi with Pune police

Senior Inspector Satish Mane of the Wakad police station said, "We set up nine teams along with two mini police vans. Each team consisted of seven policemen and a total of 75 police staff were working around the clock in public places as well as public utility areas such as buses, trains and other modes of transport.

Our prime focus was Rahatni and offices in order to safeguard people from such issues. The detained youth belonged to the age gap of 20-25. Some of the detained would throw water balloons and colour on women while others travelled on bikes hurling balloons at buses and other vehicles. They primarily targetted women."

He had added, "The youth have been detained and will remain in the police station till the evening. The accused were also given lessons in law and how to behave in public places."

Also Read: Mumbai: Holi celebration turns tragic as five drown at beach in Nalasopara

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The UPSC exams held in September-October, 2018 declared the results on Friday evening and a total of 759 candidates have been recommended for the appointment.

Trupti Ankush Dhodmise, a resident of Pune holds the 16th rank in the country. She is married and currently serves as an Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax (Goods and Service Department) with Maharashtra State.

Trupti's parents are school teachers and she holds an engineering degree in a Pune-based college of Engineering. Via post campus placement, she got a job in a reputed company and later in 2014, she cleared the Maharashtra State Public Service Commission (MPSC) to join as assistant commissioner of sales tax.

Trupti told mid-day, “I was expecting to clear this exam as this was my fourth attempt and like the previous two attempts, I only was disappointed in my interview rounds. My husband helped me with my studies and motivated me to do better. My parents and in-laws also supported me.” She also added, “Being a married woman, it helps you to grow stronger and make better decisions in life.”

Nachiket Vishwanath Shelke from Pingale village in Shirur taluka also cracked the examination with 167^thrank all over India. On the other hand, Puja (26) has topped holding the 11th rank in India. She has completed her education in a Delhi-based college and later perused her post graduation in Columbia. She has kept her father, Dnyaneshwar Muley's legacy alive as he is a former Indian Foreign Service officer with the Ministry of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs (MEA).

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Even after 70 years of Independence, there is a segment of our society which has not freed from Its narrow-minded mentality. It's a segment of male dominating society which consider women inferior to men and make them deprived of the respect they deserve for. Women is the mother of a society and a good society can never be made without respecting women. There are women in society who decide to fight for their rights. ‘Astounding Courage In Distress’ is the story of such a girl Ruhana, who doesn't loose her hope in adverse conditions and fight bravely for her rights and achieve her target. Ruhana becomes a role model for society. Ruhana, born in a poor Muslim family of Pratapgarh, is a lovely daughter of her parents. Her parents want to educate her so that she can be successful in life. Ruhana is also a hardworking girl. The small family is very happy but one day Abbu (Ruhana's father) dies in a accident. A big struggle starts for the family. Poverty has become a nightmare for them. Ruhana gets the news that her school has organized a race with a prize money of Rs 5000. Ruhana registers her name for the race. She hides this from her mother, Shabana because she won't allow Ruhana to participate in race because of board exams. Abhishek is the sport teacher in Ruhana's school and he is training all participants for this race. Abhishek is very hard at rules. He gets impressed by Ruhana’s hardwork and trains her specially. Meanwhile, Bilaal, a distant relative of Ruhana, comes to India from Dubai for watching a Property. Bilaal is sad for the death of his cousin brother and helps his family in this tough time. Ruhana takes Bilaal as father figure. After some time, he goes back to Dubai. Shabana starts working in a shop. She does mistakes and get insulted. Its painful for Ruhana and therefore she gives training to her mother about all products in the shop. This makes Shabana's job very easy. Ruhana takes all responsibilities of family and simultaneously also prepares for race and board exams. Bilaal comes back India and this time he goes with Shabana, Ruhana to watch a girl for marriage. He rejects the girl and Ruhana makes fun of whole incidence. One day, Bilaal is sitting with his friends and they talk about marriage. His friends advise him of marrying Ruhana as they think she loves him that’s why she is coming so close to him. This changes Bilaal’s way of thinking and he keep this proposal in front of Shabana. He also creates problem in Ruhana’s school life. Shabana asks Bilaal to leave them which makes him furious and he decides to take a revenge on them. He also attacks Abhishek in frustration. Shabana and Ruhana forget this all and starts living happily. Ruhana not only comes first in race but also comes top in her board examination. Everything is going good but suddenly something happens which puts a big question on her future, her dreams, her life. An Acid attack which burns not only her body but also her dreams. Her future depends only on her strong determination. Will the double standard hypocrites of society survive the willpower and strong determination talented girl?

For many of us, this lock-down is turning out to be the longest break we've ever taken, from going out, or going anywhere for that matter. And for actors, it is a break with no 'work from home' which they are spending with family and loved ones. Taapsee Pannu is also making the most of it in her Mumbai house, along with sister Shagun Pannu.

Speaking to a leading daily, Taapsee opened up on how actors work so hard to have a house of their own but would barely have any time to spend there as they were always traveling for work. She added that she was reveling in her uninterrupted free time and would just sit at her favourite corners of the house.

Several cities including Mumbai and Taapsee's hometown Delhi, where her parents live, come under the red zone. However, the actor says she is relieved that her parents do not live around the hotspot zones, since they both are above 60 years in age and needed to be careful. She went on to add that her parents, one retired and another a house wife, did not go out much and hence weren't very severely affected by the lock-down.

Taapsee will be next seen in Akshay Kumar starrer Rashmi Rocket and Aanand L Rai's Haseen Dillruba.

If it is CK Vineeth responding to the COVID-19 helpline in Kerala, his Indian teammate Subhashish Bose has taken it upon himself to feed the homeless and jobless in his home town Subhasgram in South 24 parganas. Amid the nationwide lockdown, a long queue could be seen every morning at Subhasgram comprising of local rickshaw pullers, daily wage earners or small time hawkers who come to collect their daily ration. Bose, a member of the 'Blue Tigers' would be at the other end, happily distributing packets containing rice, pulses, potatoes, onions and other staple food items. This is his way of paying back to the society. "The rickshaw pullers who have so many times offered me free rides to-and-fro to local matches, that local vendor and shopkeeper who had gifted me so many free packets of food after heart-warming performances -- I felt I needed to pay them back," the India left-back told PTI of his daily regime since Friday.

"It was such a satisfaction to hand over some food items to lot many known faces whom I have known in my locality over my upbringing." India had imposed a nationwide lockdown since March 24 to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and the worst-hit were people from the lower strata of the society whose life revolve around their daily wages. One fine morning, the 24-year-old felt restless and was awakened by the Swami Vivekananda's soul-stirring words 'Arise, Awake, And Stop Not Till the Goal is Reached!' "It kept on reverberating between my ears. My conscience did not allow me to shy away -- rather it kept on pushing me to give it back to the society where I have grown up."

"Somewhere down the line, however, I felt restless. It's understandable that even as we need to Stay Home Stay Safe, there have been so many brave hearts who have cared less for their lives, and are out to serve the country in this troubled time -- the doctors, nurses, cleaners, police, journalists, etc. It's not only the frontline workers, who are put their lives on line but citizens need to do their bit, reckons Bose. "But are they enough? Can we all just sit back on our cosy rooms, and expect the privilege of others keeping us safe? Don't we need more volunteers? And eventually, I had to move out -- not for fun, not to have a roam, but try to lend a helping hand," he said. He is thankfu to GOd that he has made a decent living as a footballer playing in the cash-ruch Indian Super League and for the Indian team. "God is kind, that today I am able to help them. Thank you, Lord for providing me with the strength. All of that was done by maintaining social distancing, and proper protection.

"All of them whom I handed over packets wanted to hug me but couldn't because of the social distancing. "Some of them had tears in their eyes. Their hugs can wait as we need nrmalcy to return. Till then stay home, and stay safe," he added. The Mumbai City FC defender was looking forward to the Indian camp when the pandemic halted all sporting activities. "A longer camp for the national team was planned and we were forward to it. But under current circumstances all sporting action around the world has been postponed." Asked whether he's missing the game, he replied: "Human lives are of utmost importance, and like everyone around us, I look forward for normalcy to return soon." The defender however regrets that he's not able to go out for runs so he's making the best use of the time at his private gym. "I cannot go out for my runs. So I am trying to keep myself as much fit as possible indoors. I try to sweat out at least two hours a day in my personal gym so that I stay in proper shape when the season resumes. "There is also monitoring from the medical staff, and we need to strict to the regimes provided," he concluded.

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Argentina footballer Paulo Dybala has tested coronavirus positive for the fourth time in the last six weeks, according to media reports. This could come as a big blow for Juventus as Serie A had allowed players to return to individual training from May 4. "Spanish programme El Chiringuito stated Dybala has had four tests across the last six weeks and the latest one was positive again," the report in The Sun stated. Dybala was one of the first footballers to contract the virus along side Juventus teammate Daniele Rugani. In March, Dybala had taken to instagram to reveal he and his girlfriend both had tested positive.

Italy has been one of the worst hit countries in the world due to coronavirus pandemic as more than 200,000 people have been infected while in excess of 27,000 individuals have lost their lives so far. Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora had earlier suggested that it would be easier to end the football season and if indeed the leagues do start, it should be a gradual process.

"It would be much easier to end the season immediately and the scientific community would agree," he wrote on his Facebook page. "Carrying on the world of football is a very important thing for our country, but we must do it safely. Remember when Serie A didn't stop? How many teams have gone into quarantine? The [Italian Football Federation] FIGC submitted a protocol and it was considered.

"Today we're at the end of April, we can't know for sure how the virus will evolve and how the rules will be respected, therefore we can't know when the season will resume.

"We've been working to resume training from May 18, but that doesn't mean the leagues will start up again," he added.

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Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, 35, could be expecting his fifth child going by an indication from his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, 26, via social media.

On Monday, just before leaving for Turin, Italy from Madeira in Portugal where they spent nearly two months, Georgina hinted in a social media post that she was pregnant.

She Instagrammed this blurred picture (above) of herself chewing gum with the words 'baby girl' accompanied by a heart wrapped in a bow emoji.

Cristiano has four children, Cristiano Jr, nine, twins Eva and Mateo, two, born via a surrogate mother and Alana Martina, two, from Georgina. Cristiano and his family arrived in Italy, where he will now self-isolate for two weeks before resuming training with his club, Juventus.

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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!

PS: If you wish to select worthy mutual fund schemes, I recommend you to subscribe to PersonalFN's unbiased premium research service, FundSelect.

Additionally, as a bonus, you get access to PersonalFN's popular debt mutual fund service, DebtSelect.

Each fund recommended under FundSelect goes through our stringent process, where they are tested on both quantitative as well as qualitative parameters.

Every month, PersonalFN's FundSelect service will provide you with insightful and practical guidance on equity mutual funds and debt schemes - the ones to Buy, Hold, or Sell.

If you are serious about investing in a rewarding mutual fund scheme, Subscribe now!

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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.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

While sports stars across the globe are trying their hands at doing things they never got to do thanks to the Coronavirus lockdown, Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov has revealed he will be taking up a course at the Harvard Business School soon.

In a column for the ATP Tour website, Grigor wrote: "I'm starting a course at Harvard Business School in a few weeks. It's something I've always wanted to do. I loved being in school, but haven't had the chance to experience it to the extent that I would have wanted to. Now I have the time to do something new and different."

Grigor, who is currently in California, USA, during quarantine, added: "I decided to stay on the west coast of the US once it was announced that Indian Wells was cancelled. Tennis players are creatures of habit, so I still make sure to structure my day. Go to bed on time, wake up early, be productive in the morning. I'm a crazy fanatic when it comes to laundry and have been doing that twice a day."

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With the world coming to a standstill due to the coronavirus outbreak, sporting events across the globe have either been cancelled or suspended and Indias star tennis player Sania Mirza cannot wait to go back to the tennis court.

Taking to Twitter, she wrote: "Waiting to play tennis again like." Earlier, Sania had made her displeasure known as there has been a rise in the number of 'cooking' posts that celebrities are putting out on social media as they stay indoors to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Sania feels posting such pictures in these times is unwanted.

Waiting to play tennis again like 🎾 ⏳
📸- @avigowariker pic.twitter.com/RUZaNRjHHf

— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) April 14, 2020

Taking to Twitter, she wrote: "Aren't we done with posting cooking videos and food pictures yet ? Just spare a thought - there are hundreds of thousands of ppl, specially in our side of the world starving to death and struggling to find food once a day if they are lucky."

After giving birth to her child in October 2018, Sania returned to the court in January this year. She clinched the women's doubles title at Hobart International, pairing up with Nadiia Kichenok, in her comeback competition.

Sania recently shared a photo of her son with a tennis racquet in hand, looking confused. "I am pretty sure he's thinking what the fuss is all about? #IzhaanMirzaMalik". Sania said in her Twitter post.

Sania last played at the Qatar Open in February. She has helped raise Rs 1.25 crore in one week which will help close to 1 lakh people in need during the 21-day lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

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Tennis stars like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori and others will participate in a virtual charity tennis tournament. IMG is the company coordinating the tournament titled "Stay at Home Slam" and it will be streamed on Sunday on Facebook Gaming and on the tennis Facebook page of IMG. Two-person teams will compete using the Mario Tennis Aces game on Nintendo Switch.

Competitors will play the video game from their homes across the country, and each will receive $25,000 donated to the charity of their choice, with the winner of the tournament receiving an additional $1 million in donation. "I am proud our IMG tennis clients came together so quickly to support a multitude of great causes," said Max Eisenbud, SVP of tennis clients at IMG as per the official website. "It is a testament to the people we work with across all our divisions that we were able to bring this to life in such a short amount of time."

"It's been incredible to see the creative ways athletes are using social media to support people during this difficult time," said Evan Shugerman, Facebook Athlete Partnerships Lead. "We're excited to be partnering with IMG to contribute to those efforts, which will bring some of the world's top athletes together on Facebook for an entertaining and impactful competition."

Legendary tennis player John McEnroe and popular YouTube personality iJustine (Justine Ezarik) will be commentating the matches.

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The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is working on a tie-up between hospitality provider Airbnb and locals for offering home-stay to tourists visiting the Elephanta Caves island located in Mumbai Harbour. The policy aims to overcome the security concerns due to high security installations facing the island that does not allow construction of hotels and night stay.

Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal said the 29th two-day Elephanta Festival, beginning January 27, will be held on the island itself again. After the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the festival venue was shifted to the Gateway of India in south Mumbai. "Seventy years after Independence, the island is soon to get proper electricity connection depending upon the testing of the electricity meters," the minister said. Rawal said there are about 1,200 to 1,500 homes on the Elephanta island, also known as Gharapuri Island, located east of Mumbai.

The minister said no new constructions are allowed on the island due to high-security installations of ONGC and the Navy. The Caves are declared a heritage site by the UNESCO and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Rawal said the government in a tie-up with the Mumbai Port Trust and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is planning a cable car over the sea for travelling to the island. The island is expected to get proper electricity connection within a week's time.

"The Elephanta festival will coincide with the culminating phase of the Mumbai Shopping Festival that will end on January 31," he said, adding that the Elephanta fest will comprise activities like treasure hunt at Elephanta, a sculpture and a painting contests with prize money. Besides this, the festival will have art, dance and music performances by Zia Nath, Sangeeta Trivedi, Sumeet Nagdev, Hans Raj Hans and others, Rawal said.

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Representational Pic

Kerala is aiming to re-brand itself as a 'Land of Adventure' to increase tourist arrivals--both foreign and domestic in the next five years. The state was targetting the increase of foreign and domestic tourist arrivals by 100 per cent and 50 per cent respectively in the next five years, a tourism department press release said.

Kerala showcased its unexplored destinations and adventure tourism hot spots at the silver jubilee edition of SATTE-South Asia's leading travel and tourism exhibition at New Delhi today. On the rebranding of Kerala,Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran said that over the years, the industry had changed rapidly with vistors preferring to go beyond the historic temples, monuments and modern sights.

Tourists prefer to explore hills, waterfalls and forests by indulging in adventorous activities, he said, adding that hencefourth the state aims to be re-branded as the 'land of adventure' to woo the younger generation by offering activity and water based tourism. Tourism Director P Balakiran said that the interest of travellers was increasingly gravitating towards adventure tourism offerings, including expanded world view, nature and discovery and fun and thrills. The activity related tourism would help the state achieve the target of domestic and international tourist arrivals, he said. The rivers, high altitude mountains, dense forests and vast stretches of sea offers an array of adventure packed destinations, he added.

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Indonesia is hoping for an "exponential" increase in tourist inflow from India and has set its visitor arrival target at seven lakh from the country in 2018, a senior official from the island nation has said. The country received 485,314 Indian visitors in 2017, which is nearly a 30 per cent rise from the year before, he noted.

With several low-cost airlines providing affordable deals between India and Indonesia, the island country is hoping to make the most of the opportunity, Pupung Thariq Fadhillah, the deputy director in the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia, said during his recent visit to the city. "The exotic Bali island remains one of the most-favoured destinations for Indian tourists, over 50 per cent of whom enter the country through Denpasar airport in the island," senior tourism official DAL Janapriati said.

Seeking to offer 'Greater Bali' to the travellers, Fadhillah, who led a delegation from Indonesia to promote the country's tourism sector, said the country would also love to introduce ten more destinations to the Indians in the near future. Lake Toba, Tanjung Kelayang, Tanjung Lesung, Seribu Islands, the Borbodur, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru cluster are among the new hotspots in the Indonesian province, Janapriati said. "If we achieve the target of seven lakh tourist footfall from India, the country will rise to the fifth position in Indonesia's tourist footfall ranking, with Japan now at the top," she added.

Are you really bored of the routine and look to have a fun-filled vacation? Here your quest ends as the Good Friday long weekend is approaching and then you can plan to have some adventure for your lifetime. Though our country offers a vast number of adventure activities, it is always difficult to choose one out of them. It is really important to decide a right adventure sport at a right place to have the best utilization of your vacation. In order to help you we have list down some of the best places for you to consider this long weekend. We promise that these sports not only stimulate adrenaline rush but also help you to become fearless:

Bungee Jumping in Rishikesh
Bungee Jumping is an exciting and thrilling adventure sport. It is an ill-advised sport for the faint hearted. You might be surprised that though a lot of people take the initiative to try it out, but most back off just before the jump. First a long, extremely strong and stretchy cord is tied around the jumper's ankle, which leaps off of the jumping point. Jumpin Heights offers adrenaline-pumping activities such as Bungee Jumping, Flying Fox, and Giant Swing. Recognised by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, the organization follows Australian and New Zealand Standards for Safety Regulations. Built above the glorious river Ganges, Jumpin Heights is host to India's first highest Bungee jumping platform (83 meters).jumpinheights.com

Wildlife Safari in Ranthambore National Park
For the wildlife adventure enthusiasts, Ranthambore National Park in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan is a celestial destination. Known to be one of the best parks to spot the majestic Indian Tigers, the park is also the home to several other endangered species. The Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary is popular for being India's largest National Park. It encompasses the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and the Keladevi Sanctuary and hence covers approximately a stretch of 1300 Sq. Km. The park welcomes all you adventure enthusiasts, wildlife photographers and nature admirers to be awe struck by its glory

Cycle Trekking in Himalayan
The mountainous region delivers a special kind of excitement to the adventure junkies. The great topography of India will let you experience this excitement. For cycle trekking, the Himalayan range and the mountainous regions of Kerala are the most favorite for the activity. One can ride individually or in groups to rejuvenate their senses.

Desert Camping in Jodhpur
For those, who crave for fun and adventure in the arid deserts of Rajasthan, Jodhpur proves to be an ideal destination. Also known as the 'Sun City', the adventure junkies can opt for desert camping along with bonfire, barbeque dinners and village tours in Jodhpur.

River Rafting in Rishikesh
The gushing waters of Ganges makes river rafting in Rishikesh one of the most exhilarating adventurous sports. Embraced by the majestic Himalayas and enveloped by the lush green vegetation, the divine city of Rishikesh invites all you adrenaline Junkies, to encounter some thrill. The Ganga River flowing through the city offers rapids ranging from Grade-I-V and makes it for an ultimate rafting destination in the country.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here

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After travelling for hours, people look forward to settle down in their hotel rooms, away from dirty transport and several air-borne diseases.

However, not many are aware that the sigh of relief is far from being true.

Hotel rooms are often filled with viral diseases and infections. In order to beat them, here are some tips to create a healthier environment in your hotel room.

1. Raid the bed bugs- Stripping down your bed of its linen and checking for bugs might do the trick. Travel and Leisure also suggests examining the upholstered furniture, curtains, and headboard for the little termites.

2. Ditch the bedspread- Just because bedspreads can be laundered does not mean they often are. Reneta McCarthy, a former housekeeping manager for a major American hotel chain, told CNN that hotels may not switch out the duvets when they are providing fresh top sheets. Your best bet is to play it safe and store the comforter or duvet in the closet

3. Disinfecting commonly used items- Carrying antibacterial wipes in your luggage can be your best bet. You can use them to disinfect most commonly used items such as door handles, light switches, toilet flushes, telephones, television remote, faucets, bedside tables and such.

4. Opening the window- Sometimes, hotel rooms are full of still air which is often full of air-borne bacteria - due to lack of proper ventilation and air circulation. Opening the window improves circulation and invites fresh air. Also, opening a window can help you adjust to the local time zone.

5. Avoid using in-room glassware- Try and use plastic wrapped cups or opt bottled water, if available. There are many times when proper cleaning and sanitisation of used glasses is not ensured in hotels.

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New Delhi: Looking for destinations for the year 2018? Here are some reasons to why you should visit world¿s oldest and most popular natural health resort - the Dead Sea in Israel

• The Dead Sea is three million years old and the lowest point on earth at 1,388 ft below sea level.
• The lowest point on earth is also home to the lowest road on the planet, Highway 90 located 1,289 ft. below sea level on the Israeli shore.
• One of the saltiest water bodies on the planet, the Dead Sea has 10 times the salt concentration of ocean water creating the bucket list experience of floating on water.
• What if we told you that the Dead Sea isn¿t a sea at all but actually a hypersaline lake ranked as the world¿s deepest salt water lake.
• The world's first and most popular health resort, the Dead Sea was a favorite among royalty with the likes of King Herod the Great and Queen Cleopatra.
• The biggest free spa on earth, the Dead Sea region has been attracting visitors from all over the world. The mineral content in the water, mud and salt, the low content of pollen and other allergens along with low solar UV radiation, combined with the atmospheric pressure and the depth, have healing properties for various skin diseases, respiratory ailments and rheumatic pain. A unique occurrence at the Dead Sea is of large amounts of asphalt which rises to the surface of the water. Ancient Egyptians would import the asphalt from the Dead Sea region and used it to embalm mummies.
• Yes, the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found here; hundreds of well preserved Biblical and non-biblical manuscripts that helped reshape historic views on religion.
• Evidence shows that the Dead Sea may dry up within 50 years so we recommend a quick visit in 2018!

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In the age of instant social media uploads and the so-called mandatory airport selfies, one cannot do without planning a vacay wardrobe. If you have difficulty in staying within the luggage weight limit, this checklist is your best travel guide.

Cool casual
Deepika Padukone is the queen of effortless cool; her favoured combo being leggings and an oversized shirt or a pullover. Do your knees a favour and pick baggy pants for long flights.

The '90s kid
From Valentino to Masaba, the fanny pack is the new favourite of designers. Take a cue from actor Jacqueline Fernandez and clip one on to keep your essentials in place.

Athleisure
We don't see the athleisure trend settling down anytime soon. And it's the perfect trend to follow for travel, just like actor Ranveer Singh in this tracksuit.

Boho-chic
If comfort is a requisite, loose silhouettes should be your pick. Actor Esha Gupta does it well in this maxi. Natural beachy waves after a day by the seaside will complete your look.

Staples first
>> Linens are best for summer.
>> Wardrobe staples include shirts, your best denim, shorts and linen pants. Ankle-length linen pants can be worn with breezy cotton tops, T-shirts, shirts or kurtis, making four looks with one staple.

>> Footwear is bulky to carry. One pair of white shoes and flip flops or sandals will work with every outfit.
>> Denim shorts go with everything, be it T-shirts or a monokini. Dark or faded shorts work best, while ripped ones need a sporty approach.
>> For cooler places, a classic, big trench coat (each brand has a signature), socks, boots or shoes and a stole should be your essentials.

>> Always carry moisturiser, for the beach or the hills. A perfume is another essential.
>> Carry two styles of sunglasses to change your looks in your photos. Leave the rest to good natural lighting which is a guarantee when outdoors.

- Rupa Chourasia, stylist

From day to night
>> Pack garments in an assortment of light or warm fabrics, which will work not just for the outdoors but also in the AC.
>> For a packed itinerary that involves day outings, partying and outdoors, neutral heels, chic flats and one pair of sneakers will make your shoe-game on point.

>> For a day to night transition in the same outfit, carry small accessories and statement jewellery — slinky chains with a beach cover-up or a kaftan for the beach; interchange this look with a chunky neckpiece or earrings for the night. Make-up can help you achieve this shift too.

>> A small metallic sling bag, a medium tote or a leather backpack are versatile pieces.
- Reann Moradian, stylist

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Colva beach in South Goa has been selected by the Union Tourism ministry to be developed under the ambitious India¿s Iconic Tourist Sites Project, a senior official said today. Union Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma made the announcement here today and added that it was the only beach along the 12 sites selected.

"It will boost tourism and build the profile of the area and bring about community development," state tourism officials said. The project envisages employment generation, development of local culture, beautification, infrastructure and other public amenities, they added. Verma said that a detailed master plan would be put in place to develop Colva beach as an iconic tourist site.

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Representational picture

Agartala: The first meeting of the 'Niti Forum for North-East' (NFNE) on Tuesday chosn five sectors including tourism and food processing to exploit them on mission mode basis to accelerate inclusive and sustainable economic growth of the region, said NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar.

Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh, in a significant announcement, also said that henceforth 100 per cent funding would be made by the Central government for central sector projects in the eight northeastern states, which were earlier being undertaken on the basis of centre-state sharing in the ratio of 90 :10.

"In the first meeting, NFNE has identified five sectors to exploit them on mission mode basis to speed up inclusive and sustainable economic growth of the northeastern region," Rajiv Kumar told the media after the meeting.

The other sectors are bamboo, horticulture and 'Made in Northeast'.

Rajiv Kumar said that the focus of development and infrastructural projects in the northeastern region would be based on the concept of "HIRA" -- Highways, Inland Waterways, Railways and Airways as conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The NITI Aayog Vice Chairman and DoNER Minister are Co-Chairmen of the NFNE constituted last month following Modi's direction to supplement the functioning of the DoNER ministry and North Eastern Council (NEC).

On the new funding pattern for central sector projects, Jitendra Singh said that this will only be applicable to the eight northeastern states, unlike the earlier 90:10 funding pattern which was in force for 11 special category states - which also included Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.

He said the infrastructure of the northeastern region, which had been neglected for 65 years, had got a boost under the NDA government, with utilisation of funds increasing to Rs 30,000 crore in the last financial year from Rs 24,000 crore in 2014-15 fiscal.

Singh said that for the development of highways and roadways and tourism sectors, two separate corporations were formed and to boost the industrialisation of the region, the "North East Industrial Development Scheme" was finalised last month by the union cabinet with the financial outlay of Rs 3000 crores up to March, 2020.

He said that under the UDAN phase two and phase three, all the northeastern states would be connected by airways and the region's connectivities with the neighbouring countries would be further developed.

Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, Planning and Coordination, PWD Ministers of Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam and top officials of all the eight northeastern states and various Central ministries attended the day-long NFNE meeting.

Rajiv Kumar said that 14 districts of eight northeastern states among the 115 most backward districts across the country and dubbed as "aspirational" districts, identified to accelerate the all-round development.

Of the 14 districts, seven are in Assam and one each in remaining seven states - Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Sikkim.

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Some of the band members saw snow for the first time in Gulmarg

It's rare for a young band, new on the scene, to get the traction that the Mumbai-based Aankh Micholi has got in the last year. Formed in 2015 at the True School of Music, the alternative folk fusion has been performing all over the city and country in 2018, gathering praise for their soulful music, which they describe as "a marriage between powerful lyrics and compelling storytelling". Recently, the five members - Osho Jain, 23, Bharat Chandore, 20, Pankaj Pathe, 26, Akshay Dabhadkar, 21, and Hansel Dias, 23 - performed at Winterfell Café in Srinagar, which is known for musical performances.

The band also used a sled as a percussion instrument

"We had heard about the café and we just took a chance and called them, and said, 'would you like to host us?', and they couldn't have been happier. They also told us that we were the first non-Kashmiri band to have played in the Valley. The band, Parvaz, had performed before us, but all its members are Kashmiri," Jain tells us. We asked the band why they think the Valley should be our next travel destination and this is what they had to say.

And sang a few songs, which they shared on Facebook

'The people are amazing'
We literally haven't met better people ever before. Firstly, at the café, which takes its inspiration from the Game of Thrones, a crowd of over 50 turned up, which is great for that area. This café has a lot of things happening all the time - open mics, storytelling, all performance-based art. The music that we were playing was very different from the kind of music they are exposed to, which is basically Kashmiri folk music. This was very new to them, but they just loved it, and responded with such gusto. People are just nice everywhere you go, and help is at hand whenever you need it.

A select few airlines offer direct flights from Mumbai to Srinagar, or you can fly to Delhi and take a connecting flight

As soon as we landed, we just dumped our bags at our hotel, and headed to the Dal Lake. We then sat in the shikaras, and started playing our guitars and singing our original songs. We were entertaining people, and they were loving it. After a while, people joined us in the singing. It was one of our most overwhelming moments.

The snow is magical
On the second day we were there, we headed to Gulmarg. It wasn't supposed to snow that day, and hasn't snowed for the last 20 days. But, as soon as we got there, it started snowing, and even the locals were surprised. Some of us had never seen snow before. We were on the slopes and we were sledding. We also used the sled as a percussion instrument, and sang a few songs as we did a Facebook live from the slopes.

Binge on Kashmiri Noon chai
Since most of were vegetarian, food was a bit of an issue. But, we all fell in love with the kahwa. That sweet, sweet tea, really hit the spot in the cold. We also sampled the Kashmiri noon chai, also called sheer chai, gulabi chai, which is a traditional tea made with salt, milk and baking soda. It's very different to taste, and it would be right to say that it's an acquired taste. But we loved it.

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While tourists from across the world come to Goa to enjoy on its picturesque beaches, the locals have of late been holidaying in the state's hinterland to get respite from the summer heat and humidity. Several Goans have been rushing these days to the riverfronts in the rural talukas of Sanguem in South Goa district and Sattari in North Goa district, thus encouraging a new trend of 'agro-tourism' in the state.

There are at least 100 farms in Goa, which operate seasonally, mostly in summer, away from the beaches, a senior state tourism official said. "While foreign and domestic tourists enjoy on the beaches, the locals in the beach belt try to search for something else. The agro-tourism has, thus, come as a good alternative," Goa's tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said. The state government plans to provide all possible help to boost this hinterland tourism, he said.

"We aim to provide a diverse experience to the visitors. They should know all facets of Goa, right from beaches to our green hinterland," Ajgaonkar said. Prashant Desai, the son of former panchayat minister Venkatesh Desai, has turned a bushy patch at Advai village in Sattari into an agro-tourism destination. "The initial concept was to have modern farming with the cross plantation of banana, areca nut, coconut, papaya, lemon and other trees. But, a few of my well-wishers suggested that I should develop this place into a farm to attract tourists," he said. Now, the locals in large numbers throng the place, famous as the 'peacock farm'.

"My weekends since last four months have been full and now with the vacations on, we have advanced bookings even on weekdays," Desai said.
He claimed that about 90 per cent of the people coming to his farm were locals, while 10 per cent were visitors from other places, including Mumbai, who got to know about it through the social media. In the hinterland, one can also find inspirational stories of aspiring tourism entrepreneurs. Ramchandra Salgaoncar, who manages a papaya farm at Bhironda village in Sattari, left his cushy corporate job to venture into 'agro-tourism'. "I left my job in October last year and since then have been associated with this project of agro-tourism. It is a satisfying experience," Salgaoncar said. While Goa has the image of being a beach destination, several hotel owners from the coastal belt drive to Salgaoncar's farm to enjoy a quiet vacation during weekdays.

"The hoteliers are busy during weekends at their own resorts, so they can spare time to visit the farm only on weekdays," he said. The agro-tourism concept has been welcomed by professionals from various fields in the state and also young students, who prefer to skip weekends and get some discounts during weekdays to enjoy at these farms, Salgaoncar said. "The concept of tourism has changed. Now, people don't want to go to public places with their families. They want a private space where their families can safely enjoy. That is where small farms like ours flourish," he said. The Tanshikar farm in Sanguem taluka has been among the first few 'agro-tourism' ventures. Chinmay Tanshikar, who turned his ancestral farm into a tourist attraction, claimed that the number of visitors to his place has been increasing every year. "The word of mouth publicity works better than any other media campaign," he said.

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