Nation celebrates Gurpurab
Sikhs from across the world are celebrating the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Today.
Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs founded the Khalsa Panth and gave the teachings of harmony, brotherhood and righteousness.
The birth anniversary of tenth Guru of Sikhs Guru Gobind Singh is being celebrated across the globe with religious fervor and gaiety.
Guru Gobind Singh was born in 1666 in Patna of Bihar, where Patna Sahib Gurudwara is situated. Devotees in huge numbers visit the Gurudwara on the occasion.
In 1699 on the day of Vaisakhi, Guru Gobind Singh ji founded the Khalsa Panth.
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Ganguly quits Bengal human rights panel
Facing mounting pressure, Justice A K Ganguly today resigned as chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) following allegations of sexual harassment by a law intern, highly-placed sources said tonight.
The former Supreme Court judge submitted his resignation to West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan when he met him at Raj Bhavan, the sources said.
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Jains to be included in list of minority communities, says Minority Affairs Minister
The Central government is set to create an Equal Opportunity Commission as recommended by the Sachar Committee, Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan said in an exclusive interview.
Khan also said the Jain community will be added to the list of national minority communities. The minister said the Equal Opportunity Commission draft was with the Union Cabinet and it would be made into a law soon.
Khan said all minorities would be covered and the commission would have legal teeth.
Any member of any minority community who felt discriminated against could complain to the Equal Opportunity Commission, he said.
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Govt launches nation’s first comprehensive adolescent health programme
New Delhi, Jan. 7 (ANI): The government on Tuesday launched the nation's first comprehensive adolescent health programme, which will include a sharp focus on adolescents' sexual health.
Speaking at the launch of the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram here, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government stands committed to addressing the health needs of 243 million adolescents, who constitute 21 per cent of the total population in India.
The programme envisions that all adolescents in India are able to realize their full potential by making informed and responsible decisions related to their health and well-being.
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Janet Yellen appointed as new chairman of the Federal Reserve
Janet Yellen, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, was confirmed Monday by the Senate to succeed Chairman Ben Bernanke as the next head of America’s central bank. Her term, which begins Feb. 1, will mark an important shift in the direction of the bank’s policy efforts, as it begins to “taper” back the past five years of unconventional monetary policy, which have resulted in the Fed pouring some $3.8 trillion into the U.S. economy following the financial crisis.
While Yellen’s appointment marks continuity with the Bernanke era, and with the Fed’s policy of quantitative easing of which she was one of the chief architects, it also heralds a number of firsts. Yellen is the first woman to head the central bank, but even more important, she’s also its first openly reform-minded, Keynesian-oriented leader. A stellar academic economist and 36-year Fed veteran with a particular focus on the human impact of unemployment, Yellen has said on many occasions that the past five years of crisis, joblessness and slower growth “aren’t just statistics to me.”
"The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed Strategic Force Command (SFC) and monitored by the scientists of DRDO as part of training exercise," the sources said.
This year's theme is "Engaging Diaspora: Connecting Across Generations" and the Youth PBD is expected to open new horizons of a strong network of young overseas Indians to contribute to India's engagement with youth in all sectors.
"Engaging with the youth and healthcare will one of the major sectors where discussions will take place this year," Overseas Indian Affairs minister Vayalar Ravi told reporters.
To be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Malaysia's Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Y B Datuk Seri Palanivel will be the chief guest.
Banks are likely to start charging customers for transacting more than five times a month at any bank ATM, including their own bank.
Banks have mooted the charge on ATM transactions to pay for the increased security costs at ATMs, put in place by many State Governments, following the grievous attack on a woman inside an ATM kiosk in Bangalore last November.
Currently, there is no cap on the number of transactions that a customer can undertake at his own bank’s ATM.
However, the number of free transactions at other banks ATMs has been capped at five a month.
Banks may also down the shutters of some ATMs at night, especially at locations where footfalls are low.
Interchange fee
Banks have requested the RBI to allow them to increase the ATM interchange fees (the fees paid by the card-issuing bank to the acquiring bank) to Rs 18 from Rs 15 a transaction now. Further, they want to pass on the costs arising from the interchange fee and switching fee to customers from the sixth transaction onwards.
Last week, RBI Deputy Governor K.C. Chakrabarty said the regulator will have no objections if the lenders charge a ‘reasonable fee’ for the ATM services.
The demand for the increase in fee is on the grounds that hiring security guards for three shifts would cost about Rs 40,000 a month.
Given that the country has about 1.40 lakh ATMs at present, banks will roughly see an outgo of about Rs 560 crore a month on account of providing security alone.
Strike a balance
Mohan Tanksale, Chief Executive at the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), said the charges were arrived at by striking a balance between incentivising banks to set up ATMs and issue debit cards and to bring in discipline among customers.
“Even now, five free transactions are enough to meet the withdrawal requirements of most account holders. For balance enquiries, SMS is a more convenient option,” Tanksale said.
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IICT scientist wins award
Lingaiah Nagarapu, Principal Scientist at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology has been honoured with the best scientist award of Science-Tech Foundation (STF), Bangalore, for 2013. Nagarapu has been selected for the award for his efforts in basic and applied research which resulted in the development of 15 technologies, 2 patents and 80 international publications.
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75th Senior National Table Tennis C’ship begins
7 Jan 2014The 75th Senior National Table Tennis Championship has begun in Patna this morning.The event will be formally inaugurated in the afternoon.
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