State government to make virginity test an offence

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February 7, 2019

The Maharashtra government will soon make forcing a woman to undergo virginity test a punishable offence, it said on Wednesday.

Certain communities in the state follow a custom whereby a newly-wed woman has to prove that she was a virgin prior to the marriage.

Ranjeet Patil, the Minister of State for Home, met a delegation of some social organisations on the issue Wednesday.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe was also a part of the delegation.

“Virginity test will be considered a form of sexual assault…after consultations with the Law and Judiciary department, a circular will be issued declaring it a punishable offence,” the minister told reporters later.

The demeaning custom is allegedly followed in the Kanjarbhat community among others. Some youths from the community have launched an online campaign against it.

Minister Patil, meanwhile, also said his department will hold a bi-monthly review of cases of sexual assault, and ensure low pendency of such cases in the courts.

Maha govt plans to beautify Gateway of India

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February 7, 2019

The Maharashtra government has initiated a plan to clean, restore and beautify the iconic Gateway of India in South Mumbai.

Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao Thursday chaired a meeting here on the issue. It was attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and others.

The governor asked BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and architects to prepare a project plan within a month.

Fadnavis said that the government was working towards protecting historic monuments while maintaining their original glory.

The Gateway of India is an arch monument built during the 20th century. The iconic structure, which overlooks the Arabian Sea, was erected to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder to Mumbai.

The foundation stone of the monument was laid on March 31, 1913, and its construction was completed in 1924. It is built in Indo-Saracenic style.

Lupin gets USFDA nod for generic version of Tadalafil tablets

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February 7, 2019

Drug firm Lupin on February 7 said that it has received approval from the US health regulator to market a generic version of Tadalafil tablets, used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The company has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market a generic version of Eli Lilly and Company’s Adcirca tablets in 20 mg strength, Lupin said in a statement.

It is indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to improve exercise ability.

As per IQVIA MAT December 2018 data, Lupin said, the Tadalafil tablets, 20 mg had annual sales of around $474.3 million in the US.

Lupin shares were trading 2.42 per cent down at Rs 821.85 apiece on the BSE.

Tata Motors Q3 net loss at Rs 26,961 crore

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February 7, 2019

Tata Motors on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 26,960.8 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, hit by asset impairment in its British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,214.6 crore in the October-December quarter of 2017-18.

The auto major said profit was impacted by an exceptional item of asset impairment in its British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) of Rs 27,838 crore (3.1 billion pounds).

Total revenue from operations, however, rose 4.36 per cent to Rs 77,582.71 crore as compared to Rs 74,337.7 crore in the year-ago period, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing.

On a standalone basis, the company posted PAT of Rs 617.62 crore as against Rs 211.59 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Total standalone income rose to Rs 16,477.07 crore as against Rs 16,186.15 crore in the same period of previous fiscal.

JLR’s revenue, however, declined 1 per cent to 6.2 billion pounds.

Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the company’s domestic business continues the strong momentum and has delivered market share gains as well as profitable growth.

“The turnaround 2.0 strategy is delivering well with a continuing portfolio of product launches, which are the requisite building blocks for sustainable growth,” he added.

In JLR, the market conditions continue to be challenging particularly in China, Chandrasekaran said.

“The company has taken decisive steps to step up competitiveness, reduce the costs and improve the cash flows while continuing to invest in exciting products and leading edge technologies. With these interventions, we are building Tata Motors group to deliver strong results in the medium term,” he added.

Tata Motors shares Thursday settled 2.64 per cent up at Rs 182.90 on the BSE.

Exit of BoI, BoM, OBC credit positive: Moody’s

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February 7, 2019

The exit of Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce from the RBI’s prompt corrective action (PCA) framework is credit positive, Moody’s Investors Service said on Thursday.

The banks’ net non-performing loan (NPL) ratios and capital — two of the four parameters that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tracks as part of the PCA framework — improved significantly in the quarter ended December 2018, it said.

“On January 31, the Reserve Bank of India announced it had removed Bank of India (BoI), Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) from its PCA plan after the three public sector banks improved their asset quality and capital, a credit positive,” Moody’s said in a statement.

Exiting the PCA will remove some of the lending restrictions, which the PCA plan imposed, on these banks. However, we do not expect the banks’ loan growth to rebound significantly as they are likely to focus on repairing their balance sheets and conserving capital, Moody’s added.

The banks continue to breach the profitability parameter of the framework, but we expect this to improve gradually, helped by a decline in credit costs. The banks are already in compliance with the leverage ratio parameter.

The government’s December 2018 capital injections into the banks Rs 10,100 crore into BoI, Rs 4,500 crore into BoM and Rs 5,500 crore into OBC was a key driver in the banks’ improvement.

“The capital injections helped the banks significantly increase their loan loss coverage and reduced their net NPL ratios below the trigger point for PCA inclusion,” Moody’s said.

Of the total 21 state-owned banks, 11 were put under the PCA framework by the RBI last year.

Eight public sector banks — Allahabad Bank, United Bank of India, Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Dena Bank — continue to remain subject to the plan.

The PCA framework kicks in when banks breach any of the four key regulatory trigger points namely capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio, net non-performing assets, return on assets (profitability), and leverage ratio.

PepsiCo plans new snacks line in Bengal

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February 7, 2019

PepsiCo India plans to expand its operations in West Bengal with a new production line at its snacks manufacturing facility in the state.

The company which has shied away from disclosing the investment figures for the installation of its additional snack line, said in a press release on Thursday, that it will increase the sourcing of potatoes by 50 per cent from the state.

When contacted, a PepsiCo official declined to divulge the investment figure saying he was not authorised to speak.

The beverages to snacks MNC said the company plans to double its snacks business in India by 2022, the release said.

The company also has the potential to generate over 300 additional employment opportunities in the state, the release said.

The PepsiCo announcement came at a time when the city is hosting the Bengal Global Business Summit.

Top India stars to participate at Senior Women’s Hockey Nationals

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February 7, 2019

Top India stars will turn up for their respective state units and employers when the 9th Senior Women’s Hockey National Championship begins here on Friday.

Gurjit Kaur, Deep Grace Ekka, Sushila Chanu, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Anupa Barla and Vandana Katariya are some of the top stars who will turn up for the defending champions Railway Sports Promotion Board.

“After their successful outing in the Spain recently, it is good for the players to continue their competitive form at the National Championship,” said David John, High Performance Director, Hockey India.

While the core group of women in the national team have remained constant over the past two years, national selectors would be watching out for fresh talent during the tournament as we prepare for the important next 18 months leading into the Olympic Games 2020.

RSPB will begin their campaign against Hockey Rajasthan in the Pool A opening match during the 11-day domestic extravaganza. The Pool A also features Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Odisha and Hockey Coorg while Pool B will see last year’s runners-up Hockey Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha, Chhattisgarh Hockey and Hockey Bhopal.

Pool C includes Hockey Haryana, Hockey Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Him, Central Reserve Police Force and Pool D will have Hockey Jharkhand, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Association of Indian Universities and Kerala Hockey.

Teams that finish top two in each of these Pools in the round robin stage will qualify for the quarterfinals to be played on February 15, while the semifinal and final will be played on February 17 and 18 respectively.

Hope to win gold at World Championship this time: Sindhu

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February 7, 2019

Indian ace P V Sindhu exuded confidence of striking gold at the World championship in August after settling for the silver medal twice in the last two editions.

“Yes, last two times it was silver in the World championship. I am hopeful of winning the gold this time,” Sindhu, who finished runner-up in the last two editions of the world championship. It is one of the biggest tournaments and nobody is going to give it away easily. It is just about giving my best. Everybody is aiming for Tokyo 2020 and there are many good players and its not going to be easy, she told media.

It would be a great chance for Sindhu to end India’s 18 year jinx at the tournament, considering three-time World Champion Carolina Marin is not playing due to the knee injury sustained during the Indonesia Masters final last month.

“Even though Carolina is not playing, it is not going to be easy. There are very good players from China, Japan, Thailand. The top-15 ranked players are on the same level. Sometimes you might play brilliantly, give more than 100 percent, but might make few unforced errors. Sometimes your mind might not work, the strategy might not work,” Sindhu said.

Sindhu, who was to launch Mission Sports, an organisation committed to providing high quality sports said that it depends whether you are able to give your 100 percent or not. For me, every tournament is to give it my all and it’s important to stay focused and remain physically fit.

“It is not about just participating and coming back. It is about discussing the situation with the coach and picking the tournaments and choosing which ones to play and which ones to skip,” she added.

Sindhu, who will play in the Senior National Championship in Guwahati said the event would bring to the fore the country’s badminton standard.

2nd Women’s T20I: Mithali question looms large as under-pressure India look to save series

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February 7, 2019

Mithali Raj’s inclusion could be the bone of contention for Indian women, who will be eyeing a much improved showing with the bat when they face an upbeat New Zealand in a must-win second T20 International on Friday.

Indian batting is prone to collapses, especially from a position of strength. Chasing 160, India were going strong at 102 for 1 but Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues’ dismissal proved fatal for the visitors who collapsed to 136 all out, bringing back memories of their inexplicable surrender in the the 2017 50-over World Cup final against England.

Mithali’s years of experience could have come in handy in the series opener on Wednesday but she was dropped from the eleven. Debutant Priya Punia opened with Smriti Mandhana but lasted just five balls while another youngster Dayalan Hemalatha too could not do much at number four.

Mithali was not picked as the team management is looking to build a squad for the 2020 T20 World Cup in which the senior player is unlikely to feature. However, the youngsters did not deliver and she could be back for the second game considering that the series is on the line.

New Zealand on the other hand are riding high on momentum, having beaten India comprehensively in the previous two contests, the final ODI and the first T20. The team is reliant too much on Mandhana’s contribution at the top.

Match starts 7.30 am IST.

Ranveer to start training with Kapil Dev on 83

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February 7, 2019

Ranveer Singh, who will be playing Kapil Dev in Kabir Khan’s “83”, will soon begin training with the cricket legend for the sports drama.

The film will chronicle India’s win under Kapil’s captainship, when the Men in Blue defeated West Indies in the final to clinch their first-ever World Cup trophy in 1983.

“I am looking forward to spending time with Kapil Sir. I feel like that time spent would be integral to my process of transforming myself into him,” Ranveer said in a statement.

“I want to absorb as much as I can from him. His story, his experiences, his thoughts, feelings, his expressions, his energy,” says Ranveer.

The 33-year-old actor earlier trained with bowling great Balwinder Singh Sandhu, who will be portrayed by Punjabi singer-actor Ammy Virk in the film.

Ranveer will spend three weeks with Kapil to get the mannerisms and attitude of the character right. He will also learn the veteran cricketer’s unique bowling style.

“I’m keen on getting tips on my bowling and batting from the man himself. His achievements are extraordinary. He is the quintessential underdog who became a champion through perseverance, self-belief, hard-work and a positive mindset,” the actor said.

“I am extremely inspired by him. I want to pour myself fully into this exciting character,” he added.

The much-awaited film will release on April 10, 2020. “83” is produced by Madhu Mantena, Vishnu Induri and Khan, and presented by Reliance Entertainment.

Ranveer also has Zoya Akhtar’s “Gully Boy”, opposite Alia Bhatt. The film will release on February 14.