Three Union ministers on Saturday visited Gujarat to take stock of the situation in the flood- affected areas and assess damage caused by the deluge in the state where 142 people have lost their lives.

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala visited Palanpur and Deesa in Banaskantha, one of the worst-affected districts, and were briefed about relief measures being taken, an official release said.

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Mansukh Mandaviya also met officials to assess damage caused to the state and national highways and action plan to restore them, it said.

Singh and Rupala were briefed about rescue and relief operations being undertaken in different parts of the state, including Banaskantha and Patan, the release said.

They were told that so far 142 people have lost their lives in flood-related incidents, including the 46 in Banaskantha alone, it said.

Army, Air Force and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescued 12,798 people, of which 825 were airlifted by the IAF, said the release.

As many as 80,000 people were relocated to safer places, including 38,241 in Banaskantha and Patan, it said.

Singh also visited Banaskantha to take stock of relief and rescue works going there, accompanied by Rupala and Gujarat Agriculture Minister Chimanbhai Sapariya, the Union minister informed on his Twitter handle later.

Mandaviya also assessed damages caused to highways. He was told that several state highways and nine national highways have been damaged, the release said.

Several of these affected roads are still under water which will delay the construction work, it said. The damage is assessed at Rs 10 crore for national highways and Rs 26 crore for state highways.

Mandaviya asked officials to ensure that all highways are immediately restored to a condition so that vehicular movement is not affected, and asked speedy construction of damaged roads, the release added.

Odisha government evacuated about 6,000 people after an embankment of Brahmani river in Jajpur district breached, while rescue operation was also on in Dhenkanal and Kendrapara districts where fresh areas were inundated.

A major breach of 100 to 150 feet width has been reported on left embankment of Brahmani at Kimbhitipal, affecting 16 villages of Bari block and 18 villages of Jajpur block, sources in the special relief commissioner's (SRC) office said adding that about 6000 people were evacuated.

Jajpur district collector, sub-collector and other officials were monitoring the rescue and evacuation operation, SRC B P Sethi said adding that five boats have been pressed into rescue service.

The evacuated people were shifted to flood shelters, schools and other public buildings. Dry food and free kitchen are being organised for them, Sethi said.

The officials said that the water level swelled in Brahmani following opening of sluice gates at the Rangali reservoir. The breach in the embankment has caused inundation in Jajpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal and Angul districts.

Water level of Brahmani at Jenapur and Kharasrota river at Binjharpur is slowly rising, they said.

Meanwhile, the flood situation in Sundargarh district has improved as the water level of Brahmani, Ib and Koel river has receded.

Out of the 1600 people evacuated in Sundergarh district, 1405 have returned homes, Sethi said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at a review meeting asked the officials to ensure that flood hit people in Rayagada and Bhadrak get the house damage assistance within three days as per the provision of the NDRF and SDRF.

Rural development department was asked to immediately take up repair works of six bridges and roads damaged in flood at an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore.

Damaged minor irrigation projects would also be taken up for repair, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Assam on August 1 to review the flood situation in the state.

This was conveyed by the Prime Minister's Office to Assam Chief Minister Sarbanada Sonowal on Saturday, a statement issued by the Assam government said.

The floods have claimed 79 lives in the north-eastern state so far.

The prime minister's visit comes amidst criticism by opposition parties and organisations in Assam that despite the severe floods, which have affected more than 25 lakh people in 29 districts, Modi was yet to visit the state.

They also added that Modi, however, visited his home state of Gujarat, which too was affected by floods, a few days ago.

During his visit to Assam, the prime minister would discuss all the aspects related to the floods with Sonowal and senior officials, the statement said.

Matters related to flood management and the damages caused by the floods are also likely to feature in the discussions.

The Centre has announced an ex-gratia of Rs.2 lakh under the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs.50,000 to those seriously injured in the Assam floods.

A seven-member inter-ministerial central team was on a four-day visit to Assam from July 25 to carry out an on-the- spot assessment of the damages caused by the floods and was expected to submit its report soon with recommendations to the Centre for an early release of funds.

Meanwhile, Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit has contributed a month's salary to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for the flood-hit people, said a Raj Bhawan spokesman in Guwahati.

Two waves of floods have affected over 25 lakh people in 29 districts of Assam this year, with the administration setting up 1,098 relief camps and distribution centres in the state.

Though the current wave of floods has receded, six districts are still reeling under it and over 2,000 people have taken shelter in the relief camps.

Balloting in the assembly by-election in Nagaland's Northern Angami-I constituency passed off peacefully on Saturday, with over 78 per cent of the total 16,235 electorate casting their votes.

"The latest voter turnout recorded till 4.00 p.m. was 78.55 per cent. We are expecting the turnout to touch 79 per cent," Returning Officer Rajesh Soundararajan said.

He said overall the by-election went off peacefully with "no major incident" during the polling hours.

Soundararajan said VVPAT machines were used in all the 25 polling booths.

There were reports of malfunctioning of VVPAT machines in two polling booths — T. Khel Upper and L. Khel Upper 2 — but those were rectified.

Naga People's Front president Shurhozelie Liezietsu, whose government was dismissed by Governor P.B. Acharya on July 19 after he failed to prove his majority in the assembly, is in a straight contest against Independent Kekhrie Yhome.

The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of sitting NPF legislator Khriehu Liezietsu on May 24 to enable his father Shurhozelie Liezietsu to contest and enter the assembly in order to continue as Chief Minister.

On February 22, Liezietsu, 80, was forced to come out of retirement from electoral politics to take over as Chief Minister after T.R. Zeliang resigned following violent protest by tribal groups who were opposed to his move to hold civic polls with 33 per cent reservation for women.

Zeliang was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second time on July 19 after 47 legislators, including 36 NPF legislators, four BJP legislators and seven Independent members extended their support.

"I would like not to comment anything on the polling as tall leaders of the NPF have gone against the party (NPF). Only God Knows," Liezietsu, who had earlier been elected for eight times to the Nagaland assembly, told IANS.

In fact, the NPF had expelled its 20 legislators which include the incumbent Chief Minister Zeliang and suspended 10 legislators from the primary membership of the party for violating the party's constitution.

Political observers say Liezietsu has an edge over his rival candidate citing that the "sympathy vote" following the dismissal of his nearly five-month-old government.

The counting of votes will take place on August 3.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks present an opportunity for Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) as the stressed assets have an inherent value and can be turned around.

"The opportunities presented by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) framework and the government's emphasis on resolution represent a unique opportunity for ARCs and Private Equity (PE) firms," Jaitley said here at a meeting with leading ARCs and PE firms focussed on stressed assets.

"The accounts classified as impaired/stressed still had inherent value. These were essentially productive assets which if turned around would not only create additional jobs but also contribute to national output. For this to happen, timely interventions, transparent price discovery and right management were required," he said.

Jaitley highlighted the legislative and regulatory changes made over the last 18 months which had created an enabling and supportive operational environment for ARCs and for takeover of stressed assets by PE firms/special situation funds.

"These, inter alia, include 100 per cent ownership by sponsors, higher ceiling of 100 per cent for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in ARCs, pass through status to ARC trusts for income tax, exemption from stamp duty and enabling trading of security receipts," the Finance Minister said.

He noted that a number of new ARCs have sought and obtained registration during recent months.

"The increasing number of players in the market was indicative of an increasing interest in the sector but also presented an opportunity for banks to offload stressed assets before fully provisioning for them. The ratio of cost of acquisition to book value of assets acquired by ARCs has been rising. Within this overall context, the ARCs and PE funds were well placed to step up their activity levels as all the building blocks were there," Jaitley said.

During the meeting, the need for evolution of targeted case specific solution by ARCs/PE funds was brought out, as these entities have higher operational flexibility.

"It was suggested that sale of project loan by a consortium instead of individual banks selling their loan account could be a much more effective way of ensuring debt aggregation in a timely manner. Suggestions were also made regarding increase in activity levels of ARCs and PE funds," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

"Collaboration between banks, ARCs, PE, Asset Management Companies and resolution professionals could pave the way to a virtuous cycle of fresh investments, new jobs and additional demand," Jaitley said.
 

Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said hat the Parsi community in India has made "immense contribution" to nation building and is a "role model" for other communities.

The minister added that the declining population of Parsi community in India is "a matter of concern".

Addressing a gathering of Parsi community, including several renowned personalities at the launch of "Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-2", Naqvi said that the community had given so many great people who had been "architects of the nation building".

Naqvi said that even though the Parsi community was a very small minority community in India, it had been one of "the most liberal, aware towards education and an example of peace and harmony".

Remembering key Parsi personalities, Naqvi said that Jamshetji Tata played a crucial role in industrial development of India, Dadabhai Naoroji and Madam Bhikaji Cama played an important role in India's freedom struggle and Homi J. Bhabha is the father of Indian nuclear programme.

"Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw's services to the nation will be remembered always. Be it industry, military service, legal service, architecture or civil services, the Parsi community has always shown its talent," the minister said.

The Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-1 was initiated in 2013 "for containing the declining trend of population of the Parsi community and reversing it to bring their population above the threshold level", as per an official release.

"The main objective of the "Jiyo Parsi" scheme is to reverse the declining trend of Parsi population by adopting a scientific protocol and structured interventions, stabilising their population and increasing the population of Parsis in India," the release said.

"Ministry of Minority Affairs' scheme has two components: Medical Assistance and Advocacy/Counselling. The scheme has been successful. One hundred and one babies have been born in Parsi community through 'Jiyo Parsi' scheme," it added. 

Popular perceptions do not perturb him, which is the reason why India skipper Virat Kohli does not believe in counting the number of innings in which he had a dry run.

Kohli, in his last Test series against Australia, had an indifferent run but was back in his element in the first Test against Sri Lanka, scoring his 17th Test hundred in only his 58th match.

"I wasn't looking at things from people's point of view. I think people on the outside start counting the number of innings when a batsman doesn't score well. But for us as batsmen or anyone playing in the eleven, it's about what the team wants in that particular situation," said Kohli at the post match press conference after India thrashed Sri Lanka by 304 runs in the first Test here.

"I think the second innings required us to play a bit more positively and I am glad I was able to do that along with Abhinav Mukund. It helped to get us enough time to get the opposition out and put enough runs on the board for us to feel comfortable.

"I mean I certainly wasn't looking at how many innings I haven't scored because when you are playing all formats you are not thinking which format you have not scored runs in how many innings. You cannot utilise so much energy in that but it always feels good to score runs especially when the team wins," Kohli, who scored 103 not out, added.

Kohli though felt that his team came up with a "clinical performance", he said there was still room for improvement.

"Yes, we would like to think we ticked all the boxes with this win. There are still some areas that we can look back and try to improve on. Especially when you get 4-5 wickets, we need to not let the lower order get away with a few runs in the latter half of the innings. It is something that we can identify and work on in the next two games as well.

"All in all, playing Test cricket after February when we played last, from then having played so much one-day cricket and not having the time to prepare so much in between I think it was good to get back in the groove and do the things that are supposed to be done to win a Test match," said Kohli.

"From that point of view I would say that we had a pretty good game. As I mentioned we always look for things that we can still improve on, but very happy with the first game."

Kohli expressed pleasure that his team had become adept at the art of winning Test matches on flat tracks.

"The last time when we played here on this surface, it offered much more to the bowlers. It kept the bowlers in the game throughout, both the quicks and the spinners more so.

This time it was good to bat on even till on Saturday, and if you applied yourselves well you could easily score runs on this.

"So we had to work hard to get all the wickets that we did. I think the bowlers came up with different plans and they persisted long enough to get those breakthroughs. That is something that always helps at the beginning of the series if you get a victory like that on a surface that is not offering much," explained the skipper.

Kohli said his bowlers have become more confident in their own abilities because of the way they have performed consistently in the last two years.

"Plus they know what they have to do on the pitch to get people out now which is the most important factor. Especially in Test matches, if you are not getting wickets, then how to contain runs or how to create opportunities to get wickets.

"Even batsmen have become smarter now. You don't need to necessarily tell someone how to bat or how to plan an innings.

They understand, they prepare themselves really well, so guys have become more professional in the last two years and they understand how Test matches are won. That understanding of the game is something that has come a long way in the last three years," he said.

The year 2017 seems to be a hat-trick year for many celebrated Indian personalites, including entertainment mavericks to whom power means inner strength which empowers them to give the best to the world, and staying meaningful is being influential.

Many Bollywood stars and personalites made it to the GQ India list of 50 Most Influential Indians under 40 years of age. While the list brought to the forefront the power centres of our country, it is inspiring to hear what they had to say on power and influence – what they meant to them.

"For me, power is the inner strength to stay focused on your work and deliver to the best of your ability," 
Baahubali fame Prabhas, who dedicated four years in Rajamouli's magnum opus vision and whose name made it to the prestigious list said. 

Apart from Prabhash, critically acclaimed actors like Rajkummar Rao, Ranveer Singh, Radhika Apte, PR specialist Prabhat Choudhary, Punjabi actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh, Disney India (Studios) Vice President Amrita Pandey, comedians and actors Vir Das and Mallika Dua made their way to the list from the entertainment sector.

Power to Ranveer Singh is getting the basic right.

"The basics, that life is all rosy and that you are living this perfect aspirational life. Not really. You have human problems. People view you differently when you are a celebrity," Ranveer said.
Well, power when misused can be most harmful.

"Power if misused is the most harmful. But we all can chose to use is to benefit us, the society and the planet. We all have the power to make choices, to hold and voice opinions and to make a change. And here I'm not talking about authority but influence where in you spread/share your passion for a certain thing and in turn make a difference," Radhika said.

While power is what people are seeking, staying meaningful and staying ahead of the curve is a challenge which even the powerful face.

"For us relevance is power and relevance can only come from your ability to add value. We strive to be a small part of the larger narrative that our country is going through. Staying meaningful, staying relevant and staying a little ahead of the curve in this fast changing scenario is a challenge for everyone and every organisation. But that is what makes you influential," Chaudhary says.

The North Corporation is planning to develop parking lots and a well-organised utility structure in the Walled City area. This follows a visit to the area by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Saturday. 

Baijal along with Commissioner, North Corporation, Secretary (PWD), CEO (Delhi Jal Board), Secretary (Transport and Power), Joint CP Traffic, CEO DUSIB and other senior officers of various agencies visited Chandni Chowk, Hanuman Mandir area, Yamuna Bazaar and the historic Town Hall. 

An official statement said North Corporation held a presentation on the re-development scheme of the historic Town Hall building. The LG instructed the civic officials to ensure that proper provisions for easy access to the building are part of the proposed redevelopment plan.

Town Hall, a landmark building in the Walled City Area, was the seat of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi since 1866 till 2009. Baijal advised regular maintenance and upkeep of the building.

He also directed North Corporation to coordinate with other agencies like Traffic Police and PWD for preparing a complete traffic circulation plan of the area.

Baijal stressed on the need to create new parking lots and upgrade existing ones to cater to the growing requirement of the area and also for ensuring proper day-to-day cleanliness and sanitation of the area. For beautification of the area, he directed that ducting of electrical wires, hanging over the roads/galis be expedited.

Baijal asked the Transport Commissioner and Joint CP (Traffic) to ensure regulated plying of registered e-rickshaws.

After inspecting the Town Hall, the LG inspected Hanuman Mandir flyover and directed time-bound beautification under the flyover.

The LG was informed that there is a proposal for construction of two multi-level stack parking lots in the area and for installation of one flower waste processing machine near the temple premises.

An official of North MCD said, "North Corporation will try to ensure that LG’s instructions are implemented in full."
He added, "LG would be updated on the progress of these works next month."

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of cheating the people with the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the All India Congress Committee (AICC) media in-charge and senior party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday said that the people are desperately waiting for the elections to oust BJP from power. 

Addressing a gathering in support of shopkeepers, traders and farmers at Assandh in Karnal, Surjewala alleged that the present GST system has been brought to serve the interests of multi-national companies (MNC). Common traders are harried as they do not keep the army of accountants on the pattern of MNCs. 

Common people are also facing the same problem as the government has implemented the GST in a hurried manner, he further added. 

He said that the GST proposed by previous Congress government was entirely different than the present GST. He said that UPA’s GST was simple and pro-people in which maximum tax slab was of 18 per cent whereas the present GST of BJP is complicated and anti-people. Situation is so bad that even after completion of one month, the traders and shopkeepers are unaware and confused about the new GST system.
 

While defining the tax rates of GST, the government did not contemplate or consider the impact of high GST Rates on common men. Various items like hospitals, schools, colleges, clothes, footwear, houses, food, old vehicles, rental income etc have been made costlier. Tax would be levied on charitable institutions like hospitals, schools, colleges etc, because almost all the charitable institutions have rent income, so those charitable institution have come under the purview of the GST after receiving the rent income. He said that the purchase and sale of old vehicles has become expensive. Any trader registered under GST will have to pay a heavy tax of 43 percent on the sale of the old vehicle, whose burden would ultimately fall on the common man, he added.

Surjewala said that BJP governments at Centre as well as in Haryana have completed three years of governance but no section of society was satisfied with the performance of the government.

Before elections, all sections were made big promises but none of them have been fulfilled. All the sections including students, youth, farmers, labourers, shopkeepers, traders, poorer and unprivileged sections are waiting for the elections to out BJP from power, he added.

He refused to testify against the now-ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 after General Musharraf staged a coup, landing himself in a military jail.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has remained loyal to his political master ever since. Now, after nearly two decades, his master has chosen him to step into his shoes, though for a short stint of 45 days. This period will allow the anointed prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, brother of the ousted leader, to win a seat in the National Assembly, as required by law.

A second generation politician, 59-year-old Abbasi has been a staunch supporter of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. He was chairman of Pakistan International Airlines from 1997 to 1999 when General Musharraf overthrew Sharif's government. He was arrested and remained in jail for two years. He was acquitted by a court in 2001.

He has steadfastly refused to turn approver against Nawaz Sharif in the corruption cases which reinforced the confidence of senior leadership reposed in him. After PML-N victory in 2013 general elections, he was made a part of federal cabinet by allotting him the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources. He conducted various projects for the discovery of fossil fuels in Sindh and elsewhere.

The announcement came a day after Pakistan's Supreme Court removed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from the office, after finding that he was dishonest to Parliament and had misled the courts.

Abbasi, also the CEO of private airline Air Blue, has Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University in Washington DC, and has been elected as Member of the National Assembly in six elections since 1988. He was also the Federal Minister of Commerce in the Yousaf Raza Gillani cabinet.

Abbasi will now need to obtain a trust vote from the National Assembly — a rubber stamp cermony — before he is sworn in. 

The rulling party also decided to rally behind Nawaz's younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, as his eventual successor.

Sharif would be sworn in after 45 days of Abbasi's caretaker prime ministership. Sharif needs to get elected to the National Assembly before assuming the highest government office, and he will fight from seat NA-120 in Lahore. Pakistan's Election Commission will issue the date for the polls on July 28.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday asked Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi to explain if his family had deliberately attacked the Golden Temple in 1984 with the aim of destroying the symbol of Sikh faith and taken advice and help from the United Kingdom government to make this conspiracy successful.

In a statement here, former minister and SAD General Secretary Bikram Majithia said the recent disclosures by British Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi about the help extended by the UK government to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to plan and execute Operation Bluestar on the Golden Temple complex, which houses the holiest of Sikh shrines — the Harmandir Sahib.

"It has become clear that the aim was not to flush out militants as claimed. This could be done in many ways. But the manner in which the attack was carried out with foreign help using helicopter gunships and tanks indicate it was carried out deliberately to destroy the symbol of the Sikh faith," Majithia said.

Dhesi, UK's first turban-wearing MP who is on a private visit to Punjab, had told the media that he would pitch for an independent inquiry into the role of the UK government in Operation Bluestar.

The Indian Army carried out Operation Bluestar in June 1984 to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple complex. 

Majithia said this was the reason why the Gandhi family had never offered an unqualified apology for the attack on the Sikh race.

"Rahul Gandhi has never expressed remorse, forget seeking forgiveness from the community for attacking their supreme religious places and butchering its members en masse in massacres engineered by his family members," he added.

"Even now the Gandhi family was keeping a studied silence on the issue of seeking help from the UK government to attack the Golden Temple. After disclosures that a security adviser from the UK visited India and that those storming into the Darbar Sahib complex were given training by the UK's elite SAS (special forces), the Gandhi family has not thought it fit to explain its actions. 

"The family should apologise for seeking help to suppress Sikhs from the British who suppressed the country and butchered its freedom fighters. This amounts to disrespecting the freedom fighters also," he added.

Saying, it was never too late to express remorse and beg forgiveness from the Sikh community, Majitha asked Rahul Gandhi to "come clean and lay bare the entire conspiracy" hatched by his grand-mother to strike against the Sikh race besides seeking forgiveness for the same.

Besides the brilliant acting skills, the humble nature and hospitality make Anil Kapoor one of the most gracious actors in Bollywood.

The 60-year-old actor from Mumbai took good care of the whole crew of ‘Mubarakan’, which was released on Friday.

Despite his busy schedule, the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ actor managed to attend the film’s special screening with the whole the cast and crew.

Anil showed up on time and met everyone personally to thank them for the support he received during the production of the film.

Directed by Anees Bazmee, ‘Mubarakan’ features Arjun Kapoor, Ileana D'Cruz and Athiya Shetty besides much-experienced actor Anil.

The film has won hearts in no time and is being loved by one and all.

A day after winning the trust vote, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday expanded his Cabinet, inducting 27 ministers – 14 from his Janata Dal-United and 13 from the BJP-led NDA.

Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi administered the oath to 26 new ministers at the Raj Bhawan. 

One BJP legislator, Mangal Pandey, failed to take oath as he was held up in Shimla in Himachal Pradesh due to bad weather.

Nitish Kumar refused to induct ministers from two allies of the NDA in his cabinet — Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) of Union Minister Upender Kushwaha and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Nitish Kumar informed BJP leaders that he would keep the two parties out of the government.

Besides the 14 ministers from JD-U, 12 ministers are from the BJP and one from its ally LJP.

The JD-U has inducted most of those from the party who were ministers in the previous Grand Alliance government, to avoid any controversy.

On the other hand, the BJP named those as ministers who are considered close to Deputy Chief Minister and party leader Sushil Kumar Modi.

Manjhi, sensing trouble from Nitish Kumar, on Friday itself said he was not keen to join the cabinet and would work to strengthen his party. Nitish Kumar has not forgotten how Manjhi had betrayed him when he was appointed Chief Minister in 2014 by him.

Manjhi had lobbied with the BJP to induct three leaders of his party into the cabinet after it was decided that Pasupati Kumar Paras from the LJP will be inducted in the cabinet. Paras is the younger brother of LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Paras is not a member of the legislative assembly. He was defeated in the 2015 assembly polls. Paswan is said to have put pressure on the BJP to induct him in the cabinet.

"Manjhi reportedly told BJP leaders that if Pasupati Kumar Paras can be inducted in the cabinet despite the fact that he is not a legislator, then his party leaders should also be inducted on the same lines," a BJP leader said.

Manjhi is the lone legislator of his party.

JD-U leaders said that Nitish Kumar has strong reservations against Upender Kushwaha, who had repeatedly attacked and targeted him in the last three years. Kushwaha is a friend-turned-foe of Nitish Kumar in the state politics.

"Nitish Kumar does not like Upender Kushwaha. When he proposed the name of one of his party legislators to be inducted in the cabinet, Nitish Kumar said no to it," another JD-U leader said.

Nitish Kumar on Wednesday resigned as the Chief Minister, dumping Grand Alliance partners Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress.

He again took oath as the Chief Minister with the support of the National Democratic Alliance on Thursday. Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi took oath as Deputy Chief Minister.

Celebrated singer Hariharan says that he uses the digital platform and social media to reach out to maximum people with his music but when it comes to staying relevant with times, veteran singer Asha Bhosle manages to do that successfully.

The singer, who was present here on Saturday at the inaugural event of an Apple Store iAzure here in Bandra, the Padma Shri recipient told said: "Ashaji is always ahead of times and today she is inaugurating this store, it's amazing. Even I use social media and digital platform for my music but I do not stay online all the time."

The evening was graced by many celebrities including actors Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Padmini Kolhapuri, Poonam Dhillon, Soni Razdan, politician Raj Thackeray and Sachin Tendulkar's wife Anjali, who came with her daughter Sara.

Asked if she uses any Apple product, the "In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke" crooner said: "Yes, I am using iPhone 6 Plus and waiting for iPhone 8! Time has changed and these days kids are always listening to music online, they prefer downloading rather than collecting CDs. It is all good as long as they are connected to music and downloading from the right platform."

Actor-producer Anil Kapoor says he never took a break in his 38-year-long journey in Bollywood as he was advised by megastar Amitabh Bachchan to never "commit such a mistake".

"I always look up to Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah and Kamal Hassan, who are great actors," Anil said on a TV show.

"Amit ji took a five-year break after doing 'Khuda Gawaah'. He had gone to New York to live a normal life. I had gone there while shooting for 'Meherbaan'. I met and told him, I was tired after working for 25 years in films, and wanted a break. 

"Amit ji told me, ‘Never commit such a mistake in life. Never take a break (from films).' I went back and immediately signed two new films. I have never taken a break in my 38-year-long career," he added.

Anil said that one of the greatest moments of his life was to "receive the coveted Oscar (for 'Slumdog Millionaire') on stage". 

"All actors or directors across the world nurse a dream to receive an Oscar. I had a small role in the film. This feeling of joy shall remain in my heart till the end," he said.

"Receiving the National Award for 'Pukaar' was also a great moment for me. The film was quite underrated and it did not fare well because at that time Hrithik Roshan's film 'Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai' had become a big hit. When I got the National Award, I felt redeemed and I realised that the fruits of labour are indeed sweet," he added.

Anil's daughter Sonam Kapoor was honoured with a National Award earlier this year for her role in "Neerja".

Asked how he felt when Sonam won the award, Anil said: "For me, that moment gave me greater joy than the Oscar moment. When I saw my daughter walking up the stage and receiving the award from (then) President Pranab Mukherjee, it was a blissful moment for me."

In what might provide a major boost to trade and tourism in the state, the central government on Saturday has removed restrictions on international roaming in the Northeast and directed Licensed Service Providers to provide the facility to foreign subscribers.

Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha had conveyed this to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in a letter, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office here said.

Sonowal had earlier written to Sinha in March to remove restrictions on international roaming in Assam and the northeast. The Chief Minister mentioned that foreign tourists as well as the businessmen visiting the region had to face a lot of inconvenience due to the restrictions on international roaming.

This also discouraged foreign tourists from visiting the region in large numbers dissuaded foreign investors as well.

While welcoming the move, Sonowal expressed his gratitude to the Union Minister and hoped that the decision would give a major fillip to the development initiatives of the state government.