One in four Indian women is married before 18, and 7.8 per cent of women aged 15 to 19 are pregnant or mothers, according to the latest available 2015-16 National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 data.

While the percentage of women married before 18 decreased from 47.4 per cent in 2005-06 (NFHS-3) — and 16 per cent of women aged 15 to 19 who were mothers a decade ago — the use of contraceptives in married women aged 15-49 years dropped from 56.3 to 53.5 per cent. While 2.7 per cent of boys and eight per cent of girls reported their sexual debut before the age of 15 in 2005-06, the latest comparative data have not been released. Yet, social and policy barriers do not allow the sexual and reproductive needs of adolescents (10 to 19 years) to be addressed because many of those who have sex are unmarried and below the age of consent, said Sunil Mehra, Executive Director of MAMTA, a Delhi-based non-profit working on adolescent and reproductive health issues.

As a result, 33.6 per cent of India’s population is born of adolescent pregnancies; delaying the onset of child-bearing could reduce India’s projected 2050 population of 1.7 billion by 25.1 per cent, according to a 2013 United Nation Population Fund review.

India has 253 million adolescents, more than any other country and equivalent to the combined populations of Japan, Germany and Spain, but the country is not doing enough to ensure that they become productive adults. That process begins with making more adolescents familiar with sexuality, but the opposite is happening. Spurred by concerns of HIV-AIDS, the government in association with UN agencies introduced an adolescence-education programme (AEP) in 2005. Adolescent health featured for the first time as a national programme which included health clinics that offered preventive, promotive, curative and referral services for adolescents (10-19 years) and youth (19-24 years).

Within two years of inception, the AEP was banned in 12 states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. For instance, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the illustrations were too graphic; he wanted adolescent education focussed on “yoga and Indian cultural values”. The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) removed contentious illustration and words considered explicit, such as ‘intercourse’, ‘condoms’ and ‘masturbate’.

“It is difficult to say how many states are implementing the Adolescence Education Programme, since several states that banned it earlier have begun implementing it, such as Kerala,” said Dipika Srivastava, Programme Coordinator at TARSHI, a New Delhi-based NGO working on sexuality. However, even where the programme is being implemented, the quality of implementation is open to question, she said. “Given that sexuality education addresses long-held attitudes and cultural or moral norms, effective implementation is key to making sure young people get accurate, non-judgmental information related to sexuality,” said Srivastava.

In Bihar, of more than 10,400 adolescents (15-19 years) surveyed, 14.1 per cent of unmarried adolescent boys and 6.3 per cent of unmarried adolescent girls had premarital sex; and of them, 22 per cent boys and 28.5 per cent girls had premarital sex before 15 years, according to a 2016 report by the Population Council. No more than 20.3 per cent of unmarried boys and 8.2 per cent of unmarried girls used a condom consistently, the study found. Among married girls aged 15-19 who cohabited with partners, only 11.2 per cent ever used contraception within marriage and 45.2 per cent had an unmet need for spacing between children.

Nationally, while the three national health surveys (1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06) reported an almost equal proportion (59.1, 59.8 and 58.2 per cent) of pregnant and adolescent mothers, there was a steady increase in the first pregnancy among adolescents (11.7, 12.4 and 14.4 per cent). “Early marriage and low contraceptive use are the reasons behind this trend,” said a 2015 review in Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. What is clear, said experts, is that Indian adolescents are more sexually active than ever — yet, “services for unmarried adolescents are non-existent in India”, said Mehra. Reproductive health services include counselling on menstrual disorders, menstrual hygiene, use of sanitary napkins, use of contraceptives, sexual concerns, sexual abuse and gender violence.

While there has been a recent uptake in activities around menstrual hygiene and iron folic supplements through schools and immunisation through anganwadi (day care centre) workers, sexual and reproductive health is “completely neglected”, Mehra said. In October 2014, the government started the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) or National Adolescent Health Programme, which, like adolescent-friendly health clinics (AFHCs), made village health clinics sensitive to adolescent needs — about 7,500 nationwide are so enabled, according to a Health Ministry source.

Yet, independent studies reveal widespread ignorance. No more than five per cent of young men and eight per cent of young women in the studied villages were aware of AFHCs, said a 2014 study conducted by the Population Council in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. No young man and 0.8 per cent of young women sought services from the AFHCs.

The main reason 82-90 per cent why adolescents did not seek help was because they thought their problems were not serious enough; the second-most common reason was because they were too embarrassed, the study found. However, with RKSK, the effort is now to engage adolescents through peer educators who would speak about various life skills, including nutrition, mental health, non-communicable diseases, gender and sexual and reproductive health, while sensitising ASHAs, auxiliary nurse midwives, anganwadi workers, counsellors and medical officers to offer “non-judgemental services”, said Indrani Banerjee Bhattacharyya, Assistant Director, Quality Assurance, Child in Need Institute.

Adolescent fertility rates contributed 17 per cent to India’s total fertility rate in 2012, and about 14 per cent of births in women aged below 20 were unplanned, according to the 2015 study in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. Without sex education and counselling, adolescents are also at a high risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STI) and even HIV.

In the age group of 15-19, of those who had sexual intercourse, 10.5 of girls and 10.8 per cent of boys reported having STI or symptoms of STI and 0.07 of girls and 0.01 per cent of boys were found to be HIV positive, according to the 2005-06 National Family Health Survey. Youngsters between 15-24 years contribute to 31 per cent of India’s AIDS burden despite accounting for 25 per cent of its population. It is obvious, said experts, that contraceptives are not adequately available. And among contraceptives, the only real option is a condom, “yet, it means girls have to rely on their male partners for protection which is not ideal,” said Vivek Malhotra, Director, Population Health Services (India). Emergency contraceptives as an alternative should be made affordable and widely available, he said.

Today, emergency contraceptives are available as commercial products, over the counter, but they are priced too high to be accessible for adolescents, said experts. If not in schools, emergency contraceptives should be available in colleges and sold at an affordable rate by the government, they said.

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, ready with his new film “1921”, yet another supernatural-horror thriller, says his obsession with the spooky comes from how fear is the most palpable of all emotions.

Excerpts from an interview:

1. Vikram, you are back doing a genre you are most comfortable with?

I don’t know ‘comfortable’ is the right expression. I have always had a feel for the romanticized horror. All my horror films have been love stories. The horror is the villain of the films usually. I have always believed that fear is the most basic of human emotions. There is no other emotion that we can feel that is so palpable as fear. They say that fear is the basic emotion to a lot of other emotions. Fear of hunger is greed, fear of dark is light, fear of losing is insecurity… so on and on. If fear is done well, then nothing attracts us more. A horror film is like an adventure where you live to tell the tale.

Q. How have you re-invented the genre this time?

You can’t really re-invent a genre. A genre is a genre is a genre. One can tell a story that has not been heard before within the genre. And that is what I have done. Also I have listened to my audiences carefully in my previous films and corrected the genre where they thought I had gone wrong. ‘1921’ is not the usual horrex, it has a soulful love story and great music. It is a movie that transcends the scares and talks about love and sacrifice. It is also high on horror as the audiences have told me that they want more of it.

Q. You have also been very active on the web with a number of products. Is that the future or the present?

Yes, I have been actively doing work on digital for the past year and on January 27, which is my birthday, my app, VB on the Web comes out, which is like a theatre on the phone. You have to just buy a ticket for the show you want to watch. No subscription or other stuff, just good old movie style. I don’t know if the content on the cell phone is the future but I do know that content being beamed to you directly is the future. Entertainers should be where the crowd is. Today the crowd is on the phones.

Q. What do you think of the films being made in Hindi these days? Is the audience more open to novel themes or is it still status quo?

We have always been a business of doing more of the same. If it is comedy, then it is going to be tons of the same. Now it is the time for bio-picture, so everyone is on that road. We are going to learn about a lot of people, some we know and some we did not know. The audience has always been open to novel ideas.

It is us, the filmmakers who are scared to put our money where it matters. The audience is done with marketing gimmicks. It is not going to bring the people into the theatres. We will have to tell good stories. That is all.

Q. As the director who reinvented the supernatural genre with “Raaz”, what do you feel about the way the genre has evolved ?

About the evolution of the genre… I really don’t know what that means. If we want our films to be more like the Hollywood horror films, I don’t think they are and they should be. We have a different art form. We tell stories with an emotional arc. We are not the country of unrelenting horror with little human relationships. Those kind of films just won’t work. Yes we need to source different stories and make the stories we tell more believable. We have to work on that.

Q. Must ask about the freedom of expression vis-a-vis “Padmaavat”. Do you think filmmakers in this country are under siege? And what’s the solution?

This is another discussion altogether. One that needs pages and pages to fill.

A 52-year-old US national was allegedly molested by an NRI at a five-star hotel in Lutyens’ Delhi, following which he was arrested, police said on Friday.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) BK Singh, the woman had checked into the hotel on January 6 where she befriended Anmol Singh Kharbanda (25).

On January 8, the two had drinks. She alleged that he offered her laced drinks and tried to grope her, the police said.

After the incident, the woman checked out of the hotel and shifted to one in Gurgaon. On January 10, she approached the police with a complaint, following which a case was registered and the accused arrested, the police said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday congratulated ISRO for “creating history” by successfully conducting the PSLV C-40 mission.

The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched India’s weather observation satellite Cartosat 2 Series and 29 other spacecraft onboard its dependable Polar rocket PSLV-C40 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

“Congratulations to @isro for creating history yet again. Your hard work and dedication has made India the pioneer of space program,” Gandhi said on Twitter.

Congratulations to @isro for creating history yet again. Your hard work and dedication has made India the pioneer of space program.

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) January 12, 2018

Today’s success came after a rare failure in August last year when the PSLV-C39 could not release the backup navigation satellite IRNSS-1H due to a technical snag in the fourth and last stage.

Antidepressants may fail to work properly in older adults suffering from high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels, finds a study. Older adults who have a major depressive disorder (MDD, also known as depression) are at higher risk for having problems thinking and making decisions. They are more likely to have trouble performing their regular daily activities and managing their personal care. The conditions are generally treated by taking medications.

However, the presence of metabolic syndrome or a mix of conditions like increased blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels, could make older adults’ body more resistant towards antidepressant treatments, said researchers led by Ginger E. Nicol from the Washington University in St. Louis. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will nearly double, from 12 percent to 22 percent, according to the World Health Organisation.

The most common mental and neurological disorders in this age group are dementia and depression, which affect approximately five percent and seven percent of the world’s older population, respectively.  Anxiety disorders affect 3.8 percent of the older population. For the study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the team included adults, aged 60 and older, suffering from metabolic syndrome and depression and were treated with the antidepressant venlafaxine. After 12 weeks, the results showed that in people with metabolic syndrome, the life history of depression was more chronic, their depression symptoms were more severe and they took longer to respond to antidepressant therapy.

Besides depression, metabolic syndrome in elderly can also lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and renal problems, thus healthcare providers need to pay close attention to them, the researchers said.

Sunayana Dumala, the wife of Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla who was killed, has been invited to attend US President Donald Trump’s maiden State of the Union address, a media report has said.

Ms Dumala’s husband, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was shot dead in a hate crime by an American navy veteran at a bar in Olathe city last year.

Ms Dumala, 32, fell out of status because her permission to reside in the US was tied to Kuchibhotla through marriage but she managed to regain her residency status.

She has been invited by Congressman Kevin Yoder to attend Trump’s State of the Union address, an annual message presented by the US president to a joint session of the Congress.

The State of the Union address will be held on January 30.

“She is a very powerful symbol of who the system is failing,” Mr Yoder was quoted as saying in the report.

“One of the reasons I have become so passionate about this immigration issue is that we need to send a message to the Indian community and other immigrant groups that we are a loving country that is welcome to all,” said Mr Yoder who is a member of the Congressional caucus on India and Indian Americans.

Ms Dumala said she now plans to travel to India to observe the first death anniversary of her husband.

She said she has been overwhelmed by the response from friends, families, neighbours and strangers.

“That answer was quick… it came like, ‘You do belong here’,” she said.

The Odisha government has applied for a GI tag on Kandhamal Haladi (turmeric variety). The golden yellow spice, named after the district where it is produced, has been cultivated since time immemorial and is known for its medicinal value.

The Central Tool Room & Training Centre (CTTC), under MSME ministry, filed the application on Thursday with supporting documents and test reports to justify its claim.

It was accepted after due scrutiny by the GI Registrar authorities in Chennai, Sachi Kanta Kar, the head of IPFC-CTTC, said.

A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.

A team of experts, scientists and members of Kandhamal Apex Spices Association for Marketing (KASAM) have carried out research work for over two years on the origin and properties of the turmeric variety with technical guidance from the CTTC and the district administration.

“The application, with all supporting documents and test reports, has been filed at GI Registry office, Chennai,” Kar said.

During field visits and interaction with the farmers, the researchers have collected data that could establish the uniqueness of Kandhamal Haladi – its historic importance and social relevance.

More than 60,000 families (nearly 50% of Kandhamal population) are engaged in growing the variety.

The crop is sustainable in adverse climatic conditions, Kar said, adding that samples collected from different locations were tested at reputed laboratories for scrutiny.

“It was noticed that the Kandhamal turmeric contains special medicinal values. It has high potentiality, suitable for industrial utility. The colour is golden yellow, well-distinguished from other varieties,” he said.

The laboratory reports were analysed by the team of experts and other eminent horticulturists at a meeting held at CTTC on January 9.

A well-planned business model with modern marketing strategies has also been prepared by KASAM to promote the turmeric variety, Kar said.

The GI tag will protect the interests of Kandhamal farmers by enhancing the commercial value of Kandhamal Haladi, he said.

The application for a tag on Kandhamal Haladi comes months after the state government had said it would apply for a GI status on its own variety of the sugary and syrupy sweetmeat, rasagolla.

The neighbouring West Bengal has obtained the tag for ‘Banglar rosogolla’ in November.

Free-flowing advice has poured in from across the cricketing world for Virat Kohli and his teammates after the setback at Newlands. Much of it for the batsmen, a little to bowlers and the team management.

Old-timers talked about the batsmen’s lack of technique, the line and length of the bowlers and some dissected the team selection and some others turned sports psychologists going into the mindset of players when the seaming ball is flying around.

All after one bad defeat. This is not the first time the India team was rattled by fast bowlers nor is it the first time they lost the first Test of a series. Why overseas, they lost the first Test even at home to Australia by a massive 333 runs at Pune last year and before that to Sri Lanka at Galle. On both the occasions they bounced back to take the series 2-1. The difference is in both the Tests it was not the pace but the spin of Steve O’Keefe and Rangana Herath that baffled the Indians.

The situation is different now, and also the conditions. The bounce in South Africa is disconcerting to the batsmen, and, to make matters worse, the seaming ball posed questions at the Newlands. It is not that the batsmen have not coped with such conditions. They have done well in different atmospheric and pitch conditions in England, Australia and in South Africa, managing to win Tests if not series like they are used to back home.

No one can allege that India win Tests on doctored pitches any longer. South Africa, England and Australia were beaten on good wickets the last time they toured India. For that matter, Kohli did not blame the Newlands pitch for his team’s defeat, he was all praise for it as it had something for everyone. Batsmen who could play the cut and pull were happy with the bounce and so were those who could hit through the line. Only those who poked at deliveries well outside their off-stump or played across the line looked inept and ungainly.

Having said that, on another day the Indian batsmen would put the same attack to the sword in slightly different conditions.

Losing a Test chasing 208 runs can demoralise the best of teams and it will surely hurt the World Number One team. But looking at India’s record at the venues India will be playing the remaining two Tests, at SuperSport Park at the Centurion, starting Saturday, and then at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, they need not be disheartened even if the pitches there are known to be quick with bounce.

India played only one Test at the Centurion — on the 2010-11 tour — and lost it by an innings after being put in to bat and bowled out for 136 in the first innings, though they scored 459 in the second knock thanks to Sachin Tendulkar’s century (111) and healthy contributions from Gautam Gambhir (80), Virendra Sehwag (63) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (90).

At Wanderers India have an unbeaten record, winning in 2010-11 to share the series 1-1, and drawing the other three, including a bizarre finish to a Test which the South Africans should have won, but they chose to settle for a draw, eighth-wicket pair Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn not wanting to take chances, even when they needed eight runs chasing 458.

It only proves that there is still plenty of cricket to be played. Under the circumstances, who should be India’s horses for the two courses? The options for the second Test are limited and, in fact, little if the team management goes by normal cricket sense instead of panicking after the loss at Newlands.

The media waited for the Test to end to ask why Ajinkya Rahane and Lokesh Rahul were not played and Kohli was quick to respond, both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were included on current form. So, can they be dropped now after failing in one Test in which the best of batsmen on both sides could not get going?

Don’t forget the year 2017 belonged to both Kohli and Rohit, who had shone across the formats.

If a case is made out for Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit’s camp will ask how can you drop a guy who scored 82, 51 not out, 102 not out, 65 and 50 not out in his last five Test innings, at an average of 175? If the overseas record is taken into account, Murali Vijay has as good a record as any and see how he groped to find his off-stump.

Then there is a suggestion of players playing their natural game. Dhawan tried doing it and did not succeed. Rohit was cautious but he looked good in till he got out without notice. We can‘t also be asking the present lot to bat like Sehwag or V.V.S. Laxman, if not Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid.

Imagine the pressure on Rahul and Rahane if they are pitchforked into the side. You can’t be changing and chopping players after every individual failure and a Test loss.

The two-day ‘Kerala Loka Sabha’ that started here on Friday could well be an engine for the future growth of the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said inaugurating the first-of-its-kind event.

Held at the banquet hall of the state assembly, the event resembled a legislature in session.

There were 351 members, including 141 legislators, parliament members from the state and some 130 selected representatives of Kerala-based organisations from within and outside the country, taking part in the event.

Vijayan said: “This is the first event of its kind to be held in the country. This would be held once in two years.

“The discussions and deliberations that take place in the next two days, could well be an engine for the future growth of Kerala.

“This sabha could be the vital link…, as all through the past several decades, the contribution of the Kerala diaspora through their remittances turned out to be the lifeline for the state.

However, he said they had no avenue to air their views and it’s here that this Sabha will come useful,” said Vijayan.

Vijayan assured the gathering that all the discussions and debates that would take place in the event would be taken forward to its logical conclusion.

“For this to become an effective event, the parliament members from here should take them forward and seek the Centre’s participation… The state alone will not be able to do it,” added Vijayan.

Kerala Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan and a panel of seven members are coordinating the two-day event which includes panel discussions on Kerala’s economy.

The deliberations and recommendations would be documented and serve as a ready reckoner when it comes to formulating decisions concerning the diaspora, it was said.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson P.J.Kurian congratulated the Vijayan government for holding the event.

However, state BJP chief Kummanem Rajasekheran shot it down and said this was nothing but a meeting of “representatives of the CPI-M party who have their organisations abroad”.

“This can be said as a meeting of CPI-M well wishers as several respectable organisations from abroad who have been working among the Kerala diaspora has been left out.

“Moreover it should be noted that a few of the selected representatives have even cases registered against them by the CBI,” said Rajasekheran.

Two members from Melbourne were found protesting in front of the state secretariat as they claimed their “very respectable and decades old Kerala diaspora organisation was not included”.

“We only want to highlight that the selection process was faulty and we want it to be rectified,” said Thiruvallam Bhasi and Varghese John .

The drop in temperature and cold wind blowing can take away the moisture and natural oils of your hair, making them dry and visibly dull. It just needs a little bit of time and care and you can easily retain the shine in your hair, say experts.

Shikhee Agrawal, Head – Training, The Body Shop India, and beauty expert Blossom Kochhar list down some tips to keep in mind for hair care during winter:

* Regular trims: Trimming helps you get rid of split ends during the winter season when hair ends become dry and static. Trim your hair every few weeks to get rid of rough hair.

* Opt for dry shampoo: Dry shampoo is best used to revive limp air by getting rid of excess oils. Dry shampoo also seals the hair natural oils and removes excess oil. A dry shampoo is very handy and makes you ready to go anywhere, anytime.

* Deal with dandruff: Flaky skin on the hair scalp is dandruff. Dandruff can make you feel embarrassed in the crowd, so opt for dandruff care shampoo along with hot oil treatment.

* Shampoo less: It may recover and retain hair moisture. Frequent shampooing washes off the protective layer of natural oils from hair. So shampooing less can help you lock the moisture level. While shampooing less, do not comb in wet hair, this will lead to breakage as they are fragile.

* Opt for a hair scrub: Using a hair scrub may help you exfoliate your hair. This takes away the dead skin layer that leaves your hair smooth. Then wash with water. Scrubbing takes your hair on a tour of complete relaxation and cleanliness. Opting for a hair scrub is very new, unique and effective for hair care.

* Conditioning: Deep conditioning is the one thing that is a must for the winter season for keeping hair lustrous and strong. Remember to condition and mask your strands with a nourishing conditioner/butter for a smooth and un-tangled stroke. Leave it on for five minutes before rinsing off with lukewarm water.

You can also opt for hair masks for a silky and smooth hair look. Also, use a broad comb and run through your hair, so that the conditioner covers the entire hair area.

To prevent dandruff, follow these simple steps:

* Brush the scalp to dislodge any flakes and dead skin cells and apply dandruff control lotion to the scalp. Massage gently for 7-10 minutes.

* Add an anti-dandruff shampoo in a bowl and mix with a little water. Apply the mixture to your hair with a cotton swab. Spray the hair with water and massage gently for 10 minutes. Put the hair under shower cap for another 10 minutes and rinse off.

* After shampoo, towel-dry the hair. Apply dandruff control conditioner on the hair strands. Leave on for two minutes and rinse.

* Apply dandruff control concentrate all over the scalp, massage gently with your finger pads and leave it on.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday indicated that the film “Padmaavat” will not be allowed to be released in his state.

The film is likely to release on January 25.

Asked if the film would be banned in Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan told reporters today, “Jo Kaha tha, wo hoga (What I had said, will happen).”

However, he did not clarify.

Chouhan was talking to reporters after attending a state-level mass ‘Surya Namaskar and Pranayam’ event organised to mark the birth anniversary of spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda.

The film has received a clearance from the Central Board for Film Certification after the change of title and some script modifications.

While speaking to some members of the Rajput community on November 20 last year, Chouhan had made it clear that the film would not be allowed to release in the state if it contains scenes “breaching the honour” of the Rajput queen Padmavati or features “distorted facts”.

“We will not tolerate any distortion of historical facts.

The entire country is speaking in one voice that historical facts were distorted (in the movie),” he had said.

The film is mired in controversy after some Rajput groups opposed it.

The period romance featuring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in lead roles was earlier scheduled to be released on December 1.

The most loved and celebrated couple of India, Bollywood superstar Anushka Sharma and Indian skipper Virat Kohli, created a sensation with their hush-hush wedding on December 11. After their marriage in Italy and honeymoon in Finland, Anushka accompanied her hubby to Cape Town, where Virat was set to play the ‘Freedom Cup’ against South Africa. Just a few days back Anushka landed in Mumbai for her work commitments.

Recently, the first look of Anushka Sharma’s horror film ‘Pari’ was launched in which Anushka looks terrifying.

However, soon the poster of Pari was turned into memes by Virat Kohli fans and the result that came out from this experiment is the best thing you will see today.

Here are some Tweets by Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s fans:

#HoliWithPari @OfficialCSFilms @paramspeak #PrernaaArora #KarneshSharma @kriarj #ArjunNKapoor @poojafilms https://t.co/aMePVg992G pic.x.com/lTrXywsWSo

— Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) January 10, 2018

This is #KohliWithPari 😂

Not #HolyWithPari #Pari

P.C.- @ItsOnkarx pic.x.com/N3k2BPeYRA

— Illusion 🌪 (@DishaDeclares) January 10, 2018

OOPS! Virat kohli didn’t see that COMING😂
Anushka Sharma is scaring us as #Pari 😛
RT if you agree. pic.x.com/jRl01psvI5

— Riya Mavi (@RiyaMavi007) January 10, 2018

Horrors ain’t my fav but I’m willing to have a heart attack and not sleep two nights in a row coz of it #Pari pic.x.com/xJN3tqrF8C

— om (@ranikajOne) January 9, 2018

this looks so chilling and horrifying. #PARIhttps://t.co/rE9mDEIetQ

— ㅤŋakuٳㅤ (@itsNaCool) January 9, 2018

#HoliWithPari
That’s not holi with pari…. It’s #Kohli with pari. 😂 pic.x.com/RGYxzFbfjO

— Arpu🙌 (@AptArpit) January 10, 2018

After watching anushka sharma in #Pari , Virat kohli is like.. pic.x.com/MmLISZDJnB

— crime master gogo (@vipul2777) January 10, 2018

‘Pari’ will be out in the cinema on 2nd March. It was earlier scheduled on 9th February, but to avoid the clash from ‘Sonu ke Titu Ke Sweety’ and ‘Aiyaary’, the release of the movie was shifted. According to the new release date, ‘Pari’ will not face any clashes and the suspense has already left the audience intrigued.

As the teaser begins, Anushka blankly stares at the camera and bloody scars and bruises gradually appear on her skin. Her expressionless face says a lot though and would make it difficult for you to look into her eyes. The teaser is spooky and raises curiosity in the viewers. Since the teaser is so intriguing, it would make the audience impatient for the release of the trailer.

At a time when social experiments have found a way to the world of advertising, it seems that IKEA just raised the bar even more.

It may be hard to digest, but IKEA is really asking women to pee on an advertisement to get more information about the available discount.

The world’s largest furniture retailer IKEA has got a new advertisement running in a Swedish magazine.  Going by the advertisement, women are supposed to pee on the page to get to know about a discount.

According to media reports, the discount will be revealed only to a pregnant woman. The strip, on which a woman is supposed to pee, uses the technology of an at-home pregnancy test.

Magazine Amelia has got the Ad running with the caption, “Peeing on this ad may change your life. This ad is also a pregnancy test. Pee on the marked area and wait a moment. If you are expecting, you will get a surprise right here in the ad.”

The reports add that if a woman is pregnant, then the page will reveal that a black-brown SUNDVIK crib that costs 995 krona will be on sale for 495 krona.

In a bid to create a roadmap for the technology and business evolution of the automotive industry, Nissan has announced a fresh agreement with NASA.

NASA Ames Research Centre in California’s Silicon Valley and Nissan will collaborate on research and technology development for future autonomous mobility services, including a working demonstration in Silicon Valley. Researchers from the Nissan Research Centre in Silicon Valley and NASA Ames have been working together to advance autonomous vehicle systems.

In January last year, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nissan introduced Nissan Seamless Autonomous Mobility (SAM), a new platform for managing fleets of autonomous vehicles, developed from NASA technology.

“We built SAM from technology NASA developed for managing interplanetary rovers as they move around unpredictable landscapes,” said Maarten Sierhuis, director of the Nissan Research Centre in Silicon Valley.

“The final stage of our existing research agreement with NASA will bring us closer to that goal and test SAM in a working demonstration on public streets,” he added.

The research collaboration with NASA roadmap consists of three workstreams of inter-related innovations in autonomous drive (Intelligent Drive), electrification (Intelligent Power) and infrastructure technologies (Intelligent Integration).

“One of NASA’s strategic goals is to transfer the technology developed to advance NASA mission and programme objectives to broader commercial and social applications,” said Eugene Tu, Centre Director, NASA Ames.

Fans will always be up for a film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan together. Surprisingly, filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar wants the same to happen.

In a recent interview, Zafar said, “The only two superstars who I think can be brought for a film together are Salman and Shah Rukh. They have an easy understanding and chemistry. They are always in their element with each other. You need to hear them talk when they are sitting together.”

The director has already worked with Salman Khan in his blockbuster films ‘Sultan’ and ‘Tiger Zinda hai.’ Superstar Shah Rukh Khan also visited Salman at the sets of Sultan and Ali Abbas wishes to cast them together in a film. He believes that their understanding and chemistry is indescribable.

Ali went on to say, “I would love to do a comedy with both of them. I definitely want to; I don’t know if it will ever happen but one thing is for sure, both of them are extremely secure. Hence, it wouldn’t be a problem to get them to do a film together. But the script has to be well-written.”

Salman was seeing beside Shah Rukh on screen in his recent film Tubelight. There are rumours that Salman may give a special appearance in Shah Rukh’s upcoming film, directed by Anand L. Rai. However, if Ali Abbas manages to get both the stars together in a film after so many years, fans will be all praises for him.

After facing a significant delay, Apple’s smart hi-fi speaker HomePod will be ready for release in the next 4-6 weeks and compete with Amazon’s smart speaker Echo.

“Tech analysts GBH insights say that it expects Apple’s delayed HomePod smart speaker to be launched ‘in the next 4-6 weeks’ — but that it will face an ‘uphill climb’ as it seeks to compete with entrenched competitors,” a report in 9to5Mac said.

The tech analysts stated that aggressive holiday shopping pricing by Amazon has further increased the dominance of its Echo speakers.

Apple had announced its $349 HomePod in June 2017, with an on-sale date set before the end of last year. However, in November, the Cupertino-based giant delayed its until 2018, saying that it needed more time to work on it.

“We can’t wait for people to experience HomePod, Apple’s breakthrough wireless speaker for the home, but we need a little more time before it’s ready for our customers,” The Verge had quoted an Apple spokesperson as saying.

It added that the HomePod will start shipping in the US, the UK and Australia in early 2018.

Announced at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2017, the cylindrical smart speaker features a seven-speaker array of tweeters, a four-inch subwoofer and a six-microphone array.

The latest buzz from the tinsel town is that actress Kalki Koechlin, who will be next seen in Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, will be donning the rapper’s cap and will rap alongside Ranveer Singh in the film.

Kalki has worked with Zoya previously in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara more than seven years ago. This time the duo has returned in this musical comedy drama starring Ranveer in the titular role. And the actress will yet again experiment something new and will rap in the film.

Kalki, who is known for her unconventional roles in films like Dev D, That Girl in Yellow Boots and Margarita with a Straw, is the latest addition to the film and nothing has been so far revealed about her character, besides the rapping part that has got all everyone curious.

But one thing is for sure that the actress’ performance in the film will be the thing to watch out for. Kalki has time and again proved why she is one of the most versatile actors of Bollywood and why she is one of the safest bets when it comes to essaying unconventional roles in films.

While the film is in the pre-productions stage, the actors have already started preparing for their roles. To be specific, Ranveer is gearing up for his upcoming film by indulging in workshops with popular Indian rappers.

The work 📖🖋 @ntnmshra @mc_altaf_ @emiway_bantai @kaaam_bhaari #gullyboys

A post shared by Ranveer Singh (@ranveersingh) on Jan 9, 2018 at 8:46am PST

Now with Kalki donning the rapper’s cap, it’ll be interesting to see what the ladies, including Alia Bhatt has to offer to their fans with their next film, Gully Boy.

Directed by Zoya Akhtar. Gully Boy is slated to release in late 2018.