Ranbir Kapoor had a special night out dinner with his family on Wednesday. The actor took out time from his busy schedule for a special family dinner with parents Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, sister Riddhima and niece Samara.

Rishi, Neetu, Riddhima, Ranbir, Samara enjoy family dinner #RanbirKapoor #NeetuSingh https://t.co/jlcdaTDUxV pic.x.com/7FhbYFRVRC

— ★ Bollywood Mantra (@bollywoodmantra) January 11, 2018

Ranbir was seen sporting in a casual look. He wore a red and black checked shirt over a grey t-shirt, ripped jeans paired with a cap and brown boots. With this causal looks, he managed to steal our hearts.

Rishi Kapoor, on the other hand, chose to wear a pink t-shirt and black pants, while Neetu chose an all-black ensemble for the dinner date. Riddhima looked gorgeous in a plain white shirt and blue denim and golden heels.

The little one, Samara, who is the apple of everyone’s eyes in the Kapoor and Sahni families looked super cute in checked dress paired with black stockings and pink sandals.

Ranbir and Samara undoubtedly share a lovely bond, which was seen during their family dinner.

Neetu Kapoor has shared a lovely picture of Ranbir with Samara. In the picture, Samara was seen sitting on Ranbir’s lap and both were lost in some deep thoughts.

Neetu shared this picture on her Instagram page. She captioned it, ‘Deep thinkers #lovethem #cuteness #funnight’.

Deep thinkers ❤️❤️#lovethem #cuteness #funnight

A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54) on Jan 10, 2018 at 8:44pm PST

Through the picture, the bonding of the two can be easily seen and it looks like the actor is awestruck by his niece’s cuteness.

On the professional front, Ranbir is currently working on Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt biopic and Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra.

The indefinite curfew which was clamped in Dhula police station area of Assam’s Darrang district on Wednesday was in force on Thursday, officials said.

The curfew continued today through National Highway 15 was kept out of the order for movement of traffic and there was no report of any untoward incident, the officials said.

Ranjit Hazarika, Officer-in-Charge of Dhula Police Station, where the person allegedly died in police custody, was arrested on Wednesday. He was on Thursday produced before a local court in Mongoldoi which remanded him to 14-days judicial custody.

On the instructions of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, PWD Minister Parimal Shuklabaidhya has rushed to Dhula to take stock of the situation.

The curfew was clamped yesterday after a man died as police opened fire to control a mob, which attacked Dhula police station alleging death of a person due to torture in police custody.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had on Wednesday ordered an enquiry by Additional Chief Secretary MGVK Bhanu into the incident of police firing and submit a report to the government at the earliest.

The leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia has termed the official enquiry ordered by the government as “inadequate” and demanded a judicial enquiry.

Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala’s son Vikas Barala, who had been booked for stalking and attempting to abduct a woman, has been granted bail by Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The court had deferred its bail plea hearing to January 11 in December.

Earlier this week on Tuesday, the cross examination of the victim Varnika Kundu concluded in the district courts in Chandigarh. Varnika was questioned for nearly 90 minutes by the defence counsel who represents the prime accused. On Monday, the first day of her cross examination, she was questioned for nearly four hours.

During the cross examination, the victim didn’t change her stand as she stood by her allegations.

Also Read: Chandigarh stalking case: Vikas Barala, friend arrested

Barala had moved the high court last month after a local court denied him bail for the fourth time.

Charges have been framed against Vikas Barala and his friend Ashish Kumar in connection with the stalking of Varnika Kundu.

The woman had accused Vikas Barala (23) and his friend Kumar (27) of stalking and attempting to abduct her.

The two men were arrested on the intervening night of August 4-5 following the woman’s complaint, but were released on bail as they were booked under bailable sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act.

They were arrested again on August 9 after they joined the investigation and were charged with attempted abduction under sections 365 and 511 of the IPC.

Read More: Chandigarh stalking case: Police retrieve CCTV footage

(With PTI inputs)

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has released the examination schedule for the 2018 Class X and Class XII examinations on their official website www.cisce.org.

Here are the links to access 2018 Class X and Class XII date sheets:

ICSE: Class X examination date sheet

ISC: Class XII examination date sheet

The ICSE or Class X examinations will begin on 26 February and end on 28 March and the ISC or Class XII examination will commence on 7 February and end on 2 April.

Also read: CBSE Class X, XII board examinations from March 5; see full date sheet

The CISCE has changed the passing marks for both ISC and ICSE students. The pass marks for ICSE has been updated from 35 per cent to 33 per cent and from 40 per cent to 35 per cent for the ISC .

The council has also informed that the dates of the examinations may change based on the declaration of election dates by the Chief Election Commissioner of India for the states due for Assembly elections.

The board will give 15 minutes prior time to candidates to read the question paper. The question paper may be distributed to candidates at 10:45 am to enable them to start writing at 11 am, according to media reports.

Three Nepali nationals were arrested here for allegedly propagating Christianity, the police said on Thursday.

Indra Bahadur Tamad and Mek Bahadur, residents of Sindhupal Chowk, and Shukra Rai of Makwanpur in Nepal had arrived in the district three days ago and were residing in Town Hall locality.

Also Read: Schools in MP asked to hold Surya Namaskar sessions

They were arrested on Wednesday after locals complained that they were propagating Christianity and distributing some literature in Osman Bagh area, Police Circle Officer Sunil Shukla said on Thursday.

You may also like to read: Afzal Guru’s son gets distinction in J-K class 12th board

The locals alleged that when they objected to such activities, the Nepalese got into an argument on religion and passed comments on the Hindu Gods, Shukla said.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday introduced ‘Virtual ID’ (VID) to safeguard Aadhaar cardholders’ data. The ‘Virtual ID’ (VID) will be a 16-digit, randomly-generated number which can be used for authentication instead of the original Aadhaar number, according to UIDAI.

The UIDAI is now instructing all agencies to now use 16-digit Virtual ID (VID) instead of Aadhaar number within their application.

What is ‘Virtual ID’ (VID) ?

The ‘Virtual ID’ (VID) will be a temporary, revocable 16-digit random number mapped with the Aadhaar number. It will not be possible to derive Aadhaar number from VID.

“Last digit of the VID is the checksum using ‘Verhoeff’ algorithm as in Aadhaar number. There will be only one active and valid VID for an Aadhaar number at any given time,” the UIDAI said in a statement.

The “Verhoeff” algorithm is a checksum formula for error detection developed by the Dutch mathematician Jacobus Verhoeff and was first published in 1969.

This is how ‘Virtual ID’ (VID) works:

– A ‘Virtual ID’ (VID) can only be generated by the Aadhaar number holder.

– Aadhaar number holder can use VID in lieu of Aadhaar number whenever authentication or KYC services are performed.

– Authentication may be performed using VID in a manner similar to using Aadhaar number.

– Users can give this Virtual ID along with the fingerprint at the time of authentication. Since the system generated Virtual ID will be mapped to an individual’s Aadhaar number itself, it will work the same way as your Aadhaar number worked.

“VID, by design being temporary, cannot be used by agencies for de-duplication. VID is revocable and can be replaced by a new one by Aadhaar number holder after the minimum validity period set by UIDAI policy,” the authority added.

– They can also replace (revoke and generate new one) their VID from time to time after the UIDAI set minimum validity period.

“UIDAI will provide various options to Aadhaar number holders to generate their VID, retrieve their VID in case they forget, and replace their VID with a new number. These options will be made available via UIDAI’s resident portal, Aadhaar Enrollment Center and mAaadhaar mobile application, etc,” it added.

(Written with inputs from IANS)

Housing sales dropped 17 per cent during 2017 in nine major cities of the country because of demand slowdown and impact of new realty law, according to a report by realty portal PropTiger.

Sales declined to 2,18,500 units last year in nine cities — Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad — against 2,63,500 units in 2016, the News Corp-backed PropTiger said in its report.

Launches fell by 43 per cent to 1,63,573 units in 2017 from 2,88,748 units in the previous year.

Yesterday, Knight Frank India released its report and reported 7 per cent decline in housing sales and 41 per cent fall in home launches during last year in eight top cities.

Cushman & Wakefield reported 35 per cent fall in launches.

“Overall sales in top nine cities only dropped by 17 per cent compared to steep reduction in new launches.

“Drop in sales is chiefly due to drop in new launches as 32 per cent of sales in 2016 was contributed by projects launched in 2016 itself. This ratio came down to 24 per cent in 2017,” PropTiger.com, part of Elara Technologies which also owns Housing.com and Makaan.com, said in the report.

Gurgaon and Hyderabad were the only two cities which witnessed increase in sales by 27 per cent and 2 per cent respectively. The other seven cities saw decline in the range of 3 per cent to 33 per cent.

Commenting on the report, PropTiger.com Chief Investment Officer Ankur Dhawan said: “2017 was a year of reform for the Indian real estate sector with the roll out of game changing policies such as GST and RERA”.

He said states did not implement the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, which came into force from May last year, on time and hence there was confusion in the market for at least 2 months whether sales are allowed or not.

Dhawan cited example of realty major DLF which did not sell flats from May to November.

As per the report, housing sales in Gurgaon rose by 27 per cent to 14,000 units in 2017, while sales in Hyderabad went up marginally by 2 per cent to 21,000 units.

Ahmedabad saw the maximum decline by 33 per cent to 12,000 units, followed by Pune 32 per cent to 34,000 units, Noida 30 per cent to 16,000 units and Bengaluru 23 per cent to 31,500 units.

Housing sales fell by 15 per cent in Kolkata to 14,500 units in 2017 while bookings dropped by 10 per cent in Mumbai to 60,000 units. Chennai saw marginal dip of 3 per cent to 15,500 units.

Sharp fall in new launches helped in reduction in the number of unsold housing units in 2017 by 7 per cent to 7,25,828 units in these nine cities, of which Mumbai and Pune alone contribute about 4 lakh units.

With the Lohri festival approaching, it’s time for all you ladies out there to begin your fashion fiesta. Don’t let the chilling weather take away the enthusiasm of the festival. Whether it is an Anarkali or a straight-fit kurta, go out there and have fun.

Designers Prarena Grover and Ritu Yadav, list ideas to jazz up your festive wear.

* Typical Patiala style: This has been a favorite over the years, especially amongst newly-wed brides. Don a Punjabi-style Patiala salwar kameez in bold colors with traditional zardozi work. A knee-length Patiala suit is the ideal choice.

* Anarkali suits: This look is popular among fashionistas right now. It is an excellent combination of ethnic style and ease. You can pick an Anarkali piece in bright hues. This voluminous outfit is high on grace and has a warmth attached to it.

* Long kurta with straight pants: If classic patialas or anarkalis are not your things, then you can settle for a long kurta and straight-fit pants. With this style, you are sure to set a new fashion trend for the Lohri function. Try a georgette or silk long-shirt with embellishments and team it up with patterned pants.

* Flared kurtas: If you love the flares, opt for knee-length flared kurtas in bright colors. This is turning out to be a hot favorite among the fashion brigade. Go for kurtas in gold and antique embroidery with a flowing sharara-style salwar to complete the look.

* Jacket-style kurta: Try a kurta option in the jacket style, as it is not only elegant and stylish but will keep you warm on a cold night.

Three labourers were killed and another injured when a brick-laden tractor-trolley overturned in Ginnaur police station area here on Thursday Morning, the police said.

The labourers died on the spot after the tractor-trolley in which they were travelling overturned on Patriya- Junawai road, officiating in-charge of the police station Satyavir Singh said.

Those killed in the incident have been identified as Kapil (18), Dashrath (22) and Firasat (32), Singh said, adding the injured has been admitted to a hospital.

Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India was the will of the people of the state, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma on Thursday said.

Sharma was inaugurating an exhibition at the National Archive Museum here commemorating 70 years of the state’s accession to India.

The exhibition has on display war diaries with operational details of the Indo-Pak war of 1947-48, original letters, telegrams, documents, and citations.

All these have been publicly shared by the Ministry of Defence for the first time.

“The purpose of curating this (exhibition) is to show the young generation how Kashmir became a part of India. It (The accession) was the will of the people of Kashmir,” Sharma said.

“Maharaja Hari Singh, when he signed this instrument (of accession), only after that, I repeat, only after that, the Indian forces went to that area. This needs to be showcased,” he said.

Sharma said the people of Kashmir have been “sometimes questioned” but they have accepted the Gandhian thought and philosophy and want to be in India.

“..and that has been rightly showcased by this exhibition through the pictures,” said Sharma.

He urged the youth to visit the exhibition to know more about the accession of then ‘riyasats’ (princely states) to the Indian Union.

“This is what our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is of ‘ek bharat, shreshta bharat’ (United India, superior India),” he said.

Asked about the presence of divisive elements in the state, Sharma said the prime minister and the people of Kashmir had been giving them befitting replies over the years.

“And more such replies will follow,” said Sharma.

Amid a controversy over a proposal to deduct from Ockhi cyclone relief fund the expenses borne on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s chopper ride to cyclone-hit areas, the Kerala government on Thursday clarified the money was to be paid from the SDRF and not the relief money.

Culture Minister A.K. Balan told reporters after a CPI-M meeting here that no money was to be taken from the relief fund and that the ruling party will not foot the bill of Rs 8 lakh.

“There are two type of funds — Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund, in which Ockhi relief fund is included; and the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), comprising 25 per cent state contribution and remaining from the Centre. The chopper charges of Rs 8 lakh were designated to be paid from the SDRF and not from the Ockhi relief fund, as was claimed earlier,” Balan said.

“The Chief Minister did nothing wrong. It is common practise for such expenses of the Chief Minister, and even the Prime Minister, to be met from the SDRF. That’s what happened in this case. Hence, the party will not bear the expenses,” the minister said.

Following an opposition protest, Vijayan’s office on Tuesday announced cancellation of the official order for deducting expenses on a chartered helicopter ride on December 26 from Thrissur, where he was attending a Communist Party of India-Marxist meeting, to the state capital to meet a central team that had come visiting from Delhi to study the damage caused by the cyclone on November 30.

After the meeting, Vijayan flew back to Thrissur. His government had debited the chopper ride’s expenses to the relief fund.

Vijayan’s office said on Tuesday evening that officials were not in the know of things and as soon as they came to know, the order was withdrawn.

On Wednesday, CPI-M State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had indicated the party might foot the bill, but at a party meeting on Thursday, a section of top leaders strongly resisted this.

The opposition Congress had demanded a vigilance case against Vijayan for using cyclone relief funds to pay for his chopper ride to attend the party meeting.

The Bharatiya Janata Party urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to see that the central funds given for Ockhi relief are monitored closely by New Delhi.

Vijayan told a party meeting on Wednesday night that a Chief Minister does not look into from where all his expenses are met and he did nothing wrong since travel expenses of the Chief Minister and other ministers are borne by the government.

Former NBA player Kevin Martin will visit India, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced on Thursday.

Martin will first stop in Mumbai on January 12 to interact with Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA participants at the Dhirubhai Ambani School.

On January 14, he will be a guest analyst on Sony SIX’s NBA morning show Around the Hoop.

He will then travel to Delhi on January 16 to attend another Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme at St. Paul School, followed by a visit to the NBA Basketball School at Apeejay School in Sheikh Sarai on January 17.

Finally, Martin will travel to Noida on January 18 where he will conduct a clinic for the nation’s top basketball prospects at The NBA Academy India.

“I look forward to visiting India to promote the game of basketball. There’s a tremendous amount of momentum for the sport in the country and I’m excited to do my part to help propel the game forward,” Martin said.

Martin, a 6’7″ guard from Western Carolina University, was selected 26th overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2004 NBA Draft.

Martin also had stints with the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs before announcing his retirement in 2016.

Director Saran, who started his career with the 1998 Tamil love story ‘Kadhal Mannan’ with Ajith, is now said to be making a strong comeback to the industry and will be seen directing TR Silambarasan also known as Simbu, in his next film.

Saran went on to direct Ajith in three other movies, including Amarkalam, Attagasam and Asal. He has collaborated with many other top film actors including Kamal Hassan, Vikram Madhavan and Prasath.

More details regarding this project with TR Silambarasan are to be expected in around a week’s time.

Legendary cricketer and India Under-19 team coach Rahul Dravid turned 45 today and his trainees, who are all set for the U-19 World Cup, celebrated his birthday in style. In the video shared by BCCI TV, Rahul Dravid could be seen with cake smeared all over his face which was the handiwork of U-19 skipper Prithvi Shaw and his boys.

Happy birthday Rahul Dravid https://t.co/IwZgrICuSm #BCCI

— sneha singh (@Imsnehasingh) January 11, 2018

Dravid is often regarded as one of the finest batsmen in the history of Indian cricket. He is known for his ‘unique class’ in batting and for his calm and cool temperament, on and off the field. His cricket career is spotless in which he bailed India out of precarious situation many times. Because of his batting style, he was often regarded as ‘The wall’ and ‘Mr Dependable’ of the Indian team.

Dravid, along with cricket greats Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, was part of the trio who possibly constituted the best middle-order in the business during their time.

Apart from his records on the field, Dravid was admired for his gentleman attitude off the field. Dravid played 164 Test matches, 344 ODIs and one T20I and has 48 centuries to his credit.

Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale on Thursday said Dalits were replying to attacks on them.

“You attack, we reply. You attack, we reply,” Athawale, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said at a seminar at Osmania University here.

He was referring to the recent attack on Dalits in Pune who were celebrating 200 years of the victory of British troops over Peshwa Bajirao II’s Army in Koregaon Bhima. Dalits were part of the British troops.

“Some people attacked our community. We also replied. Sometimes, they are attacking but we are also replying,” he said but clarified that Dalits were not attacking anyone.

The Minister was addressing a seminar on ‘Ambedkar and Constitutionalism’ at Osmania University.

Athawale said Ambedkarites were not against any caste.

“We don’t want to quarrel with anybody. If you want to fight, go to the border and fight against Pakistan. Why do you want to fight your own countrymen?” he asked.

The RPI leader admitted that atrocities on Dalits were taking place but claimed this was not happening everywhere.

He said his party was supporting the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) because the Modi government believes, respects and follows the Indian Constitution and Ambedkar’s philosophy.

Athawale said that Modi told the Parliament that the Constitution is the ‘dharmagranth’ (sacred book) for him and he became the Prime Minister because of the Constitution.

“BJP may have a different philosophy but Modi, who is the Other Backward Class (OBC) leader from Gujarat, believes in and follows the Constitution,” he said.

He said that those who do not believe in the Indian Constitution should leave India.

Gold regained glitter on Thursday with the price rising by Rs 145 to Rs 30,620 per 10 grams, driven largely by a firm trend overseas as well as pick-up in buying by jewellers in the domestic spot market.

Silver also recovered by Rs 180 to Rs 39,680 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Bullion traders attributed the recovery in gold prices to a firm trend overseas as the weakness in dollar boosted demand for the precious metals as a safe-haven for investors.

Globally, gold rose by 0.06 per cent to USD 1,317.10 an ounce and silver by 0.18 per cent to USD 16.97 an ounce in Singapore.

In addition, increased buying by local jewellers ahead of wedding season, fuelled the uptrend, they said.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity rebounded by Rs 145 each to Rs 30,620 and Rs 30,470 per 10 grams, respectively. It had lost Rs 25 yesterday.

Sovereign, however, held steady at Rs 24,700 per piece of eight grams.

Silver ready rose by Rs 180 to Rs 39,680 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 155 to Rs 38,990 per kg.

Silver coins also spurted by Rs 1,000 to end at Rs 73,000 for buying and Rs 74,000 for selling of 100 pieces.