Haryana government on Monday has constituted a State Road Safety Council under the chairmanship of Transport minister and District Road Safety Committee for each district under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) concerned. A spokesperson of the Transport Department said that a notification to this effect has been issued by the Department.

He said that the State Road Safety Council would include Administrative Secretaries of Home, School Education, Public Works (Buildings and Roads), Transport and Health Departments as Members. Similarly, Director General of Police, Engineer-in-Chief, Public Works (Buildings and Roads), Director Generals of Health Services and State Transport, Chief Administrators of Haryana Urban Development Authority and Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, Director, Urban Local Bodies, Regional Officer, National Highways Authority of India, Panchkula, Gurugram and Delhi (Eastern Peripheral Expressway), Principal Chief Conservator, Forests, Managing Director, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), three non government experts or agencies related to road safety, nominated by the government would be the other Members of the Council. The Transport Commissioner would be Member Secretary of the Council.

The Members of the District Road Safety Committee would include Superintendent of Police, Superintendent Engineer concerned of Public Works Department, Chief Medical Officer, General Manager, Haryana Roadways, all Sub Divisional Officers (Civil) in the district, District Education Officer, District Elementary Education Officer, and Estate Officer., Haryana Urban Development Authority, Joint Commissioner of Municipal Corporation or Executive Officer of Municipal Council and Secretary, Municipal Committee of the respective jurisdiction of the district, District Development and Panchayat Officer, Executive Engineer, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board of the respective jurisdiction of the district, Project Director, National Highway Authority of India of their respective jurisdiction, Divisional Forest Officer of the district, Superintending Engineer, UHBVN and DHBVN of the district and two non government experts or agencies related to road safety in the respective district as nominated by the chairman with approval of government, he added.

He said that Secretary, Regional Transport Authority in the district would be the Member Secretary of the Committee.

The spokesperson further stated that the Council would hold its meetings at least twice in a year and take effective steps to build awareness about road safety, traffic laws and initiate steps to reduce road accidents.

The Member Secretary would invite the applications for engagement of any expert agency or a Non Government Organisation to carry out or cause to carry out studies on various aspects of road safety in any part of the state, deemed fit.

Indian restaurant chain operator, Impresario Handmade Restaurants, has opened its first outlet of all-day café and bar ‘Social’ in Sector 7, Chandigarh.

Opened on 4 January, this outlet is 18th outlet of company in India.

“We are very excited to be moving into Sector 7, and I’m thrilled to bring the social experience to Chandigarh, with a renewed commitment to creating a hotbed of creativity and a space that thrives on synergy for young entrepreneurs and inspired minds. The energy here is palpable, and as always, we will continue to challenge norms across the board, which will extend to food and drinks as well, ” said Riyaaz Amlani, chief executive officer and managing director.

Haryana government has planned to rejuvenate the existing canal system by increasing the capacity of carrier system, so that surplus water during the monsoon period can be brought to the state for irrigation as well as conservation.

A spokesperson of the Irrigation and Water Resources Department said that a vigorous campaign launched by the department has resulted in to feeding of almost all the tails in monsoon season except seven critical tails.

He said that there are 1,356 total tails of the irrigation and Water Resources Department out of which about 218 tails remained short or received a deficit supply at tail for the past five to 25 years. The department under the vision of the state government that is ‘Har Khet Ko Pani’ has fed almost hundred such tail which were critical and since not fed for the last 25 years.

Under the ‘Har Khet Ko Pani’, a project of improving capacity of various pump houses and canals of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Lift irrigation System costing Rs 143 Crore has been approved. The 60 per cent work has been completed with the cost of Rs 75 Crore and the remaining work would be completed up to March 31, 2018 in a phased manner, he added.

The spokesperson said that to provide water up to tail, the work of repair and clearance of the canals and watercourses have been completed with an expenditure of Rs 135 Crore. A project has been planned for the rehabilitation of 125 channels during financial year 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Special emphasis has been laid on removing carrier capacity constraints and the bottlenecks in running canals. In the Western Jamuna Canal (WJC) Channel, five old and dilapidated bridges have been reconstructed with the cost of about Rs 30 Crore.

Apart from this, a Rs 300 Crore scheme has been approved by NABARD for rehabilitation of 564 watercourses. Out of these, work on 150 watercourses has been completed and work on 130 watercourses is in progress, while work on remaining water courses would be completed by March 31, 2018, he further added.

A day after Amarinder Singh government launched its much-awaited farm debt waiver scheme, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday said it’s a fraud with the Punjab farmers who were promised total farm loan waiver by the ruling Congress.

Addressing a Press conference, SAD president and former Punjab deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said with the partial crop loan waiver launched on Sunday, the Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh had defrauded the entire farming community.

“This is the same man who promised Rs 90,000 crore waiver encompassing all loans be it from nationalised and cooperative banks or from private money lenders. Now he has delivered an Rs 167 Crore relief which gives an average relief of Rs 35,000 each to 47,000 farmers,” he said in direct contrast the SAD-BJP government headed by former CM Parkash Singh Badal had given a relief of Rs 65,000 crore over 15 years by introducing free power for agriculture tubewells.

“This amounted to a relief of Rs 80,000 to Rs One lakh for each farmer annually. This is not all. We gave a relief of Rs 642 Crore to cotton farmers for single crop damage. We increased the per acre compensation from Rs 2,000 to Rs 8,000. We also gave an interest free working capital limit of Rs one lakh to farmers,” the Akali leader said.

The SAD president also announced that the party’s core committee would take a decision on the next course of action on the issue of fraud played on the farming community by the Congress government on January 12. “We will also meet the Punjab Governor on the same day and demand dismissal of the State government for betraying the farmers of the State”.

On the issue of sacrilege, the SAD president dared the Punjab government to ask a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to inquire into all cases of sacrilege Guru Granth Sahib in the state. He said similarly a sitting judge of the apex court could also inquire into all alleged false cases during the tenure of the SAD-BJP as well as during the last ten months of the Congress government, particularly those in the home town of Pradesh Congress president, Sunil Jakhar. He said known Congressman and CM’s crony Justice (retd) Mehtab Singh Gill was heading the Commission set up for looking into false cases registered during the past decade of the SAD-BJP government.

South African bowlers dashed all Indian hopes to the ground as they bowled out the entire team for 135 runs on the fourth day of the first Test at Cape Town on Monday. South Africa won by 72 runs even as the hosts were defending a small target of 207.

Fast bowler Vernon Philander stood between the visitors and the victory like an iron wall as he took six wickets for 42 runs, giving the visitors little chance to recover.

The last hope for India came in the pair of Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the two held the fort for some time, before Ashwin was caught behind. After that the hosts didn’t take much time to wrap up the match with one day to spare.

Brief scores

South Africa 286 and 130 all out in 41.2 overs (De Villiers 35; Shami 3/28, Bumrah 3/39).

India 209 and 135 (Philander 6/42).

Earlier, South Africa were bowled out for 130 runs in their second innings, giving them a lead of 207 runs against India in the first Test of the three-match series being played at Newlands in Cape Town on Monday.

The Proteas had reached 65 for two after bowling India out for 209 in their first innings on the second day of the opening Test on Saturday. On the third day, the match was called off due to rain.

Resuming on the fourth day, Hashim Amla and night-watchman Kagiso Rabada started the Proteas their innings, were soon sent back to the pavilion by Mohammed Shammi. After the dismissal of Rabada, the Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis joined AB de Villiers on the ground. Du Plessis was not able to hold the ground for much time as Jasprit Bumrah got him for a duck and soon Quinton de Kock (8) joined him in the stands.

FOr South Africa, apart from AB de Villiers (35) and Keshav Maharaj (15) no other player was able to cross 10 runs on fourth day.

Fall of wicket: 52-1 (Aiden Markram, 14.6), 59-2 (Dean Elgar, 16.4), 66-3 (Hashim Amla, 21.3), 73-4 (Kagiso Rabada, 25.5), 82-5 (Faf du Plessis, 28.4), 92-6 (Quinton de Kock, 30.4), 95-7 (Vernon Philander, 33.4), 122-8 (Keshav Maharaj, 38.4), 130-9 (Morne Morkel, 40.2), 130-10 (AB de Villiers, 41.2)

Two people were injured in a small fire that broke out at the top of Trump Tower in New York on Monday.

The New York Fire Department (FDNY) said one firefighter and one civilian were injured in what is thought to have been an electrical fire near the roof of the tower.

The fire reportedly started near the top of the 58-storey tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan at about 7 a.m. Pictures and video from the scene showed smoke billowing from the building.

The injuries were non-life-threatening and the blaze was declared under control by 8.15 a.m., said FDNY spokesperson Frank Dwyer. More than 70 firefighters responded to the fire, the local media reported.

President Donald Trump was in Washington at the time of the fire. His son, Eric, called the blaze “small” and said it started in a cooling tower.

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has expelled Mannan Bashir Wani, a Ph.D student, after the Jammu and Kashmir Police said they were looking for him for joining the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group.

The University sealed Wani’s room at the Mohammad Habib Hall, saying his “highly objectionable activities can hamper the peaceful academic atmosphere and create disharmony”, a university spokesperson told IANS.

M. Mohsin Khan, Proctor of AMU, said since Wani had breached the AMU Students Conduct and Discipline Rules, the matter was placed before Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor.

“Taking into account the gravity of the offence, the Vice-Chancellor has ordered Wani to be expelled from the rolls of the University with immediate effect,” said the Proctor, adding the campus and its institutions were out of bounds for Wani from now on.

The AMU followed a policy of zero tolerance towards anti-national activities and accorded top priority to national security, the university said.

Upcoming wrestler Ritu Phogat on Monday came out in support of her elder sister Geeta Phogat and asserted that, despite failing to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, she will prove her mettle at the Asian Games and 2020 Olympics.

Geeta failed to book a spot in the Indian squad for the 2018 Commonwealth Games after losing to Pooja Dhanda in the trials for the women’s 57 kg category.

Ritu also insisted that the recent fame earned by Geeta due to the Bollywood movie Dangal and television reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi has not distracted the two-time Asian Championships bronze medallist and she is determined to prove herself in future.

“No, nothing like that. This is wrestling… in a second your move can be changed. It was the same with Geeta. The qualifying match changed in the final 10 seconds and she could not make it to the Commonwealth Games,” Ritu said.

“But then there is Asian Games this year and Olympics to prove,” the 2016 Commonwealth Championship gold medallist added.

The 23-year-old who will ply her trade for debutants Veer Marathas in the PWL season three said her side — consisting of Marwa Amri (Tunisia), Shravan (India), Ritu Malik (India), Amit Dhankar (India), Praveen Rana (India), Vasilisa Marzaliuk (Belarus), Georgi Ketoev (Armenia) and Levan Berianidze (Armenia) — is a strong unit and they are determined to clinch the title.

“Our team is very good. We want to give our cent percent and hopefully we will win the Pro Wrestling League title at the end of the season,” Ritu asserted.

The 2017 Asian Championships bronze medallist also said that the current year will be crucial but playing and practicing along with the World Champions and Olympic medallist in the PWL will help her gain confidence for the upcoming tournaments.

However, she said her main target was to prepare and perform well in the 2020 Olympics.

“This is year is very important. We will fight against the World Champions and Olympic medallists in the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) and that will help us in the upcoming tournaments,” Ritu said.

“Practising alongside the World Champions and Olympic medallists also gives us better confidence to perform better in our bouts,” she added.

“But our main target is the 2020 Olympics and we will be prepared for it.”

The Broadcast Editors Association (BEA) on Monday condemned the FIR against The Tribune reporter Rachna Khaira, who broke the story about Aadhaar data leaks a few days ago.

The association of private broadcasters termed the act an “attack on free speech” and demanded the withdrawal of the charges against the journalist, who has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including forgery and cheating.

“Such FIRs against journalists exposing systemic flaws is a spiteful kick in the teeth of Indian democracy and the right to free speech and expression,” the BEA said.

“The FIR against The Tribune’s Rachna Khaira must be withdrawn immediately. Shooting the messenger is no solution. It’s a toxic trend, which must stop forthwith.”

The BEA also criticised the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) — a statutory body mandated to issue the Aadhaar cards — for not taking the media investigation into the data leaks “positively”.

After suspicions were raised over the safety of people’s data in the wake of the expose, the authority termed the leak a “misuse” and not a “data breach”, assuring people that their data with it is “fully safe and secure”.

“The reported case appears to be an instance of misuse of the grievance redressal search facility. As UIDAI maintains complete log and traceability of the facility, the legal action including lodging of FIR against the persons involved in the instant case is being done,” it had said.

The Tribune report, widely shared on social media, claimed that it took just Rs 500 and 10 minutes for the newspaper to get access through an “agent” to every detail of an individual submitted to the UIDAI including name, address, postal code, photo, phone number and email.

Hackers are targeting the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea with a phishing and malware campaign, cybersecurity firm McAfee researchers have found.

In a blog post, McAfee Advanced Threat Research analysts Ryan Sherstobitoff and Jessica Saavedra-Morales discovered a campaign targeting organizations involved with the Pyeongchang Olympics scheduled from February 9-25.

“Attached in an email was a malicious Microsoft Word document with the original file name ‘Organised by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Pyeongchang Winter Olympics’,” the duo said late on Sunday.

Email addresses associated with ice hockey at the Winter Olympics were among those targeted by attackers.

“The primary target of the email was icehockey@pyeongchang2018.com, with several organizations in South Korea on the BCC line. The majority of these organizations had some association with the Olympics, either in providing infrastructure or in a supporting role. The attackers appear to be casting a wide net with this campaign,” they added.

The campaign to target Pyeongchang Olympics began December 22 last year.

The attackers originally embedded an implant into the malicious document as a hypertext application (HTA) file, and then quickly moved to hide it in an image on a remote server and used obfuscated Visual Basic macros to launch the decoder script.

“They also wrote custom PowerShell code to decode the hidden image and reveal the implant,” the researchers added.

If opened, the document tells the user they must click to enable content.

Based on their analysis, the team said this implant establishes an encrypted channel to the attacker’s server, likely giving the attacker the ability to execute commands on the victim’s machine and to install additional malware.

“With the upcoming Olympics, we expect to see an increase in cyber attacks using Olympics-related themes. In similar past cases, the victims were targeted for their passwords and financial information,” McAfee noted.

The Advanced Threat Research team has discovered an increase in the use of “weaponized Word documents against South Korean targets in place of the traditional use of weaponized documents exploiting vulnerabilities in the ‘Hangul’ word processor software”, the company added.

The Supreme Court on Monday was told that there was no “substantive material” that can cast doubt on the probe into the assassination of father of nation Mahatma Gandhi, including its conspiracy angle, to warrant any re-investigation.

“No substantive material has come to light to throw any doubt on any of the above requiring either a re-investigation of the Mahatma Gandhi murder case or, to constitute a fresh fact finding commission with respect to the same,” amicus curiae Amarendra Sharan told the top court in his report filed on Monday.

Not favouring any fresh investigation into Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination by Nathuram Godse, the amicus curiae said: “The bullets which pierced Mahatma Gandhi’s body, the pistol from which it was fired, the assailant who fired the said bullets, the conspiracy which led to the assassination and the ideology which led to the said assassination have all been duly identified.”

Referring to evidence that was brought before the trial court, Sharan said that Mahatma Gandhi was hit by three bullets which were fired from the same revolver.

The report says that there is no evidence of any British influence including that of alleged British secret service ‘Force 136’ in the assassination.

“There is no documentary evidence in the contemporary literature to prove that, there even existed such a secret service by the name of ‘Force 136’ and that, it was mandated to carry out the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. Thus, any reliance upon such theories would be unwarranted,” says the report submitted by Sharan.

No evidentiary value can be given to the statement made to the then Ambassador to USSR Vijaya Laxmi Pandit by the ambassadors of the various other countries regarding the involvement of the British, it said.

Furthermore, the report says that it is difficult to give any evidentiary value to the submissions regarding the apprehension of Nathuram Godse by CIA agent named Herbert Reiner at the place of assassination.

Rejecting the material being relied upon by the petitioner Pankaj Kumudchandra Phadnis for re-investigation into Gandhi murder, Sharan said: “Further, (all) these cannot derogate the solid evidence laid before the court in the Gandhi murder case comprising of oral and documentary evidence and material exhibits.”

The report came in pursuance to the apex court’s October 6, 2017 order appointing him amicus curiae to examine the material produced by the petitioner to ascertain whether there was need for further inquiry into the larger conspiracy behind the assassination.

The court had however on October 6 itself said that prima facie they don’t find the material to be sufficient to order fresh inquiry.

Phadnis moved the top court challenging the Bombay High Court’s June 6, 2016 order junking his plea for the fresh inquiry into larger conspiracy behind the assassination in the wake of fresh evidence that has surfaced now.

Pointing fingers at ‘Force 136’, the petitioner has said that the Indian Ambassador to USSR was informed in February 1948 that the British had organized the assassination.

In what could be termed as the last full fledged Union Budget before general elections next year, the Narendra Modi government is likely to provide some relief to taxpayers. The government is considering increasing the limit of tax deducted at source (TDS) for bank interest from the current Rs. 10,000, which was fixed in 1997, to ensure more interest amount for customers.

Bank fixed deposits have become less attractive due to lower interest rate and inefficient tax mechanism. Moreover, the recent surge in stock markets coupled with sops for investment in mutual funds have seen shift of funds from bank deposits to the mutual fund industry.

Senior government officials said, “An increase in TDS deduction limit will ease the compliance burden on taxpayers while at the same time not impacting government finances in a big way. The government has already lowered the entry level income tax rate to 5 per cent in last year’s budget. This year’s budget will look at ways to provide more relief to middle class citizens.”

Ahead of the budget, Prime Minister Modi is likely to hold a meeting with 30 top economists of the country on 10 January, along with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, members of the Economic Advisory Council for PM and other finance ministry officials.

At present, in case of fixed deposits, banks cuts TDS at the rate of 10 per cent if the interest income for the year is more than Rs 10,000. If the person has not provided his or her permanent account number (PAN), bank will deduct TDS at the rate of 20 per cent. Even if your bank has deducted TDS, you should report the interest income in your tax return. Also, if you fall in the higher tax bracket of 20 per cent or 30 per cent, you should pay the extra tax if your bank has deducted TDS at the rate of 10 per cent.

However, the rapid fall in deposit rates in the last year has shaken people’s belief in the favourite instrument for investments. People were contemplating a shift to alternative ways of parking their surplus, and the process quickened after demonetisation as banks sharply reduced deposit rates.

During industry presentations, experts suggested to bring the FD taxation at par with debt mutual fund, wherein an investor is taxed only on redemption. If the redemption is after three years, the tax is calculated on long term capital gain basis with indexation benefits.

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday arrived at the Indian Naval Base INS Hansa in Goa to participate in the ‘Rakshamantri’s Day at Sea’ programme, an official said.

During the two-day event, which began on Monday, she is expected to board several naval ships and witness live naval operations, said an Indian Navy statement.

Sitharaman will also witness “various naval operations, including practice missile firings, warships submarine and aircraft interaction exercises, flying operations from an aircraft carrier and flypast during the two-day sea sortie”.

She was received by Admiral Sunil Lanba and other senior officials of the Indian Navy.

Singer Shalmali Kholgade says the emergence of multiple music festivals and growing number of live gigs in India is a positive sign for independent musicians, but the public needs to stop seeking free passes.

Shalmali is known for songs like Pareshaan, Balam pichkari and Lat lag gayee, and she also celebrates independent music along with her playback singing career in Bollywood.

Asked whether the increasing number of music festivals is a good sign for independent artistes, Shalmali said: “Yes, the music festivals are surely a positive sign for musicians to survive as show organisers are creating a platform for us.

“But it needs more publicity and appreciation in mainstream media. And as an artiste, I think our listeners should buy tickets and attend our concerts. The practice of taking free passes should be stopped.”

At the same time, Shalmali feels ticket rates should be low so that everyone can afford it.

“Everyone should make it a point and a habit to buy tickets. I wish that along with promoting good music, all the show organisers should also encourage the habit of buying tickets.”

Shalmali has collaborated with the seventh edition of Royal Stag Barrel Select MTV Unplugged. She says singing an unplugged rendition is a creative process that she enjoys.

“Though it is a risk to experiment with an already popular song that is loved by our listeners, I think there is something about organic sound.

“You see, on a normal day if a singer takes his guitar and starts stomping and singing, even though he is not performing to perfection, it is human nature that tends to love that acoustic sound, the natural sound of the instrument and voice… It always touches us somewhere. Therefore, when we are creating an unplugged version of a song, we are already presenting it in a positive light.”