Global software major Infosys would pay its new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO&MD) Salil S. Parekh a whopping Rs 16.25 crore salary per annum, the IT major said on Thursday.

In a regulatory filing on the BSE, the company said in addition to Rs 6.5 crore fixed pay and Rs 9.75 crore variable pay, Parekh would get restricted stock units (RSUs) or shares (Rs 5 face value) equivalent to Rs 3.25 crore as annual equity grant and annual performance equity grant worth Rs 13 crore, taking the package to Rs 32.5 crore per annum for five years.

“The compensation for Parekh is subject to approval of shareholders through postal ballot and electronic voting by February 20, 2018,” said the filing.

The company’s Board has appointed its Company Secretary Parameshwar G. Hegde as the scrutiniser for conducting the postal ballot and e-voting.

The company’s blue-chip scrip of Rs 5 face value was quoting Rs 1,016.75 per share on the BSE in the pre-noon trading on Thursday after opening at Rs 1,022 and as against Rs 1,019.10 closing rate on Wednesday.

The resolution also sought the investors’ approval for Parekh’s appointment as the CEO and MD and Additional Director on the Board from January 2, 2018 to January 1, 2023.

In addition to salary and stock options, Parekh will get health and life insurance as applicable to his executive post.

“Compensation benefits will include paid vacation, travel and entertainment expenses as applicable to the company’s executive,” added the filing.

As the variable pay (Rs 9.75 crore) will be applicable from April 1, the company will pay Parekh Rs 2.4 crore from January 2 to March 31 of this fiscal (2017-18).

“The variable pay (Rs 9.75 crore) will be payable subject to the company’s achievement of certain milestones determined by the Board or its committee from time to time,a noted the filing.

Parekh will also be given a one-time equity grant of RSUs having a value equal to Rs 9.75 crore in two instalments of 50 per cent each on the first anniversary of the grant date and its second anniversary.

According to other terms of the appointment resolution, Parekh’s five-year term has an option of renewed it further for another three years subject to the shareholders’ approval.

“Parekh, 53, will retire upon attaining the age of 60 years,” added the filing.

In the event of leaving the company during the tenure, Parekh or the company has to give a three-month notice.

Parekh joined the city-based outsourcing firm on Tuesday after the Board appointed him on December 2.

A veteran in the software industry, Parekh is the second non-founder executive of the $10-billion firm after the exit of the first non-promoter CEO Vishal Sikka in August following a spat with its co-founders over governance issues last year.

Prior to joining Infosys, Parekh was an executive board member of the Paris-headquartered global consulting, technology and IT firm Capgemini.

Parekh has Masters degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering from Cornell University in the US and a B.Tech degree in aeronautical engineering from IIT-Bombay.

The Union Home Ministry on Thursday said it was keeping a close eye on violent incidents in Maharashtra and was in constant touch with the state government.

A Home Ministry official said the Centre “has received a factual report from the Maharashtra government regarding the clashes in the state”.

At least two persons, including a 16-year-old boy, were killed in the violence since caste riots erupted in villages around Bhim’s Korean near Pune on the 200th anniversary of a battle between British forces, including Mahar troops, and the Peshwa Army.

The way your body metabolises your cup of coffee each morning may determine your chances of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a study.

The findings showed that people with Parkinson’s disease had significantly lower levels of caffeine in their blood than people without the disease, even if they consumed the same amount of caffeine.

Thus, testing the level of caffeine in the blood may provide a simple way to aid the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, the researchers said.

“Previous studies have shown a link between caffeine and a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, but we haven’t known much about how caffeine metabolises within the people with the disease,” said Shinji Saiki, MD at the Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo.

“If these results can be confirmed, they would point to an easy test for early diagnosis of Parkinson’s, possibly even before symptoms are appearing,” added David G. Munoz, MD, at the University of Toronto.

“This is important because Parkinson’s disease is difficult to diagnose, especially at the early stages,” Munoz noted.

For the study, published in the journal Neurology, the team involved 108 people who had Parkinson’s disease for an average of about six years and 31 people of the same age who did not have the disease and consumed about two cups of coffee per day.

Their blood was tested for caffeine and for 11 byproducts the body makes as it metabolises caffeine. They were also tested for mutations in genes that can affect caffeine metabolism.

The caffeine level was an average of 79 picomoles per 10 microliters for people without Parkinson’s disease, compared to 24 picomoles per 10 microliters for people with the disease.

However, there were no differences found in the caffeine-related genes between the two groups.

Police have registered a FIR against Gujarat Dalit leader and MLA Jignesh Mevani and JNU student leader Umar Khalid for allegedly inciting passions between communities, an official said on Thursday.

The FIR was lodged late on Wednesday following a complaint by a 22-year-old student, Akshay G. Bikkad, of Pune who took objections to the speeches by Mevani and Khalid at Shaniwarwada on December 31.

In his complaint, Bikkad said that at a ‘Yalgar Parishad’ held that day, the two speakers made inflammatory speeches that could create misunderstanding between communities.

The complainant added excerpts from the speech by Mevani: “The (January 1, 1881) battle of Koregaon-Bhima can be a war of tomorrow. If they attack, it is time to retaliate, and winning this war will be a tribute to the martyrs. Crushing the new ‘Peshwai’ can be a homage to the heroes of the Koregaon-Bhima battle.”

The alleged excerpt from Khalid’s speech: “If we want to win this war against the new ‘Peshwai’, we must carry forward the battle of Koregaon-Bhima. If we want to carry ahead the struggle, it cannot be achieved merely by electoral politics.

“I believe that people who fight for the public causes must find a place in the legislatures in Gujarat and Maharashtra, and also in Parliament. However, caste system can be uprooted only by taking the fight to the streets. The dominance of one caste over the other can only be destroyed by battling it out on the streets,” Khalid allegedly said.

The complainant said that such inflammatory speeches can create a wedge and enmity between communities and that provoked by these utterances some unknown miscreants attacked the Victory Pillar (Vijay Stambh) in Koregaon-Bhima, resulting in riots and arson on January 1.

Hours after the FIR by Pune police, the Mumbai Police denied permission for a Chhatra Bharati-sponsored All India National Students Summit scheduled in Vile Parle on Thursday morning.

The developments came in the wake of a series of disturbances in Maharashtra starting with the desecration of a monument in Vadhu Budruk on December 29, followed by the riots in Koregaon-Bhima that left one dead on January 1, the ‘Maharashtra Shutdown’ that killed a boy and left a trail of destruction across the state.

Actress Ellen Page says she is married to “extraordinary woman” Emma Portner.

Page, 30, shared the news of the gay marriage with her fans on Instagram on Wednesday, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Alongside a series of photographs, Page wrote: “Can’t believe I get to call this extraordinary woman my wife. Emma Portner.”

Portner also shared the same images and wrote: “I get to call this incredible woman my wife! Ellen Page, I love you.”

Portner works as a professional dancer and choreographer at the Broadway Dance Centre here.

Page is best known for her roles in films like “X-Men: The Last Stand“, “Inception”, “To Rome with Love” and “My Days of Mercy”.

NASA has said the logo it has released for use in observing the 60th anniversary of its establishment as a US government agency in 2018 represents its quest for knowledge.

A crescent moon, a ringed planet and a field of stars amid a nebula of light blue represent the agency’s scientific underpinnings, particularly the enduring quest for answers to age-old questions about the workings and evolution of our planet, solar system and the universe, NASA said on Wednesday.

NASA considers its birthday to be October 1, the day the agency opened for business. The logo depicts how NASA is building on its past to soar toward a challenging future.

“NASA” and “60” are stacked, bold and tall, atop the continental US, the curvature of Earth, and the light of an approaching dawn.

This placement, according to NASA, captures the spirit of a metaphor about knowledge and discovery, often attributed to 17th century physicist Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Similarly, the agency too was built from the legacy and expertise of giants in government-sponsored research and development, it said.

The light blue and white arc just below the alphanumeric elements recalls the sunrise, seen 16 times each day aboard an Earth-orbiting spacecraft, and symbolizes opportunity yet to come through exploration of the Moon, Mars and destinations far beyond, NASA said.

Lucas Lima said his move to Palmeiras will improve his chances of a recall to Brazil’s national team ahead of this year’s World Cup.

Lima fronted the media for the first time since joining the Sao Paulo club from rivals Santos on a five-year contract last month, reports Xinhua news agency.

“I know it was the right move and I’m very happy,” the 27-year-old said on Wednesday.

“It’s a World Cup year and I think coming to Palmeiras will bring me closer to (the World Cup). But irrespective of what I do individually, I think that winning titles can also help my chances,” he added.

The last of Lima’s 14 appearances for Brazil came almost a year ago in the team’s 1-0 friendly victory over Colombia at the Maracana stadium.

He has not played a competitive fixture for the Selecao since their 0-2 defeat of Peru in Lima in November 2016.

Lima insists that his allegiance is now with Palmeiras despite their traditional antagonism with Santos.

“My heart is now green. I came to Palmeiras for the club, for the fans, to play in front of a packed stadium, to be happy and to win titles,” he said.

“Some people might still doubt me but I hope to convince them with my form on the pitch,” he added.

The 2018 World Cup will be played in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15.

Melanie Kohler, a Hawaiian woman who accused Hollywood producer Brett Ratner of raping her last year, has filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the libel suit.

Kohler’s lawyers contend that Ratner’s suit consisted of little more than “threadbare, conclusory allegations” which fail to meet the minimum requirements for a libel complaint, variety.com reports.

They also argued that Ratner’s suit was intended to intimidate other women from coming forward with allegations.

In October, Kohler wrote a Facebook post alleging that Ratner raped her in 2004 or 2005. She took the post down within two hours, after receiving a call from Ratner’s attorney.

“Stripped of its conclusory allegations, the complaint is essentially a blank piece of paper. It lacks any factual allegation from which this court can infer that Kohler’s FB post was false or was published with actual malice,” Kohler’s attorneys wrote.

Kohler’s attorneys also argued the suit should be dismissed under California’s anti-SLAPP statute which limits lawsuits intended to chill public speech.

In a filing last week, Ratner’s attorneys said they would seek to limit Kohler’s ability to use the discovery process to explore other sexual misconduct allegations against him.

The most talked celebrity couple of India — Bollywood star Anushka Sharma and Indian skipper Virat Kohli — has taken social media by storm in the last few weeks. The duo has been making headlines for quite some years now. But the internet has a meltdown after the news of their hush-hush marriage has come out in the media.

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma tied the knot in a secret marriage on 11 December in Tuscany, Italy. After their secret wedding, the duo hosted two receptions in Delhi and Mumbai.

After their honeymoon in Finland, taking a short break from her acting life, Anushka Sharma is accompanying Virat Kohli in South Africa where the Indian skipper is all set to play the upcoming three-match Test series against Proteas.

Recently, a photograph of Anushka and Virat was getting viral on the internet in which the duo was spotted outside a store that was offering 50% discounts. In the picture Anushka was seen checking the stock while Indian skipper was busy holding a shopping bag. Just after the photograph went viral, Virat-Anushka became the butt of jokes on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Here are some Tweets:

*Virat looking at the bill from wedding planner*
Anushka: Baby lets go shopping.
Virat: I know just the right place. pic.x.com/1Pqs3cT04m

— Amit (@Goddamittt) December 31, 2017

Virat to Anushka : Ab itne receptions pe kharcha karne ke baad sale main hi shopping karna padega, darling!! pic.x.com/QYsnh4hNqX

— Cherry Dimple (@shailimore) December 31, 2017

Net worth of virat kohli: 7.1$ million
Net worth of anushka sharma: 3.2$ million
Still shopping on 50% discount pic.x.com/m1ohHwHHAf

— Ganesh Parmar (@SarcasmSeekar) December 31, 2017

A Woman by any other name is still a woman A 50% discount sale like any other woman will still attract likes of Anushka
A man by another name will still be …
Virat Kohli has to carry Shopping bags of his Wife like any other husband No Exceptions to the Rule
Women Empowerment pic.x.com/xtZEjEvbTH

— #Friend for Friends (@hari141250) January 3, 2018

No matter if your husband is virat kohli, 50% sale will still be more orgasmic for a woman. pic.x.com/0vB3ag0IYP

— Aditii🎀 (@Sassy_Soul_) December 31, 2017

Indians will always go for discounts, irrespective of earnings!

Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma go shopping in Cape Town. https://t.co/EIfYpZtqtu

— Raj Shekhar (@raj_shekhar72) January 1, 2018

Boxing legend Mike Tyson will open a marijuana ranch in the southern California with the state legalising the sale of non-medical marijuana on the first day of 2018.

According to The Blast media outlet, the former boxer broke ground in California City, about 96 km southwest of Death Valley National Park, for the “Tyson Ranch”, reports Xinhua news agency.

While half of the 40-acre ranch is dedicated to producing high-quality marijuana, the rest of the resort will have a supply store, an extraction facility, an edible factory, a cultivation school to train growers and even smoker-friendly campgrounds and cabins.

Tyson established a company, Tyson Holistic, to manage the operation of the ranch and facilities, which reportedly involve many veterans.

The opening date of the ranch is yet to be announced.

The legalization of the recreational use of weed in California took effect on Monday, which is expected to increase the revenue of the US most populous state by several billion dollars each year.

At present, a total of 29 US states have adopted medical marijuana laws and seven states have adopted the most expansive laws legalising marijuana for recreational use.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he has no wishes for 2018 other than good health and happiness and that he has not asked the club for any new players in the January transfer window.

He was speaking ahead of Thursday’s King’s Cup game away to second tier side Numancia.

It was Zidane’s first press conference in Spain since his side were thrashed 3-0 at home to Barcelona on December 23 to leave them 14 points off the top of the Liga Santander table, reports Xinhua news agency.

Zidane came in for serious criticism after the defeat but he said he was optimistic about 2018.

“We are in three competitions and we have the same excitement and we will do everything to give the maximum in every game. We return to the Cup and hope to continue into the next round,” he said.

Madrid have struggled to score goals this season, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema netting just six between them in the league. But Zidane doesn’t see the need for new faces.

The Madrid coach admitted meeting club President Florentino Perez to discuss possible signings.

“We spoke about everything and also about reinforcements. Today, there will be no signings, but until January 31, anything can happen,” he commented, adding that what he didn’t want was “for any player to leave the squad”.

Female college professors are more likely to get requests from students for an increase of marks or extended assignment deadlines than their male counterparts, a study has found.

Researchers from Eastern Washington University in the US found that women in academia more often face added work demand.

They analysed data from a survey of 88 US professors and found that students make more standard work demands and requests for special favours to their female rather than male professors.

However, female professors also reported more acts of friendship from their students.

Although these can be positive experiences, the findings indicate that such friendly behaviour may be emotionally taxing in the same way that special favour requests seem to increase the emotional burdens of female professors.

Another study involved 121 college students, and set out to find out if a certain type of student is more likely to ask favours from female professors.

Researchers found that a student’s view about women in authority or sexism did not play a role.

Instead, students who believed that they were deserving of academic success, irrespective of their actual performance or the effort they put in, were particularly likely to ask a female professor for extra favours, and react negatively if those favours were denied.

These effects were driven by entitled students’ greater expectations of getting special favours granted by a female professor than a male professor.

“Our research provides more information about how students treat female professors, how they react to them when the professors stand their ground, and what kinds of students are particularly likely to treat female professors differently from male professors,” said Amani El-Alayli, lead author of the study published in the journal Sex Roles.

“Students with high academic entitlement were more inclined to be irritated or disappointed when a female professor denied their requests, and more likely to then persist in asking for favours after being denied,” said El- Alayli.

“They were also more likely to conclude, if the professor was female, that a request denial meant that the professor disliked them,” he said.

The gendered expectations that men are more respected and authoritative make even entitled students unlikely to oppose their male professors’ decisions.

They might even believe that it would be fruitless to oppose male professors and to keep on nagging, because they are not easily swayed. Thus, these students’ entitlement may only manifest when interacting with female professors.

“Aside from contributing to burnout and taking time away from career-enhancing activities, greater demands and special requests from students may affect female professors’ career advancement by causing them to get less favourable course evaluations or even more complaints filed against them,” said El-Alayli.

“Students may perceive female professors as less fair than their male counterparts if female professors are expected to expend exceptional effort to help out their students in unrealistic ways, thus resulting in worse evaluations,” she added.

Tiger Shroff starrer Baaghi 2 is scheduled to hit the screens on March 30.

Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under the banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and presented by Fox Star Studios, the film was earlier scheduled to release on April 27.

Baaghi 2 is set to release on March 30, Tiger, who also starred in Baaghi, tweeted on Thursday. Tiger will turn almost bald in Baaghi 2.

Actress Disha Patani, who will be paired opposite Tiger in the film, wrote: “Rebels for love are all set to meet you!”

Rebels For Love are all set to meet you! #SajidNadiadwala’s Baaghi2 to release on March 30 2018. @iTigerShroff @Khan_ahmedasas @NGEMovies @FoxStarHindi #Baaghi2onMarch30 pic.x.com/AsvLBEfgPU

— Disha Patani (@DishPatani) January 4, 2018

India’s hopes in the singles competition of the Tata Open Maharashtra tennis tournament took another blow on Wednesday as Yuki Bhambri lost to France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 in the second round here.

In what was the toughest test for Bhambri so far in the tournament, the World no.118 failed to capitalise on his start where he won the first set 6-4 against one of the best players at this year’s tournament in Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Bhambri looked confident from the start but after winning the first set comfortably, the 25-year-old Indian seemed to have lost his touch as Herbert fought back into the match at the Mhalunge Balewadi Stadium.

With a total of 13 aces in the match, Herbert did well in making the most of his serving, but it was Bhambri who had the momentum going into the second set as the crowd was also cheering him on.

Only 20 per cent of Bhambri’s total points in the second set came off the returns and it looked like he had lost his rhythm as well.

However, credit went to the eighth-seed Herbert who produced some great serves to fight back and win the second and the third sets and make his way through to the quarterfinals.

The win for world No.81 Herbert means that the Frenchman might end up facing top-seed Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals but the former will be hoping that India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan can produce an upset in his second round clash against Cilic, which would make it an easier tie for Herbert.

In the other men’s singles second round matches, it was fourth-seed Benoit Paire who defeated Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 in a very close encounter which lasted more than three hours, to make it through to the quarter-finals.

Fifth-seed Robin Haase also had to graft in his second round encounter against Nicolas Jarry after the latter won the first set 6-3.

World No.42 Haase revived his game in the second set and came from behind to continue his fine form as he won the match in three sets 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 to advance to the quarter-finals.

Ousted South Korean president Park Geun-Hye is to be charged with accepting millions of dollars worth of bribes from the state spy agency, news reports said today.

Park allegedly received between 50 and 200 million won (now USD 47,000 to USD 188,000) from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) every month from soon after her swearing-in in early 2013 until mid-2016, prosecutors told South Korean media.

The cash — said to total 3.8 billion won — was reportedly delivered by NIS agents to Park’s aides in uncrowded parking lots or in back alleys near the presidential Blue House.

The money came from the spy agency’s “blind budget” — millions of dollars of special funds that can be spent without receipts for anti-espionage activities — Yonhap news agency said.

It remains unclear how Park spent the funds but news reports said she used them for personal purposes or to bankroll supporter groups.

Park is already on trial on 18 charges including bribery, coercion and abuse of power for offering governmental favours to tycoons, and prosecutors will add a 19th count to the indictment regarding the payments, reports said.

South Korea’s first female president was impeached by parliament after months of mass protests over a sprawling graft scandal, and the constitutional court upheld the decision in March last year, dismissing her from office.
She has been in custody since March 31.

Her trial began in May but she has refused to attend since October, infuriated by a court decision to extend her detention by six months, when her legal team also quit, accusing the judges of bias.

Park has since refused to cooperate with a team of state-sponsored defence lawyers appointed by the court.
Prosecutors sought to question Park in prison twice over the fresh allegations, but she has refused to cooperate.
Two former NIS chiefs have been indicted over the bribery charges.

CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury on Thursday questioned the government’s silence on the violence in Maharashtra, alleging that Dalits may have been excluded from the ruling BJP’s definition of who is Indian.

“Does the BJP government consider Dalits to be a part of India or not? Or are they excluded from being Indian in its definition? Only that view explains its silence on what is happening in Maharashtra,” Yechury said in a series of tweets.

He said “Sangh ideology is opposed to” the idea of equality of B.R. Ambedkar, one of the architects of the Indian Constitution.

“As Ambedkar said, one person is equal to one vote and one vote equal to one value. But until each citizen does not equal the same value, in socio-economic terms, the struggle must continue.”

He said the attempts to blame the “historically oppressed sections of our society for speaking up reflect the core beliefs of the BJP-RSS, of asserting an old and oppressive social order”.

Yechury’s tweets came in reaction to clashes during the bicentenary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle on Sunday and the subsequent violence that spread across Maharashtra.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the ‘Captain Cool’ of India and former Indian skipper, may no longer be among the elite cricketers of the country.

According to a report published in the Times of India, the proposed new contract structure of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is divided into four categories- A+, A, B, C. Among the four categories, players who play in all the formats — Test, T20I, ODIs– will be included in the top A+ category.

Well, since MS Dhoni took retirement from the Test cricket in the 2014, may have to miss the top contract offered by the BCCI.

Currently, Dhoni is in the Top ‘A’ category offered by the BCCI along with seven other cricketers. The players from ‘A’ category are paid Rs 2 crore per annum. The players from ‘B’ categories are paid Rs 1 crore per annum and those who are in ‘C’ category got paid Rs 50 lakh per annum.

The new structure has been proposed by the BCCI’s committee after Indian skipper Virat Kohli, along with MS Dhoni and head coach of India Ravi Shastri, met the Vinod Rai-led panel in November to request pay hike for the players.

Meanwhile, there is some good news for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the player may be placed into A+ category.

However, none of this is finialised yet.