In a development which could lead to the creation of healthier beers and drought-resistant crops, a team of Australian researchers has cracked the genetic code of the grain barley.

The researchers sequenced the barley genome, one of the most complex of all the cereals, which could allow scientists to modify the grain through breeding programmes, Xinhua news agency on Thursday quoted researcher Rachel Burton as saying.

Burton from the University of Adelaide said cracking barley's genetic code was a "major achievement" which could lead to healthier beers and lower beer production costs.

"If you can make barley that's better for malting then that's going to help with energy costs at the brewery, that's got to be good for the planet," Burton said.

"If you're interested in a low carbohydrate beer for beer drinkers who don't want the calories, then you may be able to tailor your malt earlier on to make your beer less fattening, I suppose."

Burton said her team was able to successfully experiment with malted barley which ferments cleaner and, therefore, brews beers more efficiently.

"One of the things that we're very interested in is how quickly the walls (of the barley's cells) break down (to release the sugars)," she said.

"If you can think of barley grain that breaks down those walls efficiently … you will release lots of the starch and get a good fermentation.

"But the remnants of wall when they go into the brewery they will be sticky and that can block the filters up in the brewery which adds to the cost.

"So if you can find varieties where you get quick and complete degradation of cells walls … that may be better for brewing."

Meanwhile, Murdoch University's Professor Chengdao Li said Australian researchers had played a vital role in the research, adding that barley was one of the most complex grains to study.

"Cereal crops, including bread wheat, durum, barley and rye, have some of the most complex genetic histories among the world's cultivated species," he said on Thursday.

The breakthrough could also lead to the development of drought-resistant grains, something which could boost the nation's economy.

Currently, 30 per cent of the world's malting barley comes from Australia and exports are worth more than $750 million.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday condoled the death of veteran Bollywood actor-turned-politician and former Union Minister Vinod Khanna.

"I am deeply saddened by his death. He was a shining star of cinema. With his death, an era has ended. This void can never be filled. I extend my condolences to his bereaved family and countless fans. May his soul rest in peace," Banerjee said in a statement.

Khanna was hospitalised over a month ago in Mumbai.

He was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of the Lok Sabha from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Khanna was into his fourth term as MP from the seat.

Starting his career with minor roles in 1969, the actor built up a hugely successful career.

He featured in some of the biggest Bollywood hits like Mere Apne, Insaaf, Parvarish, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Qurbani, Dayavaan, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Chandni, The Burning Train and Amar Akbar Anthony.
 

Athletes and coaches found guilty of doping could be slapped with jail terms as the Sports Ministry is trying to generate a consensus on making the menace a criminal offence.

Laws of countries such as Germany and Australia are being studied for the purpose.

Interestingly, a few days back, Sports Minister Vijay Goel had said that criminalising doping was not required since the system was strong to catch the offenders and the embarrassment that athletes face on being caught is itself a punishment.

However, the minister on Thursday said he fears that doping may fast spread to the junior level and it needs to be curbed by creating fear in the minds of athletes.

“We are deliberating if athletes can be sent to jail by introducing a new legislation which will make doping a criminal offence,” Goel said on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Consultation meeting for drafting Anti-doping legislation.'

Flanked by Navin Agarwal, Director General, National Anti Doping Agency (NADA), Goel said, “I fear that the menace will spread to Universities and school competitions. Earlier, it was limited to only the national level.”

“And not only athletes but coaches, trainers, doctors whoever is involved will be sent to jail. An immediate arrest could be made.

“Sometimes, the athletes unknowingly take banned substances. Due to the mistakes of their coaches, the athletes pay a price but the coach goes scot-free. Everyone who aides in doping will be brought into the law net.”

NADA DG Agarwal said the efforts in the direction of “targetted testing” have produced good results since detection rate has gone up from 2.5 to 3.5 per cent.

India had featured in top-3 for the third successive year in a report published by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 2015.

A total of 117 athletes from the country were punished after testing positive for banned substances. India followed Russia (176) and Italy (129), the same position as in the reports of 2013 and 2014.

Agarwal also said the number of tests have touched 7000 per year and it was a challenge for NADA to make sure that the coaches do not misguide their wards.

Goel said there was no time-frame to come up with a legislation.

“We are discussing it with all, be it law ministry or other stake-holders. We will see if it can be made a criminal offence. Also WADA needs to do its bit by empaneling few companies, whose drugs can be safely be used by athletes.”

Though most of the bank executives are confident of their cybersecurity strategy and preparedness, lack of practical testing makes the defence vulnerable, a new report said on Thursday.

According to global professional services company Accenture's new global report that involved 275 senior security executives across the banking and capital markets sectors, 78 per cent of executives surveyed expressed confidence in their overall cybersecurity strategy.

But when it came to stop a breach, phishing and malware attacks, 59 per cent of the banks were unable to detect breaches for several months while 36 per cent of all the attacks were successful in stealing some data or information.

"As Indian financial services firms are in the initial stages of adopting digital technologies, they have a unique opportunity to set up proper checks and balances to prevent cyber attacks," said Piyush Singh, Managing Director (Financial Services Group) Accenture in APAC and India.

Nearly 48 per cent of respondents cited internal breaches as having the greatest cybersecurity impact and 52 per cent indicated a lack of confidence in their organisation's ability to detect a breach through internal monitoring.

"They should also focus on deploying practical testing scenarios that include highly realistic simulated attacks. No amount of vulnerability scanning or risk assessment will replicate that," Singh added.

While the banks' security teams detected a high number of each company's breaches, virtually all the respondents said they learned about the remainder of the breaches from their own employees, pointing to the critical importance of establishing strong awareness, strengthening internal training programmes and establishing effective internal escalation processes.

Finland's telecoms giant Nokia reported on Thursday that it remained deep in the red at the start of the year, with sales in its main business, networks, on the decline.

The company posted a loss of 488 million euros ($532 million) in the first quarter, an improvement from the 609 million euros a year earlier, prompting chief executive Rajeev Suri to say he believed in an "improving business momentum, even if some challenges remain".

But while the company's overall sales declined by two percent to 5.38 billion euros, sales in its core networks business fell by six percent, to 4.9 billion euros.

"We saw encouraging signs of stablisation in mobile networks," Suri told reporters in a conference call.

The company is eyeing business opportunities offered by the "path to 5G roadmap", Suri said, referring to the worldwide roll-out of the lightening-fast 5G mobile internet service that operators expect to begin by 2020.

Once the world's number one handset maker, Nokia transformed itself into a network equipment company and bought its hugely unprofitable French-American rival Alcatel-Lucent a year ago, resulting in the whole group's results to plunge into the red in 2016.

The firm recorded a net loss of 766 million euros last year, which Suri said in a statement was a "year of transition." 

But in fact the company has been going through a process of radical transformation for several years now.

In 2013, it bought 50 percent of its network activities from Germany's Siemens, and the following year it pulled out of mobile phones.

It sold its mapping unit Here in 2015 and completed the deal late last year to buy Alcatel-Lucent, which had only recorded one year of annual profit since its inception in 2006.

Nokia was the world's top mobile phone maker between 1998 and 2011 but was overtaken by South Korean rival Samsung after failing to respond to the rapid rise of smartphones. 

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into the impact of aluminum dumping by countries like China and Russia citing a threat to US national security.

"Imports have been flooding into the aluminum industry," the US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters at a White House news conference.

Ross said this is in reaction to real world conditions that imports of aluminum have been increasing steadily in recent years, while American producers have experienced cuts in their jobs and plants have been shut down.

The US President Donald Trump will sign an order later on Thursday directing the Commerce Department to complete the investigation as "soon as possible" of dumping. China, the world's top producer and consumer of the metal, is expected to be the worst hit by this executive action.

Since 2015, as many as eight smelters have shut down in the US as a result of influx of foreign aluminum.

The metal is in high demand in the US defence industry, particular for building high-tech planes like F-35, F-16 and C-17.

The investigation will determine if there is sufficient domestic aluminum capacity to meet US defence needs, Ross said.

Although he said China was a major contributor to the global excess capacity in aluminum production, he said imports from other countries, including Russia, were also causing problems.

"The problem we have is there's only one American smelter that produces the high-purity aluminum needed for these uses.

Just one. And that company has been having some problems.

They, in fact, filed a trade case against dumping on their own," Ross said.

"Imports have been flooding into the aluminum industry," Ross said.

The US imported more than 6.5 million metric tonnes of aluminum in 2016 for use in the auto industry, construction and a variety of other sectors. Canada was by far the biggest foreign supplier, with shipments totaling more than 3 million tons, followed by Russia (755,545 tonnes), the United Arab Emirates (557,723 tonnes) and China (518,773 tonnes).

US companies also exported nearly 3 million tonnes of aluminum last year, down slightly from previous years. The biggest destinations were Mexico (764,488 tonnes), China (730,355 tonnes) and Canada (688,427 tonnes), followed by South Korea and Vietnam.

The investigation mirrors a probe the Commerce Department launched last week focusing on the steel industry.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Thursday recalled the support of Mar Thoma Church when he was jailed during the Emergency of 1975-77.

"I have memories of the Mar Thoma Church, especially when Emergency was clamped. I lost my freedom and so did thousands of others when we were all sent to jail," Advani said at the centenary birthday celebrations of bishop Philipose Mar Chrysostom, who turned 100 on Thursday.

"During that period, I clearly remember that it was the Mar Thoma Church which extended support to all of us, when they opposed it (Emergency). I can never forget the support of the church," he said.

When Chrysostom celebrated his 90th birthday, Advani was the chief guest, and he assured the longest serving bishop in India that he will return to take part in the centenary celebrations.

Chrysostom, ordained as a bishop of the church in 1953, became the supreme head of Mar Thoma Church from 1999 to 2007.

The bishop retired in 2007 and has since been a guiding force for the church.

Paris Saint-Germain are one step away from their third straight success at the French Cup after beating a second-string Monaco 5-0 at Parc des Princes, booking a final clash with Angers at the centennial edition of the tournament.

Monaco, in the hunt for their first domestic league championship since 2000, rested several of their star players, including top scorer Radamel Falcao and 18-year-old sensation Kylian Mbappe, while PSG dispatched their attacking trio, Angel Di Maria, Edinson Cavani and Julian Draxler on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Cavani and Blaise Matuidi's headers went close, before Draxler opened the scoring for PSG after 26 minutes. 

The German international put the ball into an empty net after Di Maria's shot was blocked by Monaco goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.

Cavani, who has extended his contract with the club until 2020, doubled the hosts' lead five minutes later, as he back-heeled Di Maria's right-flank cross at the target.

Matuidi had another back-heel attempt, only to be denied by the post late in the first half.

The visitors conceded twice in a two-minute span early in the second half. Unlucky defender Safwan Mbae had an own-goal in the 51st minute, before Matuidi extended PSG's lead to four on Di Maria's pass.

Brazilian defender Marquinhos set the game at 5-0 in the last minute through a free-kick connection.

After winning the French League Cup final 4-1 on April 1, PSG recorded another lop-sided victory over their most threatening opponents Monaco this season.

Angers made their first appearance in the tournament's final over the past 60 years after eliminating Guingamp 2-0 on Tuesday.

Two police officers were injured on Thursday in a shooting on the French island of Réunion by a suspected radical Islamist.

The suspect, who is believed to be in his 20s, shot at the policemen when they tried to arrest him, officials said.

It is immediately not known why the man was being arrested, Daily Mail reported. 

French officials have launched a counter-terrorism investigation into the shooting. 
 

The Centre has extended the last date for filing service tax return by five days to April 30, in a relief to lakhs of service providers.

“The CBEC hereby extends the date for submission of form ST-3 for the period from October 1 to March 31, 2017, from April 25 to April 30, 2017,” the apex policy making body of the indirect tax department said in an office order.

Every registered service tax assessee has to file service tax return in form ST-3 on a half-yearly basis before the due date to avoid penalty.

For filing returns for the period April-September, the due date isOctober 25, while for October-March it is April 25.
TheCentral Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)said that the due date is being extended as the assessees faced “intermittent difficulties” in accessing the ACES (Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax) website on April 25.

This, CBEC said, is”circumstances of a special nature” for which the last date for filing is being extended.
As per norms, the returns have to be filed online on www.aces.gov.in.

While return is filed half-yearly, the service tax collected by the assessee has to be deposited with the government on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Tax experts voiced concern over whether the GSTN portal would be able to take the load of all the tax payers which would include not only service providers, but also traders and manufacturers.

The government is asking existing excise, service tax and VAT assessees to shift to the GST Network (GSTN) portal for payment of tax and filing returns.

GST, which will unify 10 local taxes, is expected to kick in from July 1.

Nangia and Co Director-Indirect Taxation Rajat Mohan saidreturn filing under GST regime would necessitate much more data in terms of invoices, debit notes and credit notes that would be matched online.

“After witnessing this extension of due date for filing service tax return, my concern is the government system might not be fully geared up for such large pool of tax payers and in terms of data requirement in returns,” Mohan said.

Maruti Suzuki unveiled the third-generation Dzire in India on April 24, 2017. The new Dzire is based on the 'Heartect' platform which also underpins the Baleno hatchback.

The new Dzire, which will launch on May 16, 2017, is wider and more spacious than the outgoing version, although the overall length is still under four metres. Its front design is inspired from the new Swift (expected to launch in India in 2018) and it also looks more proportional than before with a well-integrated boot design now.

Maruti Suzuki unveiled the ZDi+ AGS (top variant) version of the new Dzire that gets features like LED projector headlamps, auto headlamp on/off, LED daytime running lights (DRLs), LED light guides at the rear, auto climate control and 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to name a few. Safety features like ABS, dual airbags and ISOFIX mountings are also standard.

The feature list appears to be exhaustive but still leaves us wanting more, especially with the competition quite closely stacked in terms of features. Here are five things that would have made the Dzire more desirable than ever.

90PS Diesel engine

CV Raman, executive director (Engg) at Maruti Suzuki India Limited, told us at the new Dzire’s unveil that the compact sedan would get the same petrol and diesel engines as before, that too in the same state of tune. It means that the Dzire’s diesel engine will continue to deliver 75PS of maximum power and 190Nm of peak torque.

A quick look at the diesel engine specs of Dzire’s competition shows that at least three compact sedans in India – the Ford Aspire, Honda Amaze and the VW Ameo, get a 100+PS diesel engine.

Maruti Suzuki offers the 1.3-litre diesel engine with a variable geometry turbocharger in the Ciaz and the Ertiga, where it produces maximum power of 90PS and peak torque of 200Nm. The carmaker appears to have missed a chance to offer the more powerful version of the diesel engine, at least in selected Dzire variants if not all.

SHVS-Mild Hybrid System

Suzuki currently offers the SHVS system on the Ertiga and the Ciaz, both of which are powered by the 90PS diesel engine. SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) is an auto start/stop system which uses an integrated starter generator – which assists in firing up the engine and also recharges the battery while coasting (when the engine is not under any load – like going downhill). This, in turn, results in lesser fuel consumption.

Moreover, mild hybrid vehicles attract a lower VAT-rate advantage in some parts of the country. In Delhi, for instance, the Ciaz SHVS and the Ertiga SHVS attract only 5 per cent VAT as opposed to 12.5 per cent applicable to conventional petrol and diesel cars.

Cruise Control

Maruti Suzuki could have offered ‘Cruise Control’, at least on the top-end variant of the Dzire, thereby adding to its desirability. Plus, with Dzire’s rival Volkswagen Ameo offering cruise control in this segment, it would have also kept the competition in check.

Cruise Control helps the vehicle to automatically maintain its speed as set by the driver. The vehicle’s ECU takes over the function of manual throttle inputs, resulting in a more relaxed driving experience, especially on highways.

High-end music system

Maruti Suzuki offers four speakers and two tweeters along with the 7-inch SmartPlay infotainment system on the Baleno and the Ciaz. The SLDA system on the new Dzire is also the same. However, the company is believed to have improved the touch mechanism in the Dzire.

While this system doesn’t have any downsides, the company offers an option to upgrade to a Hertz system (with amplifier, speakers and a woofer) in the Baleno, which is a part of its official accessory list. The chances are that a similar upgrade will also be available in the Dzire’s MGA list in the future. However, offering a fully loaded entertainment system in at least the top-end Dzire variant would have given Maruti Suzuki bragging rights, something which currently the Tata Tigor gets with its Harman-developed 8-speaker unit.

More airbags on the top-end variant

The new Dzire complies with the upcoming crash test norms, and gets dual airbags, ABS with EBD, seatbelts with pretensioners and ISOFIX seat mounts as standard. The new Dzire’s improved rear seat room and rear AC vents and 12V socket hint that Maruti Suzuki doesn’t want to hamper the backseat experience of its customers either. For such buyers, and even for those who don’t want to leave any stone unturned as far as safety is concerned, Maruti Suzuki could have offered an option of 6 airbags in some of the Dzire variants.

At the unveil earlier this week, Maruti Suzuki hadn’t revealed the entire features list of the new Dzire and this post is purely based on our first look at the ZDi+ variant. We hope some of the features mentioned in this wishlist do make it to the final equipment list of the Dzire, which will turn it into a more attractive package.

Source: CarDekho

To make air travel accessible to citizens in regionally important areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flagged off the first UDAN flight under Regional Connectivity Scheme in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Three initial flights have been launched in three routes, namely, Shimla-Delhi, Kadapa-Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderabad.

The scheme will not only boost regional connectivity but will also provide low-cost air tickets to customers. Here is a list of all that you need to know about the maiden scheme.

1. The Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme was declared by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry in October 2016.

2. Under this scheme, airfare for 1-hour journey of approximately 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for 30-minute journey on a helicopter would be capped at Rs. 2,500.

3. At present, the plan is to connect 27 served, 12 underserved and 31 unserved airports across the country. Some of the inactive airports that have been selected include Shimla, Bikaner, Agra, Gwalior, Rourkela, Kadapa, Jharsuguda, Vidyanagar, Burnpur, Kullu, Diu, Mysore, Shillong, Jagdalpur, Salem, Utkela, and Hosur.

4. The airlines selected in the first round include SpiceJet, Air India subsidiary Alliance Air and regional airlines such as Turbo Megha Airways, Air Deccan and Air Odisha Aviation.

5. Of the 70 airports to be covered under the scheme, 24 airports are in the west, 17 in north, 11 in south, 12 in east and 6 in Northeast India. 

Reality TV personality Khloe Kardashian is facing a lawsuit for sharing an unlicensed photo on Instagram.

Photo agency Xposure Photos claims that on September 14, 2016, the 32-year-old used one of the agency's photographs without permission, reports aceshowbiz.com.

According to court documents, the photo agency has accused Khloe and her team of removing copyright credit from the photo before she posted it on her social media account. 

The company is now demanding $150,000 in damages. 

The company said in a statement: "Kardashian's Instagram post made the photograph immediately available to her nearly 67 million followers and others, consumers of entertainment news – and especially news and images of Kardashian herself, as evidenced by their status as followers of Kardashian – who would otherwise be interested in viewing licensed versions of the photograph in the magazines and newspapers that are plaintiff's customers." 

The photograph in scrutiny was taken when the "Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian" star stepped out for dinner at Miami restaurant Komodo in September 2016. 

At the time, she was joined by her older sister Kourtney. The photo was originally bought by Daily Mail magazine.

Baahubali series has been much talked about for its ‘larger than life’ appearance on screen and the team behind it deserves appreciation for their hard work. Now, film Baahubali: The Conclusion will hit big screen on Friday. The film which was to be screened today has been postponed for 28 April following the death of veteran actor Vinod Khanna.

In a candid conversation with thestatesman.com, production designer of the Baahubali series, Sabu Cyril shared his experiences while making the film.

When asked about the ‘Larger than life’ essence of the movie, Cyril said, “We got conscious that we were doing it right after the first one made it big at the box office.”

“The film is not two parts but a continuation of the same story, so knowing that we are working in the right direction made it easy” he added.

Cyril said that the first part of the series was a challenge in itself. “The second part was easy as we had control, we knew what we were doing and it helped us to plan better,” he added.

The sequels of Bollywood films rarely do well, it will be a record in itself if Baahubali 2 does better than Baahubali.

“First was difficult because it was character introduction. Now we have to show more of the story. So I think people will be really glued to the screen.” Cyril said.

When asked for his secret mantra on giving a hit, the humble production designer said “Good work comes when one puts his heart and soul in it and sincerity towards the work is important.”

“Working day and night and not taking a break for five years deserve success I think” he added.

Directed by SS Rajamouli, the film Baahubali 2 will hit big screen on 28 April.

Eugenie Bouchard attacked Maria Sharapova as a “cheater” over her return from a drugs ban and suggested the Russian should be kicked out of tennis for life.

Bouchard said the Women's Tennis Association was sending the wrong message in allowing the five-time Grand Slam-winner to come back from her 15-month suspension.

Russia's Sharapova — the world's highest-paid female athlete for more than a decade until last year, according to Forbes — won on Wednesday on her comeback after testing positive for meldonium.

“I don't think that's right. She's a cheater and so to me, I don't think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again,” Canada's Bouchard, the world number 59, told TRT World in Istanbul.

“It's so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way and are true. So I just think the WTA sends the wrong message to young kids: you know, cheat and we'll welcome you back with open arms.

“So I don't think that's right. She's not someone I can say I look up to any more because it's definitely ruined it for me a little bit.”

Sharapova, 30, has pleaded that she had been taking meldonium for medical reasons for 10 years and didn't know it had been added to the list of banned substances last year.

Her return on a wildcard in Stuttgart, where she beat Roberta Vinci on Wednesday, has proved divisive with both criticism and support from her fellow players.

Sharapova will learn on May 16 whether she will receive a wildcard for the French Open, the year's second Grand Slam which she won in 2012 and 2014.

Search engine giant Google India has been named as the country's most attractive employer brand, followed by Mercedes Benz India at the second place, a survey says.

The sectoral specific winners for the most attractive employers this year are Amazon India for e-commerce, ITC Ltd for FMCG and Philips India for consumer and healthcare.

According to the Randstad Employer Brand Research 2017, competitive salary and employee benefits continue to be the top priority among the Indian workforce while choosing an employer, followed by good work-life balance and job security.

However, for the IT professionals, good work-life balance emerged as the top priority while choosing an employer.

"Employer branding continues to be of strategic importance influencing the talent agenda, particularly so in an economy that's driven by knowledge workers," Randstad India MD and CEO Moorthy K Uppaluri said.

According to the survey results, large and multinational corporations emerge as the preferred workplace for employees across all profiles.

However, IT professionals indicated that they would rather work in the dynamic start-up ecosystem over the SME sector. On the other hand, engineering talent prefer working in start-ups over the public sector companies, reveals the survey.

Sectorwise, Indian workforce prefers to work for companies operating in sectors like IT, followed by BFSI and retail & FMCG.

"Organisations have come to realise the value of employer branding and the return from such investments, both in terms of attracting new talent and retaining," Uppaluri added.

The survey further noted that 31 per cent of employees, said they are not loyal to any one industry or sector and are open to shift industries and compensation remains a key driver in determining employee loyalty to a sector.

The Randstad Award, instituted globally by Randstad, is hosted each year to encourage best practices for talent attraction and to identify the best 'Employer Brand' in the country based on perceived awareness and attractiveness of a company.

In India this year, the Randstad Employer Brand Research captured the views of around 3,500 respondents, who chose the nation's most attractive employer brand for 2017.

Nick Kyrgios could go far at the French Open next month after a stellar run of form that saw him lead Australia into the Davis Cup semi-finals, Lleyton Hewitt says.

The controversial Kyrgios, who turns 22 on Thursday, has been impressive since a spectacular meltdown in the Australian Open second round in January.

The world number 16 pushed eventual champion Roger Federer to the brink in the semi-finals in Miami this month and has made the semis in three of his last four tournaments.

The Australian also overpowered Novak Djokovic two times in as many weeks in March to become the first player in eight years to beat the world number two in back-to-back hard court tournaments.

“He can do well, especially with where his ranking's at the moment. He's going to be a nice seeding going into the French,” Australia's Davis Cup captain Hewitt told RSN Racing & Sport radio station in Melbourne on Wednesday.

“You've always got to be wary of some dangerous floaters at the French Open because there's so many good claycourters, especially from Europe.

“So in some of those early rounds, he's got to be wary and pay that respect to those opponents, but he could easily get through to the fourth round and then the draw opens up and all of a sudden you're deep into the second week.”

Former world number one Hewitt said Kyrgios' firepower would help his serve through a slow clay court and “get a lot of cheap points”, and then be aggressive on his return game and place pressure on his opponents.

“And for a big guy — six foot four — he moves bloody well. So it's not his best surface… but I'm very comfortable with him on that surface.”

Kyrgios crashed out of last year's French Open in the third round against Richard Gasquet and was fined for an audible obscenity during the loss. He also received a code violation at the Grand Slam for shouting at a ball boy.

He is still on the hunt for a coach after parting with Todd Larkham before Wimbledon in 2015, and Hewitt said whoever was hired would not be employed full-time.

“He's the kind of guy that needs a little bit of space as well,” Hewitt added.