To ensure all government employees reach work on time, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed that a biometric attendance system be put in place in offices upto the block level.

Adityanath's instructions came during a meeting with officials of the rural development department late on Saturday night.

“Efforts should be made to ensure that a biometric system of attendance is installed upto the block level. Apart from this, a board be put up at every village panchayat, which will have information about contact details of the village pradhan and details of the ongoing works,” Adityanath said as per an official statement.

The chief minister said that the targets of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana should be achieved.

All the works pertaining to registration, uploading of photographs and approval of housing units for 5.73 lakh families eligible under this scheme must be completed at the earliest.

“The Centre will be requested to incorporate eligible families, which have been left out,” he said.

Emphasising on transparency in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MNREGS), Adityanath said that active workers should be linked with Aadhaar-based payment system.

The Chief Minister also sought information about the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, World Bank-aided 'Neer Nirmal' and Rajya Grameen Payjal Yojana among other schemes.

“Apart from Bundelkhand, piped water supply schemes should be implemented in other parts of the state. To address the problems of drinking water scarcity in Bundelkhand, repair works pertaining to hand-pumps along with re-boring should be done,” Adityanath said.

He also said that 160 piped water supply schemes in 31 districts should be completed to ensure water supply.
“Installation of new hand-pumps and re-boring of existing hand-pumps under the quota of MLAs and MLCs should be completed after taking their consent,” he said.

He also directed that Samagra Gram Vikas Department be merged with Rural Development department.

Actor Gulshan Devaiah says Manoj Bajpayee inspired him to get into acting. 

When Gulshan took to Twitter to send in birthday wishes to Manoj, who turned a year older on Sunday, he talked about the role Manoj played in his career. 

He posted: "In the late 1990s, the days were dark and dreams were being quashed, this man gave me hope. Happy birthday Manoj Bajpayee and thank you."

Several other stars also took to Twitter to wish Manoj. 

Actor Rajkummar Rao tweeted: "A very happy birthday to the daddy of acting — Manoj Bajpayee. You are a rockstar sir. Love you."

Actress Taapsee Pannu shared: "Happy birthday to the man who is the opposite to everything you remember seeing of him on screen."

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta posted: "He keeps growing younger and keeps getting better with every passing year. A very happy birthday to my dearest Manoj Bajpayee."

Top army commanders have carried out a detailed analysis of India's internal and external security threats and decided to push for modernisation of the force, besides advocating a tri-service doctrine to deal with major security challenges.

At a six-day annual commanders' conference, the top brass of the army also deliberated extensively on human resource policy of the force, including growing complaints against the Sahayak system, and decided to evolve a “more pragmatic” approach to address such issues.

On promotion of its personnel, which is another sticky issue, the conference felt that the “highly pyramidal structure” in the army results in over 50 per cent of the workforce not being promoted despite being highly competent and decided to go for enhanced transparency and inclusiveness to ensure “greater equability”.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, during the deliberations, called for a more “participative” form of policy formulation to address human resource issues, and senior officials said branches of the army headquarters concerned have accordingly been directed to initiate wide-ranging interactions on it.

In his address at the valedictory session, General Rawat stressed the need to work in a collaborative manner for maintaining combat effectiveness of the army and sought greater focus on enhancing air defence and aviation capabilities.

“It has been decided to give heft to the modernisation plan,” the army said in a statement sharing details of deliberations at the conference which came to an end on April 22.

It said Gen Rawat expressed confidence at the way the army has been adapting itself to the “dynamic” internal and external operational environment while stressing the need for sustained and holistic modernisation of the force.

India's security challenges including the situation in Jammu and Kashmir were discussed at length in the conference.

“He added that there is a need for sustained and holistic modernisation of the army wherein combat and manoeuvre arms, air defence and aviation are on high priority,” it said.

It said a comprehensive plan to speed up land acquisition for infrastructure development has been decided to be addressed through state governments.

The conference was also addressed by Chief of Air Staff BS Dhanoa and navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba.

They laid emphasis on evolving a joint operational philosophy to deal with various security challenges.

“During the deliberations, a session was dedicated to discussion with the Ministry of Defence to evolve a more wholesome action plan on administrative and modernisation issues,” the army said.

In the backdrop of rising cases of jawans coming out against the Sahayak system and army personnel approaching courts for grievance redressal, the conference extensively deliberated on internal health of the force.

“During the deliberations, important issues having HR policy ramifications have been discussed. There is an impetus to evolve a more pragmatic HR plan. The core values of army though haven't changed; rapid societal changes and discernible impact of socio-economic aspirations on army have been a focus area,” it said.

In the recent months, a number of videos had surfaced in which some army jawans were seen voicing their anger over the colonial-era system, complaining about being made to do household chores of superior officers.

Referring to issues relating to promotions, it said, “The army unlike most government departments has a highly pyramidal structure, which results in over 50 per cent personnel not being promoted despite being highly competent thus necessitating optimum utilisation of this pool of competent personnel.”

“The conference deliberated measures to enhance transparency and inclusiveness leading to greater equability,” the army said.

It said the proposals to make the Short Service Officers entry scheme more popular, streamlining the intake pattern, employment of women officers and grant of honorary ranks to Junior Commissioned Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers have been deliberated with positive roadmaps.

The army commanders conference is an important event in the planning and execution process of the force. To ensure due diligence, decisions are taken through collegiate system comprising army commanders and senior officers.

Singer Kimberly Wyatt says her two- year-old daughter Willow wants a baby sister.

The 35-year-old songstress, who has not yet revealed the gender of her second child, says her little one hopes to get a sister soon, reported FemaleFirst.

“She's adamant she's getting a baby sister and there's no telling her otherwise… We always wanted Willow to have a sibling and really hoped they would be as close in age as possible, although you don't always get to choose when these things happen,” Wyatt says.

“She definitely senses there's a change coming because she wants to be close to me more, but I have to admit I love that – I'll take as many cuddles as I can get,” she adds.

North Korean authorities have detained a US citizen of South Korean origin, bringing the number of Americans held by Pyongyang to three, sources in Seoul said on Sunday.

The latest detainee, a man in his late 50s identified only by his surname Kim, was arrested on Friday at the international airport in Pyongyang as he was about to leave the country, the sources told Yonhap news agency.

Kim, a former professor at China's Yanbian University of Science and Technology, was in North Korea to discuss relief activities.

The reason for his arrest was not immediately clear, according to the sources.

The director of the World North Korea Research Centre in Seoul, Ahn Chan-il, told Yonhap that Pyongyang could "use professor Kim as leverage in negotiations" with Washington amid the current escalation in tensions between the two countries.

Two other US citizens currently imprisoned by the North Korean regime are Kim Dong-chul, a sexagenarian of South Korean origin captured near the border with China, and Otto Frederick Warmbier, a student who allegedly tried to steal a propaganda poster while visiting as a tourist, Efe news reports.

Both were sentenced this year to 10 and 15 years of forced labuor respectively.

Indian star Rohan Bopanna and his Uruguayan partner Pablo Cuevas defeated the Spanish team of Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez in a tough three-set battle to win the men's doubles title at the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament here on Sunday.

Bopanna and Cuevas won 6-3, 3-6, 10-4 in one hour and 14 minutes at the at the Monte Carlo Country Club.

This is the first title that the Indo-Uruguayan combination have won since they teamed up earlier this year.

Ajay K. Pannalal's Behen Hogi Teri, which stars Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Haasan, will release on June 2. 

Rajkummar on Sunday tweeted: "Welcome to the mad world of Gattu and Binny in Behen Hogi Teri out now on June 2. Trailer out next week."

In the film, Rajkummar essays the role of Gattu, who works in a Jagran Mandali owned by Shruti's character's family. 

Amul Vikas Mohan, the film's producer, shared: "Find out quick ways not to get Behen Zoned in June. Watch out for Behen Hogi Teri from June 2. Trailer out next week."
 

"It's like a wedding function since we have arrived here at the team hotel," a Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) spokesperson gushed on Sunday morning, hours before the side's clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens here.

"Our team bus has been chased from the hotel and at the ground, while entering for practice it was crazy," said the official, not authorised to speak on the record.

"Especially for the big three." There are no points for guessing the triumvirate he was talking about.

Every time the RCB come calling, the combined star power of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle so mesmerise the home supporters that they even fleetingly forget their loyalties and burst into applause as hammer blows from the trio cross the boundary rope.

"This has been the case every time RCB play here. The Kolkata crowd loves their cricket and they understand the level of these players and their pedigree. There is that fanboying that is unmistakable," a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) office-bearer said.

While Kohli is the poster boy of Indian cricket right now and has a following of 15 million on Twitter, de Villiers wows the audience across the cricketing globe with his only-AB-can range of shots and match-winning abilities.

Gayle termed the pair as "Batman and Superman" last year when together they gunned down a chase of 184 with Kohli cracking an unbeaten 51-ball 75 and De Villiers remaining not out on 59.

If Gayle were to be put in the same bracket, it would certainly have been "Gayle-Man".

The burly West Indian who in his five innings at the Eden against KKR — his former employers — has plundered 339 runs with a hundred and two fifties, roared back to form in RCB's previous outing against Gujarat Lions.

Gayle unleashed mayhem, striking 77 off 38 balls as RCB posted 213 for 2, the edition's highest total, on a slow Rajkot pitch.

Together with Kohli, the deadly duo forms the cash-rich league's most successful opening partnership.

"The match has come to Eden at the right time," quipped Arijit Maitra en route to the game with his friend.

"I am a Kolkatan and support KKR. But today, as a cricket lover, I am here to witness the magic of Gayle and Virat. It doesn't matter who wins," the 24-year-old from Tollygunge added.

This is only the second time the three will be playing together due to Kohli and De Villiers joining the team late. The only time they featured in the first XI was in a losing cause against Mumbai Indians where Kohli struck a 47-ball 62, but Gayle (22) and De Villiers (19) failed to shine.

Tickets have been sold out three-four days prior to the marquee clash with a beeline seen in front of counters a week ahead of match day.

The Philippines' authorities on Sunday heightened security measures for the upcoming summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Manila, with some 41,000 personnel set to be deployed.

Members of the police, army and maritime units secured the area around the Philippine International Convention Centre, where the 30th edition of the summit will be held from April 26 to 29, Efe news reported.

The deployment of security personnel comes after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte denounced the foiled plot of the Abu Sayyaf terror group to allegedly target Asean trade meetings in the city of Bohol, which precede the main summit.

Duterte announced an award of one million pesos (more than $20,000) for anyone who could provide information on alleged plotters that would lead to their arrest.

The goods and services tax (GST) can boost India's GDP growth by up to 4.2 per cent-double the previous estimate — as lower taxes on manufactured goods will bump up output and make products cheaper, a US Federal Reserve paper said.

GST, it said, could reduce inefficiencies in the production process while eliminating the current compounding effect of different central and state levies.

Dubbed as the biggest tax reform since Independence, GST will unify at least 10 indirect taxes into one to be collected at state and central levels.

In the International Finance Discussion Paper (IFDP), the US Fed researchers said GST is an 'inclusive policy' that is also expected to bring down overall domestic and international trade barriers.

“GST is expected to raise overall Indian welfare and is projected to be an inclusive policy in that it would be welfare improving for all Indian states,” the paper dated March 24 said.

The Fed research note stated that assuming the aggregate weighted GST rate is 16 per cent, there would be positive impact on real GDP of 4.2 per cent.

“The model suggests that GST would lead to real GDP gains of 4.2 per cent under the baseline assumptions, driven by a surge in manufacturing output…GST would raise overall welfare by 5.3 per cent in India,” it said.

Under the existing structure, at each point of sale, additional taxes are applied to the after-tax value of each goods and services.

The main purpose for GST is to eliminate this compounding effect by fixing the final tax rate, where goods will fall into one of the four rate categories of 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent.

The unified structure is currently expected to be rolled out in July.

GST's impact on GDP growth as estimated by Fed economists is much higher than the 1-2 per cent as expected by the Indian government.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had earlier this year said GST could help raise India's medium-term GDP growth to over 8 per cent and create a single national market for enhancing efficiency of movement of goods and services.

Even the World Bank has said a smooth implementation of GST could prove to be a significant push to economic activity as growth could pick up to 7.2 per cent in 2017-18 and further to 7.5 per cent in 2018-19.

The Fed note also said GST is expected to reduce overall domestic and international trade barriers, which in turn boosts welfare because consumers have access to cheaper products. GST will raise welfare for all states and is thus estimated to be an “inclusive” policy.

However, the note cautioned that if the aggregate GST rate is assumed at 20 per cent, then there will be lesser positive impact of 3.1 per cent on GDP.

At 20 per cent, the GDP effect will be relatively equally distributed across states although port states will be slightly better-off.

This is so because non-port states benefit proportionally less from an international trade liberalisation as they still face domestic trade barriers to transport goods to and from the port.

However, the authors to the note — Eva Van Leemput and Ellen A Wiencek — have given certain caveats in the analysis, saying the impact of GST should be interpreted as a long-run effect. Also, if the tax rate on services is higher than the current tax level, it could dampen the overall effect.

“By simplifying the current complex tax system, GST is expected to broaden the overall tax base through increased transparency and compliance.

In addition, the increased rate on services might generate extra revenues,” the note said.

“The current system encourages production chains within state, which could be sub-optimal,” it added.

Filmmaker Karan Johar took the high road after a social media user called him a 'chhaka (eunuch) on Twitter, and asked him to get well soon.

Commenting on a video of Karan's interview with a journalist, a user wrote: "So a chhaka is interviewing another chhaka."

To this, Karan tweeted: "A very happy Sunday to you….I hope you recover quickly….Don't forget your medicines! Also make sure you gargle…"

This is not the first time that Karan has become a subject for online trolls. In an interview in the past, the filmmaker had said that his Twitter feed is filled with posts questioning his sexuality. 

Hollywood star Meryl Streep has written an emotional essay as a tribute to friend and fellow
actress Viola Davis.

In Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World issue, the 62-year-old actress lauded the "Fences" star
as an epitome of resilience for women.

 "… Viola Davis' hard-won, midlife rise to the very top of her profession has not led her to forget the rough trip she
took getting there.
"And that is why she embodies for all women, but especially for women of colour, the high-wire rewards of hard
work and a dream, risk and faith," wrote Streep.
She further wrote how Davis has carved her niche in the industry and her contribution is immense to the culture."Her gifts as an artist are unassailable, undeniable, deep and rich and true. But her importance in the culture —
her ability to identify it, her willingness to speak about it and take on responsibility for it—is what marks her for
greatness," Streep added.
 

The World Bank needs to decide the issues of Selective Capital Increase (SCI) to reflect the increasing weight of Developing and Transition Countries (DTCs) and General Capital Increase (GCI) to expand its annual lending, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.

"We must fulfill our commitment to consider and reach a decision on SCI and GCI by annual meetings 2017 in line with the Lima Roadmap," he said at the plenary here on Saturday of the Development Committee of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"We support SCI to bring about voice reform to ensure higher representation to the under-represented and support the use of the dynamic formula based allocation," he said. 

The Finance Minister also urged a decision this year on expanding the annual lending by the various arms of the multilateral lender through the GCI formula.

"A minimum 50 per cent increase in historical average of $24 billion per annum in the case of the IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and a 100 per cent increase in case of IFC (International Finance Corp) would be quite necessary to make the World Bank deliver a commitment level of $100 billion a year to make it play a meaningful and leadership role in global development landscape," Jaitley said. 

Addressing the plenary of the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) earlier on Saturday, Jaitley said current IMF quotas do not reflect global economic realities. 

"Recent work by the Fund also points to the need for realigning quota shares to reflect the changed economic realities. All these must be achieved as part of the 15th General Review of Quotas (GRQ)," he said.

"We are disappointed that the deadline for completing the 15th GRQ has been pushed back to no later than the 2019 annual meetings. Any further delay in the 15th GRQ will erode Fund's legitimacy and credibility and will be against the spirit of the Articles of Agreement," he added. 

Singer Charlie Puth has come up with a new single titled, Attention.

The 25-year-old musician is back in the music scene with a new track from his upcoming sophomore album, reported Billboard.

The song is now available on all online music platforms.

There's no release date or name yet for Puth's next LP.

The Grammy-nomainated pop singer will also join Shawn Mendes on his Illuminate World Tour which will kick off on July 6 at Portland's MODA Center.

The third meeting of Niti Aayog's Governing Council began on Sunday with the main agenda of deliberating on the 15-year Vision Document to accelerate the country's economic development.

“#NowOn: Third Meeting of Niti Aayog's Governing Council begins with Prime Minister @narendramodi and Team India!,” the government think-tank said in a tweet.

“#TeamIndia, headed by PM @narendramodi, with Niti Aayog and all CMs, begin their deliberations to take India forward #CooperativeFederalism,” it said in another tweet.

The day-long meeting of the Council is being held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya will make a presentation on roadmap for rapid transformation of India by outlining key aspects of the document, comprising a seven-year strategy paper and a three-year action plan, an official statement had said on April 22.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will talk about the strategy for doubling farmers' income.

The Council, which includes all Chief Ministers, Niti Aayog's members and special invitees, will also discuss the progress made towards the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1.

“During the meeting, action taken on decisions of the earlier two meetings of the Governing Council held on February 8, 2015 and July 15, 2015 respectively will be discussed in detail,” the statement had said.

The Madhya Pradesh government would soon provide nearly 18,500 solar-powered water pumps to farmers in the state at subsidised rates.

“We are going to make available solar borewell and surface pumps fitted with remote monitoring system to the farmers under the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Solar Pump Scheme shortly,” New and Renewable Energy Department Principal Secretary Manu Srivastava told PTI.

“The rates of solar pumps already arrived at after the bidding are the lowest in the country. The performance of each pump can be monitored on a real-time basis from anywhere in the world,” he said.

MP Urja Vikas Nigam (MPUVN) would be the nodal agency to make available the solar pumps to the farmers, he said.

“We have already picked up the firms (through bidding) which are going to supply solar power to the state. The rates are much below the benchmark prices of Government of India,” Srivastava, who is also the managing director of MPUVN, said.

“The rates of the direct current pumps are the lowest in the country. These pumps will have a five-year maintenance provided under a contract,” he said.

“There is also a provision of comprehensive insurance of the complete pump system for five years,” he said.

“It is for the first time that any state government has embarked on such a huge programme of supply of solar pumps to farmers,” Srivastava claimed.

He said that earlier Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan governments had provided 11,000 and 10,000 solar pumps respectively to farmers at subsidised rates.

“The sale of green energy pumps in such a huge number is going to save crores of rupees of the MP government annually,” said Rajendra Kothari, the former director of PHD Chamber of Industries and Commerce (MP and Chhattisgarh).

A senior official of the state energy department said in the last fiscal, the MP government provided power subsidy of Rs.70 billion (Rs.7,000 crore) to farmers for use of the water pumps.

The sale of solar pumps is going to rev up the agricultural productivity of the state, he said.

MP has the highest agricultural growth rate of over 20 per cent since last couple of years, the official said.

The use of solar pumps will increase the cultivable land area, reduce dependence on diesel pumps and make multi-cropping possible, he said.

This would also help in doubling the income of farmers and provide sustainable livelihood on a long-term basis, he said.

“The use of solar pumps is bound to reduce carbon foot-print. These pumps, driven by green energy, are bound to come as a boon for the marginalised farmers of tribal dominated districts like Mandla, Dindori, Chhindwara, Seoni, Balaghat, Alirajpur, Jhabua,” he said.

The sale of these pumps is likely to reduce the distribution losses of the cash-strapped MP Power Management Company (MPPMC) Limited and power distribution companies (discoms), a senior power official said.

The revenue losses of the discoms are high due to non-payment of electricity dues in Bhind, Morena, Sheopur, Shivpuri and Gwalior districts, he added.

The family of singer Christina Grimmie has officially released some more material she had recorded before a concert goer tragically took her life last year in June.

The four-song Side B EP arrived on April 21, reported Billboard.

The album, which includes the single Invisible, is the follow-up to the Side A EP that Grimmie released in February 2016.

Another number on the EP is a reproduced version of Jason Mraz's I Won't Give Up, which she performed as a contestant on “The Voice”.

Grimmie's family has revealed that those songs will be featured on a full-length LP, titled All Is Vanity, which will be available on June 2, commemorated as National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the US.

They also said they will be making a special announcement for the deceased songstress' fans on The Voice on April 25.