Ahead of the common entrance test, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam, for admission to medical courses, including MBBS and BDS, scheduled to take place nationwide on 7 May, the Medical Council of India is grappling with online fraudsters.

A fake notification is reportedly doing the rounds on Whatsapp and is even being circulated on emails and other online platforms claiming that medical colleges will be filling in seats under the management quota and NRI category on their own.

Not surprisingly, hundreds of queries from anxious parents and students started pouring in to several medical colleges across states within a few hours of the so-called "notification". Most of the queries were regarding the criteria for getting selected under the management quota and how to qualify for an NRI seat.

Consequently, the MCI had to step in and issue a clarification that such a notification bearing 11 April 2017, as the date of issuance, is not signed and has therefore not been published by the MCI. “The notification is false, fabricated and fake,” said the clarification issued by the MCI on Tuesday. It has been sent to all state medical boards and councils.

Terming it the handiwork of unscrupulous elements trying to disrupt the admission process through common counseling based on NEET, officials at the Council said they are already in the process of lodging a complaint with the concerned authorities against unknown persons who have indulged in this criminal act.

MCI officials said the actual notification relating to "Common Counselling for Postgraduate Courses" has been published in the Gazette of India on 11 Marchthis year and is also available in its website under the e-gazette link available on the bottom of MCI homepage: http://www.mciindia.org.

The father of a medical student told The Statesman: "Three days ago someone forwarded me this message via Whatsapp. At first, I was happy that in case my daughter is not able to make it to her choice of PG subject, at least I will be able to get her a seat under the management quota since the colleges will be filling these seats on their own. Later on, I got suspicious about an official notification being circulated on social media. Thankfully I logged on to the official website and realised it was a fake notification. One should be very careful while believing what is being circulated on social media platforms as many a times one can land in serious trouble."

In a sudden turn of events, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D. Jayakumar on Tuesday announced that ministers have decided to keep out jailed AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala, her nephew T.T.V. Dinakaran and his family out of the party.

Jayakumar also said a committee will be formed to run the party when queried about the General Secretary's position.

Sasikala was elected as AIADMK's General Secretary last December.

Jayakumar, who made the announcement after meeting Chief Minister K. Palaniswami, told reporters that the AIADMK was bowing to the wishes of party cadres, people, lawmakers, ministers and others to keep Dinakaran, the Deputy General Secretary, and his family members out of the party.

"We will run the party and the government," he said. "We want to save the party and the government from the clutches of one family."

Reacting to the announcement, Sasikala faction legislator Vetrivel told a television channel that Jayakumar did not have the power to make such an announcement.

The AIADMK split into two after former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's death. One faction is led by Sasikala and the other by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.

Motivated by the inspiring knocks of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to help Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Gujarat Lions by 21 runs at the SCA Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday.

Chasing a huge target of 214 runs, Gujarat failed to reach the mark in their allotted 20 overs at their home ground and were restricted to 192/7.

With this win, RCB broke the losing streak as they had suffered three consecutive defeats earlier.

Gujarat’s star hitter Brendon McCullum scored 72 runs off 44 balls to keep home fans’ hope alive. However, he couldn’t find a strong support at the other and thus Gujarat failed to capitalise the advantage. 

Young-gun Ishan Kishan scored causative knock of 39 runs at the middle-order besides not-so-impressive performances by Suresh Raina (23), Aaron Finch (19) and Ravindra Jadeja (23).

Chahal (3/31) led RCB’s bowling attack that was well-supported by Pawan Negi, Sreenath Aravind and Adam Milne.

Negi, Aravind and Milne took the scalp of Finch, Dinesh Karthik (1) and Kishan respectively. Dwane Smith (1), McCullum and Raina were the victims of leg-spinner Chahal.

Earlier, it was explosive T20 hitter Chris Gayle, who returned to his devastating best with smashing 77 runs off 38 balls to take RCB to a mammoth score of 213/2.

With this, Gayle scripted history as he became the first cricketer to complete 10,000 T20 runs in cricket.

The 37-year-old West Indies’ batsman hit seven sky-touching sixes and five boundaries in the 20th match of the IPL 2017.

Along with skipper Virat Kohli (64), Gayle put gigantic 122-run partnership stand for the opening wicket.

Kohli also impressed with the willow as he struck a six and seven boundaries in his entertaining 50-ball knock.

At the end of their innings, Travis Head (30*) and Kedar Jadhav (38*) were batting with an unbeaten 54-run partnership stand for the fourth-wicket.

For Gujarat, Dhawal Kulkarni and Basil Thampi were the only successful bowlers as they claimed one wicket each.
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that those who had looted the poor and the middle classes in the past will have to return what they had looted.

"Indeed. There is no place for corruption in India. Those who looted the poor and middle classes will have to return what they have looted," Modi said on Twitter in response to a tweet by a follower.

Modi's remarks came on a day liquor baron Vijay Mallya, wanted in India for defaulting on over Rs 8,000 crore in bank loans, was arrested in London but later granted bail by a court.

Modi's Twitter follower had written that "corruption not only robs us of hard-earned money but also of our dignity".

Mallya, 61, was arrested following an extradition warrant from India.

"Mallya was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud," a Metropolitan Police statement said.

Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Tuesday called on her Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee ahead of a banquet hosted in her honour.

"A relationship marked by strong people to people connections. President Bidya Devi Bhandari meets Rashtrapati ji at @RashtrapatiBhvn," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.

Among those present at the banquet hosted by Mukherjee in the honour of the Himalayan nation's President were Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, JD-U chief Sharad Yadav and veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani.

Modi, who called on Bhandari late Tuesday afternoon, said he had "fruitful talks" with her during the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Bhandari was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Later, she paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

Following this, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the visiting dignitary.

The Nepal President arrived here on Monday on a five-day visit to India at the invitation of President Mukherjee.

This is Bhandari's maiden foreign tour after assuming office in October 2015.

She is accompanied by a 33-member delegation that includes Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat and Peace and Reconstruction Minister Sita Devi Yadav, five women MPs and senior officials.

She will also visit Gujarat and Odisha before returning to Kathmandu on Friday.

Actress Poonam Pandey says her newly launched app, which she promised would have "bold" content, has been banned by Google.

"I don't know why. I see many adult magazines on Play Store and App Store. It's interesting that on one hand Google Play Store is suspending the app and on the other some fans are 'complaining' that I am not even nude in the photos," Poonam said. She unveiled the app on Monday.

She also tweeted: "Google has suspended the app but Android users can directly download #ThePoonamPandeyApp from my website."

When IANS reached Google for a comment, Google spokesperson said: "We don't comment on individual applications. You can check out our policies for more information."

Despite the "ban", Poonam seemed to be happy.

She said: "I am very happy with the response as we got 15,000 downloads in less than 15 minutes."

She said her team had decided that till the time the issue was resolved, everyone could download the app from her official website.

"I would like to appeal to my fans, don't get disheartened. The issue shall be resolved soon."

Poonam was last seen doing a special appearance in the 2017 film "Aa Gaya Hero", which starred Govinda.

Poonam made headlines for promising to go topless if the Indian cricket team won the World Cup in 2011.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought response from the central government on a PIL seeking to ascertain the feasibility of singing the national anthem and the national song in schools and public offices.

The notice has also been issued to the Law Commission of India.

Petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, who is also spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi unit, has urged the government to ascertain the feasibility of singing/playing of the national anthem and the national song in Parliament/assembly, public offices and courts on every working day.

The BJP leader has sought framing of a national policy to promote and propagate the national anthem, the national song and the national flag in the spirit of the Constitution's Article 51A, which spells out 'Fundamental Duties'.

Its first clause says that "It shall be the duty of every citizen of India" (a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem".

Even as a bench of Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar sought the government's response, it modified its earlier November 30, 2016, order to exempt a certain category of physically disabled people from standing up when the national anthem is played in cinema halls as per its directions.

The court directed that the "persons who are wheelchair users, those with autism, persons suffering from cerebral palsy, multiple disabilities, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, leprosy cured, muscular dystrophy and deaf and blind be treated not to be within the ambit of the orders passed by this Court".

The court had then ordered that the national anthem would be played in cinema halls across the country before the start of a movie. This, it said, would instil a feeling of "constitutional patriotism" and a sense of "committed patriotism and nationalism".

It also had said that when the national anthem is sung or played, it is imperative on t he part of everyone present to show due respect and honour to it by standing up.

The court also allowed petitioner Shyam Narayan Chouksey to amend his petition to include that singing of the national anthem would be accorded the same respect as in the case of the national flag and the construction.

The court was told that any disrespect to the national flag and the constitution attracts punishment but same is not the case with natural anthem.

At this, the bench observed that "as of today, disrespect to the national anthem is not an offence as there is no fundamental duty to do so" as was the case in respect of national flag and the constitution under Article 51A.

Citing the impact of demonetisation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday cut India's 2017 GDP growth forecast by 0.4 percentage points to 7.2 per cent.

"In India, the growth forecast for 2017 has been trimmed by 0.4 percentage point to 7.2 per cent, primarily because of the temporary negative consumption shock induced by cash shortages and payment disruptions from the recent currency exchange initiative," the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.

"Medium-term growth prospects are favourable, with growth forecast to rise to about eight per cent over the medium term due to the implementation of key reforms, loosening of supply-side bottlenecks, and appropriate fiscal and monetary policies," the report said.

"Beyond the immediate challenge of replacing currency in circulation following the November 2016 currency exchange initiative, policy actions should focus on reducing labour and product market rigidities to ease firm entry and exit, expand the manufacturing base, and gainfully employ the abundant pool of labour," it added.

In February, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimated that India's GDP growth for the full fiscal 2016-17, at 7.1 per cent, which marked a sharp fall from the 7.9 per cent recorded for the fiscal 2015-16.

This appeared to fly in the face of previous private surveys documenting the disruption caused by the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee notes constituting 86 per cent of currency in November.

Both the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the IMF have earlier lowered India's growth estimates for the previous fiscal by up to 1 per cent, citing the impact of demonetisation.

At its first monetary policy review of this fiscal on April 6, the RBI pegged the gross value added (GVA) growth forecast for 2017-18 at 7.4 per cent.

The World Economic Outlook said policy actions should also consolidate the disinflation underway since the collapse in commodity prices through agricultural sector reforms and infrastructure enhancements to ease supply bottlenecks.

Policy actions should also boost financial stability through full recognition of non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, and raising capital buffers of state-run banks and securing public finances through reduction of poorly targeted subsidies and structural tax reforms, including implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, it added.

The report was released ahead of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank due to get underway here from Wednesday.

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta acknowledged on Tuesday that the Catalan football giants have to provide a perfect performance to turn around the 0-3 deficit against Juventus in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at the Camp Nou stadium here on Wednesday.

In March, Barcelona made a historical comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, after a 0-4 defeat at the Parc des Princes with a 6-1 victory at home here, reports Efe.

Barcelona find themselves in the same situation on Wednesday, but this time against Juventus' almost impermeable defence.

On the first leg in Turin, Iniesta said, "It was a tough loss, but we're potent; we can sow doubt in our opponents and try to turn the tables."

"Tomorrow, we have to play a perfect game. We have to create the maximum number of chances and score goals," he added.

Asked whether Barcelona can make another comeback, the veteran midfielder said, "Twice? It's complicated, but if we can get close and create uncertainty in our opponents, the team will have a chance."

Iniesta also believes that Wednesday's match has many similarities to the PSG encounter. He explained that "it's similar in that we have to score goals and give our rivals little chance to do so. Mentality is key from the opening minute. We have to score goals, and the earlier, the better."

French tennis player Adrian Mannarino eliminated his compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from the second round of the 2017 Monte-Carlo Masters here on Tuesday.

Mannarino, the world No.56, advanced to the third round of the tournament after stunning Tsonga, ranked 10th in the world, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-3, reports Efe.

In the third round, Mannarino will look forward to booking a ticket to the quarter-finals when he faces the winner of Wednesday's match between his fellow countryman Lucas Pouille and Italy's Paolo Lorenzi.

Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Tom Moody on Tuesday described Delhi Daredevils as a "dangerous side" but said his team would look to continue its winning run at home when they clash each other in an IPL match here on Wednesday.

"Delhi are a dangerous side and they got some genuine match winners. So, it is an important game, points against them will be important. We played well here, we like to continue that form," Moody said in a pre-match press conference.

Delhi have four points from an equal number of matches, having won two and lost two. SRH, meanwhile, have six points from five matches, after losing two and winning three games.

All the three wins have come at home.

Expressing happiness over his team's campaign so far, Moody said the squad was looking forward to the challenge tomorrow and ahead in the tournament.

"I am happy the way we are playing. Two away games in Mumbai and Kolkata. Two difficult venues to play. The games were not totally in our favour. But that is history now, it's no longer relevant. But the group is confident. We are looking forward to every challenge, We know it's a big one tomorrow," he said.

Replying to a query about the match they won against Kings XI Punjab, which went down to the wires, he said such matches early in the tournament would help the players as they put them under pressure to perform.

"It was a close game. It got closer than what we would have liked. In a way, I draw positives from that. I think it is important to experience a couple of close games early in the tournament. It puts the team and individuals under pressure, some real pressure. That does a lot of confidence for those players that are involved," he said.

He said his team could have won yesterday's game against Punjab more easily but it "missed a couple of opportunities that would have closed the game a little bit earlier".

Moody also said that seasoned bowler Ashish Nehra was having a "stiffness in his neck" which is a "little bit of a concern".

Though the team was dependent on David Warner as "every side have really got their talisman", other batsmen stepped up when it needed, Moody said.

"This year, probably more so than than last year, I feel depth of our batting, probably little bit more confident and ready for chance," said the Australian.

He said seasoned players like Kane Williamson and young players, who have been sitting out so far, will get their opportunities.

To encourage entrepreneurs to set up ventures for manufacturing solar devices and equipment in the state, the Haryana government today exempted solar devices and equipment or parts used in installation of solar power projects, from the levy of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the state.

A decision to this effect was taken by the Haryana Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, on Tueday.

At present VAT of five per cent plus surcharge is levied on solar devices and equipment in the state. Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have already exempted solar energy devices from VAT.

Exemption of VAT will enable the trade and industry in Haryana to compete with other states where solar energy devices are exempted from VAT. This exemption will cost the state exchequer about Rs 2.30 crore.

Petrol bunk dealers in seven states and Puducherry have decided to down their shutters on Sundays from May 14 in a bid to save fuel and foreign exchange, it was announced on Tuesday.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to follow traffic rules and also save petrol and diesel. So we have decided to declare a holiday on Sundays as it will save fuel and foreign exchange," K.P. Murali, President of the Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association, told IANS.

Murali said petrol bunks in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Haryana and Maharashtra as well as Puducherry will down their shutters on Sundays starting from May 14.

He said there were around 4,850 outlets selling petrol and diesel in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry alone.

"On an average the per day sales of fuel is for around Rs 153 crore. While exact figures are not available on fuel sales on Sundays, it will be around 20 per cent less than what is sold on weekdays," Murali said.

He said the Sunday-holiday decision will save around 20 per cent fuel burned in the country.

According to him, in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, there were 250-300 outlets owned by oil marketing companies which are not members of the association.

"We are within our right to declare Sunday a holiday. All these days we have been functioning paying workers double wages," he said.

He said all the outlets will have one staffer on Sundays who will supply fuel in an emergency.

Murali said the petrol bunks accepted the demonetised 500 and 1,000 rupee notes at the request of the government. "Now we have decided to play a role in saving fuel and foreign exchange."

In Mumbai, the President of the Federation of All Maharashtra Petrol Dealers Association, Udah Lodh, said the move was in support of various demands with the oil marketing companies and other long-pending issues.

From May 15, he said, the petrol pumps in the seven states and Puducherry will work only on a single day shift — 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"We are currently operating on extremely low margins, selling high-tech unleaded petrol-diesel products in which the evaporation rate is very high, resulting in huge losses," Lodh told IANS.

Additionally, there were areas of concern like a certain amount of minimum salary to be paid to the staffers at each petrol pumps. This has become unaffordable due to the low operating margins, he said.

Lodh said the move would affect around 4,500 petrol pumps in Maharashtra alone, including 225 in Mumbai, where some 100,000 staffers work, mostly in two shifts and some in three shifts.

A weekly holiday plus working on a single shift on other days will help the petrol pumps to drastically reduce their running expenditure, he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced to prepare ‘Vision Document’ for all round development of Himachal Pradesh before the upcoming assembly elections that are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

Naina Devi MLA Randhir Sharma, who is also the coordinator of Vision Document Committee, said the party instead of releasing election manifesto would prepare ‘Vision Document’ for inclusive development of the state. “BJP would invite suggestions on the vision document from political, cultural and economic organisations from across the state and all valuable suggestions would be included,” he said.

Sharma said that the party would also invite suggestions from general public through its website. “All valuable suggestions would be collected and vision document would then be prepared under the guidance of senior leaders,” he said.

He said that the vision document would aim to make HP a developed state and it would also lead to eradication of unemployment and poverty from the state.

The arrest of the Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya in London by Scotland Yard on Tuesday made waves in top government and political circles here, with the Narendra Modi government highlighting that the fugitive tycoon was arrested on India's request to the UK authorities for his extradition on fraud charges. A proclaimed offender, Mallya was released on bail a few hours after his arrest.

"Legal process in this regard is under way in the UK. The two governments are in touch in this context," the MEA spokesperson said in response to a query on the issue.

India had given a formal request to the UK for Mallya's extradition through a note verbale on 8 February in accordance with the Extradition Treaty between the countries.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes over Rs 9,000 crore loans to a slew of banks, fled India on 2 March 2016. The Indian Government has since revoked his Indian passport. He, however, has rejected all allegations against him.

In January this year, a CBI court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the Rs 720-crore IDBI Bank loan default case. Earlier that month, the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Bengaluru had passed orders in favour of a SBI-led consrotium of banks to recover over Rs 9,000 loans from the Kingfisher Airlines.

Mallya's arrest came weeks after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took up the matter of his extradition with the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond during his recent visit to London. 

The Modi government is now "assessing" how to bring Mallya back to India and start judicial proceedings against him, Union Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar reportedly said. He said the government would leave no stone unturned to bring to justice anyone involved in financial irregularities.

A top government source said Mallya's arrest was in connection with his IDBI loan default case, asserting that the extradition process against him has now begun.  

"India needs to set precendents, the myth of crossing the boundaries and being out of bounds should be shattered. In Mallya's case, the overwhelming public opinion is that such people should be taught a lesson," the source said, adding "tax havens around the world are increasingly becoming less safe for wrong-doers".

The principal Opposition Congress, however, accused the Modi government of "hoodwinking" the people of India over Mallya's arrest, asking it to spell out a timeline for recovering his loans and for bringing him back to face the Indian courts.

The Congress asked why the Modi government sought Mallya's extradition and not deportation which, it claimed, would have ensured his immediate custody for India.

Claiming that the Congress's "relentless campaign" led to Mallya's temporary detention, the party's chief spkesman Randeep Surjewala questioned how could he be released simultaneously. 

Accusing the Modi dispensation of allegedly letting Mallya escape from India, Mr Surjewala asked PM Modi and FM Jaitley to tell the people of the country when Mallya and another fugitive based in London, Lalit Modi, could be brought to face justice in India.

Star T20 hitter Chris Gayle returned to his devastating best on Tuesday as he smashed 77 runs off 38 balls to take Royal Challengers Bangalore to mammoth score of 213/2 against Gujarat Lions in 20 overs at the SCA Cricket Stadium in Rajkot.

With this, Gayle scripted history as he became the first cricketer to complete 10,000 T20 runs in cricket.

The 37-year-old West Indies’ batsman hit seven sky-touching sixes and five boundaries in the 20th match of the IPL 2017.

Along with skipper Virat Kohli (64), Gayle put gigantic 122-run partnership stand for the opening wicket.

Kohli also impressed with the willow as he struck a six and seven boundaries in his entertaining 50-ball knock.

At the end of their innings, Travis Head (30*) and Kedar Jadhav (38*) were batting with an unbeaten 54-run partnership stand for the fourth-wicket.

For Gujarat, Dhawal Kulkarni and Basil Thampi were the only successful bowlers as they claimed one wicket each.

The Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday abolished the process of holding of interviews for Class-lll and IV posts with immediate effect.

A state government spokesperson said the selection to all Class-lll and IV posts/services under the government will now be made on the basis of merit of written examination or mandatory educational qualification followed by evaluation on prescribed parameters.

“For already notified vacancies by the recruiting authorities prescribing personal interview, which have not been completed as yet, either the posts shall be re-advertised to the extent of dispensing with the personal interview and prescribed parameters or selection process shall be completed by 31 May,” he said.

The spokesperson said the in cases where advertisement for filling up of vacancies has been issued by the recruiting agencies. But the written examination hasn't been held, the recruiting agencies will issue supplementary advertisement immediately clarifying that after written examination, no interview will be held and prescribed parameters will be applicable for selection.