Although happy discussing the four follow-up Bills on the GST law, Rajya Sabha members today expressed fears over implementation of the new indirect tax law, and propose to move amendments to ensure Parliamentary control over GST Council decisions and other changes.

The amendments, likely to be moved by Congress, Trinamul Congress and the CPI (M), will not worry the Government much as the Bills were introduced in the House as Money Bills by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and the amendments, even if approved by the House because of majority support with the Opposition, will be only recommendatory in nature.

The four Bills related to Central GST, Integrated GST, GST Compensation and Union Territory GST were passed by the Lok Sabha last week.

Congress and other members said the GST law, proposed nearly two decades ago, was delayed by several years due to the partisan attitude of the BJP when the Congress-led UPA wanted it enacted. Mr Anand Sharma (Congress), initiating the debate, said the loss suffered by the nation due to this delay was today of academic interest only. He said he would not question the introduction of the Bills as Money Bills, but certainly the Rajya Sabha was for quite some time not being allowed to have say on important Bills.

Mr Sharma said there were too many slabs of the tax from five per cent to 20 per cent, including one under the IGST of 40 per cent. The 18 per cent for most items would prove to be inflationary. All over the world, the GSTs were less than 18 per cent. There were no rules in place, and the scope for discretionary rulings was great, he said, adding that there were too many exclusions. Petroleum products, real estate and electricity were kept out of the law. Hardly any time was left for GST’s 1t July roll-out, and working groups on health, banking and insurance were just set up, Mr SHarma pointed out.

Mr Derek O’Brien (Trinamul Congress) quoted BJP leaders including Mr Jaitlety’s speeches made while in Opposition, expressing doubts over the GST law. But, he said, the Rajya Sabha Select Committee did commendable work, working out consensus, even if it meant months of negotiations. He said his party would support the Bills but he would be moving an amendment to ensure that GST Council decisions come up before Parliament for approval.

Mr Bhupender Yadav (BJP) said the Council would take care of the States’ interests. The GST law would usher in fair competition, lead to larger indirect tax collections, which will finally boost direct tax revenue also. Mr Naresh Agarwal (Samajwadi Party) said electricity, alcohol, tobacco were exempt. “I oppose the Bills brought as Money Bills,’ he said. Why is the CAG kept out of the law, Mr Digvijaya Singh (Congress) asked. There would be economic anarchy in the country if there was no proper infrastructure to implement the law, he said.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Wednesday apprised of MoU signed with Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane of Italy on January 31 this year on technical cooperation in railway sector, a cabinet communique said.

According to the communique, the MoU will provide a platform to Indian Railways to interact and share the latest developments and knowledge in the railway sector to promote safety, efficiency and sustainability.

It will also facilitate exchange of information, experts meetings, seminars, technical visits and implementation of jointly agreed cooperation, projects. 

For the first time in her six year rule, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday walked out halfway through an administrative meeting in Purulia district, angry over lack of progress in developmental work.

"I have walked out half way through the meeting as the work has not been done properly in the district. I have told the Chief Secretary that I won't be conducting the meeting here unless the work is done properly," Banerjee said after storming out of the venue.

She said the state government had given some instructions to the district administration to complete certain projects for the welfare of the poor people.

"But those haven't been followed properly. I am very strict in these matters. I won't conduct the meeting here if the work is not complete."

The Trinamool supremo, however, did not hold the District Magistrate responsible for the alleged lapses as he has just taken over.

"The DM of the district has just joined. He cannot be held responsible for this," she added.

Terming Banerjee's act as a political stunt, Bharatiya Janata Party national Secretary Rahul Sinha claimed she should walk out of all the district meetings as the progress of work is lagging everywhere.

"If the Chief Minister starts walking out of administrative meetings for the lack of work culture, she has to do the same in district after district because there is no work culture anywhere. It is not as if all the districts are performing extremely well and only Purulia is lagging behind. She should walk out of the administrative meetings in all the districts," he said.

Sinha also described the incident as Banerjee's desperate attempt to change the people's focus as they came out in strength to celebrate Ram Navami in protest against the state government's "communal politics".

"This is nothing but an example of her politics of stunts," Sinha told IANS.

Communist Party of India-Marxist legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty said Banerjee might have been "upset" with the district officials as she is only habituated in getting affirmative responses from them. He said the Chief Minister has conveyed a message that everyone has to echo her opinions.

"In a meeting she is the only speaker, no body else is allowed to speak. The others are only supposed to greet her and say yes to her commands whether actual work is done or not. She has walked out to communicate that from the next meeting everyone should echo her in the same manner," Chakraborty told IANS.

Since coming to power to 2011, Banerjee has been holding regular administrative meetings in the districts, where she takes stock of development projects and monitors whether welfare schemes have reached the intended beneficiaries. She is known to pull up ministers, district officials, and public representatives for lapses.

However, never in the past has Banerjee walked out of any such meeting midway.

The government said on Wednesday that an independent evaluation was being carried out of all water conservation works taken up during the last two fiscals under the rural employment guarantee scheme and the report will be ready by September this year.

A Rural Development Ministry release said 15.47 lakh water-related works, including 5.66 lakh farm ponds, were completed in 2016-17 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

The release said nearly 90 lakh hectare of irrigation potential has been created through MGNREGS in 2015-16 and 2016-17. 

"An independent, multi-institution, multi-disciplinary evaluation of all the water conservation works taken up in FY 2015-17 period under MGNREGS is being undertaken to ascertain the impact. The report will be ready by 30 September 2017," the release said.

It said last fiscal saw "an unprecedented governance transformation" in the MGNREGS with a sustained thrust on water conservation. 

"The total provisional expenditure of Rs 58,056 crore (Central plus State) is the highest ever in MGNREGS in any year. Fifty-six per cent women in the wage employment generated is also the highest ever," the release said. 

It said states have been advised to ensure that at least 65 per cent expenditure in 2,264 identified water distressed blocks will pertain to water conservation and water management in 2017-18.

The release said 96 per cent wages under MNREGS were being made through electronic payment, more than 89 lakh assets had been geo-tagged and 93 lakh job cards deleted after proper verification.

The release said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Chief Ministers of the drought-affected states, who undertook region-specific unique water conservation initiatives using MGNREGS resources. 

It said states such as Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra used MGNREGS as a resource for drought proofing for livelihood security. 

The release said the MGNREGS promoted large-scale individual beneficiary schemes and initiatives towards waste management. 

It said considerable emphasis was laid on completion of incomplete works in the last fiscal. 

"More than 56 lakh works have been completed during the year which is the highest since the inception of the programme," the release said, adding that Mission Water Conservation guidelines had also been issued. 

The release said reduction in delay in payment of wages and social audits will be among key areas of work in the present fiscal. 

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) started the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) aggressively as their star all-rounders Yuvraj Singh (62) and Moises Henriques (52) propelled them to 207/4 in the opening clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday.

Ben Cutting (16*) and Deepak Hooda (16*) were unbeaten in the end of 20 overs at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad.

In the absence of top guns Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, Shane Watson-led Royal Challengers Bangalore made an unimpressive start in the IPL 2017 as their fielding appeared sluggish at times.

Yuvraj struck a swift 62-run knock off 27 balls at a notable strike rate of 229.62, while Henriques strengthened SRH at middle-order with his 52-run knock.

The Australian all-rounder lifted the home crowd off their feet with his 37-ball 52 runs, which were decorated by three boundaries and two sky-scrapping sixes.

With opener Shikhar Dhawan (40), Henriques put highest 74-run partnership knock for the second-wicket partnership.

Meanwhile, Dhawan was in great form in the recently concluded Deodhar Trophy. In his last three matches before IPL 2017, he scored an aggregate of 223 runs in the 50-over Deodhar Trophy tournament.

The 31-year-old southpaw hitter laid a strong foundation for SRH after the dismissal of their captain David Warner (14). With the help of 5 boundaries, he smashed causative 40 runs at a strike rate of 129.03.

RCB pacer Stuart Binny trapped the big fish in the 11th over as Dhawan lost his control and lofted it towards long-on, where Sachin took a clean catch.

Besides Binny, Aniket Choudhary and Tymal Mills were other successful pacers for RCB, claiming one wicket each. Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Henriques to join the bowling attack.

For more stories related to IPL 2017

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved an agreement for technical cooperation between the civil aviation authorities of India and France, according to an official statement.

"The Union cabinet has given its approval to the memorandum of understanding between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) of France, to implement Technical Cooperation Program in the civil aviation sector," a Civil Aviation Ministry statement said here. 

The programme will aid the enhancement of skills and expertise through the training of AAI's officers, engineers, technicians, managers, among others, the statement added. 

The Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that NITI Aayog or any agency set up by it will act as a nodal agency for registration and accreditation of NGOs/voluntary organisations seeking financial support from the government.

The NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog will also maintain a data base and put in place a system to manage and disseminate information relating to non-governmental organisations, the government also told a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.

Besides, the Aayog portal — NGO Darpan — will be strengthened and aligned more closely with accreditation functions and also provide snapshot of the NGO with respect to its ongoing and past works.

It will particularly focus on public and foreign funds so as to facilitate grant-extending authorities in deciding on the bona fides and past experiences of the NGO. 

These are part of the Centre's guidelines framed for accreditation of NGOs that receive government grants as well as the manner in which their accounts will be maintained and audited.

The accreditation will require regular updating of database, consistency in compliance of statutory requirements, evaluation of past track record and standing in their field of operation.

The guidelines have been framed in pursuance of the apex court's January 10 direction to frame guidelines so as to ensure stronger regulation mechanism.

The guidelines provide for release of funds to the NGOs through Public Fund Management System and three-tier monitoring for central ministries, comprising in-house monitoring process by grant-making institution, as well as panels at the state and district levels.

Besides, there would be independent third-party monitoring like the National Monitor System of the Ministry of Rural Development that may be operated by the NITI Aayog.

Giving two weeks, the court asked amicus curiae Rakesh Dwivedi and petitioner-advocate Mahohar Lal Sharma to give their views on the veracity of the guidelines submitted before it.

North Korea fired an apparent ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, South Korea's military said on Wednesday.

The launch came hours after US President Donald Trump described North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear arsenal as a "humanity problem" and a senior US official told reporters that the "clock has now run out" on Pyongyang.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul confirmed that the missile was launched from Sinpo, south Hamgyong province in eastern North Korea.

They added that the launch was made from land and not from the sea, ruling out the possibility that it was a ballistic missile launched from a submarine (SLBM), as Pyongyang has launched before from the sea off the coast of Sinpo, where its main centre of development for these projectiles is located.

Wednesday's firing was made as South Korean and US troops were conducting annual military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea often responds to the drills with its own military training and harsh rhetoric.

Two weeks ago, the South Korean and US militaries said they detected what they called a failed North Korean ballistic missile launch.

A White House official also said on Tuesday that "all options are on the table" for the US, though the official would not say what steps Trump was willing to take to curb dictator Kim Jong-un's pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

Seoul and Washington are currently analysing both the missile type and the possible range of the missile launched by Pyongyang, the Yonhap news agency reported, adding that it was most likely a KN-15 medium range ballistic missile.

This latest launch comes just ahead of US President Donald Trump receiving Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida for a meeting which will have North Korea as one of the main topics.

Trump has called on Beijing, Pyongyang's closest ally, to exert more pressure on Kim Jong-un's regime to abandon the development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

On March 6, the Pyongyang regime launched four medium-range ballistic missiles, three of which landed in Japan's Special Economic Zone, just 200 km off the archipelago's shores, and two other missile tests since then apparently failed.

Despite hitting a purple patch, India skipper Virat Kohli failed to find a spot in England all-rounder Ben Stokes' "Dream Cricket XI", which, however, includes Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

Stokes, who grabbed the headlines for becoming the costliest buy at this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) players' auction, on Wednesday revealed his "Dream" team.

In the team, he has included three Australians in former skipper Ricky Ponting, wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and leg-spin legend Shane Warne, and two each from England (Alastair Cook and James Anderson), the West Indies (Garfield Sobers and Curtly Ambrose) and South Africa (Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn).

Stokes was bought for a whopping Rs 14.5 crore by the Rising Pune Supergiant, who will open their IPL-10 campaign in the home tie against Mumbai Indians at Pune on Thursday.

On choosing Sehwag to open with Cook, the energy drink Red Bull's brand ambassador said: "I'd have Sehwag as one of my openers. I reckon he averaged about 50 in his career (49.34), and his strike rate was probably in the 80s (82.23). To have that as an opening batsman in Test match cricket if you were an opening bowler would be pretty scary, I reckon."

On the selection of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, Stokes said: "It's got to be Sachin, got to be. I don't think I need to explain why. Ricky and Sachin could swap between four and five, and they can have a fight to see who goes in — whichever one's got their pads on."

Six persons of a family died in an explosion inside their house here on Wednesday. Several others were believed to be buried in the debris.

"Six persons have died while several others are suspected to be buried in the debris after explosives and crackers kept in a house in Datia district exploded," Superintendent of Police Irshad Wali said.

According to local residents, the explosion happened in the house of Rashid Khan.

Khan, his wife, his sister, his two sons and his niece died in the explosion. Khan's one son and a relative escaped the blast as they were at their neighbour's house.

Wali said the state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of those killed.

With most of the India cricketers, especially the discarded ones counting on the Indian Premier League (IPL) to make it to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy squad in June, off-spinner Jayant Yadav on Wednesday said he does not necessarily see it as a gateway to the national side.

The 27-year-old Haryana tweaker has not played in limited overs for India since his lone One-day International (ODI) appearance against New Zealand. 

Jayant, who will be seen in the Delhi Daredevils colours in the 10th edition of the IPL, however, said that his complete focus is on the cash-rich T20 league at the moment and he doesn't want to think so far.

"I wouldn't look that far. For me, everything goes day by day. Whatever has to happen, will happen," Jayant told reporters in the pre-season press conference of the Daredevils.

"I would like to take this IPL, not thinking of it as a chance to stake my claim (in the Indian team), but as a chance to have an impact for my team, Delhi Daredevils," he added.

Jayant, who was dropped after India's surprise defeat to Australia in the opening Test in Pune, said he doesn't doubt his Test credentials, but is keen on improving his ability to bowl in different situations.

"When you rub shoulders with players like Ash (Ashwin), Jaddu (Jadeja) and Anil (Kumble) bhai, (it means) you have the skill, and that's why you are there. It's all about adapting to Test match cricket, getting the feel of it, getting to know about how to bowl in different situations, to different batsmen, at different times. Knowing and fulfilling your role in the Test team is also really important," he said.

"And that's what I have been working on with Ash and Anil bhai, including on different strategies for different players."

"In Test cricket, you cannot bowl the same way to, say, Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb, or to Matthew Wade and David Warner. So (I am) practising on that, and just working along those lines," he added.

The Zaheer Khan-led Daredevils will begin their IPL 2017 campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Saturday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) stand-in skipper Shane Watson won the toss and elected to field against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening tie of the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Wednesday.

For the hosts, 18-year-old leg-spinner from Afghanistan Rashid Khan will make his debut in the IPL while the visitors have Rajasthan medium pacer Aniket Choudhary and England's Tymal Mills as debutants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here.

The RCB suffered a major blow before the start of the tournament with their two key players — skipper Virat Kohli and South African AB de Villiers due to injuries — out of Wednesday's game.

Teams: 
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ben Cutting, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha (WK), Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Rashid Khan.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Shane Watson (Captain), Kedar Jadhav (WK), Sachin Baby, Travis Head, Stuart Binny, Tymal Mills, Sreenath Aravind, Aniket Choudhary, Yuzvendra Chahal.

For more stories related to IPL 2017

Amid the ongoing controversy over her arrest, TV and Bollywood actress Rakhi Sawant has called a press conference on Thursday here to clarify the issue.

While the Punjab Police on Tuesday denied Rakhi had been taken into custody following an arrest warrant issued by a court in Ludhiana, her spokesperson said she would surrender. It was not immediately clear where she would do so. 

Rakhi has now decided to come in front of the media and answer all the questions. 

According to an invite shared by her spokesperson, Rakhi will clarify her stance at the event, to be held at Wows & Flutters Studio at Durga Chambers in Andheri West. 

The invite read: "Hi! April 6, 2017, on Thursday at 4:30 pm, Picture N Kraft, cordially seek your gracious presence where Sunidhi Chauhan will record a song for Rakhi Sawant's upcoming film at 3 pm Rakhi Sawant will clarify the air about her arrest by Punjab Police and put all the rumours to rest at 4.30 pm" 

The court in Punjab had issued an arrest warrant after the actress failed to appear before it on March 9 in a case filed against her for allegedly making derogatory remarks against sage Valmiki.

The complainant had accused Rakhi of "hurting the religious sentiments" of the Valmiki community. The case will be next heard on April 10.

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner of Police Dharuman Nimbale on Tuesday said that a police team which had gone to Mumbai to execute the arrest warrant against Rakhi was returning as it failed to find her at the given address.

China on Wednesday reacted angrily to the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh and said that by ignoring Beijing's concerns over the issue New Delhi has caused "serious damage" to bilateral ties. India reiterated that no political colour should be attributed to the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to the northeastern state.

Diplomatic tensions escalated with Beijing summoning the Indian envoy Vijay Gokhale to lodge its protest, even as the 81-year-old Tibetan leader, who arrived in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, said in Bomdila that India has never used him against China.

In a prelude to China's belligerence, the Chinese state-run media warned that New Delhi's inviting the Tibetan spiritual leader to the "sensitive region" would "gravely damage" India-China relations. China considers large parts of Arunachal Pradesh as south Tibet, while India has said that Arunachal is an inseparable part of its territory.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, addressing a regular briefing, voiced Beijing's "firm opposition" to the Dalai Lama's visit and said her country would lodge "stern representations with the Indian side".

Hua said that India "in disregard" to China's concerns "obstinately" went ahead to arrange the Tibetan leader's visit, causing "serious damage" to China's interests and China-India relations.

She said that India should "immediately cease using the Dalai Lama's mistaken behaviour to damage China's interests" and not "hype up sensitive" bilateral issues.

The state-run Global Times accused the Indian government of "openly using" the Dalai Lama "as a diplomatic tool to win more leverage".

It said India was trying to play the Tibet card against China as "New Delhi is dissatisfied with Beijing's stance over its membership bid to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and its request to name Masood Azhar, head of Pakistani militant group, to a UN Security Council blacklist".

Reacting to Beijing's objection against his visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the Nobel Peace Laureate said: "There are many in China who love India, but there are some narrow-minded politicians because of their certain views..they considered me as a demon."

Denying Chinese assertions that India was using him as a diplomatic leverage to challenge China, the Tibetan spiritual leader said: "I am India's longest standing guest. India has never used me against China."

On the Tibetan stand, he told journalists, ahead of proceeding to Tawang for a major Buddhist event: "We are not seeking independence. We are very much willing to remain with People's Republic of China. I always used to talk about the spirit of the European Union, individual nations, individual sovereignty but that is not so important, what is important is common interest." 

"Tibet is materialistically backward but spiritually highly-developed. For material development, we need to remain with the People's Republic China as it is our interest. The government (of China) should feel ok for the mutual benefit," he added.

"China must give us meaningful self-rule, autonomy, and must take care of the environment in Tibet. China has the highest population of Tibetan Buddhists. Many Chinese intellectuals also fully support our cause," he said.

China had protested former US envoy Richard Verma's visit to Tawang last October and warned Washington against meddling in the border dispute between New Delhi and Beijing.

India on Wednesday reiterated that no political colour should be attributed to the Tibetan spiritual leader's trip and that the Dalai Lama has visited Arunachal earlier on half a dozen occasions.

"We also urged that no political colour be ascribed to his religious and spiritual activities and to his visits to states of India, and no artificial controversy created around his ongoing visit," External Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

On Tuesday, India asked China not to interfere in its matters. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, said: "India has always been non-interfering in the neighbours' internal affairs in our approach. In the same manner, we expect the same from our neighbours."

China on Wednesday reacted angrily to the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh and said that by ignoring Beijing's concerns over the issue New Delhi has caused "serious damage" to bilateral ties. India reiterated that no political colour should be attributed to the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to the northeastern state.

Diplomatic tensions escalated with Beijing summoning the Indian envoy Vijay Gokhale to lodge its protest, even as the 81-year-old Tibetan leader, who arrived in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, said in Bomdila that India has never used him against China.

In a prelude to China's belligerence, the Chinese state-run media warned that New Delhi's inviting the Tibetan spiritual leader to the "sensitive region" would "gravely damage" India-China relations. China considers large parts of Arunachal Pradesh as south Tibet, while India has said that Arunachal is an inseparable part of its territory.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, addressing a regular briefing, voiced Beijing's "firm opposition" to the Dalai Lama's visit and said her country would lodge "stern representations with the Indian side".

Hua said that India "in disregard" to China's concerns "obstinately" went ahead to arrange the Tibetan leader's visit, causing "serious damage" to China's interests and China-India relations.

She said that India should "immediately cease using the Dalai Lama's mistaken behaviour to damage China's interests" and not "hype up sensitive" bilateral issues.

The state-run Global Times accused the Indian government of "openly using" the Dalai Lama "as a diplomatic tool to win more leverage".

It said India was trying to play the Tibet card against China as "New Delhi is dissatisfied with Beijing's stance over its membership bid to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and its request to name Masood Azhar, head of Pakistani militant group, to a UN Security Council blacklist".

Reacting to Beijing's objection against his visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the Nobel Peace Laureate said: "There are many in China who love India, but there are some narrow-minded politicians because of their certain views..they considered me as a demon."

Denying Chinese assertions that India was using him as a diplomatic leverage to challenge China, the Tibetan spiritual leader said: "I am India's longest standing guest. India has never used me against China."

On the Tibetan stand, he told journalists, ahead of proceeding to Tawang for a major Buddhist event: "We are not seeking independence. We are very much willing to remain with People's Republic of China. I always used to talk about the spirit of the European Union, individual nations, individual sovereignty but that is not so important, what is important is common interest." 

"Tibet is materialistically backward but spiritually highly-developed. For material development, we need to remain with the People's Republic China as it is our interest. The government (of China) should feel ok for the mutual benefit," he added.

"China must give us meaningful self-rule, autonomy, and must take care of the environment in Tibet. China has the highest population of Tibetan Buddhists. Many Chinese intellectuals also fully support our cause," he said.

China had protested former US envoy Richard Verma's visit to Tawang last October and warned Washington against meddling in the border dispute between New Delhi and Beijing.

India on Wednesday reiterated that no political colour should be attributed to the Tibetan spiritual leader's trip and that the Dalai Lama has visited Arunachal earlier on half a dozen occasions.

"We also urged that no political colour be ascribed to his religious and spiritual activities and to his visits to states of India, and no artificial controversy created around his ongoing visit," External Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

On Tuesday, India asked China not to interfere in its matters. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, said: "India has always been non-interfering in the neighbours' internal affairs in our approach. In the same manner, we expect the same from our neighbours."

Sameer Arora, who is currently seen as Kabir Miranda in TV show Bin Kuch Kahe, says he left his home in Nainital at the age of 17 as he wanted to become an actor, but his parents were against the profession.

"I thought about acting when I was 10 or 12 years old. One day my teacher asked me to take part in a school play and essay the role of a king. Initially, I declined that opportunity and later she made me do it. After that play, I thought of being an actor," Sameer told.

"I used to tell my parents while watching TV shows and films that I want to be an actor. But my parents were against this profession. So I ran away from my home at 17 and lived in Delhi and worked there for three years. Then I shifted to Mumbai and while tackling financial crisis I gave acting auditions," he added.

Sameer shared that at first he lied about his work to his parents, but they later got to know about it and accepted him as an actor.

"At first, I didn't tell my parents why I am going to Mumbai from Delhi. I said that my company is giving me an internal transfer for three months. Then those three months became six months and my parents asked me when I will come back," Sameer said.

"But then my dad saw my first print ad. He is a clothes merchant. I did my photoshoot for Siyaram's. When my father saw my photo on the brand's product, he said, 'Okay, do it. One day when you will face reality then you will come back home'. But I never thought of moving back. Later they accepted me happily," he added.

Sameer, who made his debut with Bin Kuch Kahe, earlier worked as an assistant director to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the 2013 film Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela.

"I have acted in a few ads and short films earlier. Then I decided to assist a director and approached Sanjay sir for a year. He then took me as his assistant director in Ram-Leela.

"He liked my work and kept me and said he liked my face. For Ranveer Singh's rehearsals, I used to stand in front of the camera when the lighting works was being done. Somewhere he liked my face and advised me to be an actor," Sameer said.

Talking about his character in Bin Kuch Kahe, Sameer said: "It's a challenging character for me as he is half Brazilian and half Indian. He is a journalist so, I had to do a lot of research for this character."

The Zee TV show, which is a finite series of 180 episodes, is currently being shot here.

Sameer Arora, who is currently seen as Kabir Miranda in TV show Bin Kuch Kahe, says he left his home in Nainital at the age of 17 as he wanted to become an actor, but his parents were against the profession.

"I thought about acting when I was 10 or 12 years old. One day my teacher asked me to take part in a school play and essay the role of a king. Initially, I declined that opportunity and later she made me do it. After that play, I thought of being an actor," Sameer told.

"I used to tell my parents while watching TV shows and films that I want to be an actor. But my parents were against this profession. So I ran away from my home at 17 and lived in Delhi and worked there for three years. Then I shifted to Mumbai and while tackling financial crisis I gave acting auditions," he added.

Sameer shared that at first he lied about his work to his parents, but they later got to know about it and accepted him as an actor.

"At first, I didn't tell my parents why I am going to Mumbai from Delhi. I said that my company is giving me an internal transfer for three months. Then those three months became six months and my parents asked me when I will come back," Sameer said.

"But then my dad saw my first print ad. He is a clothes merchant. I did my photoshoot for Siyaram's. When my father saw my photo on the brand's product, he said, 'Okay, do it. One day when you will face reality then you will come back home'. But I never thought of moving back. Later they accepted me happily," he added.

Sameer, who made his debut with Bin Kuch Kahe, earlier worked as an assistant director to filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the 2013 film Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela.

"I have acted in a few ads and short films earlier. Then I decided to assist a director and approached Sanjay sir for a year. He then took me as his assistant director in Ram-Leela.

"He liked my work and kept me and said he liked my face. For Ranveer Singh's rehearsals, I used to stand in front of the camera when the lighting works was being done. Somewhere he liked my face and advised me to be an actor," Sameer said.

Talking about his character in Bin Kuch Kahe, Sameer said: "It's a challenging character for me as he is half Brazilian and half Indian. He is a journalist so, I had to do a lot of research for this character."

The Zee TV show, which is a finite series of 180 episodes, is currently being shot here.