Philippe Coutinho injected some Brazilian flair in the 50th Merseyside Derby of the English Premier League era,  as sparkling Liverpool eased past Everton 3-1 in their Premier League clash at Anfield on Saturday.

"We will play three at the back because that is the best way to attack Liverpool,” Everton manager Ronald Koeman said while speaking to reporters prior to the match,.

Koeman, perhaps, is aiming to be the first Everton manager to win at Anfield in 18 years.  

A bold theory but in practice, the execution was severely lacking as a youthful Toffees unit were torn to shreds by Coutinho and co on a day when Red was the dominant colour in just about every department.

Koeman opted for a 3-4-3 formation, with Matthew Pennington playing his first Everton game of the season alongside Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka. With Seamus Coleman and Ramiro Funes Mori both injured, young Mason Holgate essayed the role of wing back with Leighton Baines operating on the other flank. Morgan Schneiderlin was another regular to miss out and his absence proved to be massive as Everton were dominated in the possession battle with ease by the hosts.

Jurgen Klopp, as expected, chose to fill Adam Lallana’s void by selecting the combative Lucas Leiva in midfield. And with Dejan Lovren fit again, the defender returned to slot in alongside Joel Matip.

The hosts dominated as soon as the game kicked off and took the lead as Sadio Mane proved just why he is considered among the finest wingers in the Premier League with a brilliant run and a fine wrong-footed finish in the 8th minute. Playing a smart one-two with Roberto Firmino, he cut in across from the right. As he neared the edge of the box, he let loose a low finish to the opposite corner to leave Joel Robles stranded.

Everton responded with a goal of their own. Matthew Pennington scored a goal in the 29th minute and will be remembered for a long, long time. Reacting speedily to Jagielka’s flick from a corner, he toe-poked home to level proceedings and expose Liverpool’s defensive failings yet again.

Liverpool were, however, undeterred. Coutinho’s moment of brilliance three minutes later effectively sealed the deal in the hosts’ favour. The Brazilian feinted to go outside but cut in and curled a fine finish into the top corner to restore the Reds advantage.

At half-time, Liverpool were clearly dominant and looked like scoring everytime they got the ball and in stark contrast, Everton looked quite toothless in attack, despite having the league’s top scorer in Romelu Lukaku, in their ranks. The big Belgian had just one touch in the box, a damming statistic for the visitors.

And substitute Divock Origi, who replaced the injured Sadio Mane,  put the icing on the cake for the home fans with a fine finish from just outside the box after being set up by Coutinho on the hour-mark.

With the result, Liverpool move up to joint-second with Tottenham Hotspur, behind only on goal difference (but Spurs have played two games fewer). Despite Mane’s injury, a strong finish to the season is on the cards.

For Koeman and Everton, the defeat is damaging for their top four hopes as they remain in seventh place, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester City (who have played three games fewer). With star striker Lukaku supposedly mulling a summer move to a 'bigger club', this result might have done some irreparable damage.

Philippe Coutinho injected some Brazilian flair in the 50th Merseyside Derby of the English Premier League era,  as sparkling Liverpool eased past Everton 3-1 in their Premier League clash at Anfield on Saturday.

"We will play three at the back because that is the best way to attack Liverpool,” Everton manager Ronald Koeman said while speaking to reporters prior to the match,.

Koeman, perhaps, is aiming to be the first Everton manager to win at Anfield in 18 years.  

A bold theory but in practice, the execution was severely lacking as a youthful Toffees unit were torn to shreds by Coutinho and co on a day when Red was the dominant colour in just about every department.

Koeman opted for a 3-4-3 formation, with Matthew Pennington playing his first Everton game of the season alongside Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka. With Seamus Coleman and Ramiro Funes Mori both injured, young Mason Holgate essayed the role of wing back with Leighton Baines operating on the other flank. Morgan Schneiderlin was another regular to miss out and his absence proved to be massive as Everton were dominated in the possession battle with ease by the hosts.

Jurgen Klopp, as expected, chose to fill Adam Lallana’s void by selecting the combative Lucas Leiva in midfield. And with Dejan Lovren fit again, the defender returned to slot in alongside Joel Matip.

The hosts dominated as soon as the game kicked off and took the lead as Sadio Mane proved just why he is considered among the finest wingers in the Premier League with a brilliant run and a fine wrong-footed finish in the 8th minute. Playing a smart one-two with Roberto Firmino, he cut in across from the right. As he neared the edge of the box, he let loose a low finish to the opposite corner to leave Joel Robles stranded.

Everton responded with a goal of their own. Matthew Pennington scored a goal in the 29th minute and will be remembered for a long, long time. Reacting speedily to Jagielka’s flick from a corner, he toe-poked home to level proceedings and expose Liverpool’s defensive failings yet again.

Liverpool were, however, undeterred. Coutinho’s moment of brilliance three minutes later effectively sealed the deal in the hosts’ favour. The Brazilian feinted to go outside but cut in and curled a fine finish into the top corner to restore the Reds advantage.

At half-time, Liverpool were clearly dominant and looked like scoring everytime they got the ball and in stark contrast, Everton looked quite toothless in attack, despite having the league’s top scorer in Romelu Lukaku, in their ranks. The big Belgian had just one touch in the box, a damming statistic for the visitors.

And substitute Divock Origi, who replaced the injured Sadio Mane,  put the icing on the cake for the home fans with a fine finish from just outside the box after being set up by Coutinho on the hour-mark.

With the result, Liverpool move up to joint-second with Tottenham Hotspur, behind only on goal difference (but Spurs have played two games fewer). Despite Mane’s injury, a strong finish to the season is on the cards.

For Koeman and Everton, the defeat is damaging for their top four hopes as they remain in seventh place, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester City (who have played three games fewer). With star striker Lukaku supposedly mulling a summer move to a 'bigger club', this result might have done some irreparable damage.

The State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, started functioning as unified entity from Saturday post merger of its five associate banks, besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank.

The five associate banks merged with the SBI are State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore.

With the merger, the SBI joins the league of top 50 banks globally in terms of assets. 

"We welcome the customers, employees and all other stakeholders of associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank to SBI fold. The bank will strive to conclude the transition process within a quarter," SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said here in a statement on Saturday.

"The combined entity will enhance productivity, mitigate geographical risks, increase operational efficiency and drive synergies across multiple dimensions while ensuring increased levels of customer delight," she said.

The total customer base of the bank reaches 37 crore with a branch network of around 24,000 and nearly 59,000 ATMs across the country. The merged entity now has a deposit base of more than Rs 26 lakh-crore and advances level of Rs 18.50 lakh crore. 

"The bank will rationalise its branch network by relocating some of the branches to maximise the reach. This will help optimise its operations and improve profitability. Integration of treasuries of the associate banks with SBI will bring in substantial cost saving and synergy in operations," the statement said.

Post-merger, all the customers of associate banks now enjoy the benefits of a wide array of digital products and services offered by the State Bank of India, the bank said.

Online SBI, the bank's web banking platform is the fifth-most visited financial site, globally.

The State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, started functioning as unified entity from Saturday post merger of its five associate banks, besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank.

The five associate banks merged with the SBI are State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore.

With the merger, the SBI joins the league of top 50 banks globally in terms of assets. 

"We welcome the customers, employees and all other stakeholders of associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank to SBI fold. The bank will strive to conclude the transition process within a quarter," SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said here in a statement on Saturday.

"The combined entity will enhance productivity, mitigate geographical risks, increase operational efficiency and drive synergies across multiple dimensions while ensuring increased levels of customer delight," she said.

The total customer base of the bank reaches 37 crore with a branch network of around 24,000 and nearly 59,000 ATMs across the country. The merged entity now has a deposit base of more than Rs 26 lakh-crore and advances level of Rs 18.50 lakh crore. 

"The bank will rationalise its branch network by relocating some of the branches to maximise the reach. This will help optimise its operations and improve profitability. Integration of treasuries of the associate banks with SBI will bring in substantial cost saving and synergy in operations," the statement said.

Post-merger, all the customers of associate banks now enjoy the benefits of a wide array of digital products and services offered by the State Bank of India, the bank said.

Online SBI, the bank's web banking platform is the fifth-most visited financial site, globally.

 In a discovery that may spell good news for the environment, a novel fungus capable of degrading polyurethane (PU) plastics has been identified by Chinese researchers, a media report said on Saturday.

Aspergillus tubingensis fungus was isolated by a research team led by Xu Jianchu, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The fungus can grow on the surface of PU and break the chemical bonds between plastic molecules or polymers through activity of its enzymes.

"Meanwhile, the fungus also uses the physical strength of its mycelia to help break apart polymers," said Xu.

PU is a type of synthetic polymer widely used in the manufacture of plastic-related materials. It can be applied in various industries, including medical treatment, construction and automobiles.

Plastic waste is difficult to decompose, pollutes soil and water, and poses risks to human health.

"Fungus biodegradation is an important way to treat pollution caused by synthetic plastics," said Xu, adding that the efficiency of degradation was affected by various factors, including PH, temperature and the types of the medium used.

He said researchers would gradually figure out the ideal conditions for the rapid growth of the fungus, laying the foundations to solving the garbage problem.

The research was published on March 15 on the website of the international journal Environmental Pollution.

 In a discovery that may spell good news for the environment, a novel fungus capable of degrading polyurethane (PU) plastics has been identified by Chinese researchers, a media report said on Saturday.

Aspergillus tubingensis fungus was isolated by a research team led by Xu Jianchu, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The fungus can grow on the surface of PU and break the chemical bonds between plastic molecules or polymers through activity of its enzymes.

"Meanwhile, the fungus also uses the physical strength of its mycelia to help break apart polymers," said Xu.

PU is a type of synthetic polymer widely used in the manufacture of plastic-related materials. It can be applied in various industries, including medical treatment, construction and automobiles.

Plastic waste is difficult to decompose, pollutes soil and water, and poses risks to human health.

"Fungus biodegradation is an important way to treat pollution caused by synthetic plastics," said Xu, adding that the efficiency of degradation was affected by various factors, including PH, temperature and the types of the medium used.

He said researchers would gradually figure out the ideal conditions for the rapid growth of the fungus, laying the foundations to solving the garbage problem.

The research was published on March 15 on the website of the international journal Environmental Pollution.

India's Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu defeated South Korean second seed Sung ji Hyun 21-18, 14-21, 21-14 in a women's singles semi-final of the India Open World Superseries badminton championships here on Saturday.

India's Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu defeated South Korean second seed Sung ji Hyun 21-18, 14-21, 21-14 in a women's singles semi-final of the India Open World Superseries badminton championships here on Saturday.

A day after the Supreme Court ordered restriction on the sale of liquor through liquor vends located at the state and National Highways, liquor industry in the city is still coming to terms with the shocker.

A majority of liquor vends located in Sector 7, 26, 35,43 which did a brisk business until yet, are now facing closure as they would be losing a huge sum of their earnings. Though most of them have decided to wait and watch, a majority of them are also mulling to relocate to continue with their businesses.

Speaking to The Statesman, 30 year old Umang Mehrotra, who owns a liquor vend in Sector 35, says, “ We have to respect the SC verdict but at the same time, we will have to think about the dozens of bars and pubs which recently started operations at Madhya Marg after putting in a lot of investment. On the flip side, liquor lovers would go to any extent to get their dose of liquor, be it the illegal way.”

However a section of liquor businessmen is rejoicing at the Apex Court's verdict. These are those vend owners whose vends are located in the inner markets of the city and thus always held a grudge of making lesser money due to the location disadvantage of their vends.

“People always preferred buying liquor bottles from the main roads for the convenience. But looks like the tables have turned and this ban has a positive side to it as well", said the owner of one of the vends located in the inner market of Sector 8.

While the liquor businessmen have their own take on the ban, the youngsters are hoping it will make the city safer for women especially at night. “There is no alternative to the SC verdict. However, we can look at the bright side with lesser road accidents and crimes against women in the city with lesser number of vends where one can buy liquor from,” said Simar Kaur, student.

A day after the Supreme Court ordered restriction on the sale of liquor through liquor vends located at the state and National Highways, liquor industry in the city is still coming to terms with the shocker.

A majority of liquor vends located in Sector 7, 26, 35,43 which did a brisk business until yet, are now facing closure as they would be losing a huge sum of their earnings. Though most of them have decided to wait and watch, a majority of them are also mulling to relocate to continue with their businesses.

Speaking to The Statesman, 30 year old Umang Mehrotra, who owns a liquor vend in Sector 35, says, “ We have to respect the SC verdict but at the same time, we will have to think about the dozens of bars and pubs which recently started operations at Madhya Marg after putting in a lot of investment. On the flip side, liquor lovers would go to any extent to get their dose of liquor, be it the illegal way.”

However a section of liquor businessmen is rejoicing at the Apex Court's verdict. These are those vend owners whose vends are located in the inner markets of the city and thus always held a grudge of making lesser money due to the location disadvantage of their vends.

“People always preferred buying liquor bottles from the main roads for the convenience. But looks like the tables have turned and this ban has a positive side to it as well", said the owner of one of the vends located in the inner market of Sector 8.

While the liquor businessmen have their own take on the ban, the youngsters are hoping it will make the city safer for women especially at night. “There is no alternative to the SC verdict. However, we can look at the bright side with lesser road accidents and crimes against women in the city with lesser number of vends where one can buy liquor from,” said Simar Kaur, student.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday formally launched the BS-IV grade fuel distribution across the country on the occasion of Utkala Dibasa here.

In a bid to provide a clean environment, the minister launched distribution of the BS-IV grade fuel in 13 cities through video conferencing here.

Pradhan termed the initiative as the beginning of a new era to reduce environment pollution.

"Today we begin a new era of clean transportation fuels that will benefit 1.25 billion citizens of our country by substantially reducing pollution levels in our cities," the minister said.

While BS-IV grade fuels have been introduced from April 1, the BS-VI standard fuels have been targeted to be launched from 2020.

"Migration to BS-IV fuels shows India's resolve under the leadership of the Prime Minister to cut down emissions in a voluntary commitment to @COP21," Pradhan tweeted.

Speaking on the ongoing tussle with the Odisha government over IOCL's refinery project at Paradeep, Pradhan said the Centre is ready for a fresh dialogue to break the deadlock between the Odisha government and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL).

The state government has denied providing fiscal incentives to the company's 15 million-tonne crude oil refinery at Paradeep in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district.

"The present government at the Centre is not responsible for the delay in setting up of the project. The expansion of the refinery's capacity from nine million tonnes to 15 million tonnes is good for the people of the state. If the Odisha government feels that there should be more financial support to minimise the state's burden, we are ready for fresh negotiations," said Pradhan.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday formally launched the BS-IV grade fuel distribution across the country on the occasion of Utkala Dibasa here.

In a bid to provide a clean environment, the minister launched distribution of the BS-IV grade fuel in 13 cities through video conferencing here.

Pradhan termed the initiative as the beginning of a new era to reduce environment pollution.

"Today we begin a new era of clean transportation fuels that will benefit 1.25 billion citizens of our country by substantially reducing pollution levels in our cities," the minister said.

While BS-IV grade fuels have been introduced from April 1, the BS-VI standard fuels have been targeted to be launched from 2020.

"Migration to BS-IV fuels shows India's resolve under the leadership of the Prime Minister to cut down emissions in a voluntary commitment to @COP21," Pradhan tweeted.

Speaking on the ongoing tussle with the Odisha government over IOCL's refinery project at Paradeep, Pradhan said the Centre is ready for a fresh dialogue to break the deadlock between the Odisha government and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL).

The state government has denied providing fiscal incentives to the company's 15 million-tonne crude oil refinery at Paradeep in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district.

"The present government at the Centre is not responsible for the delay in setting up of the project. The expansion of the refinery's capacity from nine million tonnes to 15 million tonnes is good for the people of the state. If the Odisha government feels that there should be more financial support to minimise the state's burden, we are ready for fresh negotiations," said Pradhan.

Passengers will continue to get benefits of service charge exemption on train tickets booked online till June 30.

In order to help passengers and incentivise payments made through digital modes for booking of reserved tickets, service charge on online booking of train tickets was withdrawn for the tickets booked from November 23, 2016 to March 31, 2017.

The exemption facility effective till March 31 this year has been extended further to June 30, said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Railways received instructions from the Ministry of Information and Technology advising the public transporter to extend the incentives at least till June 30.

The service charges on booking train tickets online through IRCTC ranges from Rs 20 to 40 per ticket.

The government waived the service charges after demonetisation in November last year to encourage digital modes of booking.

Approximately, an amount of Rs 184 crore has not been realised from passengers on account of service charge and service tax thereon on reserved tickets booked online from November 23, 2016 to February 28, 2017, according to railways data.

Passengers will continue to get benefits of service charge exemption on train tickets booked online till June 30.

In order to help passengers and incentivise payments made through digital modes for booking of reserved tickets, service charge on online booking of train tickets was withdrawn for the tickets booked from November 23, 2016 to March 31, 2017.

The exemption facility effective till March 31 this year has been extended further to June 30, said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Railways received instructions from the Ministry of Information and Technology advising the public transporter to extend the incentives at least till June 30.

The service charges on booking train tickets online through IRCTC ranges from Rs 20 to 40 per ticket.

The government waived the service charges after demonetisation in November last year to encourage digital modes of booking.

Approximately, an amount of Rs 184 crore has not been realised from passengers on account of service charge and service tax thereon on reserved tickets booked online from November 23, 2016 to February 28, 2017, according to railways data.

The central government has released an amount of Rs.2,014.45 crore as financial assistance to Tamil Nadu affected by drought and cyclonic storm, an official said on Saturday.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had chaired a High Level Committee (HLC) meeting on March 23 to discuss the issue of assistance.

The aid, released on Friday, includes Rs.1,748.28 crore for drought (Kharif), Rs.264.11 crore for cyclonic storm 'Vardha' and Rs.2.06 crore under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, according to a release. 

The Tamil Nadu government had submitted a memorandum seeking central assistance in the wake of drought and cyclonic storm 'Vardha' in the state.

The central government had sent Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to Tamil Nadu to assess the situation.

On the recommendations of IMCT and the Sub-Committee of the National Executive Committee, the HLC had approved the financial assistance. 

The central government has released an amount of Rs.2,014.45 crore as financial assistance to Tamil Nadu affected by drought and cyclonic storm, an official said on Saturday.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had chaired a High Level Committee (HLC) meeting on March 23 to discuss the issue of assistance.

The aid, released on Friday, includes Rs.1,748.28 crore for drought (Kharif), Rs.264.11 crore for cyclonic storm 'Vardha' and Rs.2.06 crore under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, according to a release. 

The Tamil Nadu government had submitted a memorandum seeking central assistance in the wake of drought and cyclonic storm 'Vardha' in the state.

The central government had sent Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to Tamil Nadu to assess the situation.

On the recommendations of IMCT and the Sub-Committee of the National Executive Committee, the HLC had approved the financial assistance. 

Car makers on Saturday said they closed March logging growth in their sales volume as compared to the number of units sold during March 2016.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd in a regulatory filing in BSE said it sold 139,763 units (domestic 127,999 units, exports 11,764 units) in March up from 129,343 units (domestic 118,895 units, exports 10,450 units) sold during March 2016.

For the whole of last fiscal the company sold 15,68,603 units up from 14,29,248 units sold in 2015-16.

On its part Ford India Pvt Ltd said it sold a total of 24,832 units in March up from 21,198 units sold in March 2016.

The Japanese-Indian car making joint venture Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold 13,796 units in the domestic market and shipped out 636 units of the Etios series in March.

The company had sold 7,637 units in the domestic market and exported 1,370 units of the Etios series in March 2016.

"With the end of this financial year, we are happy to announce that Toyota has registered a growth of 12 per cent when compared to the last financial year. This has been possible with the launch of our two new products, the Innova Crysta and the new Fortuner," N.Raja, Director and Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing, said.

"This growth further reinforces the trust our customers have in Toyota products and we would like to thank our customers for this appreciation," Raja was quoted as saying in a statement issued here.