Naam Shabana, which hit the screens in India on Friday, will be released across 37 countries — including non-traditional markets — on 354 screens worldwide.

"It's rare that Indian films see the light of the day in non-traditional markets. With Naam Shabana, we are overwhelmed to have the film releasing across 37 countries. We are glad to have set a benchmark for other female-oriented films with such a wide scale of exposure," Shibasish Sarkar, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Big Entertainment, said in a statement.

The film is a spin-off based on actress Taapsee Pannu's character Shabana in Baby, where she is seen in an action-packed avatar. The movie showcases her journey of becoming an undercover agent.

In the US, the movie will release in 82 screens; in UAE, it will be shown in 43 screens; followed by 28 screens in Britain and 21 screens in Australia.

Some of the non-traditional markets that it is being released in are Italy, Kygystan, Switzerland, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Maldives, Germany, Belgium and Surinam

Apart from Taapsee, the Shivam Nair-directorial also stars Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, Manoj Bajpayee and Prithviraj Sukumaran.

Naam Shabana, which hit the screens in India on Friday, will be released across 37 countries — including non-traditional markets — on 354 screens worldwide.

"It's rare that Indian films see the light of the day in non-traditional markets. With Naam Shabana, we are overwhelmed to have the film releasing across 37 countries. We are glad to have set a benchmark for other female-oriented films with such a wide scale of exposure," Shibasish Sarkar, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Big Entertainment, said in a statement.

The film is a spin-off based on actress Taapsee Pannu's character Shabana in Baby, where she is seen in an action-packed avatar. The movie showcases her journey of becoming an undercover agent.

In the US, the movie will release in 82 screens; in UAE, it will be shown in 43 screens; followed by 28 screens in Britain and 21 screens in Australia.

Some of the non-traditional markets that it is being released in are Italy, Kygystan, Switzerland, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Maldives, Germany, Belgium and Surinam

Apart from Taapsee, the Shivam Nair-directorial also stars Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, Manoj Bajpayee and Prithviraj Sukumaran.

The last date for depositing old currency notes is March 31 and, according to new law, possession of old currency notes will attract stringent action. Crowd outside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is getting bigger and the queues longer, but many people are still confused whether they are eligible for exchange of old currency notes.

“Ineligible people are responsible for the long queues outside the RBI,” Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said.

Here are few points to clarify your doubts on the new currency exchange rules.

• Indians who were outside the country between November and December 2016 were given time by the Reserve Bank to deposit old notes till March 31.
• For Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), the deadline is June 30.
• The facility for exchange of old notes is available in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Nagpur and Mumbai offices of RBI.
• The limit for exchanging old notes is as per the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations for NRIs.
• For eligible residents, there is no limit for depositing/exchanging demonetised currency notes.

People have been exchanging old currency notes for new ones ever since the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to scrap old notes of 500 and 1,000 Rupees in an effort to curb black money and combat terrorism, The announcement was made on November 8, 2016.

The last date for depositing old currency notes is March 31 and, according to new law, possession of old currency notes will attract stringent action. Crowd outside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is getting bigger and the queues longer, but many people are still confused whether they are eligible for exchange of old currency notes.

“Ineligible people are responsible for the long queues outside the RBI,” Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said.

Here are few points to clarify your doubts on the new currency exchange rules.

• Indians who were outside the country between November and December 2016 were given time by the Reserve Bank to deposit old notes till March 31.
• For Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), the deadline is June 30.
• The facility for exchange of old notes is available in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Nagpur and Mumbai offices of RBI.
• The limit for exchanging old notes is as per the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations for NRIs.
• For eligible residents, there is no limit for depositing/exchanging demonetised currency notes.

People have been exchanging old currency notes for new ones ever since the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to scrap old notes of 500 and 1,000 Rupees in an effort to curb black money and combat terrorism, The announcement was made on November 8, 2016.

In order to check manufacture of spurious products, the special team of Chief Minister’s Flying Squad on Tuesday has unearthed two factories manufacturing spurious ghee in district Hisar.

An official spokesperon said that the members of unit conducted a raid on two factories manufacturing spurious ghee and took samples of the ghee. One of the factories was being run at an old dairy premise located at Mirzapur road in Hisar and another at Shiv trading company at Shyam vihar colony in the city.

He said that during the raid, 100 tins of Proto-vanaspati, 32 tins of Aksar vanaspati, 13 tins of refind oil, nine boxes of Madhu Sandha ghee, 67 kg Madhu Sandha ghee, 7 kg open Madhu Sandha ghee, 42 boxes of Madhu Sangam, 14 kg Dalda ghee and six big cylinders were seized from the factory on Mirzapur road.

While 10 tins of Ghee without mark, 18 tins ghee in plastic boxes, 25 kg Sri Bharat ghee, one box of Sangh deshi ghee, 27 boxes Kanhiya King ghee, 10 tins of Aksar Vanaspati, 11 tins of Vibhor Refind Soyabin oil, 8 tins of Mahakosh refind Soyabin oil, one tin of King Soyabin, 100 empty tins of five kg, 200 of one kg and 50 of two kg, six domestic gas cylinders, two commercial gas cylinders and two big tubs were seized during raid conducted at Shiv trading company, he added.

The spokesperson further stated that during the recent raids the squad has arrested 23 persons in connection with recovery of about 1.30 lakh bottles of illicit liquor including Indian made foreign liquor, country made liquor and beer.

As many as 20 cases in this regard have been registered at different police stations in the state.

In order to check manufacture of spurious products, the special team of Chief Minister’s Flying Squad on Tuesday has unearthed two factories manufacturing spurious ghee in district Hisar.

An official spokesperon said that the members of unit conducted a raid on two factories manufacturing spurious ghee and took samples of the ghee. One of the factories was being run at an old dairy premise located at Mirzapur road in Hisar and another at Shiv trading company at Shyam vihar colony in the city.

He said that during the raid, 100 tins of Proto-vanaspati, 32 tins of Aksar vanaspati, 13 tins of refind oil, nine boxes of Madhu Sandha ghee, 67 kg Madhu Sandha ghee, 7 kg open Madhu Sandha ghee, 42 boxes of Madhu Sangam, 14 kg Dalda ghee and six big cylinders were seized from the factory on Mirzapur road.

While 10 tins of Ghee without mark, 18 tins ghee in plastic boxes, 25 kg Sri Bharat ghee, one box of Sangh deshi ghee, 27 boxes Kanhiya King ghee, 10 tins of Aksar Vanaspati, 11 tins of Vibhor Refind Soyabin oil, 8 tins of Mahakosh refind Soyabin oil, one tin of King Soyabin, 100 empty tins of five kg, 200 of one kg and 50 of two kg, six domestic gas cylinders, two commercial gas cylinders and two big tubs were seized during raid conducted at Shiv trading company, he added.

The spokesperson further stated that during the recent raids the squad has arrested 23 persons in connection with recovery of about 1.30 lakh bottles of illicit liquor including Indian made foreign liquor, country made liquor and beer.

As many as 20 cases in this regard have been registered at different police stations in the state.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday imposed stringent restrictions on the Kapol Cooperative Bank Ltd. (KCBL) and barred depositors from withdrawing over Rs.3,000 from any type of accounts, according to a notification.

The RBI has also restricted the financially troubled bank from granting or renewing loans and advances or making any investments, incurring any liability including borrowal of funds, and accepting fresh deposits without prior written approval of the apex bank.

The KCBL will also not be able to enter into any compromise or arrangements, sell, transfer or dispose of any of its assets and properties as per the RBI's directions.

However, the RBI made it clear that this should not be construed as cancellation of banking licence of KCBL, and the bank can continue business with restrictions till its financial position improves.

The latest move comes nearly three years after the RBI had appointed an administrator and later superseded the Mumbai-headquartered KCBL's board in June 2014 due to its weak capital adequacy and high-level non-performing assets.

Founded in 1939, the KCBL has around 20 branches in Mumbai and Gujarat with over 77,000 shareholders and a customer-base of around 250,000.
 

Popular VJ, DJ and TV host Nikhil Chinapa, who is seen as a gang leader of the youth-based reality TV show Roadies Rising, says any kind of exposure helps a person inch closer to his or her dreams.

"Any kind of exposure can be used as a stepping stone for future success. Take Roadies for example… Every year there are 10-15 contestants and not everyone makes it to the limelight," Nikhil told, when asked if reality shows are a good platform for people to get into showbiz.

Nikhil feels a lot of "credit needs to be to given to the people for their own hard work when they become successful". 

"When we take examples of Bani, Prince (Narula) or Rannvijay (Singha). Even if it wasn't for 'Roadies', they still have made it successful in life because they have that drive… It just so happened that the show was a platform for them that launched their careers into entertainment space or into media," he added. 

Nikhil has previously hosted reality shows like Splitsvilla on MTV.

The Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said that the facility of cashless transaction should be available at temples and other religious places.

After paying obeisance at Mata Mansa Devi Shrine complex at Panchkula, the third day of Chaitra Navratri, he advocated cashless transaction at religious places whether managed by the government or social organisations.

The system of cashless transactions is a new initiative in the country, which has been accepted by the people. It should also be at religious places too, he added.

He also performed yajna (religious offerings) amidst chanting of hymns. Later on, while interacting with the mediapersons, CM said that he offered prayers for prosperity and success of the people of the state.

Three pillars of Digital India vision that is Infrastructure as a service, e-Governance and services on demand and Empowerment of citizens have been entirely adopted and taken forward aggressively in the state. Since 2014, Haryana has taken multiple steps for using technology to increase transparency, reduce delays, decrease corruption and create a progressive state digital economy, he added.

In reply to another question concerning women empowerment, he said that the state government has been encouraging woman to be entrepreneur. Many programmes like Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme and opening of woman police stations have been implemented to empower women.

The title of the fifth instalment of the Pirates Of The Carribean franchise is getting a title change for the Indian and other global markets.

Earlier titled Pirates Of The Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the film is now titled Pirates Of The Carribean: Salazar's Revenge in India, Asia, Russia and Europe. Only the US will be retaining the original title, read a statement from the makers.

The film will star Kevin R. McNally, Golshifteh Farahani, David Wenham, Stephen Graham and Geoffrey Rush.

Co-directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, the film will release on May 26 in India.

Gujarat Lions medium pacer Munaf Patel on Friday said experience of bowling on Indian wickets would play a key role during IPL's 10th season, as most of the wickets in the country were batting-friendly.

"Experience to play on Indian wickets, which are batting-friendly, is very important. Luckily, Gujarat Lions has medium pacers, who have enough experience to play on Indian wickets," Patel said.

"I, Praveen Kumar, Manpreet Gony and Dhaval Kulkarni, all the four medium pacers have enough experience to play on Indian wickets. We all have played for the country and have enough experience of playing in IPL," Patel said.

"We all know one another as well as our skipper very well in terms of what he wants from us as a bowling unit and that will give us an advantage of being Indians and playing on these wickets," Patel said.

When asked about his role as a senior member of the team, he said, "It's really a proud feeling that I am one of the sernior players of the squad and will lead the bowling department alongwith other senior bowlers. But I will have to carry extra responsibility of being one of the senior players of the squad," he said.

According to him, Gujarat Lions has a good bowling unit. "Though, all of us have experience of bowling on Indian wickets, our main focus would be to restrict the opposition to the lowest possible target," Patel, who had initially played for Rajasthan Royals and then for Mumbai Indians, said.

When asked about making a comeback to the national side, Patel said, "I do not think about it…my only focus is to perform well for my team. If I perform well, it will help me and my team too." 

Rock band Aerosmith's member Joe Perry believes there is something unique about being in a band for a long time and he feels lucky they have remained together for almost 50 years.

The American rock band, which comprises Perry, Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer, has been together for 50 years. They say it has been a "lot of work" to stay together and think they are "really lucky" to have been able to continue making music regardless of the ups and downs, reports billboard.com.

"50 years that's a long time, man. I mean, it's been a lot of work keeping it together and it's easy to see how bands don't last; it's just life. Part of it you can control — if everybody has the same goals, you work towards it through the rough spots and all that.

"And then there's the stuff that happens that you don't have control over and we've just been really lucky," said Perry, the lead guitarist.

"There are just so many things that can go wrong to tear a band apart. We've seen it all. The band's had its periods where it hasn't been that great, but there's something about that dream that we always had when we first got together and we're still all here, we're taking it day-by-day.

"There's something about a band that's been together for a long time, you just can't bottle it. There's no way you can replace what all this experience gives you," Perry added.

The total extent of defence land in the country is about 17.57 lakh acres, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said on Friday.

Bhamre said in Lok Sabha that of the total defence land, the largest chunk of 3,73,040 acres is in Rajasthan, followed by 1,02,257 acres in Madhya Pradesh, 67,464 acres in Punjab, 47,640 acres in Uttar Pradesh besides others.

"The total land acquired for defence purpose after independence in the country is about 8.38 lakh acres," he said during Question Hour.

Children who suffer from autism find it difficult to accurately recognise facial expressions, a new study has found.

Researchers from University of Bristol in the UK gave 63 children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) diagnosis and 64 without a diagnosis, an internet-based test of emotion recognition.

The two groups, aged between 6-16 years, were presented with 'happy', 'sad', 'surprised', 'disgusted', 'scared' and 'angry' facial expressions and asked to select a label that matched the expression.

Some faces had exaggerated 'high-intensity' expressions – which were easier to identify, while others had subtle 'low-intensity' expressions – which were more difficult but considered more relevant to real world interactions.

The team also measured language skills and non-verbal reasoning skills in order to see if differences in these skills explained any differences in ability to recognise emotions.

Researchers found that young people with ASC do find it harder to recognise emotion from facial expressions.

However, the types of mistake made by young people with ASC were very similar to the types of mistake made by young people without ASC.

For example, young people in both groups often mistook 'fear' for 'surprise' and confused 'disgust' and 'anger'.

Interestingly, the biggest differences between the ASC and non-ASC groups was for the clearest 'high-intensity' expressions.

The researchers think this was due to participants, including those without ASD, struggling to recognise the emotion in the 'low-intensity' expressions, making it hard for them to then see any clear difference between groups.

"This study is important as previous research provided very mixed results with some finding individuals with autism less accurate in recognising expressions on average, and others finding no difference," said Sarah Griffiths, who completed the at the University of Bristol in the UK.

"In this study we used an online platform to run a larger study to answer this question more conclusively and found that individuals with autism are on average a bit less accurate at recognising emotion from faces," said Griffiths, who is now based at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

"These findings provide further evidence that people with ASC have a degree of difficulty in recognising basic emotions from facial expressions," said Chris Jarrold, Professor at the University of Bristol.

"For those who do struggle with recognising emotions from faces, teaching emotion recognition may be helpful for learning to navigate social situations," said Jarrold.

Some lives have inspired millions around the world. While some have been captured in the cinematic medium others first appeared as biographies and autobiographies before their stories were made public. Whatever the medium be the biopics and biographies have the power to inspire and ignite minds. Here are five such stories that were adapted from Biography and autobiography. 

A beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar- The book traces the life of John Nash, one of the most brilliant minds in the mathematics field. He is credited to be one of the prime contributors in the Game Theory. The movie version was well received by the critics but was accused of not portraying some aspects of the genius’ life. Russel Crowe had brought Nash’s character to life onscreen. 

Catch Me If You Can by Frank W Abagnale and Stan Redding- The True Story of a Real Fake- Brought to life on screen by Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, the book is based on Frank W Abagnale one of the most notorious con man, imposter and escape artist to ever have existed. From posing as a Pan Am pilot to heading a hospital management team, Abaganale had done every deceitful thing possible in his lifetime before getting caught by the FBI. Both the movie and the memoir make an entertaining story. 

Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman- The book tells the story of a world champion athlete who recounts his journey in search of ultimate happiness. The movie version of the book was named Peaceful warrior and it traces the same subject as the protagonist struggles to understand the deeper meaning of success as he recovers from a career threatening injury. 

The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort- Jordan Belfort became one of the most infamous names in the finance sector in USA while working with the firm Strattan Oakmont. The author recounts the story of Belfort’s foray into the power game that was purely based on stocks and other profits that were earned through questionable means. The movie version saw Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. 

Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges- Alan Turing made history as he decoded the German U-boat Enigma during World War II. Benedict Cumberbatch portrayed Turing in The Imitation Game as the story recounted the mathematical brilliance of Turing and the torture inflicted upon him due to his homosexuality.

Ruling out any move to ban cycling on roads, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the government rather wants to promote the activity to curb pollution.

"There is nothing like this. I can tell you as the transport minister that we want to promote cycling," Gadkari told reporters here last evening, responding to recent media reports that a Parliamentary panel is mulling a ban on non-motorised transport on major roads for causing "nuisance".

Stating that cycling is "the best" form of transport which helps curbing the "growing menace" of pollution, Gadkari specified special infrastructure building efforts.

These include having a dedicated cycle lane on the upcoming Delhi-Meerut expressway and also special cycle tracks across many cities including Nagpur (which is his Lok Sabha constituency), he said.

"I appeal to countrymen to use bicycle as much as possible. We have not said anything like this in the Act," Gadkari said.

In a report tabled in Parliament recently, a Parliamentary Standing Committee studying the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2016 has recommended that pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles be restricted from using main roads and highways in metro cities.

According to a media report, the committee has stressed that the non-motorised vehicles do not follow road rules and create a lot of nuisance, and that they are traffic hazard for others.

The panel has reportedly proposed that the non-motorised vehicles should not be allowed on national highways and main roads of metro cities.

Irked by this, over 7,500 people have signed an online petition asking for a rejection of the panel's report on banning cyclists, saying such a move is "anti-people, anti-poor and highly discriminatory.

Ruling out any move to ban cycling on roads, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the government rather wants to promote the activity to curb pollution.

"There is nothing like this. I can tell you as the transport minister that we want to promote cycling," Gadkari told reporters here last evening, responding to recent media reports that a Parliamentary panel is mulling a ban on non-motorised transport on major roads for causing "nuisance".

Stating that cycling is "the best" form of transport which helps curbing the "growing menace" of pollution, Gadkari specified special infrastructure building efforts.

These include having a dedicated cycle lane on the upcoming Delhi-Meerut expressway and also special cycle tracks across many cities including Nagpur (which is his Lok Sabha constituency), he said.

"I appeal to countrymen to use bicycle as much as possible. We have not said anything like this in the Act," Gadkari said.

In a report tabled in Parliament recently, a Parliamentary Standing Committee studying the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2016 has recommended that pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles be restricted from using main roads and highways in metro cities.

According to a media report, the committee has stressed that the non-motorised vehicles do not follow road rules and create a lot of nuisance, and that they are traffic hazard for others.

The panel has reportedly proposed that the non-motorised vehicles should not be allowed on national highways and main roads of metro cities.

Irked by this, over 7,500 people have signed an online petition asking for a rejection of the panel's report on banning cyclists, saying such a move is "anti-people, anti-poor and highly discriminatory.