The online registrations at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research and Education (PGIMER) Chandigarh are apparently finding few takers due to ignorance.

Nearly every year around 25 lakh people enlist themselves at the PGIMER for getting treatment at the New Outpatient Office (OPD), Advanced eye center OPD, Advanced Pediatrics Centre, Advanced Cardiovascular Centre, Dental Centre and De-Addiction Centre.

But ever since the launch of the online-registration two years back, only two lakh patients have registered for the OPD even as on average over seven thousand patients come for the OPD on a daily basis from northern states including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand. On Thursday, the number of patients attended in the OPD was 10,917. The majority of these patients stand in the long queues, sometimes many for hours, to get the registration done even as online-registration helps the job done in a few minutes.

A senior PGIMER official said online registration was not even close to 10 per cent of the total registration despite the fact that it saves patients or their relatives from standing in long queues for the registration.

For the on-line registration, a patient is required to go to the PGIMER website, fill his personal details and name of the OPD department he intends to take treatment. After this, a patient is given an online-registration number using which he or she can go to the on-line registration counter and get his registration slip within no time.

“We are constantly telling the people to get themselves registered online for the OPD. But they fail to attempt it as they are not technological friendly,” said Dr Ritesh Aggarwal, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, who is head of the hospital computerisation project.

“By enlisting on the web, one can spare time as they need not remain in long lines, but rather then they need to sit tight for the specialist. In this way, individuals who are enrolling on the web are not getting need over others. We are trying to come up with various advertising strategies which is help in creating awareness among people,” he added.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday said his country is not seeking to militarise the South China Sea and its presence in the area is only to maintain freedom of navigation.

"China never has any intention to engage in militarisation in the South China Sea," the visiting premier said at a press conference following a meeting in Canberra with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"Chinese islands and reefs are primarily for civilian purposes. If there is a certain amount of defence equipment or facilities, it is for maintaining the freedom of navigation and overflight," he added.

China has built numerous military facilities on islets in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety but whose sovereignty has been disputed by five other countries, leading to an escalation of multilateral tensions in the region, Efe news reported.

Li noted that China is the leading global exporter and its economy depends on free transit in this maritime area, through which around $5 billion worth of goods pass every year, and which contains rich fishing, gas and oil resources.

He stressed that it is the responsibility of all countries in the region to maintain peace in the South China Sea, which is disputed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines, with the US having also increased its presence.

Li said China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are negotiating a code of conduct, an initiative that was praised by Turnbull.

The Australian leader also urged "all parties to refrain from taking any actions which would add to tensions, including actions of militarisation of disputed features".

Australia and the US have been concerned by the growing Chinese presence in the disputed seas, but Turnbull rejected as "incorrect" the view that Australia must take sides between Beijing and Washington.

China is Australia's biggest trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to $150 billion.

At the press conference, Turnbull announced a series of new agreements to increase trade between the two countries, including China's decision to increase access to its market of frozen meat products.

The bilateral free trade agreement that came into force in 2015 had reduced tariffs on Australian beef products, but refrigerated meat did not have the same access to the Chinese market.

Li will continue his Australia visit to Sydney before leaving on Sunday for New Zealand.

In order to provide some relief to the debt-laden Air India, the country's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and its other consortium lenders are considering the request of the airline's chief to cut the interest rate on its borrowings. Ashwani Lohani, chairman and managing director of Air India, in a letter to SBI requested the lender to link the interest rate to marginal cost of fund-based lending rate (MCLR) from the existing base rate. "The reduction of interest rate to 8.5 per cent from 10.05 per cent will provide the much needed relief. The alignment of interest rates would accrue a savings in interest of around Rs.200 crore annually on the total loan base of around Rs.15,000 crores," it said. 

 The government is making all attempts to turn around the airline's fortunes. Officials in the finance ministry also said it has also sought support from the government in terms of sovereign guarantee to convert its long-term working capital of Rs.10,500 crore into non-convertible debentures (NCDs) with 10-15 year duration.

As part of the airline's revival plans, it is trying to monetise its assets. Officials said, "A list of 38 properties has been forwarded to NBCC. Out of the 38, NBCC has identified 21 properties whose valuations are completed and Air India may sell directly. However, the e-auction process will start after getting the fresh valuation done." The official added that a second list of 28 properties have been forwarded to NBCC for their scrutiny and advice on monetisation. 

Four years since its revival plan was put in place, the airline has significantly narrowed its losses and improved its operational parameters. It's EBIDTA (earnings before interest deduction and tax amortisation) stands positive at Rs.2,413.29 crore in 2015-16 as against the negative EBIDTA of Rs.2236.95 crore in 2011-12. In order to resuscitate it, the government cleared a Rs 30,231 crore bailout package. 

 The airline has claimed to have made an operating profit of Rs.105 crore in FY16 though it has been disputed by government auditor CAG, which in its latest report said the airline actually incurred an operating loss of Rs.321.4 crore during this fiscal.

Buoyed by the double digit-growth in the domestic market, the airline is planning to scale up its fleet size. It has decided to induct 104 aircraft by 2020.

Actress Hamsa Nandini, most known for her appearances in item songs, has landed a cameo in the upcoming yet-untitled Telugu outing starring Jr NTR, a source said.

"Hamsa will be seen playing a supporting character. Although it will be a cameo, the role has some weightage. She has already started shooting in Hyderabad and is thrilled to be sharing screen space with NTR for the first time," a source from the film's unit told.

Being directed by Bobby, the film features NTR in a triple role for the first time.

Produced by NTR's brother Kalyanram, the rest of the cast is being finalised.

The project is NTR's 27th film.

Two more "significant arrests" were made on Friday for the Westminster terror attack as investigators continue to question eight suspects arrested earlier during raids across Britain.

The toll, including the attacker, rose to five after 75-year-old Leslie Rhodes died on Thursday evening following the carnage claimed by the Islamic State (IS) terror group, the Metropolitan Police said. 

Police officials identified the attacker as 52-year-old British Muslim convert Khalid Masood, who was born as Adrian Elms in Kent and was shot dead by the police during the Westminster attack, reported the Telegraph.

Masood, a father of three, claimed he was an English teacher. Hours before carrying out the attack on Wednesday, he told the staff of Preston Park Hotel in Brighton, where he was staying, that "London isn't like what it used to be".

Two people remain in critical condition after Masood ploughed a car down Westminster Bridge and stormed the Parliament's estate armed with two blades, fatally knifing police official Keith Palmer.

The victims include Britons, French children, Romanians, South Koreans, Greeks, and people from Germany, Poland, Ireland, China, Italy and the US. Three police officers were injured, two of them seriously.

The Scotland Yard's top anti-terror officer Mark Rowley said at least 50 people were injured with 31 requiring hospital treatment, The Telegraph said. 

Rowley said the police investigation focuses on understanding Masood's motivation, preparation and associates. 

More candlelit vigils for the victims were scheduled on Friday in Birmingham and London. 

According to the daily, Masood was investigated by intelligence agency MI5 for "violent extremism" but was ruled out as a threat by security services before being "re-radicalised".

He is thought to have been radicalised in prison. In 2000, he was jailed for slashing a man across the face in an argument which had "racial overtones". 

He was again charged in 2003 with grievous bodily harm, after stabbing a 22-year-old man in the nose in Eastbourne.

Police and the security services now face serious questions about what they previously knew about the British Muslim convert, who had a string of criminal convictions for assault and had spent time in jail. 

Anticipating criticism, Prime Minister Theresa May announced in the House of Commons that Masood was known to MI5 but insisted he was a "peripheral figure" in an investigation "some years ago" and was "not part of the current intelligence picture".

Meanwhile, members of London's Muslim community have created an online platform to raise funds for the victims of the Westminster attack. The project, called "Muslims Unite for London", has so far received almost 18,000 pounds ($22,000).

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was set free on Friday and left the military hospital where he had spent most of the last six years since the revolution that ousted him, according to his lawyer.

Advocate Farid el-Dib told Efe news the former leader left Maadi hospital on Friday early morning and returned to his home in Cairo.

In May 2014, Mubarak was sentenced to three years in jail after he was found guilty of appropriating millions of Egyptian pounds which had been allocated to the presidential palaces.

Mubarak, 89, spent his entire detention period at a military hospital in Cairo.

On March 2, an Egyptian upper court issued a final verdict affirming Mubarak's acquittal of charges of the murder of protestors demonstrating in the 2011 uprising which ended his 30-year rule.

Mubarak was previously acquitted of similar charges in 2015, however, the prosecution later appealed the verdict.
 

Following the action by authorities, owners of the sealed meat and poultry fodder processing units are up in arms and have decided to approach the High Court.

Terming the crackdown unjustifiable as they have all the necessary no-objection certificates (NOCs), the owners have submitted a written complaint to the office of district magistrate.

"We will wait for the reply till Sunday and if we do not get any response then we’ll file our petition in the Allahabad High Court," said Ajay Tyagi, lawyer of the aggrieved group.

Raising objection on the way action was taken Tyagi said that the government should have first lodged a complaint or served a notice to the owners.

Former Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) MP Shahid Akhlaq whose three slaughterhouses were sealed accused the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of “targeting the minorities”.

SSP J Ravindra Gaur, however claimed that the action has been taken without any grudge.

"From where are the poultry fodder processing units getting their waste material when the slaughter houses of the Nagar Nigam are closed for the last four years,” Gaur said raising doubts on the working on such units which require waste from slaughter houses to survive.

The owners however claimed that they have all the required NOC`s and have set up the units on bank loans.

"We are all against illegal slaughtering and are law abiding citizens but we will surely safeguard our interests and will pursue the case in the court of law,” said Mohd Ayya, whose slaughterhouse has been sealed.

In the wake of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an Air India staffer, Air India (AI) and the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) on Friday banned him from flying AI and four other airlines with ‘immediate effect’. Gaikwad's return ticket from Delhi to Pune has also been cancelled as per reports.

This, however, is not the first time that a VIP kicked up a controversy while taking a flight. Here is a list of VIPs who sparked off a row during their air travel in the past:

Pappu Yadav

Bihar MP Pappu Yadav on June 17, 2015, allegedly misbehaved with an airhostess and threatened to beat her with his 'chappal' on a Patna-Delhi Jet Airways flight. The unruly behavior drew the attention of the captain, who asked security personnel at Delhi airport to shuttle the MP out. The incident happened when the air-hostess asked him to buckle himself and straighten his seat.

Kiren Rijiju

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju was travelling from Leh to Delhi on June 24, 2015. To accommodate him and his assistant in the flight, three members of a family, including a child, were offloaded from boarding the flight AI-446. The incident not only caused inconvenience to fellow flying passengers but delayed the flight operation as well. Rijiju, later, apologised for the inconvenience caused to the passengers.

PV Abdul Wahab

Muslim League MP and Dubai businessman PV Abdul Wahab had on April 7, 2008, insulted an Air India pilots in a Dubai-bound Indian flight at Kozhikode airport and called him nothing more than ‘glorified drivers’. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association had in 2008 reported that Wahab was the one who ‘opened the cockpit door, entered inside, and abused the pilot’. He and his wife were later asked to disembark from the flight. He later threatened to move a privilege motion against the Air India pilot in Parliament.

Mithun Reddy

Congress MP from Andhra Pradesh, PV Mithun Reddy assaulted Air India station manager K Rajasekhar on November 27, 2015 at Renigunta Airport in Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh. The incident happened when he and his family were denied boarding passes for the New Delhi flight. Later, a case was registered against him for his unruly behaviour at the airport.

Kamal Kishore

Congress MP from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, Kamal Kishore, had complained against a CISF personnel as he was asked to place his coat for an X-ray screening at an airport in UP on January 29, 2011. He blatantly refused to cooperate with the security personnel and the fiasco delayed the security check-up of other fellow passengers at the airport.

The Himachal Pradesh government on Friday asked the banks to come forward to advance loans in priority sector areas so that initiatives of the government in social security and development became fruitful in Himachal Pradesh.

"Banking system is important in giving thrust to economic activities,” said Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Dr Shrikant Baldi while presiding over state level Bankers Committee meeting here.

He expressed concern over declining credit deposit ratio of banks in the state and asked bankers to identify growth areas and mobilise investment so that pace of development was accelerated, to the benefit of masses.

Baldi expressed apprehension that out of 8 lakh Kisan Credit Cards only 2.4 lakh were active. He asked bankers to motivate farmers to use and avail benefits of Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) by holding camps in rural areas. Rs 9,266 Crore have been disbursed under KCC to farmers since inception of the Scheme in the state, he said.

He asked banks to arrange Point of Sale (POS) terminals in government offices, hospitals and public utility services in order to reduce dependency on cash, and to promote cashless transactions in the state.

Baldi said that Rs 9,823 Crore had been disbursed so far under annual credit plan 2016-17 upto December in the state with achievement of 82 per cent in priority sector activities. He asked bankers to enlist reasons for rejection and pendency of advances in priority sector areas and social security schemes.

Additional Chief Secretary, Arvind Mehta asked banks to fund micro irrigation schemes in rural areas to boost economic activities in villages.

Australian pace machine Shaun Tait has now received Indian citizenship and may play for the Indian national side from 2020 onward, if he wants.

The 34-year-old pacer, who last played for Australia in January 2016, will be eligible to play for Team India after a gap of four years as the rule book of International Cricket Council states that “a player requires to wait for at least four years after his last international appearance to represent another country.”

In 2014, Tait got married to an Indian model Mashoom Singha, whom he met first during the 2010 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Tait is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the history of cricket. He once bowled a fiery delivery speeding 161.1 km/hr, the second fastest in international cricket.

The paceman shares his position with compatriot Brett Lee in fastest bowlers chart that is ruled by Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar, who once bowled at 161.3 km/hr.

RJ-turned-actor and anchor Pritam Singh, who will be seen participating in the upcoming eighth season of dance reality show Nach Baliye, says he is excited to share screen space with his wife Amanjjot. He feels she is a better dancer than him.

"I have hosted, acted, and am an RJ too. With Nach Baliye, I am getting to explore something completely new which is dancing. Plus I am getting to spend time with my wife Aman which is a win-win situation for me," Pritam, who came into the limelight after appearing in Big Boss 8, said in a statement. 

"My wife is a painter and is also learning how to sing. As a dancer, I feel she's better than me as well," he added.

Nach Baliye 8 will soon be aired on Star Plus.

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on Friday appointed Sumant Sinha as Chairman of CII northern region for the year 2017-18. Also, Sanchit Jain was appointed as the deputy chairman of the same body.

Sumant Sinha is an advocate of solutions to climate change through business and public policy Sachit Jain is transformational leader at India’s one of the leading textile houses. The new incumbents were elected during the first meeting of the newly elected Regional Council members held in New Delhi on March 22.  

Sumant Sinha will head the CII Northern Region which comprises Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Union Territory Chandigarh.

The Indian basket of crude oils went below the psychological $50-a-barrel-mark this week as global prices fell on the back of a supply glut from rising US crude inventories, offsetting some of the output cut efforts from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

As per available data, the Indian basket, comprising 73 per cent sour-grade Dubai and Oman crudes, and the balance in sweet-grade Brent, closed trade on Thursday at $49.64 for a barrel of 159 litres, which was marginally higher than the previous day's close at $49.44.

The US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that the country's crude inventories climbed by almost 5 million barrels to 533.1 million last week.

Analysts said the rising output also weighed on the production reduction by the OPEC and its allies.

The West Texas Intermediate for May Delivery erased $0.34 to settle at $47.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery decreased $0.08 to close at $50.56 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

According to the latest OPEC data, its reference basket of 13 crude oils closed at $48.35 a barrel on Thursday.

Last November, major oil producers agreed to cut output as a response to the global supply glut that had been pushing down prices for nearly two years.

In early December, oil producers outside the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Russia, agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day (bpd). This came in the wake of the 13-nation OPEC cartel's November 30 decision to cut output by 1.2 million bpd for six months effective from January 1.

This is the first time since 2001 that OPEC and some of its rivals had reached a deal to jointly reduce output to tackle the global oil glut.

Oil prices had earlier fallen by more than 50 per cent in less than two years, from levels of over $120 a barrel.

Indian oil marketing firms revise prices fortnightly and rates were last revised more than two months ago on January 16, with hikes on petrol by 42 paise a litre, and on diesel by Rs.1.03, both in Delhi and with corresponding increases in other states.

Petrol per litre costs Rs.71.14 in Delhi, Rs.73.66 in Kolkata, Rs.77.96 in Mumbai and Rs.70.61 in Chennai.

Similarly, diesel costs Rs.59.02 in Delhi, Rs.61.27 in Kolkata, Rs.64.89 in Mumbai and Rs.60.73 in Chennai.

Rioting broke out in the Gurdaspur jail in north Punjab on Friday after two groups of inmates clashed which left some inmates injured, the police said.

Senior police and civil officers rushed to the jail, where additional forces too were rushed to control the situation. 

Informed sources said the police and prison security fired shots to control the situation.

Smoke could be seen coming out of a portion of the jail complex, an official said.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which was supporting the Maharashtra resident doctors, has on Friday called off strike after meeting with state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

In a meeting, the chief minister brief the IMA representatives about the steps the government has taken to ensure the safety of doctors at hospitals.

Reports suggested that the CM told IMA representatives that more security has been provided in 16 hospitals since Thursday, and the government will make more arrangements in next 10 days.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis came down heavily on the protesting resident doctors and said "enough is enough".

“Enough is enough. Now, the government can’t sit quiet. We cannot leave patients to die. Despite accepting all the demands, the doctors are not ready to withdraw their strike. They are forcing us to take a harsh step,” Fadnavis said in the Legislative Assembly.

The state government on March 22 had given strong warning to the protesting doctors and asked them to resume duty or face action.

For the fifth consecutive day on Friday, over 3,000 resident doctors were continuing their mass casual leave protesting against growing incidents of attacks by patients' relatives on them.

The Himachal Pradesh University has invited applications for admissions to PhD programme through entrance test. For the session 2017-18 in various subjects.

An official spokesperson said on Friday that applications are invited for the various departments that include English, Economics, Education, Visual Arts, Mathematics, Law, MTA, Public Administration, Sanskrit, Bio-sciences,  Bio-Technology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Sciences,Yoga studies, Political Science, Hindi, Deen Dayal Upadahya Thought, Management Studies, History, Performing Arts.

Applications are also invited for direct admission to PhD in the department of Hindi, Psychology and Physical Education, he said, adding that all the remaining seats will be filled through entrance test. The application forms and eligibility conditions are available on HP University website www.hpuniv.nic.in, said the spokesperson.

To counter Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and other major telecom-sector operators, British telecom major Vodafone has made plans to merge with India’s Idea Cellular and create a new telecom giant. The partnership, which empower them to create the biggest telecom company in Indian will not only cut costs or facilitate operations but also impact the subscribers.

“I think the merger will bring down my data charges” a Vodafone subscriber said. “I will get good facilities after the merger,” another Idea subscriber highlighted. However, a subscriber said she “don’t think this it will change anything”.

Although it is very early to dream a bigger change, some experts believe the merger will help the merged company to cater their subscribers well. The merger will complete by the end of 2018 and after the merger both Vodafone and Idea will not exist, instead the new entity with a different name will emerge. The likely impacts on the subscribers are:

Immediate impact

In the near future, there will be no impact on the subscribers of both the companies as the merger will take around two years. It can be expected that both the companies will continue to operate the way they do right now.

Coverage impact

Once the merger is completed, the new entity will give good network coverage pan India. The merger will result in “largest Indian telecom operator with widest mobile network in the country and pan India 3G/4G footprint,” a press statement by Idea says. Vodafone has strong presence in metro cities but Idea holds the leadership in semi urban and rural areas, according to the company statement. The merger will allow the companies to enhance customer services and compete more effectively.

Data charges

In the fast-growing digital world, lowering data charges is a problheadache for the service providers as well as the subscribers. Rationalising network infrastructure, generating operational efficiency, lower maintenance expenses and savings in energy cost will give the merged entity and opportunity to cut expenses. When company’s expenses will go down there are chances that the end customers will get benefits.

Benefits for the country

Talking about Indian digital missions, Idea stated the merger will accelerate expansion of wireless broadband network and the “Acceleration of expansion of wireless broadband networks across India will deliver the government of India’s ‘Digital India’ mission”.

Whether we talk about “Digital India Mission”, “Clean India Mission” or initiatives to promote cashless economy, without supportive technology it is not possible to compete with world players.

The country needs strong and competitive telecom majors for sustainable growth.