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.

Tripura Police on Friday began investigating threat calls to former minister and veteran TMC leader Ratan Chakraborty, who joined the BJP on Thursday.

"Two youths, reportedly Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists, have made two successive calls from their mobiles to Ratan Chakraborty, threatening him with dire consequences. We are now probing the incident," a police official said.

The official said: "Chakraborty filed a complaint with the police about the threat. As this is a cognizable offence, we have sought permission from the judicial magistrate to arrest the accused."

Chakraborty told reporters that if the local police do not take action against the accused, he would ask the Director General of Police to take action.

Chakraborty, who was Trinamool's Tripura unit's coordination committee chairman, on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party along with 15 other state committee members in the presence of Assam BJP leader and Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain.

Before he joined the Trinamool Congress, Chakraborty was a former minister of the Congress-led government in Tripura (1988-93).

Chakraborty joined the BJP about a fortnight after former state Trinamool chief Surajit Datta walked over to the saffron party on March 10.

State BJP President Biplab Kumar Deb and the party's observer (Pravari) Sunil Deodhar told reporters after receiving Chakraborty on Thursday that more leaders and workers from various parties would soon join the party.

Indian actress Priyanka Chopra has welcomed Jon Kortajarena, a Basque model-actor, to the cast of her American drama series Quantico.

Priyanka on Thursday night took to Twitter, where she shared a photograph of herself along with Kortajarena. 

"Top secret no more. Welcome Jon Kortajarena aka Felix to the Quantico cast," she captioned the image.

Kortajarena has been part of campaigns for labels like Just Cavalli, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Diesel, Pepe Jeans, H&M, Zara, Guess and Tom Ford.

Priyanka got global recognition through her stint in Quantico, where she is seen playing an FBI recruit named Alex Parrish. The actress will also star in Hollywood film Baywatch, in which she is playing negative character Victoria Leeds.

The film, which is adapted from the popular 1990s TV series Baywatch, also stars Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. 

With the new government in place, the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) through its allied departments is all set to tighten a noose over the marriage palaces, failing to comply with the guidelines. Sources said that last year notices were sent to about 500 marriage palaces across the state which were not fulfilling the criteria.

The PUDA had identified 170 marriage palaces in Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur and Barnala districts that were running illegally. Similarly, in Mohali district 36 such marriage palaces will be sealed.

Sources said that these marriage palaces did not seek the required permission before starting their premises. The lack of safety norms was another major concern. "As many as 36 marriage palaces in Mohali will be sealed after they failed to get requisite no objection certificate (NOC) from GMADA and other concerned departments. We aregoing to seal all such marriage palaces," Chief Administrator, GMADA, Varun Roojam, told The Statesman.

The sources said that the approval of building plans of a marriage palace may be permitted if the applicant has obtained the final NOC from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). In case of the new marriage palace, the parking of vehicles will be provided within the marriage palaces premises and no vehicle shall be allowed to be parked on the road, roadside berms and road reservation. The parking may be provided on the ground or in basement.

Last year in October, the PUDA had re-notified the marriage palaces regularisation policy second time after it was first notified in November 2012. The PUDA had made it clear that such marriage palaces will be sealed, whose owners failed to apply for regularisation and comply with the norms.

PUDA also made it clear to impose a penalty for operating marriage palace without regularisation. As per the guidelines, the owner of an existing marriage palace who fails to get his marriage palace regularised under the policy may face disconnection of water, sewerage and electricity connections. It is also added that the premises will be sealed and no marriage or any other function will be permitted in the sealed premises.

It is further stated that the unauthorised building of the marriage palace may be demolished and legal proceedings against the owner will be initiated. To put halt on the mushrooming business of the marriage palaces, Punjab government had framed policy in November 2012 to provide public safety, security and public conveniences that too was as per the directions of the high court.

Researchers have successfully used a facial recognition software to diagnose a rare, genetic disease that mainly affects children of African, Asian and Latin American descent, paving the way for physicians to diagnose the disease by snapping a photo.

The technology used to diagnose the disease, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, also known as DiGeorge syndrome and velocardiofacial syndrome, is similar to that used in airports and on Facebook.

Because the disease results in multiple defects throughout the body, including cleft palate, heart defects, a characteristic facial appearance and learning problems, healthcare providers often cannot pinpoint the disease, especially in diverse populations.

"Human malformation syndromes appear different in different parts of the world," said Paul Kruszka of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the US National Institutes of Health.

"Even experienced clinicians have difficulty diagnosing genetic syndromes in non-European populations," Kruszka said.

The goal of the study, published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, is to help healthcare providers better recognise and diagnose DiGeorge syndrome, deliver critical, early interventions and provide better medical care.

The researchers studied the clinical information and photographs of participants with the disease from 11 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 

The appearance of someone with the disease varied widely across the groups.

Using facial analysis technology, the researchers compared a group of 156 Caucasians, Africans, Asians and Latin Americans with the disease to people without the disease. 

Based on 126 individual facial features, researchers made correct diagnoses for all ethnic groups 96.6 per cent of the time, according to the study.

Marius George Linguraru of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Health System in Washington, DC, developed the digital facial analysis technology used in the study.

The researchers said they hope to further develop the technology so that healthcare providers can one day take a cell phone picture of their patient, have it analysed and receive a diagnosis.

On the eve of Australia's fourth and final cricket Test against India here, the visiting team led by skipper Steve Smith met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

After rubbing noses with the Dalai Lama at his temple in McLeod Ganj, the skipper sought advice on how to rest his mind when in the throes of a battle.

"Incredibly fortunate to meet the Dalai Lama and listen to him speak at his temple in Dharamsala today #compassion #oneness #peaceofmind," Smith posted on Instagram.

Smith has been involved in a series of battles on and off field as he leads Australia, scoring two centuries and being the highest run-getter so far with 371 at an average of 74.20.

The series is now locked at 1-1.

Off the field, he has drawn a lot of flak for looking up at the Australian dressing room seeking a nod for whether to seek review of a leg before wicket (LBW) decision in Bengaluru Test, Indian skipper Virat Kohli stopping just short of calling him a "cheat".

The likes of Ishant Sharma have also targetted him, with on-field needling.

It has thus been reported that in India Smith has had sleeping disorders and before the final day of the Ranchi Test where Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb together stitched a 124-run association for the fifth wicket to save the tie for the tourists, Smith could hardly close his eyes.

"His Holiness, do you have any good meditation techniques to fall asleep?" Smith was quoted by Australian newspaper the Daily Telegraph as asking the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama replied: "That I don't know."

"I think indirectly when your mind is at peace, then sleep automatically or naturally comes."

"If your mind is much disturbed and too much anxiety, too much anxious and too much stress and anger of course — these are very bad for sleep."

"So relax your mind and go there. Usually, I spend nine hours sleeping. Very peaceful. Around 6 p.m. sleep then 3 a.m. wake up. Then at least four hours for some meditation."

Smith recieved blessings from the Dalai Lama and also posted a picture of the pair rubbing noses together. 

"He gave me his blessings. We rubbed our noses together," said Smith.

"Hopefully it'll help me with my sleep over the next five days."

"It just relaxes us a little bit. He's all about compassion and oneness for each and every human being and it was great to hear something like that from someone as prestigious as the Dalai Lama."

"It was a great experience for all of us."

"We get over the top sometimes when we are out there playing cricket, but at the end of the day it's just a game and you need to realise that at times. That's something this team can take from meeting with the Dalai Lama," Smith was quoted as saying.

Actress Amy Schumer has left the film Barbie over a scheduling conflict.

"Sadly, I'm no longer able to commit to Barbie due to scheduling conflicts. The film has so much promise, and Sony and Mattel have been great partners. I'm bummed, but look forward to seeing Barbie on the big screen," Schumer told variety.com.

The big screen adaptation of Mattel's iconic toy line was expected to start production on June 23, but Schumer's busy schedule includes a lengthy promotional tour for her new comedy Snatched, which opens in May, as well as an upcoming shoot for Rebecca Miller's She Came to Me.

"We respect and support Amy's decision. We look forward to bringing 'Barbie' to the world and sharing updates on casting and filmmakers soon," a spokesperson for Sony said.

Barbie is said to be in the vein of "Splash", "Enchanted" and "Big". 

The main character in the film gets kicked out of Barbieland for not being perfect enough and lands in a real-world adventure.

A group of JNU students clashed with private security guards on the campus on Friday during a protest demonstration over a controversial notification restricting the number of scholars a professor can guide for M.Phil and Ph.D courses.

Students of the Jawaharlal Nehru Uuniversity staged a sit-in outside the northern gate of the campus, following which some of them tried to close the gate and stopped people from entering or coming out of the varsity campus.

Security men dispersed the protesters, triggering a minor clash.

The students later continued their demonstration over the University Grants Commission (UGC) 2016 notification that restricts a professor from guiding more than three M.Phil and eight Ph.D scholars.

Actors Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan-starrer romantic comedy film Badrinath Ki Dulhania has crossed the Rs.100 crore mark at the domestic box office.

The Shashank Khaitan directorial, which released on March 10, collected Rs.100.74 crore till Thursday, read a statement issued on behalf of the makers.

Filmmaker Karan Johar, who has backed the film under his Dharma Productions banner, thanked fans for their support.

"Thank you for the abundant love," Karan wrote on Friday while re-tweeting a post by his banner's official Twitter handle announcing the news.

"Badrinath Ki Dulhania" is the fourth Bollywood film in 2017 to cross the Rs 100 crore mark after Shah Rukh Khan's "Raees" (Rs.137.51 crore), Hrithik Roshan-starrer "Kaabil" (103.84 crore) and Akshay Kumar's Jolly LLB 2, which minted Rs.116.92 crore after six weeks since its release. It is still running in theatres.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted: "‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania' joins Rs.100 crore club. Varun's third film (ABCD 2, Dilwale and Badrinath Ki Dulhania). Alia's second (2 States and Badrinath Ki Dulhania)."

It is said that the film has clicked with the audience not just because of Varun and Alia's onscreen chemistry — earlier seen in Student of The Year  and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania — but also because of its hit soundtrack. A fresh take on the popular song Tamma tamma is also part of the album.

Host Uganda has beefed up security in and around the capital Kampala where the 2017 World Cross Country athletics championships are slated to be held on March 26.

Dominic Otuchet, President of Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF), on Thursday said that with over 800 visitors coming into the country, they have ensured that security will be very tight and all teams, hotels and the track area will be guarded, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We are not taking any security issues for granted," Otuchet said noting that all teams right from arrival will have a lead security car to the hotels, training sessions and on the day of the race.

On the track at the Kololo Independence ground all is set as teams have started training ahead of the event on Sunday.

"The athletes will enjoy the track because the grass has been well maintained," said Faustino Kiwa, a member of the technical committee of UAF.

Foreign teams have started arriving in the country. Fifty nine countries and regions have entered the event which will have 553 athletes taking part. 

Ethiopia are the defending champions of the senior event, while Kenya dominated the individual event in the last championships held in China.

Indian para athletes did the country proud by claiming 13 medals in the season opening Fazaa International IPC International Athletics Grand Prix at the Dubai Club Stadium here.

The medals include five gold, three of which are won by Sundar Singh Gurjar.

Gurjar added a third gold medal in the Shot Put event T 44- 46 category with a throw of 13.36 mt. Sundar had earlier won gold in the javelin throw and discus throw in his category.

Sundar preparing intensely for World Para Athletic Championship in July in London is presently supported and sponsored by Cairn India.

The women athletes also added to the Indian gold medal tally with a gold-silver finish in the women s wheelchair Shot Put F-55 category. Karamjyoti claimed the gold with 5.76 mt followed by Shatabdti Awasthi claiming the silver a mere 5 centimeters behind.

High Jumpers Sharad Kumar and Girisha H. Nagarajgowda gave India the silver and bronze in the F13/20/42/44 category with leaps of 1.66m and 1.63 m respectively, wherein golden boy Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Bhati preferred not to compete.

Karnataka on Friday said there is no question of releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu in line with the Supreme Court's directive as the state itself is facing a shortage of drinking water.

"There is no water for drinking purposes. If we had water we could have released. We have 3-4 tmc ft shortage to provide drinking water to Bengaluru, Mysuru and surrounding villages.

Therefore, there is no question of releasing water," Water Resources Minister M B Patil said.

He was replying to a question on whether the state will release water to Tamil Nadu in the backdrop of the apex court directive.

Patil said the Karnataka government had also mentioned this before the apex court and that the state's legal team was working on the matter.

"There will not be any meeting (with the legal team) per se as of now," he said.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra had on March 21 said all interim orders of releasing 2000 cusecs of Cauvery water by Karnataka will continue to be in force till further orders.

The Supreme Court had also said it will commence, on July 11, the final hearing of the appeals filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal on sharing of water for 15 consecutive workings days.

Happily married to Mira, and loving his new real life role as a father, actor Shahid Kapoor chose to "get back" when asked about his "secret past" with actress Kareena Kapoor Khan here on Friday.

Shahid was at the India Today Woman Summit and Awards when an audience member was keen to know about his "secret past".

"I have a secret past," Shahid asked, almost puzzled.

"How do you know about it? Were you spying on me? I can't confess to my secret past," he added.

On being prodded with Kareena's name, he said: "How is that secret, madam? It's a world secret."

Later, when Shahid was asked to teach one of his dance steps to the audience, he invited the same lady who wanted him to talk about Kareena.

"The lady who said, Kareena Kapoor, I want her on the stage. See, this is Karma, life gets back. What goes around comes around and it's not just Justin Timberlake who said that… It's true for life," he quipped. 

Shahid and Kareena had one of the most talked about relationships in tinsel town in recent years, and their split courted equal media attention.

Kareena went on to marry actor-producer Saif Ali Khan, and is now a mother to their first child — a son named Taimur.

Shahid went for an arranged marriage with Delhi girl Mira, and they have daughter Misha.

In the midst of the discussion here, when the host said she won't go into his past relationships, he said: "So kind of you. Shaadi ke baad yeh sab mat kiya karo (Don't do all this after marriage)."

He spoke about love and arranged relationships.

Asked if love is a prerequisite for a marriage, Shahid said: "Of course, it is, but in an arranged marriage, it's about companionship and friendship first, and love follows."

Political parties in Haryana, Punjab are once again raising pitch over the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal water issue.

While immediately after taking oath as Punjab Chief Minister on March 19 Captain Amarinder Singh made it clear that the state has no extra water to share with others, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced to lead an all party delegation to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on March 24.

Leaders of all political parties, from Haryana have been invited by the government for a preliminary discussion at Delhi before proceeding to meet the Union Home Minister to take the SYL issue.

However, Khattar's decision of leading all party delegation has kicked political controversy with parties in opposition alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state led by Khattar has failed to fix an appointment with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi while the neighboring Punjab CM succeeded in meeting Modi on Wednesday.

Taking a dig at Khattar government, Haryana's leading opposition party the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on Thursday said that failing to get time from the Prime Minister, now the Khattar government fix an appointment with the Union Home Minister.

Leader of Opposition and senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala said, "From the very beginning INLD is fighting for Haryana's legitimate share from the SYL water while the ruling BJP always says the matter is sub judice, it is sub judice, then why the state government is fixing meeting with the Centre."

Chautala further stated that his party leaders would go to meet Rajnath Singh but not as a part of the delegation.

We would directly go to Rajnath Singh's office and raise the issue, but if nothing happen on this issue in coming days the INLD would go for indefinite agitation at Jantar-Mantar from April 6 until the digging of the SYL canal is accomplished, he added.

On the other hand, Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu refuted the INLD's claims, saying that Union Home Ministry has a vital role to play to accomplish digging of the canal.  

Recently, after joining Captain Amarinder led Congress government in Punjab, as Irrigation and Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singh has also said that their government would save the state's water.

Earlier, a political storm was witnessed in both of the states when the Supreme Court on November 10 last year, held as unconstitutional the 2004 Punjab Termination of Agreements Act passed by the Punjab State Legislative Assembly to terminate the SYL canal water sharing agreement with Haryana.

Morgan Freeman, who was on a working trip to India last year, terms his experience of being in the country "settling". The Oscar-winning screen legend says memories of the time he spent on the Ganges will forever remain with him.

"I was fascinated by India. So going there was a very settling experience. I went there for a spiritual trip more than a sight-seeing trip. So, it was a spiritual experience for me. The time I spent on the Ganges will stay with me forever," Freeman told IANS in an email interview.

The actor, who has featured in cinematic gems like "Street Smart", "Glory", "The Shawshank Redemption", "Seven" and "Bruce Almighty", came to India last year to explore "the story of god" in a documentary series. The 79-year-old is also executive producer of "Madam Secretary" — season three of which airs in India on AXN.

During his tryst with India for "The Story of God", he visited Bodh Gaya and Varanasi — cities which are of religious significance.

Asked what aspect of the country inspired him and would he ever make a film on India, Freeman said he is not sure of the second part as he didn't have much time in hand to explore the country deeply.

The 79-year-old said: "I didn't see enough of the country to make a film on it. I haven't been able to stay for so long to have a judgment on the same. However, we all are looking for great content. So, yes, will I ever make a film in India? Absolutely!"

As for "Madam Secretary", it is a political drama which stars Téa Leoni as Dr Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst who is appointed as the US Secretary of State. The show also focuses on the personal lives of the characters.

Talking about the inspiration behind the show, Freeman said: "After we sat down with the story we realised we had three strong female characters from the State Department. Initially, when we sat down with the story we thought it will be based on Hillary Clinton's life, but later we realised it's a lot more than that. The Secretary of State involves a lot of intricate things."

He got his break through the "Hello, Dolly!" musical in the 1960s. Freeman then entered the world of small screen via the 1971 TV series "The Electric Company". He earned acclamation for films like "Driving Miss Daisy" — which earned him an Oscar nomination. The honour, however, came for "Million Dollar Baby".

Freeman's filmography has varied projects like "Invictus" and commercial entertainers like Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy, "Deep Impact" and "Olympus Has Fallen".

Freeman feels working for television can turn out to be "pretty difficult".

"There are a lot of challenges when it comes to making shows. It is difficult to come up with the content as there are so many outlets. And they are growing, over the internet. So it's bit of a challenge. You need ideas and you need writers," he said.

After over 30 years in the industry, Freeman has opted for the quieter life of the small town of Clarksdale in the Mississippi Delta region, away from Hollywood.

The actor said he was raised in the Mississippi region, adding that it was "like living near nature".

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday demanded the setting up of anti-Romeo squads in Bihar for women's safety in line with neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

"Bihar government should constitute anti-Romeo squads… to deal with anti-social elements," senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi told the media here.

He said the squads should be deployed at schools, colleges, universities and busy markets for the safety of women and girls in the state.

"In view of growing number of cases of crime against women on the streets, the anti-Romeo squads are a must in Bihar," Modi said.

This is the second major demand made by the opposition in Bihar in the last 24 hours.

Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar had on Thursday demanded that illegal slaughter houses flourishing in the state should be closed and sealed in line with Uttar Pradesh.

Newly appointed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi came out with both directives just after he took charge on March 19.

A group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill in the senate that would impose tighter sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile programme.

If approved, the sanctions would affect all people involved in the programme and those with terror links to the Revolutionary Guards, Efe news reported.

The legislation would also require US President Donald Trump to block the property of any person or organisation involved in the supply, sale or transfer of arms and banned goods to or from Iran.

The proposal was introduced on Thursday by 14 senators — seven Republicans and seven Democrats — including chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Corker.

The proposal was also backed by Republicans such as former presidential hopeful and Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

According to these senators, the resolution does not interfere with the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six countries, including the US.

Tehran claims its ballistic missile programme is for defensive purposes and does not violate the nuclear agreement or the UN resolution 2231, which bans Iran from testing nuclear-capable missiles.

The 2015 nuclear deal lifted international sanctions on Iran in return for Tehran limiting its nuclear capacity and allowing supervision of its nuclear programme.

Last year, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stressed that there was no place for nuclear weapons in his country, but said Iran had the right to strengthen its defences.

In January, Iran tested a mid-range ballistic missile that exploded after traversing around 1,000 km, in a move that led to an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

Following the incident, the US imposed sanctions on 13 individuals and 12 entities linked to the programme, to which Tehran responded with reciprocal measures.