Amid lower opening of European markets, Indian bourses gave up some gains and closed Friday’s trading session marginally higher with Bank stocks leading the rally.

The BSE Sensex closed 89 points or 0.30 per cent higher at 29,421 and the NSE Nifty ended 22 points or 0.24 per cent up at 9,108.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap index slipped 0.1 per cent while BSE Smallcap index jumped 0.4 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Bankex index registered the biggest gain with a jump of 1.2 per cent. IT and Teck indices declined 0.8 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.

Bank of Baroda (up 4.3 per cent), Punjab National Bank (up 4.1 per cent), ICICI Bank (up 2.9 per cent) and SBI (up 2.8 per cent) were the notable gainers in the banking space.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: ICICI Bank (up 3.3 per cent), SBI (up 2.6 per cent), ITC (up 1 per cent), Reliance Industries (up 0.8 per cent) and Coal India (up 0.8 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Infosys (down 1.4 per cent), TCS (down 1.2 per cent), Lupin (down 0.9 per cent), Bajaj Auto (down 0.9 per cent) and ONGC (down 0.8 per cent).

All the Asian markets traded in the positive zone. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.9 per cent, Singapore’s Straits Times Index jumped 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increased 0.1 per cent, Korea’s KOSPI jumped slipped 0.2 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.6 per cent.

European markets were trading with declines, CAC 40, FTSE 100 and DAX indices lost between 0.1-0.3 per cent.

Back home, the Rupee was trading 16 paise higher at 65.41 against the US Dollar.

Under constant pressure from its ally Shiv Sena, the BJP in Maharashtra is mulling the option of a snap poll as many in the party believed the situation was conducive to secure a majority on its own.

A meeting of the state BJP's core committee here last evening dwelt on a set of possible scenarios including the interim polls.

The current assembly has its term till mid-2019.

"The meeting discussed political situation in case Sena is'nt a part of the ruling dispensation," a BJP source said.

The feasibility of going for snap polls was discussed, the source told PTI.

There was unanimity over acting against the Sena's "nuisance", including the negative comments in that party's mouthpiece 'Saamana', the source said.

Its stellar performance in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarkhand assembly polls and the impressive showing in civic polls across Maharashtra have emboldened the BJP in the state.

There was also a discussion on weaning some MLAs away from other parties and getting them re-elected on BJP symbol, the source said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was among the leaders who attended the meeting, held at the official residence of Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil.

In 2014 assembly polls, the BJP and the Shiv Sena had contested the polls separately. The BJP, which emerged as the single largest party, then formed a minority government with outside support of the NCP.

Within a few months, Sena returned to the saffron alliance but failed to get the plum portfolios it wished for.

Despite being an ally of the BJP in Maharashtra and at the Centre, Sena kept up its stinging attack on the government's policies and even taunted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Sena-BJP relations took a worse turn in recent civic polls, which they fought separately, taking tenaciously on each other.

The BJP, under the leadership of Fadnavis, shook the Sena citadels including its heartland Mumbai in the civic polls.

However, after the elections, the BJP beat a tactical retreat in Mumbai allowing the Sena nominee to be elected as the Mayor of the metropolis.

The Telangana Government will take steps to get the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast accused Swami Aseemanand's bail "cancelled", the Legislative Assembly was told on Friday.

The MIM (Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen) floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi raised the matter through a Point during Zero Hour in the House.

The court of the Fourth Metropolitan Sessions Judge here yesterday granted bail to Aseemanand and Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharat Bhai, a co-accused in the case.

In his reply, Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy said, "Whatever question raised by the member Akbaruddin Owaisi is a valid question. Definitely, an inquiry will be conducted on how he (Aseemanand) got bail. Efforts will be made to get the bail cancelled. We will ensure justice is done." 

The MIM MLA demanded that the TRS government should "pressurise" the NIA (National Investigation Agency), which is probing the case, to ensure that the bail granted to the right-wing activist, Swami Aseemanand gets cancelled.

"The cases were registered and Hindutva members were arrested after the CBI inquiry. However, Swami Aseemanand was granted bail by a court. I appeal to the government to put pressure on NIA and they should be told that whoever has got bail in the (Mecca Masjid bomb blasts case)…their bails get cancelled," Owaisi said.

Alleging that Aseemanand is a "Deshatgard" (terrorist), Owaisi said that terrorists have no religion.

"Whether it is Osama Bin Laden or Aseemanand, terrorists should be dealt with sternly. I am hopeful that the government will prevail upon and pressurise the NIA to get the bail to Aseemanand cancelled and he, along with others, is sent back to jail," the MLA said.

Swami Aseemanand, whose real name is Naba Kumar Sarkar, was arrested on November 19, 2010, from Haridwar in connection with the blast at the Mecca Masjid here on May 18, 2007, which had killed nine persons.

On March 8 this year, Aseemanand and six others were acquitted in the 2007 Ajmer blast case by a court in Jaipur.

He was then brought from Jaipur and lodged in a prison here.

Owaisi also demanded that the government should make public the Bhaskar Rao Committee Report on the Mecca Masjid blast and subsequent events.

While granting the bail, the court had asked Aseemanand not to leave Hyderabad without court's permission and remain present for the trial when required.

However, whether NIA will challenge the bail or otherwise is not known.

In view of the rising demand, Indian Railway’s Una in Himachal Pradesh, is once again for the second consecutive year, the starting point for a special tourist train under it’s ‘Bharat Dharshan’ itinerary.

The tourist package of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) ‘Gangasagar Puri Darshan Yatra’ NZBD193 is scheduled to start from Una in HP on April 18 and will cover various religious destinations that include Varanasi, Gaya, Gangasagar, Puri, Bhubneshwar, Konark and Jasidih.

Originating and ending at Una, has boarding and de-boarding points at Una, Nangal dam, Anandpur Sahib, Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Delhi cantt, Rewari, Jaipaur, Bharatpur, Agra fort, Kanpur, Lucknow.

The journey by sleeper class train is offering the budget-friendly package for pilgrims at a tariff of Rs.10,465 (including service tax) per adult for 12 days and 11 nights.

The special train will have 9 coaches facilitating 70 passengers per coach.

have extended its rail line to Una with a broad gauge line only a few years ago.

IRCTC, Chandigarh chief regional manager Gulshan said, “The package ‘GangaSagar Puri Darshan Yatra’ is part of the railways mass tourism package for the year 2017. This is for the second time we have Una as the origin and ending point, first having been introduced last year. Last year’s tourist circuit ‘7 Jyotirling Yatra’ had different religious sites.”

He further said that the origin point from Una has been selected in view of the growing demand.

IRCTC had introduced such tourism packages since almost a decade which includes train journey, road transportation for site seeing at various locations, accommodation and on-board and off board meals, he added.

This year IRCTC has rolled out 13 special tourist trains under the IRCTC’s Bharat Darshan for various religious and tourist circuits.

‘Bharat Darshan’ Special Tourist Train, of IRCTC is one of the most affordable all inclusive tour package, covering all the important tourist places in the country.

The bookings of the Bharat Darshan Special Tourist Trains have already started and is available on the IRCTC offical website and also can be done through the railways tourist facilitation centre, zonal offices and regional offices across the country, he said.

The CPI-M on Friday said the crackdown on slaughter houses in Uttar Pradesh will affect the livelihood of 25 lakh people and urged the Modi government to protect minorities' rights.

"In the name of closing down illegal slaughter houses, the UP government is targeting all slaughter houses on the specious plea of controlling illegal trade of cow meat. There have been instances of widespread attacks on meat shops in various parts of the state," said the CPI-M. 

The Communist Party of India-Marxist said the "atrocious attacks" had been mounted on the minority community since Adityanath Yogi became the Chief Minister. 

"It may be noted that Uttar Pradesh accounts for nearly 50 per cent of India's total meat exports and such a policy will affect the livelihood of 25 lakh people directly or indirectly," it said. 

"Moreover, all sections involved in the production and sale of meat all over the state are being targeted and at times subjected to physical assault. 

"The CPI-M calls upon the central government to ensure the protection of the constitutional guarantees for religious minorities and prevail upon the BJP state government to desist from following such a disastrous course," it added. 

As many as 5,000 additional post- graduate (PG) seats have been created in medical institutions in the country and the budget allocation for the health sector in the coming fiscal has been increased by 28 per cent, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Health Minister J P Nadda said the government has taken a number of steps to improve the health sector in the country including creation of 5,000 additional PG seats in medical institutions.

"There has been 27.7 per cent more allocation to the health sector in the 2017-18 budget. We are also planning to allocate 2.5 per cent of the GDP to the health sector in phase-wise," he said during Question Hour.

However, many state governments have returned the funds earmarked for the health sector as they have not been able to spend them, he said.

The Minister said the Centre has been offering help to the states to improve infrastructure and institutions in the health sector besides providing financial support, but the states have to spend the funds properly and submit the utilisation certificates.

The state governments have to take initiatives for appointing enough doctors in the rural areas for which the central government will provide the financial support.

Responding to another question, the Minister said there was no specific norm for performing surgeries. However, in emergency cases, such surgeries are performed immediately on priority in central government hospitals and institutions.

Nadda said the number of patients visiting central government hospitals and institutions, including the AIIMS here, for surgery and treatment was much larger compared to their handling capacity in terms of number of beds, manpower and other resources.

"Despite availability of huge infrastructure and other services in these hospitals, there is a waiting period for certain procedures due to the ever-increasing pressure on infrastructure and available manpower in these hospitals which varies from department to department in these hospitals," he said.

State Bank of India (SBI) has made an announcement that the admit card 2017 for the candidates applied for SBI PO 2017 examination will be released on the official website www.sbi.co.in. 

As per the updates, SBI Probationary Officers (PO) exam 2017 will take place on April 29, April 30, May 6 and May 7, 2017 at different examination centers.

Just next to the declaration of SBI PO admit card 2017 candidates are advise to visit the official website www.sbi.co.in and fill the blank space with the required information including roll number, date of birth and other details to download the admit card.

Candidates are advised to download the SBI PO admit card and do carry a print out at the time of examination.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday 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.

“I will along with medical education minister Girish Mahajan and public health minister Deepak Sawant will again request them to call off the strike immediately as the government has accepted all demands,” he said.

“Even after that, if they do not resume the duty, the state government will initiate legal action against them,” he added.

With the doctors not returning to work, functioning of the OPDs and general wards in the government and the civic hospitals are severely affected on Friday as well.

Reports suggested that the resident doctors in Maharashtra are yet to resume work despite an appeal by an association representing them to join duty and intervention of the Bombay High Court.

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

"Those doctors who don't return to work by 8 pm on Wednesday will lose 6 months' salary," state Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan had said.

The Bombay High Court had on Thursday asked the agitating doctors to resume duties and urged them give some time to the government to provide them proper security.

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

Medical services in 17 government hospitals in Maharashtra, including four in Mumbai, were severely affected because of the strike.

Thousands of patients have been deprived of medical care in the wake of the protest across the state.

In what promises to be an event aimed at lending a platform to women, the focus of an upcoming summit here is on women at work, achievers, women in public life, parliamentarians, CEOs, entrepreneurs, artists and culturists.

"She Leads India," brought together by SheThePeople.TV and UN Women India aspires to uplift the dialogue on women achievers and the role of innovation and technology to lead to more meaningful and transformational outcomes for women.

With powerful and moving speakers from India and rest of the world, She Leads India will be an action packed summit.

"UN Women is delighted to support She Leads, a conference that brings together women at the forefront across spheres, who have consistently broken barriers to be change makers," said Nishtha Satyam, Head, Strategic Partnerships, Policy Impact (M&E) and Public Relations UN Women Office for India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The UN Women Multi-Country Office in India covers four countries including India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Some prominent speakers participating in the conference include: Aruna Sundararajan (Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), Ramesh Abhishek (Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Ministry of Commerce and Industry), Deepa Malik (First Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympics Games) and Radhika Vaz (Well-known Comedian).

Scheduled to take place on March 30, the summit will be held at The Lalit Hotel here.

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union government to deposit more than 190 files in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The Centre had on February 21 filed a status report on the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases and had submitted it in the Supreme Court.

The report was submitted after the apex court had asked the Centre to file a comprehensive report on the status of the probe conducted by the SIT.

The Union Home Ministry had set up a three-member SIT in February this year to re-investigate the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases mainly in Delhi and other states.

Potato farmers came out on the streets in Bulandshahr on Thursday and spilled the potatoes on the road, demanding adequate price of their produce from the government. After the bumper crop of potatoes, the farmers are forced to sell these at a fairly low price.

The bumper crop of potatoes in the region instead of bringing prosperity to the farmers have added to their woes. The cold storages are all full and the farmers are finding no way out but to sell them at a low price.

Perturbed by this situation farmers came out on the streets of Bulandshahr​ on Thursday and flooded the main crossing of the city with potatoes.BKU district president Bishan Singh Sirohi  also came out in support and spearheaded the protest. The angry farmers marched towards the DM office demanding his intervention against the attitude of the cold storage owners who are taking advantage of the situation

The farmers are forced to sell potatoes at a price of Rs 1 to 1.50 per kg which is not even covering their expenses  but they are at a huge loss, said Singh adding that where do they go when cold storage owners are also refusing to store produce of farmers. 

The farmers are  demanding to fix a minimum price to procure potatoes so that they  could get a reasonable price of their produce.

The farmers have grown potatoes on more than 10 thousand hectares of land in the District with a produce of 250-300 quintals per hectare.

Meanwhile taking cognisance in the matter. District Magistrate Aunjney Kumar Singh has asked the horticulture officer to submit a report on the methodology of cold storages and directed the district agriculture officer for proper monitoring of the procurement of potatoes in the district.

While the doctors across the country have been raising the issue of attacks on them, another such incident was reported in Bulandshahr. Here a private doctor was beaten up by enraged family members after the death of a female patient during operation on Thursday.

A case has  been lodged  by the family members of the deceased in Nagar Kotwali against the accused doctor, blaming him  for the death.

While the police has started investigation in the case, District Magistrate of Bulandshahr, Aunjney Kumar Singh, has ordered for a probe to  chief medical officer . "I have asked the police and the CMO to take appropriate action after investigating the case,  the DM said. 

Meanwhile, the video of the incident went viral on social media in which angry family members were seen beating doctors outside the hospital.

The incident occurred on Thursday evening after the death of  Jyoti (26)of Bhood area of the city during operation of stone in her addomen  in a private hospital. The family members blamed that her condition deteriorated immediately after the injection was given to her by the doctor . Later, she was declared dead which irked the   family members who are blaming the doctor  for her death .

 In a fit of rage the family members and relatives thrashed the doctor and a video of this incident was also uploaded on social media.

The incident of attack on a doctor took place when the doctors across the country have been raising their voices against attack on them and the Union health minister JP Nadda has also taken  ognisance on this issue. 

Air India (AI) and the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) on Friday have banned Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad from flying with ‘immediate effect’, day after he assaulted an AI staffer.

“Air India and FIA member airlines have decided to ban this Member of Parliament from flying on all our flights with immediate effect. We believe that exemplary action should be taken in such incidents to protect employee morale and public safety,” FIA Associate Director Ujjwal Dey said.

Gaikwad's return ticket from Delhi to Pune on Thursday was cancelled, according to reports.

The FIA, which has Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir as it members, has taken the strong action in view of the incident.

Gaikwad, when asked about the brazen assault on the staffer that broke the victim’s spectacles, refused to owe any apology to the victim but challenged the Delhi Police to ‘arrest’ him.

"I will not apologise, he (Air India staff) must come to me and apologise. I dare the Delhi Police to arrest me," Gaiwad was quoted as saying to a news agency.

The AI staffer also accused the Shiv Sena MP of using 'bad words' and 'humiliating' him in front of his crew.

"R Gaikwad hit me, he used bad words and not only did he broke my spectacles but humiliated me in front of the whole crew," the victim said on Thursday.

According to reports, the tussle between the MP and the onboard staffer broke out due to seat issue. He was denied a business class seat.

"I had paid for a business class ticket. I have complained several times but no action has been taken. So, this time I lost my cool,” he added.

Air India (AI) and the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) on Friday have banned Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad from flying with ‘immediate effect’, day after he assaulted an AI staffer.

“Air India and FIA member airlines have decided to ban this Member of Parliament from flying on all our flights with immediate effect. We believe that exemplary action should be taken in such incidents to protect employee morale and public safety,” FIA Associate Director Ujjwal Dey said.

Gaikwad's return ticket from Delhi to Pune on Thursday was cancelled, according to reports.

The FIA, which has Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir as it members, has taken the strong action in view of the incident.

Gaikwad, when asked about the brazen assault on the staffer that broke the victim’s spectacles, refused to owe any apology to the victim but challenged the Delhi Police to ‘arrest’ him.

"I will not apologise, he (Air India staff) must come to me and apologise. I dare the Delhi Police to arrest me," Gaiwad was quoted as saying to a news agency.

The AI staffer also accused the Shiv Sena MP of using 'bad words' and 'humiliating' him in front of his crew.

"R Gaikwad hit me, he used bad words and not only did he broke my spectacles but humiliated me in front of the whole crew," the victim said on Thursday.

According to reports, the tussle between the MP and the onboard staffer broke out due to seat issue. He was denied a business class seat.

"I had paid for a business class ticket. I have complained several times but no action has been taken. So, this time I lost my cool,” he added.

Samajwadi Party (SP) patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Prateek and daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav on Friday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow.

The meeting took place in the VVIP guest house, where Adityanath has been staying since he took oath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The meeting, which lasted for 30 minutes, was a ‘courtesy call’, said SP leaders.

Aparna, who contested on an SP ticket from Lucknow Cantt, lost to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rita Bahuguna Joshi in the assembly elections.

The BJP won a massive 325 seats of the 403 assembly seats, the SP-Congress alliance managed to bag just 54 seats.

Last year, Aparna’s selfie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a family function, went viral on social media. She also praised Modi’s work.

China registers around 900,000 new cases of tuberculosis every year and remains among the 30 countries with the highest incidence of the disease, despite a decline in cases since 2011, health authorities said here on Friday.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission said that by the end of 2016, 65 out of every 100,000 people were infected with tuberculosis, a figure that experts consider high despite having dropped by 14 per cent in the last six years, the China Daily reported Friday.

"China also plans to intensify research in the prevention and control of TB in the next few years," the commission said, adding that "a focus will be on research in preventive and curable vaccines for the disease."

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. It usually affects the lungs but can occur anywhere in the body.

The country's western regions are the most affected by the disease, with Xinjiang, in the northwest, leading the list with 184.5 infected per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015.

China's First Lady Peng Liyuan visited a high school in Tianjin city on Thursday to raise awareness about the prevention of TB.

Peng, a World Health Organization (WHO) goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, joined a class meeting about fighting the disease, and looked over an exhibition of students' work promoting prevention.

According to the WHO, 10.4 million people fell ill with TB in 2015 and 1.8 million died.

Eradicating TB by 2030 is one of the UN's sustainable development goals, an initiative that WHO supports under the umbrella of its End TB Strategy.