External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday exposed a concocted story of an Indian "kidnapped" in the central European nation of Serbia, saying it was a stage-managed act.

Responding to a tweet by a person named Rajeev Sharma that his brother Vinay Mahajan had been kidnapped in Serbia and the kidnappers were threatening to kill him unless paid money, Sushma Swaraj said that Mahajan had been found and was in safe custody of Serbian authorities.

However, later on Thursday evening, Sushma Swaraj tweeted that the abduction was stage-managed and she knew the whole truth of the matter.

"Rajiv – I have all the facts before me. Your brother was not abducted," she tweeted.

"He stage-managed his own abduction and the video is fake," she said.

"However, @Indiainserbia intervened and your brother has been released by Serbian Police. He is returning on 25 March."

Sushma Swaraj also retweeted a video by Sharma sent on Wednesday showing the said Mahajan allegedly being ill-treated by the so-called kidnappers.

In confusing tweets, Sharma first claimed that his brother was kidnapped in Serbia and the kidnappers were asking for money or else they would kill him.

The minister responded that Indian Ambassador to Serbia Sanjay Verma said that Mahajan had been found and was in the safe custody of Serbian authorities.

Sharma later tweeted that Mahajan had entered a refugee camp in Serbia, as guided by an agent.

Formerly a part of Yugoslavia, Serbia became an independent republic in 2006 when the Balkan country crumbled.

According to the Indian Embassy in Belgrade, there are only a handful of NRIs and persons of Indian origin (PIOs) in Serbia and there is no Indian community association there.

A majority of American voters, 56 per cent, disapprove of the Republican health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, according to a poll.

Only 17 per cent of voters approve of the plan and 26 per cent remain undecided, the Quinnipiac University poll revealed on Thursday. 

The question — "There is a Republican health care plan to replace Obamacare, known as the American Health Care Act. Do you approve or disapprove of this Republican health care plan?" — did not go into specifics of the plan.

"Replacing Obamacare will come with a price for elected representatives who vote to scrap it, say many Americans, who clearly feel their health is in peril under the Republican alternative," CNN quoted Tim Malloy, assistant director of the poll, as saying.

Most voters, 61 per cent, also disapprove of the way President Donald Trump is handling health care.

The President and Republican leaders are scrambling for a deal on landmark legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. Republicans cannot lose more than 21 members of their party and still pass the bill, since no Democrats are expected to support it.

One out of every seven Americans — 14 per cent — believes they will lose their health insurance under the Republicans' replacement plan.

The plan itself does not enjoy majority support among Republicans, with only 41 per cent backing the bill, reports CNN.

Most men, 56 per cent, disapprove of the plan as do most women, also 56 per cent. 

While more than half of white voters disapprove of the plan, even more non-white voters — 64 per cent — disapprove.

Overall, 58 per cent of independent voters disapprove of the replacement plan.

Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,056 voters nationwide from March 16 to 21. 

The US will not attend a peace conference on Afghanistan organised by Russia on April 14 in Moscow, according to US State Department sources.

The sources did not explain to EFE on Thursday the reasons why the US will not attend the conference. The conference will be attended by countries like India, Pakistan and Iran in addition to Afghanistan.

According to Sputnik news agency, the Taliban will not participate in the conference.

In February, Russia had convened a six-party meeting on peace in Afghanistan, in which India, China, Iran and Pakistan participated, in addition to delegations from Kabul and Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the time criticised the former Barack Obama administration for its position on the Afghan conflict and was convinced that he could forge closer cooperation with the Donald Trump administration.

Lavrov also stressed the importance of involving the Taliban in the dialogue for constructing peace in Afghanistan, in keeping with the criteria set out in UN Security Council resolutions, Efe news reported.

The Russian Foreign Minister and the National Security Advisor to the Afghan Presidency Mohamad Hanif Atmar met in March to prepare for the April 14 conference.

Air India on Friday blacklisted "unruly" Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad who admitted to assaulting an airline staffer "25 times" with his shoes and attempted to throw him out of the aircraft on Thursday.

An Air India official confirmed that the order "blacklisting him with immediate effect" has been issued, but the period and other details are not yet available.

A common practice among many international and some Indian private airlines for safety and security reasons, this is the first time that the national carrier has introduced such a 'blacklist' of rowdy passengers.

Ironically, the first law-breaker who figures on the Air India 'blacklist' happens to be a law-maker from Maharashtra, a former teacher with two terms as legislator and now a first-time MP from Osmanabad district.

Late Thursday, the Air India said it was "examining the possibility of creating a 'no fly' list of unruly passengers on the lines of other airlines," after lodging two separate FIRs against Gaikwad – for assaulting a shift manager and delaying a scheduled flight to Goa.

On his part, Gaikwad has shot off complaints to Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan demanding an enquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray has sought an explanation from Gaikwad for his behaviour which has caused embarrassment in ruling circles as the party is an ally both at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

Gaikwad's grouse stemmed from the fact that he was forced to travel economy class on a Pune-New Delhi flight AI-852 though he held an open business class ticket.

He later refused to disembark from the flight at New Delhi airport for an hour, hurled abuses, indulged in violent and unruly behaviour and even tried to physically fling out the staffer from the aircraft.

The Security Council is strongly condemning North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch and engine test as "grave" violations of UN sanctions that contribute to development of its nuclear weapons delivery systems.

The council said in a statement on Thursday that the launch and test "increase tension in the region and beyond as well as the risk of a regional arms race."

Wednesday's missile launch ended in failure but the North hailed Saturday's test of a new rocket engine.

Council member also expressed "serious concern" at North Korea's "increasingly destabilizing behavior and flagrant and provocative defiance of the Security Council" by launching ballistic missiles and conducting nuclear tests.

They demanded a halt to further launches and tests and urged all countries "to redouble their efforts" to fully implement sanctions against North Korea.

In a step towards verifying the efficacy of laser communications for speedier data rates for connections between spacecraft and the Earth, NASA said it is developing a trailblazing, long-term technology demonstration mission.

The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) mission, scheduled for launch in 2019, will help NASA understand the best ways to operate laser communications systems, the US space agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

They could enable much higher data rates for connections between spacecraft and the Earth, such as scientific data downlink and astronaut communications.

"LCRD is the next step in implementing NASA's vision of using optical communications for both near-Earth and deep space missions," said Steve Jurczyk, Associate Administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which leads the LCRD project. 

"This technology has the potential to revolutionize space communications, and we are excited to partner with the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate's Space Communications and Navigation program office, MIT Lincoln Labs and the U.S. Air Force on this effort," Jurczyk said.

Laser communications, also known as optical communications, encodes data onto a beam of light, which is then transmitted between spacecraft and eventually to Earth terminals. 

This technology offers data rates that are 10 to 100 times better than current radio-frequency (RF) communications systems. 

Just as important, laser communication systems can be much smaller than radio systems, allowing the spacecraft communication systems to have lower size, weight and power requirements. 

Such capability will become critically important as humans embark on long journeys to the moon, Mars and beyond.

"LCRD is designed to operate for many years and will allow NASA to learn how to optimally use this disruptive new technology," Don Cornwell of the Space Communications and Navigation programme office at NASA Headquarters said.

"We are also designing a laser terminal for the International Space Station that will use LCRD to relay data from the station to the ground at gigabit-per-second data rates," Cornwell said.

"We plan to fly this new terminal in 2021, and once tested, we hope that many other Earth-orbiting NASA missions will also fly copies of it to relay their data through LCRD to the ground," Cornwell added.

The LCRD team is led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Partners include NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory.

Even as Cabinet minister in Captain Amarinder Singh government, Navjot Singh Sidhu continues to court controversy over his appearance in a TV show and his wife's presence in official meetings, another Punjab minister Aruna Chaudhary has landed in controversy after husband was seen going through the official files in her office.

The chief minister (CM) Captain Amaridner has, however, come to the rescue of minister of state (MoS) for  higher education and school education saying he would talk to the minister over the 'reported' interference of her husband in her official functioning.

Chaudhary's husband, Ashok Chaudhary was on Wednesday seen in her office in Punjab civil secretariat sitting next to the minister's chair. Ashok was 'reportedly' making notes and rummaging through the official files on Wednesday.

In an interview to a TV channel, the CM said he was sure the minister would be able to control any such interference in the future. In response to a question during a television interview, the Chief Minister agreed that such behavior was not proper and could not be condoned.

Ashok Chaudhary is District Congress Committee president from Gurdaspur. The matter came to the light after a teacher reportedly clicked picture when the minister's husband was looking into the office files in her office. The picture had the minister in the background. The picture, clicked through cell phone, went viral on social media in the evening.

Similarly, Punjab Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who already facing a row over his participation in a TV reality show, had courted a controversy by taking his wife and former legislator Navjot Kaur on official meetings.

Questions were raised over the fact that Kaur holds no official post to accompany her minister husband on official meetings as the minister of tourism and culture and local bodies in the new Congress government.

Justifying his wife's participation, Sidhu had said, "She is my better half, my ardhangini (better half)". On her part, Kaur had justified her participation in her husband's official meetings saying she is a more experienced politician than her husband.

Minister of state (independent charge) for higher education and school education Aruna Chaudhary is three-time MLA and daughter-in-law of a four-time MLA, Jai Muni Chaudhary. She is MLA of Dina Nagar in Gurdaspur district.

President Donald Trump has given an ultimatum to Republicans to pass the American Health Care Act as he threatened to leave "Obamacare" in place and "move ahead with other priorities" after his administration failed to get enough votes for its passage.

"Disastrous #Obamacare has led to higher costs & fewer options. It will only continue to get worse! We must #RepealANDReplace. #PassTheBill," Trump said in a tweet.

In a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers, Trump warned his party colleagues to leave Obamacare in places unless they pass the legislation to repeal and replace it, according to news reports.

The message was communicated through the White House budget director Mick Mulvaney.

Mulvaney warned that if the legislation fails to pass through the Congress, Trump would move ahead with his other priorities.

"We have to have a vote on Friday. He expects it to pass, but he's moving on if for some reason, it didn't," Congressman Chris Collins from New York told reporters.

The White House said the people of the country are waiting for the political leadership to fulfill the promise they made in the election campaign.

"The American people will be counting on to fulfill their promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare by supporting this bill," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.

"This bill has truly been a collaborative effort from the beginning. Through an open and deliberative process, the President and his team have helped to negotiate a very, very strong bill," he said.

"The amendments that have been incorporated add important aspects to the bill, like removing costly essential health benefit insurance regulations; repealing Obamacare taxes immediately, starting in 2017; reforming Medicaid by allowing states to accept funding as a block grant to implement able-bodied work requirements; and blocking states from receiving enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentages if they expanded during the transition," Spicer said.

The vote to repeal and replace Obamacare was initially scheduled for yesterday night. However, in the absence of a majority, House Speaker Paul Ryan has pushed it to Friday. It could even happen on Monday.

In a meeting with truckers at the White House, Trump said Obamacare has inflected great pain on American truckers.

"Many of you were forced to buy health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges. You experienced a crippling rise in premiums, and a dramatic loss in options. And you just take a look at what's happened to the costs, and it's incredible…," he said.

Referring to the vote on the bill, he acknowledged that it was going to be very close," he said.

"It's going to be a very close vote. By the way, it's close not because Obamacare's good — it's close for politics.

They know it's no good. Everybody knows it's no good. Only, politics. We have a great bill and I think we have a very good chance. But it's only politics," he added.

England manager Gareth Southgate said that there was no question the game against Germany would be cancelled after the London "terrorist" attack as it's "part of our identity that we carry on in moments like this".

Three members of the public and a policeman were killed and 40 injured in the attack outside the British parliament when a man drove into pedestrians, then stabbed a police officer before being shot dead.

"Obviously our first thoughts are with the families of those who have lost their lives or been injured," Southgate told English broadcaster ITV from Dortmund where the friendly international took place.

"It puts football into perspective. We are conscious that part of our identity as a nation is that we carry on in moments like this." 

British police said they were treating the London attack "as a terrorist incident".

After the game, which England lost 1-0, Southgate admitted that there was some discussion over staging an act of tribute to those who died before the kick-off.

However, players and fans will get the opportunity to pay their respects when the national team play a World Cup qualifier in London on Sunday.

"I don't know all the details of the attack because the story was breaking as we travelling and preparing for the game, there was some discussion about doing something tonight, but we felt it was more appropriate to do something back home for our home game," said the 46-year-old Southgate.

"We carry on in moments like this, we don't allow people to put us off what we want to do on a daily basis and we go about our working lives. London in particular has suffered like that before.

"We wanted to put on a performance with passion and desire that reflected that, we haven't got the win we would have liked, but people can see the commitment of the players." 

The Football Association's chairman Greg Clarke confirmed a full tribute would be paid to the victims before Sunday's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Lithuania at London's Wembley.

"Our thoughts are with all of those who have been affected by this terrible incident," said Clarke in a statement.

"We will be recognising the bravery of the security services and all those involved at the England v Lithuania match on Sunday." 

Southgate said the team backed the FA's decision.

"We have left everything else to our hierarchy," said the England manager.

"In terms of any tribute, we felt that in London on Sunday was the right thing to do." 

In support for their opponents, the German Football Association (DFB) tweeted: "Dear english friends, we are with you in our thoughts. #London #DieMannschaft @England." 

With malnutrition or undernutrition accounting for nearly one third of all childhood deaths in India, it is also a major risk factor in children, especially those below the age of five, for developing tuberculosis (TB), experts have said.

Tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death globally and approximately 500,000 children are diagnosed with the disease annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.

In 2015, one million children (below 14 years) fell prey to TB, whereas 170,000 of them died worldwide.

"Undernutrition lowers the body's immunity, making it easier for the bacteria to attack an individual and makes the fight against tuberculosis more difficult," Sunil Kumar Mehendiratta, Senior Consultant and HOD (Department of Paediatrics) at Venkateshwar Hospital, Dwarka, told IANS.

"Infants and children under the age of five are probably the most vulnerable, to developing both the infection and the disease. Children harbouring latent infection are also at the risk of TB re-activation in adulthood," Mehendiratta added.

Tuberculosis is caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium that most often begins by affecting the lungs and can then spread to other body parts. On an average, 10-15 per cent of all TB patients are under the age of 14. 

As many as 81,482 cases of TB among children were detected in 2012, accounting for seven per cent of all TB cases in the country, as per a national report titled 'TB in India'. 

"There has been a steep rise in TB cases among children in India. In a month, I see nearly seven to 10 new cases. It is sad to see children below the age of five visiting OPDs with TB. The most unfortunate part is the lack of awareness, proper diagnosis and treatment in case of childhood TB," added Rahul Nagpal, Director (Department of Paediatrics) at Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, New Delhi.

Six countries account for 60 per cent of the total TB cases with India leading the count, followed by Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa, the WHO said.

In India, 39 per cent of children are stunted, 21 per cent of children are wasted, and 36 per cent of children are underweight, according to data provided by the recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 which showed how prevalent undernutrition is in India, thereby increasing the risk of TB in the country. 

Furthermore, the emergence of multi-drug resistant TB and complications aggravated by high rates of co-infection with HIV-AIDS has renewed the threat of the epidemic in the country, the doctor said.

Poverty, malnutrition, poor housing and sanitation, compounded by other risk factors such as HIV, tobacco, alcohol use and diabetes, can put people at heightened risk of TB and make it harder for them to access care.

"Contrary to perception, not just children living in slums and unhygienic conditions, even those from relatively affluent backgrounds are diagnosed with TB," Mehendiratta said.

TB patients require higher levels of energy and metabolic immunity to cope with the infection, and understandably this need is higher in children during to their growth phase.

"Diet plays a very important role in combating TB. Undernourished and malnourished children are also more susceptible to a relapse," Jamhoih (Jamie) Tonsing, Regional Director, at The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) – South-East Asia Office, a non-profit scientific organisation, told IANS.

"Fighting TB requires a diet rich in fats, vitamins, minerals and proteins. Immediate interventions should include food supplementation programmes, such as the Public Distribution System, Integrated Child Development Services and Mid-day Meal Programme which can enhance the value of foods supplied and target families who actually need them," Tonsing added.

Parents must encourage children to adopt a healthy lifestyle that can help in staying protected from the potentially dangerous bacteria and keep their immune system healthy.

Stock markets opened higher on Friday with the benchmark BSE Sensex advancing by 113 points in early trade on continued buying by investors in banking and FMCG stocks.

The 50-share Nifty of National Stock Exchange also regained 9,100 level by rising 32.80 points to 9,119.10 with 30 of index constituents making advances.

Recovery in the rupee against the dollar supported the positive sentiment in stock markets, brokers said.

After opening higher at 29,350.60 points, the Sensex rose further to 29,445.67 points in early trade, showing gains of 113.51 points or 0.39 per cent over last close.

The gauge had gained 164.48 points to settle at 29,332.16 points in the previous session.

Banking, infrastructure, metals, power, realty and FMCG stocks were trading in the positive zone.

Among major gainers, SBI, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank rose up to 2.2 per cent. ITC, Asian Paint and Wipro alsop advanced up to 1.5 per cent.

Bharti Airtel which took a beating in the last two sessions, was also trading higher by 1 per cent after reports that the teleocm giant has entered into a pact to buy Tikona Networks' 4G spectrum.

Brokers said increased buying by investors and funds amid a firming trend in Asian bourses as investors await a delayed vote on US healthcare reform, which is seen as a proxy for the success of Donald Trump's pro-growth agenda, influenced the sentiment.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.31 per cent and Shanghai Composite gained 0.03 per cent in early trade today. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.99 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, ended 0.02 per cent lower on Thursday.

In a late night development, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) on Thursday urged all resident medicos to call off their four-day-long mass CL agitation immediately.

The MARD said the Bombay High Court had taken a very sympathetic view of the doctors concerns about physical security and related issues, which it would monitor every 15 days.

In view of the same and high court orders, MARD requested all doctors to resume work immediately, MARD President Yashowardhan Kabra said in a statement.

Hospitals expect doctors to resume normal duties from Friday morning.

Earlier in the day, the high court directed the government and hospital administrations to provide at least 500 security guards in these state hospitals, including four in Mumbai, by April 5 and the remaining 600 by April 15.

The court said it will monitor the issue of security of medicos at their workplaces at regular intervals and posted the public interest litigation for hearing after a fortnight.

"We are awaiting a certified copy of the court orders; we will decide when to resume duties after studying it," a member of the MARD had said.

Both MARD and Indian Medical Association (IMA) welcomed the high court ruling but pointed out that the ground realities have not yet changed.

"The court has directed to provide security in all hospitals by April 5. But attacks on doctors have not yet stopped, with at least three assaults reported in the past 24 hours," IMA Secretary Parthiv Sanghvi said.

The high court asked authorities to permit only two relatives per patient inside the hospital and said the government should deploy security at various hospitals as assured.

MARD, whose around 4,000 members were on mass casual leave since Monday in all public hospitals, also filed an affidavit to say the resident doctors were prepared to work but the government and hospital administrations should assure them of safety and security.

Making his first comments on the issue, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had on Thursday appealed to all doctors and organisations like MARD and IMA to withdraw their protest and assured better security and law enforcement.

Around 40,000 members of the Indian Medical Association working in private hospitals or as general practitioners also joined the protest since Wednesday evening. Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and other places also went on token strikes to express solidarity.

A general practitioner, Dr Gaurav Borde, said IMA activists came and forced him to shut down his clinic in Powai on Thursday morning, with similar reports coming in from other parts of Mumbai and rest of the state.

"I fully support the doctors' agitation, but feel they should not hold thousands of poor patients to ransom. Many doctors feel they should work out a solution across the table," Borde had said.

Since Wednesday, hospital administrations have served show cause or suspension orders to more than 2,000 resident doctors, with more severe action expected.

Is F1 more about the car? Or is it the driver that makes the difference? A never-ending debate, but one thing is certain: F1 drivers are stars, all.

But who are the stars that will shine brightest? The statesman.com takes a look at the seven drivers who will leave an indelible mark in the upcoming season:

Lewis Hamilton: The Favourite
Hamilton’s dominance of the sport came to an end last year, when then-teammate Nico Rosberg stormed to the 2016 title and then, in a stunning statement, announced his immediate retirement. So while Hamilton may not admit it, he will certainly miss having the German pushing him to the limit in every race. His new teammate Valterri Bottas is nowhere near Rosberg’s calibre yet, and with a car that has not set the track on fire in testing, can we see Hamilton (And Mercedes’) dominance come to an end in 2017?

While we most certainly won’t see him coasting to the title, he remains the No. 1 contender and will surely be among the top three in the leaderboard at the end of the season.

Sebastian Vettel: The Contender

Ferrari have been the standout team in testing, with a car finally worthy of their rich history. In Vettel they have the perfect driver to win their first championship since 2007 (Coincidentally won by current teammate Kimi Raikkonen). The four-time world champion is hungry again after a testing period in which success eluded him. So will Ferrari’s rise from the ashes coincide with Vettel’s? 

Pre-season strongly suggests that the Prancing Horse may be back in business and Vettel is the favourite to lead the charge.

Daniel Ricciardo: Dark Horse 

The first-part of the strongest driver line-up in F1 this year, Ricciardo has to continue where he left off last year. Finishing behind the Mercedes duo of Hamilton-Rosberg, the Australian driver will be looking to make a strong start at the season-opener in Albert Park. He will be tested by the up-and-coming Verstappen and their personal battles against the backdrop of the driver’s ranking will be intriguing to watch. A car that Chrsitan Horner himself has given a thumbs up to, there can be no excuses for Ricciardo this year. 

Max Verstappen: Unbridled Talent

F1 rising star, Verstappen took full advantage of a surprising mid-season promotion from Red Bull’s feeder team Toro Rosso, last year.  He repaid his employers faith in him with some sterling drivers, not least a win on his debut (Spanish GP). So at 19, is he ready to become first-ever teenage F1 champion?
Well, that may be just beyond his reach for the moment, but expect him to consistently push the front-runners in every race. He will be wary of Daniil Kvyat's (the man he replaced at Red Bull) example that over-aggression can backfire in the premier motorsport competition that is F1.

Sergio Perez: Forgotten Prodigy
Big things were predicted for Sergio Perez when he made the shift from Sauber to McLaren. But things haven't gone exactly as planned since then for F1’s sole Mexican driver. At Force India, he looks settled and was comfortably ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg in the 2016 drivers rankings. Force India’s car for 2017, however, does seem to be having a few issues so it would be safe to expect Perez to start shining somewhere around the European leg of the 2017 season and not before. 

Fernando Alonso: Deposed Emperor

The vast majority of F1 pundits and ex-driver have written of McLaren and Alonso before the season has already begun. It is difficult to blame them after reliability issues dogged them and the talented Spaniard throughout the 2016 season, when most felt that if Alonso and Button (his 2016 teammate) finished the race, it would be an achievement in itself.

The Honda engine is notoriously fickle and a painful 2017 season seems to be on horizon for the double world champion. 

Daniil Kvyat: Dangerous Castaway 

Most drivers would have crumbled after being unceremoniously being shunted by the parent to the feeder team, but Daniil Kvyat is no ordinary driver. He  arguably performed even better with Toro Rosso than he had been with Red Bull.
So with an eye on winning his seat with them back, expect Kvyat to break into the top-10 without breaking much of a sweat in 2017. His individual battles with teammate Carlos Sainz will bear watching as the season progresses, as both Red Bull proteges will be looking to outscore the other week in-week out. 

A new era for Formula One cars got under way without much change in the status quo, with Lewis Hamilton posting the fastest time in his Mercedes in the first practice session of the opening Grand Prix weekend of the season.

Hamilton's quickest lap of 1 minute, 24.220 seconds on Friday was nearly six-tenths of a second – 0.0583 seconds – faster than new Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The two Mercedes cars were followed by the two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo, 0.666 behind, and Max Verstapen in third and fourth and the two Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen in fifth and Sebastian Vettel, who only did 10 laps and was 1.244 off the pace.

The new regulations for 2017 allowed for wider tires with more grip and durability, greater aerodynamics, bigger fuel loads and increased downforce.

The first practice session supported expectations that the cars will be significantly quicker this year.

Williams rookie Lance Stroll set the first time of the season, the 18-year-old Canadian momentarily on top of the time sheets after his first flying lap in an F1 Grand Prix event before ending the first session in 13th.

His teammate Felipe Massa, here after an aborted retirement, was seventh quickest and was 1.922 behind Hamilton.

Sergio Perez launched the new pink livery for Force India, and posted the 10th fastest time, 2.056 off the pace.

McLaren had a poor session, with former world champion Fernando Alonso almost three seconds back in 14th place and Stoffel Vandoorne slowest of all 20 cars.

The second practice session was set for later Friday, with a third practice Saturday morning before qualifying in the afternoon for Sunday's GP.

Hamilton, who won back-to-back world championships in 2014 and '15 and narrowly lost to now retired teammate Nico Rosberg last season, completed 22 laps and tested three tires, the soft, super-soft and ultra-soft Pirellis.

Argentina’s talisman, Lionel Messi, once again came to the for his country in a crunch FIFA World Cup qualifier against Chile on Thursday, converting a 16th minute penalty to see the Allbiceleste run out 1-0 winners and move up to third in the South American zone in the process.

Sergio Aguero came into the side for the injured Paulo Dybala and with Angel Di Maria, Messi and Gonzalo Higuain all starting as well, it looked like the home side would simply shootout their opponents on the night.

It wasn’t to be as the game turned out to be a low-scoring one and after a nervy opening, the hosts took the lead via a spot-kick which was awarded when Angel di Maria was tripped in the penalty area. Messi stepped up and sent ex-Barcelona teammate Claudio Bravo the wrong way to go someway towards assuaging the pain of their heartbreakingg 2015 Copa America final loss to Chile.

Chile had the likes of Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sanchez on the pitch but it was all one-way traffic at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, with the hosts guilty of missing a few gilt-edged chances in the first half.

Nicolas Otamendi had a perfect opportunity to double his side’s lead a minute before half-time but after a deflection from a di Maria free kick had fell his way with the goal at his mercy but he somehow managed to lift his shot over the bar.

While on paper Argentina had the edge in attack, without the mercurial Dybala they seemed to be missing a spark and Chile almost made them pay in the 64th minute when Sanchez’s free kick cannoned off the post with Sergio Romero stranded in no-man’s land.

Chile started to apply pressure as they seemed to equalise and Sanchez got another shot at a free kick in the 77th minute but this time it went horribly over and after that the hosts managed to hold out for a vital win.

Sanchez and co slip out of the qualifying spots into 6th place with the loss but the fact remains that barring first-placed Brazil, the gap between the teams isn't much as Argentina in third place are just two points ahead of Chile.

Messi and co. next travel to Boliva on the 28th of March and will be seeking to build on their win over Chile, who host Venezuela on the same day, a game they are expected to win without much fuss.

‘Great vision without great people is irrelevant”, wrote Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great. Extending this backward, even an ordinary vision without good people is not possible. It does not matter if the company were to be a manufacturing or a service organisation, large corporate or a small firm as people in the workforce matters the most.
You may wonder whether people will be needed as we go forward and evolve more as a society. Even in today’s era of increased automation, we are required to perform their roles to transform an idea into a reality. Despite increasing accent on self-service, there is an ever-increasing demand for service quality levels, for which you need people. 
Most large companies in advanced economies depend on hordes of executives in Indian& Filipino BPOs and KPOs to service the needs of their customers. This is not going to change anytime soon.

So, if people are the key, how do we ensure that they are attracted to join our company, stay and become productive. This is the role of the HR team in any organisation. They help plan and recruit talent, on-board and induct them, train and make them productive, engage with them so that they are retained, undertake performance appraisals to give increments, promote and figure out improvement areas and finally off-board them, once they quit or retire. They are involved in the full chain of talent acquisition and management. 

Properly structured HR policies allow employees to understand what rules are in place in their organisation. What they are permitted to do and what they may not do, becomes absolutely clear. Their rights, responsibilities as well as accountabilities become transparent. Roles and rules become clear and everyone comes to know of the consequences of breaking rules. More importantly, expectations are clearly set by such policies for both the employer and the employee and between the employee and his / her supervisor. This ensures that there is low dissonance in the system.
One of the significant pain points that any organisation goes through is attrition. India is a land of plenty and a land of poverty when it comes to entry-level roles. Millions graduate every year, but very few are ready to actually be deployed at work. Even those who have the aptitude don’t prefer “tough” jobs they all aspire to “key-banging” in an air-conditioned room to any other job. 

Assuming some do get attracted and the organisation spends time and effort to skill them to play a role, they move out quickly. Gone are the days when employees joined a company for life. The millenials jump for as low as Rs 500 month increment and even worse they jump once they get bored with their work routine. 

Organisations have tried to bring in policy changes that added job rotation, retention bonuses, and sabbaticals for further education among a long list.

Most organisations strongly believe in gender equality and encourage equal opportunity. They do this diligently at the time of hiring and bring on women in large numbers, if not matching numbers to men in roles.

Every aspect of HR, across the talent acquisition and management cycle, can be looked at in similar fashion and policies framed to cater to an Indian employee who has changed dramatically. He/she is better informed, has more opportunities, is extremely ambitious, perhaps a bit less committed, is ready to quit without another job in hand. Such policies that also evolve with time, is sure to help an organisation overcome those specific issues that prevent them from growing. 

The writer is Managing Director, C&K Management LTD,

‘Great vision without great people is irrelevant”, wrote Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great. Extending this backward, even an ordinary vision without good people is not possible. It does not matter if the company were to be a manufacturing or a service organisation, large corporate or a small firm as people in the workforce matters the most.
You may wonder whether people will be needed as we go forward and evolve more as a society. Even in today’s era of increased automation, we are required to perform their roles to transform an idea into a reality. Despite increasing accent on self-service, there is an ever-increasing demand for service quality levels, for which you need people. 
Most large companies in advanced economies depend on hordes of executives in Indian& Filipino BPOs and KPOs to service the needs of their customers. This is not going to change anytime soon.

So, if people are the key, how do we ensure that they are attracted to join our company, stay and become productive. This is the role of the HR team in any organisation. They help plan and recruit talent, on-board and induct them, train and make them productive, engage with them so that they are retained, undertake performance appraisals to give increments, promote and figure out improvement areas and finally off-board them, once they quit or retire. They are involved in the full chain of talent acquisition and management. 

Properly structured HR policies allow employees to understand what rules are in place in their organisation. What they are permitted to do and what they may not do, becomes absolutely clear. Their rights, responsibilities as well as accountabilities become transparent. Roles and rules become clear and everyone comes to know of the consequences of breaking rules. More importantly, expectations are clearly set by such policies for both the employer and the employee and between the employee and his / her supervisor. This ensures that there is low dissonance in the system.
One of the significant pain points that any organisation goes through is attrition. India is a land of plenty and a land of poverty when it comes to entry-level roles. Millions graduate every year, but very few are ready to actually be deployed at work. Even those who have the aptitude don’t prefer “tough” jobs they all aspire to “key-banging” in an air-conditioned room to any other job. 

Assuming some do get attracted and the organisation spends time and effort to skill them to play a role, they move out quickly. Gone are the days when employees joined a company for life. The millenials jump for as low as Rs 500 month increment and even worse they jump once they get bored with their work routine. 

Organisations have tried to bring in policy changes that added job rotation, retention bonuses, and sabbaticals for further education among a long list.

Most organisations strongly believe in gender equality and encourage equal opportunity. They do this diligently at the time of hiring and bring on women in large numbers, if not matching numbers to men in roles.

Every aspect of HR, across the talent acquisition and management cycle, can be looked at in similar fashion and policies framed to cater to an Indian employee who has changed dramatically. He/she is better informed, has more opportunities, is extremely ambitious, perhaps a bit less committed, is ready to quit without another job in hand. Such policies that also evolve with time, is sure to help an organisation overcome those specific issues that prevent them from growing. 

The writer is Managing Director, C&K Management LTD,