The Union cabinet has approved setting up of National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes replacing the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a cabinet meeting on Wednesday and approved amending the Constitution and inserting Article 338B for setting up the new Commission. 

The bill to be introduced in Parliament proposes: 

Insertion of a new Clause (26C) under Article 366 to define Socially and Educationally Backward Classes;

Insertion of provision after Articles 341 and 342 viz. 342 A to provide for Parliament's approval for every inclusion into and exclusion from the Central List of Other Backward Classes;

Repeal of National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993, and Rules framed thereunder;

Dissolution of the Commission constituted under the Act of 1993;

Composition of the new Commission, i.e. National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, with a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and three other Members.

Set up in 1993, the NCBC was entrusted with examining requests for inclusion of any class of citizens as a backward class in the lists and hear complaints of over-inclusion or under-inclusion of any backward class in such lists and advice central government on the matter.

A new vaccine that is cheap to make and does not require refrigeration has shown promise in preventing rotavirus, a contagious and fatal disease that disproportionately strikes children in Africa, researchers have said.

A trial in Niger found that the new vaccine was almost 67 per cent effective in preventing gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus, which is the most common cause of severe diarrheal disease in the world.

More than 500,000 children die each year from dehydration and complications of rotavirus, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

There are already two vaccines on the market against rotavirus, but they require refrigeration and can be costly.

“This trial brings a vaccine which is adapted to African settings to those who need it most,” said Sheila Isanaka, assistant professor of nutrition at Harvard University and co-author of the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“When the vaccine becomes widely available in Africa, it will help protect millions of the most vulnerable children.”

The vaccine, called BRV-PV, is manufactured by Serum Institute of India.

The randomized, controlled trial involved 3,508 healthy infants who received three doses of the vaccine or placebo at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age.

About a month after the final dose, far fewer children who had been vaccinated showed signs of diarrhea, vomiting and stomach distress from rotavirus.

“At 28 days after the third dose of vaccine or placebo, severe rotavirus gastroenteritis had been reported in 31 infants in the vaccine group and in 87 in the placebo group,” said the study.

The new vaccine's efficacy of 67 percent was higher than the RotaTeq vaccine, which was 39.3 percent effective according to a previous trial.

A similar trial in South Africa and Malawi found the efficacy of the Rotarix vaccine was 61.2 percent, according to background information in the article.

The BRV-PV vaccine has been licensed in India. It is awaiting prequalification by the World Health Organization before it can be purchased by the United Nations and government agencies.

Although 27 children in the vaccine part of the study died, along with 22 in the placebo group, researchers said their deaths were unrelated to the vaccine.

The “most common causes of death were infections and infestations (in 37 infants) and metabolism and nutrition disorders,” said the study.

No serious adverse events were found to be linked to the vaccine.

“After the successful clinical trial of this new vaccine, we hope that it can be made available as soon as possible to children in Niger and across Africa,” Isanaka said.

A two-day festival showcasing various issues of northeast through diverse media will be held from March 24 in New Delhi to mark National Foundation of India (NFI's) 25 years of philanthropic work in the region.

"ArtEast is NFI's initiative to raise pertinent questions through a series of engagements on livelihood, social justice, climate change, communication, history- past and present, issues that have a far reaching impact on everyday lives of people in the region," NFI Director Monica Banerjee told PTI.

The festival will showcase diverse issues curated through diverse medium of installations, art exhibitions, workshop, cinema, performance, discussions, Adda (conversations), music, Majuli masks, pottery, root bridge of Meghalaya, Mukhabhaona and tea-tasting.

The festival will also highlight partition, livelihood, governance, philanthropy and climate change, communication, history – past and present, issues that have a far reaching impact on everyday lives of people in the region.

"On our 25th year of philanthropic work, NFI takes pride in bringing its understanding of the Northeast region to the consciousness of the public in Delhi," Banerjee said.

India International Centre, New Delhi is collaborating with NFI and is also the venue for the series of events planned for the festival.

Majuli, the world's largest river island, would be a focus of the festival and it will begin with a performance by the "Mukhabhaona" artists as a tribute to development activist Sanjoy Ghose who was allegedly kidnapped and killed by ULFA.

"Ghose had initiated pioneering work in saving Majuli but his work was interrupted by unfortunate turn of events.

ArtEast will open with a choreographed performance by bhaona artists from Majuli paying a personal tribute to Sanjoy who was their friend and guide," Banerjee said. .

India made heavy weather of their 3-2 win over lower-ranked Cambodia in a FIFA international football friendly at the Olympic Stadium here on Wednesday.

India will play Myanmar in their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers opener on March 28, and this game was billed as a dress rehearsal. 

The visitors took time to dust the rustiness off their play after missing out on international football for almost six months. India last played in September against Puerto Rico, a match they won 4-1. 

Talismanic forward Sunil Chhetri (36th) opened the scoring for the tourists before Khuon Laboravy (37th) equalised a minute later to help the home team go into halftime 1-1. 

Substitutes Jeje Lalpekhlua (50th) and Sandesh Jhinghan (54th) struck in quick succession in the second half to pull away but Stephen Constantine's wards were kept on tenterhooks till the end of the game as Chan Vathanaka (62nd) pulled one back to make it 3-2.

India took the lead after some poor play to begin with. Chhetri scored under fortituous circumstances as the home goalkeeper Um Sereyroth completely missed Eugeneson Lyngdoh's corner leaving his Bengaluru FC colleague with the easiest of jobs of tapping into an empty net.

The jubilation lasted only a minute as Cambodia, ranked 173rd compared to India's 132nd, levelled through Laboravy, who netted at the near post from a Prak Mony Udom low cross which skipper and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu should have dealt with.

In the second half, India started with a lot of venom and were rewarded within five minutes when Lalpekhlua found the back of the net after Jackichand Singh dribbled past home team players to set up the Mohun Bagan striker whose strike hit the inside of the post and went in.

One minute later, Robin Singh should have made it 3-1 but failed to pull the trigger in time after his former club teammate Lyngdoh teed him up from a brilliant counter attack.

But from the resultant corner, Jhinghan leapt highest to nod in India's third goal.

There was daylight between the hosts and the visitors for 10 minutes though, as Vathanaka struck from outside the box with no one closing him down. Skipper Gurpreet was at full stretch but failed to save the shot as the ball nestled into the bottom right corner of the net.

India tried hard to increase the deficit against an opponent they had thrashed 6-0 the last time the two sides crossed swords, but their early fizz seemed to have evaporated as Cambodia pressed hard to draw level for the second time in the game.

In the end, there were no further goals as the referee blew the final whistle with the score at 3-2.

Actress Radhika Apte, who has often been under the scanner for her "bold" approach in her films, says anything remotely associated with human body can turn out to be a problem in India — a country that is "very ashamed of sexuality and physicality".

Sex and sexuality are not the only veiled topics of discussion in the country.

Menstruation also finds a spot on the list, and Radhika is happy that the topic is being handled in a "big way" in her upcoming Bollywood film Pad Man— which tells a true story of a man's journey to make affordable sanitary napkins.

Starting with the poster in the shape of a sanitary napkin, Radhika feels the film will help overcome the hesitation which surrounds a natural process that a woman goes through every month.

"I think our country is very ashamed of sexuality, physicality, or human body. Anything to do with human body or sexuality is a problem here," Radhika said over phone from Mumbai.

Despite the critical acclaim coming her way aplenty, Radhika has often been in news for being "bold" in her films — be it an intimate scene with co-star Adil Hussain in being leaked online, or a clip of a semi-nude Radhika from an Anurag Kashyap-directed short film making its way on to the web.

The actress has never tried to sweep the matter under the rug, and believes in talking about it instead of opting for silence.

"Yes, there is a whole thing of generations of being awkward about things, but if you start taking a decision like 'Okay, I am not going to feel like that', it will make a difference," she said.

The actress said a natural process like menstruation should be spoken about. "It should not feel awkward touching the pad in front of people. These are small things with which people have issues," she said.

According to Radhika — who is associated with sanitary napkin brand Whisper India as an "influencer", it is not only men who have issues talking about it. "Women also have issues about it. It is all a part of society and upbringing, and it is high time we changed it," she said.

Filmmaker R. Balki has picked the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham to narrate through Pad Man, with actors Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika in the lead roles.

Pad Man will chronicle how Muruganantham set out on a mission to make affordable sanitary napkins after seeing his wife's ordeal and poor menstrual hygiene, and was shunned by his own family and village.

More than the end result of finally succeeding in making affordable sanitary napkins, it is the road that leads to it which makes for a compelling tale.

From creating a fake uterus to test out his protype and raising eyebrows in the village for washing bloodied clothes in public, to being ostracised on the suspicion of having a sexual disease and being possessed by evil spirits — there are many facets to Muruganantham's story.

Ask Radhika about how his story is getting a Bollywood makeover, and she says she is "absolutely not" allowed to talk about it, but things are heading in the right direction.

"All I can I say is that as you know it is about a pad man and has a sanitary napkin on the poster. So there is a lot of scope for imagination.

"I am very happy that something like this is being handled at such a big level in Bollywood," said Radhika, who hails from Pune and lives in London with her husband Benedict Taylor. 

Radhika entered the industry with a small role in the 2005 release Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!, and is known for films like Shor in the City, Kabali, Phobia, Badlapur, Manjhi – The Mountain Man and short film Ahalya.

At the moment, all her focus is on Pad Man.

In a latest development to the Babri Masjid demolition case, the Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing involving BJP leader LK Advani and others by two weeks and asked all parties to file their respective written submissions in the case.

The apex court was on Wednesday expected to decide whether senior party leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti would face trial in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.

The top court adjourned the case to Thursday based on a CBI plea challenging a trial court’s decision to drop criminal conspiracy charges against some BJP and other Hindu right-wing leaders involved in the Babri masjid demolition case.

The hearing comes two days after the Supreme Court on Tuesday called for an amicable settlement to the Ayodhya dispute, terming it a sensitive and sentimental matter.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Kolkata will start its Ganges river dolphin count in November after witnessing a dip in the number of the endangered species earlier this year.

"After the rains stop in October-November, we will undertake the survey along a 534 km stretch of Bengal in six-seven spots, but with a difference from previous practice," WWF Project Director (Bengal) Saswati Sen said.

"When we zero-in on the Namkhana-Diamond Harbour stretch, we will link two points and scan the entire area.

Likewise along the Sabujdwip-Khamargachhi stretch in Hooghly district, two ends will be connected and the area surveyed," Sen, who was part of a team which scanned 45 spots for the previous survey earlier this year, said.

"This dolphin, a national aquatic animal, is not seen during rains and we will undertake the exercise when water level comes down in the river," she said.

Sen said while WWF-Bengal had previously conducted such surveys mostly based on sightings, this time "We wish to undertake the same exercise with equipment which help more accurate imaging." 

"Of the spots the team visited earlier this year, around 80 dolphins (Platanista Gangetica) were seen across a 500 km stretch and the number was less than the dolphins sighted four years back," Sen said.

This species of dolphins are seen in the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system in India and their total estimated number is 1,600, she said adding, the number of Dolphins in the Ganga will be clear after the next survey.

"We talked to people living on the banks of the river during the survey and they all confirmed that fewer dolphins are sighted these days," the WWF official said.

Asked about the factors, Sen said siltation and river water pollution were the main reasons as dolphin poaching was not a practice in the Gangetic belt of West Bengal.

"As part of sensitisation campaign, we are raising awareness among different target groups living along the river banks – hoteliers and panchayat members – reminding them how river pollution is affecting the ecosystem chain," she said.

Supported by positive Asian peers and higher closing of US stocks, domestic equity markets were trading in the positive zone in the second hour of trade on Thursday.

At 10.55 am, the Sensex was trading 128 points or 0.43 per cent higher at 29,292 while the Nifty50 was trading 40 points or 0.45 per cent higher at 9,071.

Broader markets outperformed the key benchmark indices, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices surged 0.9 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.

All the BSE sectoral indices were trading in the positive zone with Oil & Gas index leading the gains, up 1.5 per cent. Capital Goods (1.4 per cent), Realty (1.2 per cent), Power (1 per cent) and Consumer Durables (1 per cent) indices were other notable gainers.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Gail (up 2.1 per cent), Tata Motors (up 1.8 per cent), NTPC (up 1.4 per cent), Hero Motocorp (up 1.4 per cent) and L&T (up 1.4 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: ITC (down 0.5 per cent), HUL (down 0.4 per cent), HDFC Bank (down 0.1 per cent), TCS (down 0.1 per cent) and M&M (down 0.1 per cent).

In the Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 0.2 per cent, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading flat with a positive bias, Korea’s KOSPI index shined 0.3 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.1 per cent.

Unites States’ Nasdaq closed 0.5 per cent higher and the S&P 500 inched up 0.2 per cent. Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat with a negative bias.

Back home, the Rupee was trading six paise higher at 65.38 against the US Dollar.

As many as 94 big infrastructure projects costing Rs 150 crore and above have been delayed and showed cost overrun, Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda informed Parliament on Wednesday.

Big central sector projects are being monitored by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation through its online computerised monitoring system.

"As many as 1,186 projects costing Rs 150 crore and above were on the monitor of this ministry… of these, 94 projects are delayed and showing cost overruns," he said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

He said the delays were project specific but law and order problems, delay in land acquisition, geological conditions, delay in environment and forest clearances, rehabilitation and resettlement issue were the main causes of delays.

"These reasons at times also result in non-utilisation of funds allocation in full in respect of some projects," he said.

The Minister said rigorous project appraisal, online computerised monitoring system, standing committees in the ministries for fixing responsibilities were taken up to complete the projects on time.

The government set up central sector project coordination committees in states under the respective Chief Secretaries for removal of bottlenecks and for facilitating and speedy implementation of major projects, he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid his tributes to nationalist leader Ram Manohar Lohia on his birth anniversary, calling him a constant source of inspiration.

"Tributes to Ram Manohar Lohia on his birth anniversary. His thoughts on social empowerment and service continue to inspire us," Modi said in a tweet. 

Lohia was born in 1910 and had joined the struggle for Indian independence during the last decade of the British rule. 

The forthcoming content of American drama series Quantico, which stars Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, will deal with US President Donald Trump's immigration policy and 'Muslim registry' instead of terrorism, says showrunner Josh Safran.

Quantico has shifted its lens away from fantasy in a bid to reflect more of today's real-life political climate and cultural landscape. The series, the narrative of which is switching between the past and present, is now merged into one single story.

Quantico season two returned this week after a break internationally and in India. The show airs in India on Star World and Star World HD.

Asked whether there were too many shows tackling Trump on TV, Safran said: "We're not special."

"If it's a time of good prosperity, often we don't look to politics to write about, we look to write about different times or different period of strife in people's lives. But when there's political upheaval or unrest in the county, artists tend to skew towards politics and how they relate to people. That's why you're seeing so many shows turning in that direction," hollywoodreporter.com quoted Safran as saying. 

Safran says it is liberating to not have to invent so many stories and villains, since the real world is providing the material. But he notes one important distinction.

"I look to 'The Good Fight' and their recent episode about the shelved SVU episode about Trump — they took something very specific and turned that into a story. 

"Instead of doing an over-arching, 'We're going to do Trump', we're looking at specific things, like fake news and the Muslim registry," he said.

While Safran is grateful to be working on a show where he is able to tackle real life head-on, he says it's "probably unlikely" that a lot of Trump supporters are tuning into Quantico, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

"It's a show about inclusion and where the women have what would have been typically male roles. It's all about people of colour working together to do what's right," he added.

"We believe in women in power and everyone's equal and freedom for all. We don't exactly stand for Trumpian instincts by our very nature. You'll probably find that '24: Legacy' and partially 'Designated Survivor', which takes more of a bipartisan look at things, have more of a viewership that voted for Trump or who are pro-Trump than us." 

Over 40,000 resident doctors in the national capital went on a mass casual Leave on Thursday in support of their counterparts in Maharashtra who are on similar protest following rising assaults.

According to hospital authorities, the mass protest started at 9 a.m. and will end at 4 p.m. However, those resident doctors whose duty has been assigned in the emergency ward are not participating.

Among the top hospitals of Delhi whose resident doctors will be joining the protest are All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital, apart from other Delhi government hospitals and medical institutions under the civic bodies.

Doctors at AIIMS on Wednesday had also staged a protest by wearing black badge on their arms and donning black helmets while on duties against the rising assault cases on resident doctors.

Around 3,000 resident doctors in government hospitals in Maharashtra continued their mass Casual Leave agitation for the third day on Wednesday due to frequent attacks on them by aggrieved and irate relatives of patients.

Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Thursday raised the Kashmir issue and hoped that both the countries would resolve the issue as per the aspirations of Kashmiris and develop good relationship.

"We want to have good relationship with India and resolve all issues," Basit said while addressing a gathering on the occasion of Pakistan Day.

On the Kashmir issue he said, "The issue of Jammu and Kashmir must be resolved as per the aspirations of Kashmiris."

Despite a call for Foreign Secretary-level talks, the relationship remains volatile between both the countries.

Extending his good form, Ankur Mittal clinched the gold medal at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in the double trap event, pipping his Australian rival James Willet in the final in a world record equalling effort.

Mittal had settled for a silver at the recent International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in New Delhi, where Willet had won the gold.

Mittal ended with 75 points out of possible 80 in the six-man final to win India's first medal in the competition while Willet managed 73.

Ankur shot strong throughout the day, ending second in qualification with a score of 138 out of a possible 150. He also got the better off China s Ying Qi 6-5 in a shoot-off to decide second and third spots after both had finished their qualifying rounds on the same score.

In the ensuing 80-targets final round, Ankur missed a total of five targets, including just two in his last 40 to equal the World Record and finish on top with a score of 75.

His nemesis in New Delhi, Willet missed seven targets while the Chinese Ying won bronze, shooting a score of 52, before being eliminated after 60 targets.

Medal events now remain in the Mens and Womens Skeet shooting disciplines, scheduled to be held over the weekend.

Rashmee Rathore is India's sole competitor in the Womens Skeet while Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Man Singh and Amrinder Cheema will carry India's hopes in the Mens Skeet.

Producer Bhushan Kumar says Akshay Kumar is the best choice to play the role of his late father Gulshan Kumar because both have many similarities.

At the song launch of Sonakshi Sinha's upcoming movie Noor on Wednesday he said: "Akshay is the apt choice for the role because he has many similarities with my father. Both are Punjabis and believes in Vaishno Devi. There are more similarities like this which you will see in the film."

The man behind T Series, Gulshan Kumar's biopic, which stars Akshay Kumar as the music mogul, is a story of 'rag to riches'. The biopic is being directed by Subhash Kapoor. The brain behind the film is Gulshan Kumar's son Bhushan Kumar, who now runs T-Series.

Speaking about the film he said: "It is an emotional film for us. We are all attached to this story because it is a story of my father. Whoever has been associated with the film be it Akshay or Subhash Kapoor all are emotional about the project."

Although the flick's poster has recently been released, the biopic will go on floors by the end of 2017.

Google Maps on Thursday announced a new real-time location sharing feature which will be available for both Android and iOS users.

Users will be able to share their real-time location with anyone and the people they share with will be able to see the location on Android, iPhone, mobile web and desktop.

"Location sharing on Google Maps is rolling worldwide over the coming week and you'll be able to quickly let your friends and family know where you are and when you'll get where you're going," said Sanket Gupta, Product Manager, Google Maps, in a post.

Whenever you want to let someone know where you are, just open the side menu or tap the blue dot that represents where you are.

Tap "Share location" and then select who to share with and how long to share-and you're done!

"You can share your real-time location with your Google contacts, or even share with friends and family by sending a link on your favourite messenger apps," the post read.

When you're sharing your location, the people you've chosen to share with will see you on their map.

"You'll see an icon above the compass on your own map reminding you that you're actively sharing your location. You can change your mind and stop sharing at any time-it's entirely up to you," the post said.

US President Donald Trump's son has criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the immediate aftermath of an attack in the city that killed five and wounded about 40 on the grounds of the British Parliament, a media report said.

"You have to be kidding me?!" Donald Trump Jr. tweeted on Wednesday, as he shared an article from The Independent, and paraphrased its headline as: "Terror attacks are part of living in big city, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan."

Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., manages the Trump Organisation and has no role in the White House, but he remains an occasional surrogate for his father, CNN reported on Wednesday. 

The younger Trump also occasionally calls out the President's political opponents on Twitter, the venue he chose Wednesday to weigh in on the incident in Britain.

The Independent article, published in September 2016, featured Khan's reaction to a bombing in the Chelsea neighbourhood of New York. 

In it, Khan said that preparedness for terror attacks is "part and parcel of living in a big city," and asked Londoners to be correspondingly "vigilant."

The White House issued a more conciliatory response to the Wednesday terrorist attack. The President spoke by phone with British Prime Minister Theresa May, CNN reported.

While the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said it would be "irresponsible" to speculate this soon on what precisely happened or who was responsible.

Khan and Trump Sr. had sharp words for one another during the campaign: Khan, who is Muslim, criticised Trump's immigration ban, and Trump at one point challenged the London Mayor to an I.Q. test.