INS Tillanchang, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC), was on Friday commissioned into the Indian Navy at Karwar naval base in Karnataka.

INS Tillanchang is the third ship of four WJFACs built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.

The first two ships of the class, INS Tarmugli and INS Tihayu were commissioned in 2016 and are based at Visakhapatnam.

The ship has been indigenously designed and built and is an upgrade from the Chetlat class of Fast Attack Craft that the Indian Navy possesses.

INS Tillanchang was commissioned by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.

Speaking on the occasion, he said these ships play a vital role in light of security environment in the country and are designed to take on both conventional and asymmetric threats.

He said Tillanchang was able to achieve the fastest speeds among all WJFACs during the speed trials.

INS Tillanchang is about 50 metres long and powered by three waterjet propulsion systems, which give it speeds of over 35 knots.

The ship is armed with a 30 mm main gun and a number of light, medium and heavy machine guns to undertake operations at sea.

INS Tillanchang is an ideal platform for a number of missions like coastal and off-shore surveillance, law enforcement as well as non-military missions such as search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the Navy said.
 

INS Tillanchang, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC), was on Friday commissioned into the Indian Navy at Karwar naval base in Karnataka.

INS Tillanchang is the third ship of four WJFACs built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.

The first two ships of the class, INS Tarmugli and INS Tihayu were commissioned in 2016 and are based at Visakhapatnam.

The ship has been indigenously designed and built and is an upgrade from the Chetlat class of Fast Attack Craft that the Indian Navy possesses.

INS Tillanchang was commissioned by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.

Speaking on the occasion, he said these ships play a vital role in light of security environment in the country and are designed to take on both conventional and asymmetric threats.

He said Tillanchang was able to achieve the fastest speeds among all WJFACs during the speed trials.

INS Tillanchang is about 50 metres long and powered by three waterjet propulsion systems, which give it speeds of over 35 knots.

The ship is armed with a 30 mm main gun and a number of light, medium and heavy machine guns to undertake operations at sea.

INS Tillanchang is an ideal platform for a number of missions like coastal and off-shore surveillance, law enforcement as well as non-military missions such as search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the Navy said.
 

The surgical strike at the terror launch pads in PoK in 2016 resulted in "significant casualties" to the terrorists and their supporters across the border, government said on Friday.

"During the surgical strike, significant casualties were done to terrorists and those who provide support to terrorists," Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said in Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

The surgical strike on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, 2016, was carried out by the Army to foil the designs of Pakistan-based terrorist groups to strike on Indian security forces and other places of importance, he said.

It also came as a "huge morale booster" for the rank and file of the security forces, Bhamre said.

Though no specific assessment of psychological conditions/morale of defence personnel has been carried out after the surgical strike, he said "notwithstanding this, surgical strikes by themselves were a huge booster for the rank and file of the Armed Forces."

The minister also said that all those who participated in the surgical strike were suitably rewarded.

The surgical strike at the terror launch pads in PoK in 2016 resulted in "significant casualties" to the terrorists and their supporters across the border, government said on Friday.

"During the surgical strike, significant casualties were done to terrorists and those who provide support to terrorists," Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said in Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

The surgical strike on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, 2016, was carried out by the Army to foil the designs of Pakistan-based terrorist groups to strike on Indian security forces and other places of importance, he said.

It also came as a "huge morale booster" for the rank and file of the security forces, Bhamre said.

Though no specific assessment of psychological conditions/morale of defence personnel has been carried out after the surgical strike, he said "notwithstanding this, surgical strikes by themselves were a huge booster for the rank and file of the Armed Forces."

The minister also said that all those who participated in the surgical strike were suitably rewarded.

Normal life was affected in Kashmir on Friday due to a strike called by separatists against the civilian killings in Pulwama district allegedly during a gunfight between militants and security forces on Thursday.

Top separatist leaders including chairmen of both factions of Hurriyat Conference were placed under house arrest as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order in the Valley, officials said.

While hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani continued to be under house arrest, chairman of moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was confined to his home this morning.

Shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed due to the strike called jointly by both factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF, they said.

While most of public and private transport remained off the roads, a few vehicles could be seen plying on some routes.

Though the separatist had given a strike call for today in their weekly protest calendar issued last week, they asked people to hold protests after Friday prayers against the death of two civilians allegedly during clashes between protesters and security forces near the encounter site at Padgampora in Awantipora area of Pulwama district yesterday.

Thousands of people participated in the funeral prayers held for the two slain militants and the civilians in Pulwama.

Police assisted by paramilitary forces have been deployed in strength at sensitive areas of the city and other major towns of the Valley to maintain law and order.

Normal life was affected in Kashmir on Friday due to a strike called by separatists against the civilian killings in Pulwama district allegedly during a gunfight between militants and security forces on Thursday.

Top separatist leaders including chairmen of both factions of Hurriyat Conference were placed under house arrest as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order in the Valley, officials said.

While hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani continued to be under house arrest, chairman of moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was confined to his home this morning.

Shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed due to the strike called jointly by both factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF, they said.

While most of public and private transport remained off the roads, a few vehicles could be seen plying on some routes.

Though the separatist had given a strike call for today in their weekly protest calendar issued last week, they asked people to hold protests after Friday prayers against the death of two civilians allegedly during clashes between protesters and security forces near the encounter site at Padgampora in Awantipora area of Pulwama district yesterday.

Thousands of people participated in the funeral prayers held for the two slain militants and the civilians in Pulwama.

Police assisted by paramilitary forces have been deployed in strength at sensitive areas of the city and other major towns of the Valley to maintain law and order.

Actress Sunny Leone says she is not sure if she would be performing with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber at a concert to be held here in May.

There were reports about Sunny joining the pop sensation for his maiden concert in India.

"I am not sure about performing just yet but I am super excited to attend. I love Justin Beiber and to watch him live will be such a treat," Sunny said.

Bieber is bringing his 'Purpose World Tour' to India with a performance on May 10 in Mumbai.

Beside Deepika Paduokone, names of Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt are being considered to perform at the concert. However, there is no official confirmation about the line up.

Sunny was talking to reporters at company Emojifi's launch of 'Sunny Leone sticker emoticons'.

Actress Sunny Leone says she is not sure if she would be performing with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber at a concert to be held here in May.

There were reports about Sunny joining the pop sensation for his maiden concert in India.

"I am not sure about performing just yet but I am super excited to attend. I love Justin Beiber and to watch him live will be such a treat," Sunny said.

Bieber is bringing his 'Purpose World Tour' to India with a performance on May 10 in Mumbai.

Beside Deepika Paduokone, names of Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt are being considered to perform at the concert. However, there is no official confirmation about the line up.

Sunny was talking to reporters at company Emojifi's launch of 'Sunny Leone sticker emoticons'.

Women who dye their hair or use hormonal contraceptives may be at an increased risk of breast cancer, a new study has warned.

Researcher Sanna Heikkinen from the University of Helsinki and Finnish Cancer Registry evaluated the contribution of the use of hormonal contraceptives and hair dyes to the spectrum of breast cancer risk factors.

The analysis included self-reported survey data from 8,000 breast cancer patients and 20,000 controls from Finland.

According to the results, use of hormonal intrauterine device was associated with 52 per cent increased risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women, when compared to women who had used copper intrauterine device.

The use of other hormonal contraceptives was, by contrast, associated with 32 per cent higher breast cancer risk among younger women under 50 when compared to women who did not use hormonal contraceptives.

There was also a 23 per cent observed increase in the risk of breast cancer among women who dyed their hair compared to those who did not, researchers said.

"The biggest risk factor in breast cancer is high age, and known lifestyle-related risk factors include late age at first birth, small number of children, high alcohol consumption, and sedentary lifestyle," Heikkinen said.

Many of these factors have become significantly more common in Western countries during the last decades, researchers said.

Further study on the effects of hormonal contraceptives, most specifically hormonal intrauterine device, and hair dyes is needed with other populations and a prospective study design, researchers said.

In her research, Heikkinen also investigated the amount of opportunistic mammography, which was found to be very common. More than 60 per cent of responders reported having had a mammography before the screening age of 50.

"Women should be more extensively informed of the harms of opportunistic mammography, such as accumulating radiation burden and the potential consequences of false positive or negative findings," Heikkinen said.

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who created a stir on Twitter by posting derogatory and obscene tweets on Women’s day, has now issued an apology.

RGV received a lot of backlash for his sexist jibes on International Women’s day when he tweeted, “I wish all the women in the world give men as much happiness as Sunny Leone gives.”

Minutes after the Sarkar3 director started his rant on Twitter, he was trolled by twitteratis for his misogynist comments. A legal action was initiated against him by women rights activists.

Seeing the situation go out of control, the director took to Twitter to explain his side of story, he wrote, “Was just expressing my feelings but I apologise to all who were offended due to my unintended insensitive tweets in context of women's day.”

“My apology is only to those who genuinely got offended and not to those who ranted for publicity nd threatened to take law into their hands”, RGV wrote in a series of tweet.

The 54-year old director was also embroiled in a war of words with NCP leader Jitender Awhad, following his degrading tweets on Sunny Leone. 

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday refused to make any comment on the death of a jawan in Maharashtra recently but said Army has been told to work on how to appropriately address the grievances of soldiers.

Parrikar told the Lok Sabha that it would be a "prejudice" to make any comment on the death of Roy Mathew at Deolali cantonment in Maharashtra as police has registered a case and was conducting an investigation into the incident.

"It was an isolated incident. An independent police probe is going on. I don't want to make any comment on it as it would be a prejudice to say anything at this stage," he said during Question Hour.

Mathew was found dead under mysterious circumstances in an abandoned barrack in Deolali Cantonment on March 3.

The jawan was figured in a sting operation by a news website where he criticised the 'sahayak' (orderly) system in which a jawan is expected to serve a commissioned officer.

Referring to the grievances of soldiers, Parrikar said the Army has been told to work out a system to address the complaints of the jawans appropriately.

"We are in consultation with all concerned and an appropriate mechanism would be worked out soon," he said.

Earlier, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said there might be a few incidents of complaints by jawans but that do not reflect the collective mood of the soldiers.

Bhamre said there are various mechanism to address the grievances of jawans that include regular holding of 'Sainik Sammelan' where the soldiers can raise their problems.

As the Lok Sabha passed the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, India becomes the country with third highest maternity leave after Canada (50 weeks) and Norway (44 weeks). The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in August last year. With this, the previously granted maternity leave for 12 weeks has been increased to 26 weeks. Here's a list of all the benefits women can enjoy under the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

Women employed in organised sectors

Women working in organised sectors are now entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for the first and second child. However, for the third child the leave remains for 12 weeks. Any organisation with 10 or more employees is supposed to grant maternity leave of 26 weeks.

Maternity leave for adopting mothers

The bill provides 12 weeks of maternity leave to a woman who legally adopts a child under three months of age. The leave is to begin from the day the child has been handed over to the mother.

Maternity leave for commissioning mother

Twelve weeks of leave is granted to a commissioning mother (defined as a biological mother) who uses her egg to have a surrogate child.

Creche facilities and number of visits per day

The bill also requires every establishment with 50 or more employees to provide creche facilities within a prescribed distance. The woman will be allowed four visits to the creche a day. This will include her interval for rest.

Work from home facility

An employer can also permit a woman to work from home, if the nature of work assigned permits.

The embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Friday took to Twitter saying he is ready to negotiate with banks to pay a one-time settlement charge on Rs.9,000-crore loan default.

"Public sector banks have policies for one-time settlements. Hundreds of borrowers have settled. Why should this be denied to us? Our substantial offer before the honourable Supreme Court was rejected by banks without consideration. (I) am ready to talk settlement on fair basis," Mallya said in a tweet.

He further said: "Wish the Supreme Court would intervene and put an end to all this by directing banks and us to negotiate and settle. We are ready." 

Mallya added that he has "humbly obeyed every single court order without exception" and "seems as if government is bent on holding me guilty without fair trial".

"The allegations against me by the Attorney General before the Supreme Court only prove the attitude of the government against me," he went on to say.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court posed a question to Mallya about the "truthfulness" of his disclosure of assets and transfer of $40 million to his children.

A bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and U U Lalit put forth the queries during the day-long hearing following which it reserved the orders on two pleas from lenders seeking contempt action against Mallya and a direction to him to deposit $40 million received from offshore firm Diageo.

Last month, the Indian government handed over to the UK an extradition request for the businessman, who is facing cases of loan default and other financial irregularities.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore to various banks, had left India on March 2.

The world’s most watched football league for a reason, the English Premier League thrills is a weekly roller-coaster ride, right from its start in August to the final weekend in May.

And should you be playing the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), expect plenty of migraines and heartburn along the way.

This week there are scant few teams in action due to the FA Cup also being played but worry not, for The Statesman has carefully curated the top picks for Gameweek 28.

The indicators are:

Teams in BOLD are top 4 contenders.

Prices marked with a (+) indicate an increase in Base Price.
Prices marked with a (-) indicate a decrease in Base Price.

Goalkeepers

Eldin Jakupovic
Team: Hull 
Fixtures: Swansea (H), Everton (A), West Ham (H), Middlesborough (H) and Man City (A)
Price: 4.1 (+) 
Score: 53
Ownership: 22.9%

Why yes: Admittedly, Hull haven't been in great form of late, but the games they have lost have been fine margins. In part thanks to their goalkeerper Jakupovic, who has been in fine fettle. At his price and with reasonably easy fixtures up ahead, he is an excellent back up choice for FPL at least.

Why no: Swansea aren't exactly goal-shy at the moment and it is difficult to see the Bosnian as a long-term alternative as well.

Defenders

Leighton Baines
Team: Everton
Fixtures: West Brom (H), Hull (H), Liverpool (A), Man Utd (A) and Leicester (H)
Price: 5.7 (+)
Score: 100
Ownership: 12.3%

Why yes: If you take away the loss to Tottenham last weekend, Everton have been in impressive form and should be able to ease past West Brom at home. Among the most attack minded full backs in the league, expect a goal or an assist in the next two games which are at home, coincidentally.

Why no: If you have Joel Robles or Seamus Coleman in your FPL side, then Baines could be given a miss. Games after Hull aren't going to be easy and clean sheets will be hard to get.

Aaron Cresswell
Team: West Ham
Fixtures: Bournemouth (A), Leicester (H), Hull (A), Arsenal (H) and Swansea (H)
Price: 5.2 (-)
Score : 43
Ownership: 0.4%

Why yes: Cresswell is a fine full back and on his day, can easily bag a couple of assists with his wicket left foot. With Bournemouth set to dominate possession, Cresswell and co will look to hit them on the counter and may just pick up an assist or two. 

Why no: The Hammers have very little to play for, as they are out of contention for the European spots and away from the relegation quagmire. So their desire to win isn't exactly there and they have been far from impressive defensively and with some tough fixtures up ahead, don’t expect to many clean sheets.

Midfielders
Sadio Mane
Team: Liverpool
Fixtures:  Burnley (H), Man City (A), Everton (H), Bournemouth (H) and Stoke (A)
Price: 9.6 (+)
Score: 147
Ownership: 20.4%

Why yes: In imperious form (three goals in as many games), Mane is a must-have and is arguably the most consistent Liverpool midfielder. Practically a forward but classified as an midfielder for FPL, which is an added bonus.

Why no: Has the lowest differential among his teammates and is far more expensive than all of them. 

Joshua King
Team: Bournemouth
Fixtures: West Ham (H), Swansea (H), Southampton (A), Liverpool (A) and Chelsea (H)
Price: 5.5
Score: 98
Ownership: 3.9%

Why yes: King is on a real goalscoring run at the moment (six goals in nine games) and it would be prudent to snap him up while it lasts. West Ham don’t have the best defence around and the next two games after that look pretty reasonable as well. 

Why no: He is the first wildcard pick of Gameweek 28 and it would be unwise to expect substantial returns from him in the long run, considering his price.

Forwards

Romelu Lukaku
Team: Everton
Fixtures: West Brom (H), Hull (H), Liverpool (A), Man Utd (A) and Leicester (H)
Price: 10.1
Score: 154
Ownership: 37.4%

Why yes: Probably the easiest pick for Gameweek 28, Lukaku is a no-brainer in the forward department. Everton’s highest record scorer in the Premier League, Lukaku is in the midst of a purple patch at the moment and it is likely to continue against his old club West Brom. For those looking to offload Zlatan Ibrahimovic this week, look no further.

Why no: He is among the most expensive strikers in FPL and with fixtures looking tough after Hull, Lukaku may find support from his midfield dwindling.

Andre Gray
Team: Burnley
Fixtures: Liverpool (A), Sunderland (A), Spurs (H), Stoke (H) and Middlesborough (A)
Price:  6.1 (-)
Score: 84
Ownership: 4.6%

Why yes: After bagging a brace against Swansea last weekend, Gray will be backing himself to score against a Liverpool side that leaks goals. He has scored against Liverpool before and with the Reds record against the ‘smaller’ teams suspect, he may just breach Simon Mignolet’s goal.

Why no: The second wildcard pick for Gameweek 28, Gray will find chances few and far between against a side that are looking back to their best after steamrolling Arsenal last weekend.

PS: The Gameweek deadline is 2 pm GMT/7.30 pm IST, so make sure all transfers are completed before that!

Proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned briefly when some AIADMK members raised slogans demanding a CBI probe into the death of party chief J Jayalalithaa.

As soon as the House met for the day, six AIADMK members rushed to the Well raising slogans seeking a CBI probe into the death of the then Tamail Nadu Chief Minister and party chief. They were holding placards with the picture of Jayalalithaa laying in state.

Amid slogan shouting, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House for 10 minutes at 11.10 am when the Question Hour was in progress.

Soon after the House re-assembled, the AIADMK members raised slogans and then announced a walk-out after their demand for an adjournment motion to discuss the issue was turned down by the Chair.

While a section of the AIADMK MPs are supporting V K Sasikala, some others are with former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.

The 300-km Srinagar-Jammu national highway remained closed for traffic for the third consecutive day as snowfall and rains lashed wide parts of Kashmir on Friday, officials said.

The residents of Srinagar witnessed a thin layer of snow covering the city as reports of heavy snowfall were received from the high altitude areas during the past 24 hours, the officials said.

The snowfall and incessant rains for the fourth day at various places along the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, hampered the efforts of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to restore the arterial road.

"No traffic movement was allowed, either from Srinagar or Jammu, for the third day today due to blockade of the road in Ramban sector and heavy snowfall in Jawahar Tunnel and Patnitop areas," a spokesman of the Traffic department told PTI here.

He said about 10 inches of snow had accumulated on ground around Jawahar Tunnel areas but the real problem is continuous landslides and shooting of stones triggered by incessant rains in Ramban sector which is hampering the efforts of early restoration of the highway.

Debris had accrued at Battery Cheshma, Anookhi Fall, Panthyal and Digdol areas during the night completely blocking the highway, he said, adding despite rains and snowfall the road clearance operation is in full swing.

The famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir experienced heavy snowfall along with other high altitude areas, while the plains including Srinagar witnessed light snowfall during the past 24 hours, a spokesman of the MeT department said.

He said Gulmarg recorded 15 inches of fresh snow, while the snow accumulation in Srinagar was 2.5 centimetres till 0830 hours today.

The spokesman said the night temperature across the division continued its downward trend in view of the prevailing weather.

Gulmarg was the coldest recorded place in the Valley where the night temperature settled at minus 5.0 degrees against the previous night's minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.

He said Srinagar recorded a further dip of almost two degrees in the night temperature which settled at minus 0.1 degrees Celsius.

Pahalgam hill resort, which serves as the base camp during the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature recorded at rest of the observatories including Qazigund, Kupwara and Kokernag was around zero degrees Celsius.

Leh in frontier region of Ladakh was the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 7.8 degrees Celsius against the previous night's minus 4.6 degrees Celsius.

The nearby Kargil town also recorded a low of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.

The MeT predicted scattered to fairly widespread rain or snow at most of the places in the Valley during the next two days.

AIADMK's Sasikala Natarajan on Friday replied to a Election Commission's notice, saying all rules and regulations were followed as per norms in her appointment as the party's general secretary.

After former chief minister O Panneerselvam rebelled against Sasikala claiming that the suspicion surrounding Jayalalithaa's death should be cleared by constituting a judicial inquiry, he was ousted from the party.

Later, AIADMK MP Maithreyan and Presidium Chairman Madhusudhanan joined hands with him, seeking an inquiry into Jayalalithaa's death. The duo then filed a complaint with the poll panel, stating that Sasikala's appointment as the party's interim general secretary was invalid.

They claimed that there were no provisions within the party to appoint anyone as an interim chairman, following which the Election Commission sought a reply from Sasikala who was lodged in Parapanna Agrahara prison after being convicted in the disproportionate assets case.

Sasikala's lawyers handed over her reply to the poll panel as a 70-page letter in which she claimed that her appointment had not broken any party law.