Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday supported reservation of 50 per cent seats in Parliament and state Legislatures for women saying if the Centre brings a legislation to this effect he would side with it.

Kumar said this in reply to a plea made by women legislators at a JD(U) function on the occasion of International Women's day here.

Congratulating women on International Women's day, Kumar highlighted initiatives taken by his government for their empowerment.

He referred to earmarking 50 per cent seats in panchayats in 2005 and urban local bodies in 2007 by his government in proportion to their population which is half of the country.

"Bihar is the first state to give 50 per cent reservation to women in Panchyati Raj institutions which many states followed and now the Centre is also thinking over it," he said.

The state government implemented 50 per cent reservationfor women in appointment of contractual teachers at primary level.

"One component of 'seven resolves' of good governance in Bihar is reservation of 35 per cent of seats for women in all state government jobs," he said.

"Within two months of formation of Grand Alliance government in 2015 November, the state government reserved 35 per cent seats for women in all state government vacancies," the CM said.

Kumar also referred to boosting attendance of girls in schools for which the state government launched bicycle and free uniform schemes.

The police on Wednesday busted a Hizb-ul Mujahideen module in Srinagar and arrested three persons in Bemina locality.

According to a police spokesman, a police team of west zone Srinagar during checking apprehended three suspects identified as Reyaz Ahmad Wani, Ikhlaq Ahmad Khanday, and Tawseeul-Nabi who are all residents of Kishtwar. 

The police recovered two pistols, two pistol magazines, 20 rounds, four grenades, one wireless set and a packet of explosive substance. 

During preliminary investigation, it surfaced that the trio was working with Jahangeer, an active terrorist in Kishtwar.

Police has registered a case and initiated further enquiry.

The investigation into the encounter in Lucknow, where a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed, is likely to be handed over to the NIA, a senior Home Ministry official said on Wednesday.

In all likelihood, the Lucknow case will be given to the National Investigation Agency for probe, the official said.

The move came after the Home Ministry officials got the hint that there maybe a much larger conspiracy and more people in multiple locations might have links with Saifullah, who was killed in the encounter.

The suspected ISIS terrorist was killed in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow early today after a 12-hour long operation.

Saifullah is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, police said.

An NIA team has reached Bhopal to look into the suspected terror attack.

Delhi-run giant power company NTPC on Wednesday announced commissioning of 45 MW solar capacity at Bhadla in Rajasthan taking the total installed capacity of the project to 160 MW.

"The 45 MW of Bhadla solar power project of NTPC in Rajasthan has been commissioned today. With this, the installed capacity of Bhadla solar power project has become 160 MW and that of NTPC's solar power projects has become 520 MW," a senior official said.

Last month, NTPC had commissioned 115 MW capacity out of the 260 MW Bhadla solar power project. NTPC has planned capacity addition of about 1,000 MW through renewable resources by 2017.

The official further said that with commissioning of this additional solar capacity of 45 MW at Bhadla, the total installed capacity of NTPC Group has reached to 48,188 MW, 

NTPC has 10 solar PV projects. In Dadri it is of 5 MW, The Andaman & Nicobar project is of 5 MW, Ramagundam (10 MW), Talcher Kaniha (10 MW), Faridabad (5 MW), Unchahar (10 MW), Rajgarh (50 MW), Singrauli (15 MW), Anantapuram (250 MW) and Bhadla (160 MW).

NTPC intends to become a 130-GW company up to 2032 with a with diversified fuel mix and a 600 billion units company in terms of generation. The company wants share of renewable energy (including hydro) to be 28 per cent.

Last year in January, solar power tariff had dropped to a new low with Finland-based energy firm Fortum Finnsurya Energy quoting Rs.4.34 a unit to bag the mandate to set up a 70 MW solar plant under NTPC's Bhadla solar park tender.

Last month, lower capital expenditure and cheaper credit had pulled down solar tariff to a new low of Rs.2.97 per unit in an auction conducted for 750 MW capacity in Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh.

In November 2015, the tariff had touched Rs.4.63 per unit following aggressive bidding by US-based SunEdison, the world's biggest developer of renewable energy power plants.

NTPC has total installed capacity of 48,188 MW from its 19 coal based, 7 gas-based, 10 solar PV, one hydro and 9 subsidiaries/Joint Venture power stations.

While enhancing the scope of payment of ex-gratia grant to members of Central Paramilitary Forces, Haryana government on Wednesday decided to enhance the rate to be given to the family members of the CPMF.

A spokesperson of Sainik and Ardh Sainik Welfare Department said that in case of death in war and action against militants or terrorists, death during internal security duty, operations, election duty, natural calamities and rescue operations, the rate of assistance has been enhanced from Rs.20 lakh to Rs.50 lakh.

The spokesperson said in case of disability of 75 per cent and above, the rate of assistance has been enhanced from Rs.15 lakh to Rs.35 lakh. For disability between 50 per cent to 74 per cent, the rate has been enhanced from Rs.10 lakh to Rs.25 lakh and between 25 per cent to 49 per cent to 74 per cent, the rate has been enhanced from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.15 lakh.

“The enhanced amount is applicable to the casualties, which occurred on or after November 1, 2016 only and who are residents of Haryana at the time of joining the service” the spokesperson added.

Even as India and other aspirants for permanent seats on the UN Security Council offered to forego veto powers to get the reforms process moving, Pakistan joined hands with Italy to oppose their candidature at the two-day Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) being undertaken by the General Assembly.  

Speaking on behalf of the ‘G-4’ which comprises India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin on Tuesday said the issue of veto was important but it should not be allowed to have a veto over the process of Council reform itself.

He said the ‘G-4’ countries were of the view that while new permanent members would in principle have veto powers that the current five have, they would not exercise the veto until a decision on the matter had been taken during the review.  

Akbaruddin said India and other ‘G-4’ countries believed that there was an imbalance of influence between permanent and non-permanent members in the Security Council and expanding it in the non-permanent category would not solve the problem. It would actually widen the differences between permanent and non-permanent members even more, tilting the scales in favour of a dispensation that was valid in a special situation in 1945 when the UN system came into being but no longer now.

‘’A balanced enlargement in both categories is necessarily the only way to ensure an equilibrium that reflects the current situation,’’ he added.

Speaking later during the day, the Pakistani envoy reaffirmed her country’s stand for an increase in the number of non-permanent members as the “best” method to make the 15-member body more representative and democratic.

“We believe that the best, and the only way, to accommodate legitimate regional and political aspirations, is to enlarge the Security Council in the non-permanent category,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said.

The Security Council is currently composed of five permanent members ~ Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States ~ and 10 non-permanent members that are elected in groups of five to two-year terms.

Lodhi argued that any expansion of the unelected, or permanent, category of seats would not make the Security Council more democratic and representative.

Four Maoists were killed in a fierce gun-battle with the security forces in Bihar on Wednesday. Of the four killed, two are said to be zonal commanders, giving sleepless nights to the cops for long. The encounter took place in Gurpa forests in Gaya, one of the many districts notorious for Naxal activities.

Acting on a tip-off that a group of Maoists had gathered in the forest and are planning for major operation, a team of security forces from the elite COBRA battalion was rushed to the spot last night.

On getting them surrounded by the forces, the rebels opened fire on them, leading to fierce gun-battle between them in the dead of night. Eventually, they backtracked unable to give proper challenge to the COBRA battalion, a specialized unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of India proficient in guerilla tactics and jungle warfare.

A subsequent search operation in the areas by the forest today found four bodies of the Maoists in the forests with their arms lying close to them. Police believe more rebels may have been killed in the encounter on the basis of trail of bloods.

“When we launched the operation in the forest, the hiding rebels started firing on us, leading to fierce encounter. In the end, we recovered four bodies from the spot,” a senior COBRA official Devesh Mishra told newsmen today.

Two of the four rebels killed in the encounter have been identified so far. They include Anil alias Deepak and Rajesh Ravidas. Anil was working as zonal commander of the Magadh Range whereas Ravidas was the sub-zonal commander, police claim.

This is the first major achievement of the police since they lost 10 colleagues in a deadly Maoist attacks in Aurangabad district in July last. The cops got killed after being booby-trapped by the Maoists who invited them telling about the presence of large number of rebels in the forest.

Finally when the unsuspecting cops entered the areas, the rebels began triggering the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid underneath, leaving at least 10 of them dead on the spot. Cops had no time to retaliate. As per reports, around 17 IEDs were triggered by the rebels.

Four Maoists were killed in a fierce gun-battle with the security forces in Bihar on Wednesday. Of the four killed, two are said to be zonal commanders, giving sleepless nights to the cops for long. The encounter took place in Gurpa forests in Gaya, one of the many districts notorious for Naxal activities.

Acting on a tip-off that a group of Maoists had gathered in the forest and are planning for major operation, a team of security forces from the elite COBRA battalion was rushed to the spot last night.

On getting them surrounded by the forces, the rebels opened fire on them, leading to fierce gun-battle between them in the dead of night. Eventually, they backtracked unable to give proper challenge to the COBRA battalion, a specialized unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of India proficient in guerilla tactics and jungle warfare.

A subsequent search operation in the areas by the forest today found four bodies of the Maoists in the forests with their arms lying close to them. Police believe more rebels may have been killed in the encounter on the basis of trail of bloods.

“When we launched the operation in the forest, the hiding rebels started firing on us, leading to fierce encounter. In the end, we recovered four bodies from the spot,” a senior COBRA official Devesh Mishra told newsmen today.

Two of the four rebels killed in the encounter have been identified so far. They include Anil alias Deepak and Rajesh Ravidas. Anil was working as zonal commander of the Magadh Range whereas Ravidas was the sub-zonal commander, police claim.

This is the first major achievement of the police since they lost 10 colleagues in a deadly Maoist attacks in Aurangabad district in July last. The cops got killed after being booby-trapped by the Maoists who invited them telling about the presence of large number of rebels in the forest.

Finally when the unsuspecting cops entered the areas, the rebels began triggering the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid underneath, leaving at least 10 of them dead on the spot. Cops had no time to retaliate. As per reports, around 17 IEDs were triggered by the rebels.

Expenditure by India’s financially better-off states under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) this year shows that the scheme’s “exclusion error” continues to deprive the country’s poor states from benefiting from it adequately.

Pointing to MGNREGS’ critical “error”, the latest Economic Survey (2016-17) said states with large poor populations like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh, despite accounting for half the poor in the country, were able to access only a third of the resources spent on the scheme during 2015-16.

“This almost certainly implies that some deserving individuals are left out” of the benefit from the scheme, the Survey said in its review of the scheme, which is fully funded by the Central Government.

During the current financial year, as on 7 March, the total expenditure in the country on MGNREGS was Rs 51923.45 crore out of the total availability of funds, inclusive of some outstanding amounts, totalling Rs 54899.58 crore, as per the MGNREGS official data.

Among the better-off states, Andhra Pradesh spent Rs 4256.13 crore out of the total Rs 5270.51 crore available to it under MGNREGS; Telangana spent Rs 1617.55 crore out of the total of Rs 1797.00; Karnataka spent Rs 2716.83 crore out of its total of Rs 3156.32 crore; while Tamil Nadu spent Rs 5302.44 crore out of the total of Rs 5475.82
crore, and Kerala spent Rs 2101.27 crore, although the amount available to it was Rs 1732.89 crore only.

In percentage terms, these five states which were only four till the recent creation of Telangana, with a population share of just 20.74 per cent of the country’s total population of 121 crore as per the 2011 Census, spent a total of Rs 15994.22 crore, which was 30.80 per cent of the total expenditure this year.

Expenditure by India’s financially better-off states under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) this year shows that the scheme’s “exclusion error” continues to deprive the country’s poor states from benefiting from it adequately.

Pointing to MGNREGS’ critical “error”, the latest Economic Survey (2016-17) said states with large poor populations like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh, despite accounting for half the poor in the country, were able to access only a third of the resources spent on the scheme during 2015-16.

“This almost certainly implies that some deserving individuals are left out” of the benefit from the scheme, the Survey said in its review of the scheme, which is fully funded by the Central Government.

During the current financial year, as on 7 March, the total expenditure in the country on MGNREGS was Rs 51923.45 crore out of the total availability of funds, inclusive of some outstanding amounts, totalling Rs 54899.58 crore, as per the MGNREGS official data.

Among the better-off states, Andhra Pradesh spent Rs 4256.13 crore out of the total Rs 5270.51 crore available to it under MGNREGS; Telangana spent Rs 1617.55 crore out of the total of Rs 1797.00; Karnataka spent Rs 2716.83 crore out of its total of Rs 3156.32 crore; while Tamil Nadu spent Rs 5302.44 crore out of the total of Rs 5475.82
crore, and Kerala spent Rs 2101.27 crore, although the amount available to it was Rs 1732.89 crore only.

In percentage terms, these five states which were only four till the recent creation of Telangana, with a population share of just 20.74 per cent of the country’s total population of 121 crore as per the 2011 Census, spent a total of Rs 15994.22 crore, which was 30.80 per cent of the total expenditure this year.

Wishing "all" on the occasion of Women's Day on Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "urging" him to "unfollow" those who threaten and abuse women online.

"Happy women's day to all. On this day, I urge Hon'ble PM to unfollow all those who abuse n threaten women n take strong action against them," Kejriwal tweeted.

Last month, Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur was threatened with rape after she posted a message on social media following the Ramjas College ruckus that saw clashes between RSS-backed ABVP and Left-affiliated AISA.

The AAP had attacked Modi for "following" those on Twitter, who allegedly abused women. Some women leaders of the party had then asked the PM to "unfollow" them.

TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Dereck O'Brien retweeted the Kejriwa's tweet.

"Made the same request last month in #Parliament Maybe he will heed a CMs request (sic)," O'Brien wrote retweeting the tweet.

Wishing "all" on the occasion of Women's Day on Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "urging" him to "unfollow" those who threaten and abuse women online.

"Happy women's day to all. On this day, I urge Hon'ble PM to unfollow all those who abuse n threaten women n take strong action against them," Kejriwal tweeted.

Last month, Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur was threatened with rape after she posted a message on social media following the Ramjas College ruckus that saw clashes between RSS-backed ABVP and Left-affiliated AISA.

The AAP had attacked Modi for "following" those on Twitter, who allegedly abused women. Some women leaders of the party had then asked the PM to "unfollow" them.

TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Dereck O'Brien retweeted the Kejriwa's tweet.

"Made the same request last month in #Parliament Maybe he will heed a CMs request (sic)," O'Brien wrote retweeting the tweet.

Kerala government on Wednesday said it plans to further restrict groundwater use by soft drink major PepsiCo at Palakkad in view of severe drought in the state.

"The government will take stern measures to restrict usage of groundwater due to prevailing drought and if possible stop Pepsico from drawing it at its plant at Puthussery in Palakkad by using the power vested with it under the State Disaster Management Act," Minister for Water Resources Mathew T Thomas told the Assembly on Wednesday.

Under these special circumstances, the company has to reduce use of water and the government would take all possible steps in this regard, he said.

The minister said the State Disaster Management Authority had already issued notice to PepsiCo to reduce consumption by 75 per cent, to which the company claimed to have brought down water use to 1.5 lakh litres per day from February 3.

The company has seven bore wells and used to consume about 6.5 lakh litres per day.

Thomas was replying to a submission of CPI(M) veteran and Chairman of State Administrative Reforms Committee VS Achuthanandan, seeking steps to check use of groundwater by the soft drink manufacturer.

Achuthanandan said Palakkad district was experiencing the worst ever drought and PepsiCo should be restricted from drawing groundwater.

He also brought to the notice of the House the stir by locals against alleged exploitation of groundwater by PepsiCo.

The government had declared the entire state drought hit in October 2016 itself due to drastic rainfall deficiency.

The water level of all major reservoirs in Kerala has also gone down.

Kerala government on Wednesday said it plans to further restrict groundwater use by soft drink major PepsiCo at Palakkad in view of severe drought in the state.

"The government will take stern measures to restrict usage of groundwater due to prevailing drought and if possible stop Pepsico from drawing it at its plant at Puthussery in Palakkad by using the power vested with it under the State Disaster Management Act," Minister for Water Resources Mathew T Thomas told the Assembly on Wednesday.

Under these special circumstances, the company has to reduce use of water and the government would take all possible steps in this regard, he said.

The minister said the State Disaster Management Authority had already issued notice to PepsiCo to reduce consumption by 75 per cent, to which the company claimed to have brought down water use to 1.5 lakh litres per day from February 3.

The company has seven bore wells and used to consume about 6.5 lakh litres per day.

Thomas was replying to a submission of CPI(M) veteran and Chairman of State Administrative Reforms Committee VS Achuthanandan, seeking steps to check use of groundwater by the soft drink manufacturer.

Achuthanandan said Palakkad district was experiencing the worst ever drought and PepsiCo should be restricted from drawing groundwater.

He also brought to the notice of the House the stir by locals against alleged exploitation of groundwater by PepsiCo.

The government had declared the entire state drought hit in October 2016 itself due to drastic rainfall deficiency.

The water level of all major reservoirs in Kerala has also gone down.

Women must not raise their voice, should rarely talk, should stay behind the veil and not answer back. Men are the stronger section of the society, leaders, opinion holders and decision makers.

Fighting this since ages now, changes can be seen. Women have their voice raised and heard. They talk their heart out and take a stand for themselves and fellow women.

They are participating, contributing and excelling in all the fields. From art to technology, from making home to making a business grow, they do everything with proficiency.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day on Wednesday, let’s celebrate those women who celebrate laughter, who stand up on the stage with the sole purpose of making people smile and laugh with their comic skills.

Their audacity is worth appreciation as they break stereotypes with their performances every time. Here are five unabashed women comedians in India.

Vasu Primlani

Vasu is an international award-winning standup comedian, business school professor, triathlete, corporate trainer, somatic therapist, and environmentalist. Often called "India's Ellen", she performs one hour specials for children and adults.

Aditi Mittal

Aditi is one of the first women to do stand-up comedy in India. In 2009, she was one of the first five Indians to be featured in an Indians only stand-up show called Local Heroes, organised by the UK-based “The Comedy Store.”

Neeti Palta

She was voted as the best Stand Up comic at the Oz Fest and was India’s first Stand Up to perform at Melbourne for the prestigious Melbourne Comedy Festival 2013.

Mallika Dua

Social media sensation, bold, daring and fearless Mallika Dua can be seen on various platforms like web series, snapchat videos, advertisements etc. where she presents her confident self and break stereotypes.

Radhika Vaz

Vaz is one of the country’s most well-recognized stand-up comedians with an international following. Her comedy specials ‘Unladylike’ and ‘Older Angrier Hairier.’ have sold-out in New York, Los Angeles, and all major Indian cities.

These women are an inspiration to those who self doubt and wait for the society’s approval. On this International Women’s Day, let your inhibitions vanish and come out bolder and stronger.

Women must not raise their voice, should rarely talk, should stay behind the veil and not answer back. Men are the stronger section of the society, leaders, opinion holders and decision makers.

Fighting this since ages now, changes can be seen. Women have their voice raised and heard. They talk their heart out and take a stand for themselves and fellow women.

They are participating, contributing and excelling in all the fields. From art to technology, from making home to making a business grow, they do everything with proficiency.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day on Wednesday, let’s celebrate those women who celebrate laughter, who stand up on the stage with the sole purpose of making people smile and laugh with their comic skills.

Their audacity is worth appreciation as they break stereotypes with their performances every time. Here are five unabashed women comedians in India.

Vasu Primlani

Vasu is an international award-winning standup comedian, business school professor, triathlete, corporate trainer, somatic therapist, and environmentalist. Often called "India's Ellen", she performs one hour specials for children and adults.

Aditi Mittal

Aditi is one of the first women to do stand-up comedy in India. In 2009, she was one of the first five Indians to be featured in an Indians only stand-up show called Local Heroes, organised by the UK-based “The Comedy Store.”

Neeti Palta

She was voted as the best Stand Up comic at the Oz Fest and was India’s first Stand Up to perform at Melbourne for the prestigious Melbourne Comedy Festival 2013.

Mallika Dua

Social media sensation, bold, daring and fearless Mallika Dua can be seen on various platforms like web series, snapchat videos, advertisements etc. where she presents her confident self and break stereotypes.

Radhika Vaz

Vaz is one of the country’s most well-recognized stand-up comedians with an international following. Her comedy specials ‘Unladylike’ and ‘Older Angrier Hairier.’ have sold-out in New York, Los Angeles, and all major Indian cities.

These women are an inspiration to those who self doubt and wait for the society’s approval. On this International Women’s Day, let your inhibitions vanish and come out bolder and stronger.

The seventh and final phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh, which began at 7 am on Wednesday, got over around 5 pm amid tight security. The polling witnessed a turnout of women voters in large numbers.

Around 56 per cent of the 1.41 crore electorate exercised their franchise till 4 pm in the elections covering 40 Assembly seats spread over seven districts. Among the voters in the final phase of polling, 64.76 lakh are women.

All eyes are on the Assembly segments in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, are in prime focus.

In Jaunpur, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Jafarabad seat Harendra Pratap Singh and four others were arrested for allegedly carrying voters to polling booths in two vehicles.

Polling concluded at 5 pm in all constituencies, except Naxal-hit Duddhi, Robertsganj and Chakia seats, where it ended at 4 pm.

The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

Over 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres have been set up for Wednesday's exercise which will decide fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

The BJP is contesting 32 seats and its allies – the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party – are contesting on four seats each.

While the SP is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in the race for the remaining seats.