In connection with the defamation case of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appeared before the Delhi High Court on Monday.

The finance minister had filed the suit in 2015 seeking Rs.10 crore damages from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and five other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders for accusing him of corruption in DDCA.

Jaitley was cross-examined by senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, according to reports.

“Jethmalani asked Jaitley to explain how he has suffered loss,” reports stated, adding, the finance minister said, “It was loss to his reputation. Reputation loss is small part of enormous damage”.

“You have not suffered any monetary loss,” Jethmalani told Jaitley, reports stated.

The AAP leaders have alleged irregularities and financial bungling by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in DDCA. Jaitley was the president of DDCA for about 13 years till 2013.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court (HC) on March 1 dismissed Kejriwal's application seeking Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his family’s bank account details.

In connection with the defamation case of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appeared before the Delhi High Court on Monday.

The finance minister had filed the suit in 2015 seeking Rs.10 crore damages from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and five other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders for accusing him of corruption in DDCA.

Jaitley was cross-examined by senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, according to reports.

“Jethmalani asked Jaitley to explain how he has suffered loss,” reports stated, adding, the finance minister said, “It was loss to his reputation. Reputation loss is small part of enormous damage”.

“You have not suffered any monetary loss,” Jethmalani told Jaitley, reports stated.

The AAP leaders have alleged irregularities and financial bungling by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in DDCA. Jaitley was the president of DDCA for about 13 years till 2013.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court (HC) on March 1 dismissed Kejriwal's application seeking Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his family’s bank account details.

Campaigning for the second and final phase of the Manipur Assembly elections ended on Monday at 3 pm.

A total of 98 candidates, including four women, are in the fray for the second phase slated for March 8.

The second phase will be held in 22 assembly constituencies to elect for the 60-member state assembly for which 1,151 polling stations have been set up.

Six districts–Chandel, Imphal East, Senapati, Tamenglong, Thoubal and Ukhrul will go to polls in the second phase.

The final phase will witness two chief ministerial candidates– Okram Ibobi Singh and Irom Sharmila and the BJP banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave.

Senior Congress leader and state CM Okram Ibobi Singh is contesting from Thoubal constituency. Singh has been the chief minister since 2002.

People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) party chief Irom Sharmila, who ended her 16 years' fast against Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) on August 9, 2016 is contesting from two constituencies – Khurai and Thoubal against the incumbent chief minister.

Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadhkari, State Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam are campaigning in the final phase.

There are 774472 voters- 3,81,381 male and 3, 93,091 female, who will be voting in the final phase to decide the fate of the 98 candidates from 13 political parties.

Brisk voting with a turnout of over 80 per was recorded in the first phase of polling in 38 constituencies held on March 4.

The results will be declared on March 11.

Campaigning for the second and final phase of the Manipur Assembly elections ended on Monday at 3 pm.

A total of 98 candidates, including four women, are in the fray for the second phase slated for March 8.

The second phase will be held in 22 assembly constituencies to elect for the 60-member state assembly for which 1,151 polling stations have been set up.

Six districts–Chandel, Imphal East, Senapati, Tamenglong, Thoubal and Ukhrul will go to polls in the second phase.

The final phase will witness two chief ministerial candidates– Okram Ibobi Singh and Irom Sharmila and the BJP banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave.

Senior Congress leader and state CM Okram Ibobi Singh is contesting from Thoubal constituency. Singh has been the chief minister since 2002.

People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) party chief Irom Sharmila, who ended her 16 years' fast against Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) on August 9, 2016 is contesting from two constituencies – Khurai and Thoubal against the incumbent chief minister.

Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadhkari, State Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam are campaigning in the final phase.

There are 774472 voters- 3,81,381 male and 3, 93,091 female, who will be voting in the final phase to decide the fate of the 98 candidates from 13 political parties.

Brisk voting with a turnout of over 80 per was recorded in the first phase of polling in 38 constituencies held on March 4.

The results will be declared on March 11.

Differently-abled individuals will now be able to find the perfect match for themselves, thanks to a new mobile application that is making the phenomenon of love more inclusive than ever before.

Similar to the existing dating application Tinder, 'Inclov' which started off as an offline matchmaking venture in 2014, gives individuals with special needs an opportunity to find a partner who can be compassionate and thoughtful towards their condition.

A knee injury that left one of the co-founders of 'Inclov' Shankar Srinivasan under "house arrest" for over three months, made him realise the inaccessible nature of public platforms across the country.

"My co-founder Kalyani Khona came up with the idea in July 2014 and it started off as an offline matchmaking agency where profiles were matched manually.

"Both of us were passionate about matchmaking and we thought about which community requires it the most – and this seemed like the one," Srinivasan told PTI.

Like any other application, an individual is expected to input basic details like 'Name', 'Image(s)', 'Age', preference of gender along with professional and educational details.

They are also required to mention additionally the type of disorder or disability they have, to offer users a transparent and seamless experience while making choices.

An individual is also expected to provide information about the 'Percentage of disability', 'Assistive devices', and 'level of independence'.

"You will be shown five curated, new profiles every day and you can send a chat request. Once the request is accepted, the two users can chat with each other on the app and at their discretion exchange personal information," says Srinivasan.

Differently-abled individuals will now be able to find the perfect match for themselves, thanks to a new mobile application that is making the phenomenon of love more inclusive than ever before.

Similar to the existing dating application Tinder, 'Inclov' which started off as an offline matchmaking venture in 2014, gives individuals with special needs an opportunity to find a partner who can be compassionate and thoughtful towards their condition.

A knee injury that left one of the co-founders of 'Inclov' Shankar Srinivasan under "house arrest" for over three months, made him realise the inaccessible nature of public platforms across the country.

"My co-founder Kalyani Khona came up with the idea in July 2014 and it started off as an offline matchmaking agency where profiles were matched manually.

"Both of us were passionate about matchmaking and we thought about which community requires it the most – and this seemed like the one," Srinivasan told PTI.

Like any other application, an individual is expected to input basic details like 'Name', 'Image(s)', 'Age', preference of gender along with professional and educational details.

They are also required to mention additionally the type of disorder or disability they have, to offer users a transparent and seamless experience while making choices.

An individual is also expected to provide information about the 'Percentage of disability', 'Assistive devices', and 'level of independence'.

"You will be shown five curated, new profiles every day and you can send a chat request. Once the request is accepted, the two users can chat with each other on the app and at their discretion exchange personal information," says Srinivasan.

The Chinese media on Monday accused India of using the Dalai Lama card to deal with China's growing economic and political influence in South Asia and warned New Delhi of "severe consequences" if it hosted the Tibetan spiritual leader in a "disputed" area in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Despite objections by China, India will host the Dalai Lama in a disputed region on the China-India border in coming weeks," state-run Global Times said in an op-ed.

The comments came after the Chinese Foreign Ministry criticised India for allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as southern Tibet.

The permission was granted last October and the Dalai Lama is expected to visit the area in the coming weeks.

Referring to reported comments by Indian officials that it was a religious trip and Dalai Lama had undertaken numerous such visits earlier, the article said the officials has not realised the consequences.

"These Indian officials apparently didn't realise, or deliberately ignored, the severe consequences the Dalai Lama's trip would bring.

"The 14th Dalai Lama is by no means a spiritual leader but a Tibetan separatist," it said, adding that allowing him to the "disputed area will inevitably trigger confrontation, undermine the stability of the region and sour Sino-Indian relations".

"For a long time, some Indians have considered the Dalai Lama as a strategic asset. They believe that India could gain many benefits by using the Dalai issue as leverage. For instance, making an issue of the Dalai Lama could serve as a diplomatic tool to deal with China's growing economic and political influence in South Asia," it said.

"However, they overestimate the political value of the Dalai Lama and his group while miscalculating China's determination to safeguard its core interests," it said.

"An increasing number of Western leaders have shut the door on the Dalai Lama in recent years after realising the Dalai card is ineffective," it said, referring to the recent decision by Mongolia not to invite him in future.

"Against such a backdrop and at a time when a China-India strategic dialogue was just held to improve bilateral relations, the decision to receive the Dalai Lama in the disputed region is unwise. Leveraging the Dalai Lama issue to undermine Beijing's core interests risks dragging the two countries into a state of hostility," it said.

"The good momentum for the bilateral relationship in recent years shouldn't be disrupted. In future, there is a great potential for the two countries to tap into cooperation.

"As the two biggest emerging economies, they have vast common interests on establishing a new global financial order, tackling climate change and other major issues. Now China and India have come to a critical period to further upgrade bilateral ties," it said.

The Chinese media on Monday accused India of using the Dalai Lama card to deal with China's growing economic and political influence in South Asia and warned New Delhi of "severe consequences" if it hosted the Tibetan spiritual leader in a "disputed" area in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Despite objections by China, India will host the Dalai Lama in a disputed region on the China-India border in coming weeks," state-run Global Times said in an op-ed.

The comments came after the Chinese Foreign Ministry criticised India for allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as southern Tibet.

The permission was granted last October and the Dalai Lama is expected to visit the area in the coming weeks.

Referring to reported comments by Indian officials that it was a religious trip and Dalai Lama had undertaken numerous such visits earlier, the article said the officials has not realised the consequences.

"These Indian officials apparently didn't realise, or deliberately ignored, the severe consequences the Dalai Lama's trip would bring.

"The 14th Dalai Lama is by no means a spiritual leader but a Tibetan separatist," it said, adding that allowing him to the "disputed area will inevitably trigger confrontation, undermine the stability of the region and sour Sino-Indian relations".

"For a long time, some Indians have considered the Dalai Lama as a strategic asset. They believe that India could gain many benefits by using the Dalai issue as leverage. For instance, making an issue of the Dalai Lama could serve as a diplomatic tool to deal with China's growing economic and political influence in South Asia," it said.

"However, they overestimate the political value of the Dalai Lama and his group while miscalculating China's determination to safeguard its core interests," it said.

"An increasing number of Western leaders have shut the door on the Dalai Lama in recent years after realising the Dalai card is ineffective," it said, referring to the recent decision by Mongolia not to invite him in future.

"Against such a backdrop and at a time when a China-India strategic dialogue was just held to improve bilateral relations, the decision to receive the Dalai Lama in the disputed region is unwise. Leveraging the Dalai Lama issue to undermine Beijing's core interests risks dragging the two countries into a state of hostility," it said.

"The good momentum for the bilateral relationship in recent years shouldn't be disrupted. In future, there is a great potential for the two countries to tap into cooperation.

"As the two biggest emerging economies, they have vast common interests on establishing a new global financial order, tackling climate change and other major issues. Now China and India have come to a critical period to further upgrade bilateral ties," it said.

Wicket-keeping great Ian Healy says he is "losing respect" for Indian captain Virat Kohli for his constant sledging of the Australians in the ongoing second cricket Test but other former Aussie players see it differently.

Healy said Kohli disrespected Australia and the Indian captain should tone down his trademark on-field aggression. He also said that Kohli's confrontational attitude is putting pressure on his teammates.

Former Australian player Simon Katich, however, offered a totally different assessment. He felt neither side crossed the line while the tension was understandable considering the magnitude of the series between the two top-ranked Test sides.

Kohli was on a sledging spree on day two of the second Test in Bangalore. After frequent exchanges between Kohli and Steven Smith, the India skipper tried to unnerve opener Matt Renshaw by reminding him of the "toilet break" he took in the Pune Test.

"The pressure is starting to tell on (Kohli). I'm losing respect for him. He's got to be a lot more respectful of his opponents. The stuff he did with Steve Smith was unacceptable," the 119-Test veteran Healy told Melbourne radio station SEN.

Healy felt Kohli's actions was putting unwanted pressure on his own players.

"I've said in the past, he (Kohli) is the best batsman I've ever seen. His feistiness and real aggression towards the opposition has been good (in the past), especially when he was not captain. It would lead his team with him. They're more timid than they look and they let on, the Indian cricketers.

"So Kohli's aggression was good for them. But I think it's not good for them anymore. He's really putting some pressure on (his players). You can read pressure all over Ravi Ashwin's face. I think there are massive cracks showing in (Kohli)," said Healy.

Katich, however, said that both Kohli and his counterpart Steve Smith handled a tense situation of a vital Test with aplomb.

"I thought both of them handled it extremely well. You could tell there was a lot of emotion out there, India were desperate for wickets. They know Steve Smith is a huge wicket," Katich said on ABC's Grandstand at Stumps podcast.

"I think Steve Smith handled it well too, he had a bit of a laugh. He took the mickey out of Ishant, Ishant took the mickey out of him. The umpires handled it well.

"All in all, the captains both deserve a lot of credit because that could have easily gotten out of hand. It could have gotten out of hand but it didn't courtesy of the two captains."

Wicket-keeping great Ian Healy says he is "losing respect" for Indian captain Virat Kohli for his constant sledging of the Australians in the ongoing second cricket Test but other former Aussie players see it differently.

Healy said Kohli disrespected Australia and the Indian captain should tone down his trademark on-field aggression. He also said that Kohli's confrontational attitude is putting pressure on his teammates.

Former Australian player Simon Katich, however, offered a totally different assessment. He felt neither side crossed the line while the tension was understandable considering the magnitude of the series between the two top-ranked Test sides.

Kohli was on a sledging spree on day two of the second Test in Bangalore. After frequent exchanges between Kohli and Steven Smith, the India skipper tried to unnerve opener Matt Renshaw by reminding him of the "toilet break" he took in the Pune Test.

"The pressure is starting to tell on (Kohli). I'm losing respect for him. He's got to be a lot more respectful of his opponents. The stuff he did with Steve Smith was unacceptable," the 119-Test veteran Healy told Melbourne radio station SEN.

Healy felt Kohli's actions was putting unwanted pressure on his own players.

"I've said in the past, he (Kohli) is the best batsman I've ever seen. His feistiness and real aggression towards the opposition has been good (in the past), especially when he was not captain. It would lead his team with him. They're more timid than they look and they let on, the Indian cricketers.

"So Kohli's aggression was good for them. But I think it's not good for them anymore. He's really putting some pressure on (his players). You can read pressure all over Ravi Ashwin's face. I think there are massive cracks showing in (Kohli)," said Healy.

Katich, however, said that both Kohli and his counterpart Steve Smith handled a tense situation of a vital Test with aplomb.

"I thought both of them handled it extremely well. You could tell there was a lot of emotion out there, India were desperate for wickets. They know Steve Smith is a huge wicket," Katich said on ABC's Grandstand at Stumps podcast.

"I think Steve Smith handled it well too, he had a bit of a laugh. He took the mickey out of Ishant, Ishant took the mickey out of him. The umpires handled it well.

"All in all, the captains both deserve a lot of credit because that could have easily gotten out of hand. It could have gotten out of hand but it didn't courtesy of the two captains."

In connection with Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) defamation case, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is expected to appear before the Delhi High Court on Monday.

Jaitley will be cross-examined by counsel for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, according to reports.

The finance minister had filed a suit in 2015 seeking Rs.10 crore damages from Kejriwal, and five other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders for accusing him of corruption in DDCA.

The AAP leaders have alleged irregularities and financial bungling by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Jaitley was the president of DDCA for about 13 years till 2013.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court (HC) on March 1 dismissed Kejriwal's application seeking Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his family’s bank account details.

In connection with Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) defamation case, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is expected to appear before the Delhi High Court on Monday.

Jaitley will be cross-examined by counsel for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, according to reports.

The finance minister had filed a suit in 2015 seeking Rs.10 crore damages from Kejriwal, and five other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders for accusing him of corruption in DDCA.

The AAP leaders have alleged irregularities and financial bungling by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Jaitley was the president of DDCA for about 13 years till 2013.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court (HC) on March 1 dismissed Kejriwal's application seeking Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his family’s bank account details.

The five-day Budget session of the Delhi Assembly began here on Monday with the address of Lt Governor Anil Baijal, his first since assuming office in December last year.

In his 30 minute-long speech, the governor ran through the work of the AAP government with education and health as the highlight areas.

The Arvind Kejriwal government will present its third Budget on March 8 since coming to power in 2015.

Baijal, who has had an uneventful tenure so far, stuck to the script as he underlined the government's measures like slashing power tariff by half and making a certain quantum of water supply free to improve the living standard of city residents.

He said the Delhi government's 50 per cent subsidy on monthly power consumption of up to 400 units would continue.

"Five new schools have been opened, while five others have been upgraded. Construction of 20 new schools and 8,000 classrooms are underway," he said.

In the area of health, Baijal referred to former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's praise for 'mohalla clinics' (neighbourhood clinics), and said 1,000 such facilities will come up in the next six months.

Around 122 polyclinics, also part of AAP's three-tier health care reforms, will be built in the next one year, he said.

Baijal said the phase III of Delhi Metro, under which two corridors are being built parallel to the arterial Ring Road, will be launched by June, while the Phase IV which has recently been cleared will come up by 2021.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other top ministers of the cabinet, including Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, as well as Leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta were present during the House proceedings.

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday asked the Union government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to explain why people are not being allowed to deposit demonetised notes till March 31 as promised.

“SC notice to Centre, RBI on plea alleging that people are not being allowed to deposit demonetised currency notes till March 31, 2017 as promised,” reports stated, adding the “SC fixes the petitions on demonetisation for further hearing on March 10”.

While announcing the demonetisation move on November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that old currency notes (Rs.1,000 and Rs.500) can be exchanged till March 31, 2017.

However, hundreds returned empty handed after December 31 as the RBI allowed the facility only for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) or those who were abroad during the 50-day of the demonetisation period.

The government announced demonetisation or note ban of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes on November 8 midnight to curb black money and terrorism and promote digital transactions.

After Filmmaker Karan Johar, television actor Gurmeet Choudhary and his wife Debina Bonnerjee are all set to embrace parenthood. According to sources, the duo will drive down to Jarampur, a small village in Bihar and Gurmeet's hometown, which is five hours from Patna, to adopt two girls.

They met the girls three years ago in 2014, when Debina and Gurmeet went to Jarampur to attend a family wedding. The two girls Lata and Pooja, aged nine and six are orphans and very close to Gurmeet's mother, the sources added.

"After hearing about their plight from my mother I discussed them with my wife. Debina agreed with me that it was time to give the kids a home, a deserving education and my last name," Gurmeet is quoted as saying to a national daily. "All the paperwork is done. We will be going to Jarampur for the final signatures after Holi. It is a two-day process.Everybody, including my parents, keep asking me when I'm planning a baby. Well, it's official now, I'm bringing home two daughters and we couldn't be more excited."

North Korea on March 6 fired four ballistic projectiles into Sea of Japan that flew on average 1,000 km (620 miles), angering both South Korea and Japan.

The military authorities of South Korea, Japan and the United States have confirmed the launch of four intermediate range missiles, as reported by a news channel.

Japan's Defence Minister Tomomi said that some of the missiles landed in waters as close as 300 km (190 miles) from Japan's northwest coast.

Three of the four missiles landed in its Special Economic Zone (EEZ) – an area stretching some 370 km from the coastline of northern Akita prefecture, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Parliament on March 6.

Condemning the act by North Korea which came as a retaliation to US.-South Korea military drills, Abe added, "The launches are clearly in violation of Security Council Resolution.”

Japanese leaders have expressed apprehension over the issue and termed the act "extremely dangerous". 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday promised to take every possible step to ‘uplift’ the farmers in Uttar Pradesh.

“Being raised in a poor family, am aware of the hardships they face. We would take every step that uplifts them,” PM Modi said while addressing his third election rally, at Rohaniya in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav for failing to help the farmers in the state.

“UP government is anti-farmer. Why is it that farmers don't benefit from the Fasal Bima Yojana (Crop Insurance Scheme)? Why they don't help farmers in distress,” he added.

In a final push for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the prime minister in his Lok Sabha constituency held a rally on the last day of campaigning for the seven-phase elections.

Earlier in the day, Modi visited Gadwaghat Ashram in Varanasi and fed the cows and prayed at the Ashram Temple. He also paid tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri by visiting the former PM's residence.