Following in the footsteps of the women's Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia, India will very soon have its first ever league for the eves — Women's Cricket League (WCL) — to be launched on March 8, coinciding with International Women's Day.

The WCL is viewed as an earnest endeavour to provide women cricketers in India equal opportunities and acknowledgement at par with their male counterparts.

Commenting on the upcoming league, WCL founder Parul Jain said: "It's important that young girls coming through can see cricket as a viable option to play at the highest level. The WCL #T20 League is expected to be of the same repute as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and women Big Bash League of Australia in support of women."

"This will lead to greater interest in women's cricket in India, which has generally been given much less importance than the men's sport."

"With many sports getting their own professional leagues and ever-growing popularity in the country, it is time that the women cricket league is formed. It is no surprise that the fierce team of eves does not get as much attention and opportunities neither from the sports bodies or the sponsors in India as the men's team," he added.

India's first woman cricket coach and Dronacharya awardee Sunita Sharma, who is closely associated with the project, said: "It's been more than three decades since the Indian women cricket team has been formed and has won various matches globally, still there is hardly any acknowledgement to women as per men cricketers in India."

"While men's cricket underwent huge changes in the 80s and 90s, we were just languishing. However, I am enamoured that a start has been made and we hope to gain a lot from it. Lot of talent will now come to the forefront. We would like to see WCL getting as much attention in future," she added.

India has proposed the name of Manjeev Singh Puri as its next ambassador to Nepal, with the term of senior Indian diplomat Ranjit Rae coming to an end, a media report said.

Puri is the incumbent Indian Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg.

An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu confirmed that Puri's name was sent to MoFA on Tuesday and the process for sending the agreement for his appointment would begin very soon, The Himalayan Times reported.

Outgoing Indian Ambassador Rae, whose term ended on Tuesday, had informed Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' of New Delhi's decision during his farewell call on Wednesday, the daily said quoting sources.

Chargé d'affaires at the Kathmandu-based Indian Embassy, Vinay Kumar, refused to comment on the issue, the daily said.

India has proposed the name of Manjeev Singh Puri as its next ambassador to Nepal, with the term of senior Indian diplomat Ranjit Rae coming to an end, a media report said.

Puri is the incumbent Indian Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg.

An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu confirmed that Puri's name was sent to MoFA on Tuesday and the process for sending the agreement for his appointment would begin very soon, The Himalayan Times reported.

Outgoing Indian Ambassador Rae, whose term ended on Tuesday, had informed Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' of New Delhi's decision during his farewell call on Wednesday, the daily said quoting sources.

Chargé d'affaires at the Kathmandu-based Indian Embassy, Vinay Kumar, refused to comment on the issue, the daily said.

All residents of Delhi can now get free diagnostic tests in 21 private institutions if they are referred to by Delhi government hospitals, it was announced on Thursday.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told an event here that another scheme would be rolled out in a week under which surgeries could also be done in private hospitals for free.

The announcement was made in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had in December announced the free diagnostic tests for those residing in Delhi for the past three years and whose annual family income was under Rs 3 lakh.

Both these conditions have been now scrapped, Jain said.

The minister said Delhi residents, if referred to by Delhi government hospitals, can get their diagnostic tests including MRI and CT Scan done for free in 21 private centres.

The government will reimburse these centres.

Similarly, if the waiting for surgeries in Delhi government hospitals exceeded a month, these too can be carried out in 41 hospitals accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH) and registered with the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).

The Delhi government will again reimburse these hospitals.

Reaching a milestone in enhancing its sub-surface warfare capability, the Indian Navy on Thursday successfully test-fired an anti-ship missile from the first of indigenously-built Kalvari class submarines in the Arabian sea.

"The missile successfully hit a surface target at extended ranges during the maiden firing this morning," an official statement said.

"This missile launch is a significant milestone, not only for the Kalvari, which is the first in a series of Scorpene-class submarines being built in India, but also in enhancing the Navy's sub-surface warfare capability," the statement added.

All six Kalvari submarines will be equipped with the missile, with a proven record in combat, to neutralise surface threats at extended ranges, the statement said.

Two mosques in the US state of Maryland have received threatening letters calling for the 'slaughter of Muslims', in apparent hate crime incidents.

Two Islamic centres in Silver Spring, Maryland, received violent threats by mail.

The president of the Islamic Education Society discovered an envelope inside a mailbox on Monday containing a threatening note, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said.

Police said this incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

The faithful at the mosque are still reeling after the terrifying message was dropped in their mailbox.

"It's heartbreaking, but we can't control anything. I don't know what in their mind they want to do," Taiyab Mohiudden, trustee of the Islamic Education Society of Maryland, was quoted as saying by CBS Baltimore.

Mohiudden found the note tucked in with the regular mail, and it read, "I will pay $100 to charity for every Muslim slaughtered." 

A note containing the same message was also found at a Muslim community centre just a few kilometres away, New York Daily News reported.

The message also came on an index card. Police said the envelope also had stamps from Europe.

"It really created anxiety and anger in me as well.

Because what kind of person could leave a note like that?" Zainab Chaudry of CAIR said.

The mosque incidents come as amid a wave of bomb threats to Jewish community centres in New York, Michigan, New Jersey and other states.

In the past week, dozens of gravestones were vandalised in Jewish cemeteries in St. Louis and Philadelphia.

Also, last week, an Indian was killed while his friend was injured in a hate crime.

32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was working at GPS-maker Garmin headquarters in Olathe, Kansas, was killed after he was shot by a navy veteran.

Kuchibhotla's Indian colleague Alok Madasani was injured when the 51-year-old shooter opened fire on them, yelling "get out of my country". A third person, an American who tried to intervene, was also injured in the incident.

President Donald Trump has condemned these types of attacks.

"We are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms," he had said.

Tracking lower opening of European equity markets, domestic bourses gave up initial gains and closed Thursday’s trading session in the negative zone with Midcap and Smallcap indices leading the declines.

The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended 145 points down at 28,840 and the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 46 points lower at 8,900.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices plunged 1.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.

All the BSE sectoral indices, except the Auto index, closed in the red zone with Realty index leading the declines, down 4.3 per cent. Auto index closed 0.3 per cent higher.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 contracted to 7 per cent, Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Tuesday.

The third quarter number GDP numbers are an important indicator of how the economy reacted after demonetisation. In the quarter ended December 31, 2015 the GDP growth was 7.2 per cent.

On Wednesday, the Sensex had closed 241 points higher at 28,984 and the Nifty had closed 66 points up at 8,946.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Tata Motors (up 2.7 per cent), Bajaj Auto (up 2.1 per cent), Hero Motocorp (up 1.4 per cent), TCS (up 0.9 per cent) and Wipro (up 0.4 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Adani Ports (down 3.1 per cent), Sun Pharma (down 2.6 per cent), NTPC (down 2.5 per cent), Bharti Airtel (down 2.1 per cent), and Dr Reddy’s Labs (down 2 per cent).

However, the Rupee was trading nine paise higher at 66.73 against the US Dollar.

Shraddha Kapoor began her pre-birthday celebrations with her long-time spot boy, who shares his birthday with her.

The spot boy, Raju, who has been working with Shraddha for quite a long time, celebrated his birthday with the actress.

Shraddha took to social media and tweeted about how Raju is always there for her and that it's a privilege that she shares her birthday with him. She uploaded pictures where the two are seen cutting a cake together and are all smiles!           

The Aashiqui2 actress had another early birthday celebration with her family and shared an endearing picture with everyone on Twitter, saying, "Early birthday celebration with the family before I leave tonight!!! Best times!!."

She was accompanied by her father Shakti Kapoor, her mother, her brother, her aunt with her little cousin sister, who she dotes on, and few other close relatives all around her for a happy family picture. 

Shraddha Kapoor is all set to appear in Haseena Parker's biopic which is slated to release later in 2017.

Sri Lanka authorities on Thursday arrested 13 Indian fishermen for poaching in its territorial waters.

The authorities also seized two trawlers used by the Indian fishermen in the northern seas, south of Sri Lanka's Delft Island, Xinhua news agency reported.

At a ministerial meeting in January, Sri Lanka urged India to end bottom trawling in order to resolve a long-standing fishing dispute.
 

Countering All India Students' Association (AISA) and National Students Union of India (NSUI) march on Wednesday, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) students on Thursday launched a protest march at Delhi University’s North Campus seeking a ban on ‘anti-nationals’.

Chanting slogans and waving the tricolor, ABVP carried out the ‘Save Delhi University’ protest on Thursday.

The ABVP said the protest march has been planned for bringing back peace in DU, according to sources.

The campaign ‘Save DU’ used by ABVP is somewhat similar to AISA and other Left organisations used during their campaign. Other general students who did not belong to any unions also joined the march on Tuesday to protest against the alleged campus violence by ABVP members.

According to reports, AISA is likely to plan a counter rally on March 4.

AISA and NSUI have blamed ABVP for the February 22 violence at Ramjas College where many students and professors were injured.

Ramjas College witnessed violent clashes between members of the ABVP and the AISA. The ABVP carried out the protest against an event invite to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid, accused in sedition case last year for an event in the college.

Economic and political systems in India have "not developed maturity" for nuanced interventions and tend to take recourse to bans and restrictions, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said on Thursday.

Voicing concerns that judiciary has acquired more authority than legislators, he said the society has become highly litigious and vouched for independent regulatory institutions that are free from political interference.

"I think regulatory institutions in India are still a work in progress. I do not think that we have attained the kind of maturity in our regulatory institutions that we need to and let's be honest about that," he said here at a function.

Subramanian made a case for building capacity at various institutions.

"Our economic and political system has still not developed the maturity to have finely calibrated interventions for problems.

"We have recourse to blunt instruments, bans, restrictions etc. In the areas of competition policy, I think we need to have…nuanced intervention wherever problem arise," he said.

He admitted however that it may not be easy to do things.

"So capacity (creation) is important, using calibrated as compared to blunt instrument is very important…(and) of course all regulatory institutions should be independent and free from political interference," Subramanian said.

"Anything happens and it goes to litigation and appeal. So we have become a highly litigious socitey… Everything is going to appeal and courts… The judiciary and the judicial type bodies have acquired much more authority and power than the legislators…," he said.

In such scenario, he added, there is a need to find ways to expedite the process of taking and implementing decisions.

"There is this feeling that finally everything has to be adjudicated by the courts and the Supreme Court in particular.

So, we are kind of getting a funnelling of decision making and its getting getting jammed and blocked," he said.

"So how do we make our country less litigious and how do we expedite things. I think, these are the challenges for all regulatory institutions and also for the CCI," he added.

He also said that exit for businesses is also very difficult in the country as their bad loans have to be written off, and companies have to be failed for that.

Civil aviation and public sector banks are few of the areas where "exit, exit, exit is a problem", he said, adding that for this the bankruptcy law is going to be important.

Seeking to attract Indian tourists, Israel plans to ease visa norms for India and has hiked its marketing budget for the country by ten times to $ 2.5 million in the last two years.

"We realise that India is going to be one of the top three countries sending tourists to Israel and so we have started to invest a lot in marketing our tourism potential there," Director General of Israel's Ministry of Tourism, Amir Halevi, said.

"We have already opened a tourist office in India. We also launched our first campaign last year which was a big success," he told PTI.

Right now, about 50,000 Indians are coming to Israel every year. There is a huge potential given India's size and this number can be easily doubled in a very short time. Indian tourists generally spend more than the average tourist which also makes them an attractive target.

The marketing budget has been increased by ten times to $2.5 million compared to what it was two years ago, Halevi said.

When asked about concerns related to visa issuance to Indians and also subsequent problems to such visitors in travelling to the Arab world, he said the process has been made "better and would be even easier".

"The visa process is now better and hopefully would be even easier. A tourist from India looking to get visa stamped on paper can get it that way and there will really be no problem with that," he said.

A spokesperson to the ministry said that, "given the importance of India as an emerging market for incoming tourists, the Tourism Ministry has submitted a request to ease the visa restrictions on Indian tour groups wishing to visit the country." 

"It is hoped that this request will be granted in the near future, reducing the wait time for a group visa to five working days," she said.

However, the "game changer" in these efforts is going to be the expected introduction of direct Air India (AI) flights between India and Israel later this year, Halevi said.

Discussions regarding the launch of Air India direct flights is said to have started last year and as per sources at the Israeli tourism ministry, the Chairman and Managing Director of AI, Ashwani Lohani, and its Commerce Director Pankaj Srivastava are likely to visit Israel in the next few days.

"Hopefully Air India would soon start direct flights between India and Tel Aviv which is going to be a game changer increasing manifold the number of tourists coming from India to Israel. The number of tourists from China to Israel doubled in one year after the start of direct flight by Hainan Airlines. We expect something similar with India," Halevi said.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists on Thursday held a "protest march" in Delhi University (DU) campus here, demanding action against the anti-national activities.

The students wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh said that the protest march near the university's North Campus' Art Faculty was organised to save the DU from "anti-national activities".

Students in the march were demanding strict action against all those elements who support "anarchism and anti-India propaganda".

A clash took place between the members of the ABVP and the All India Students Association (AISA), a Left-leaning student organisation, at Ramjas College on February 22 that left the university campus disturbed.

Delhi Police's Crime Branch, which is probing the clashes at Ramjas College, has recorded the statements of two St Stephen's College students who were allegedly beaten up by supporters of ABVP.

The two St Stephen's students- a boy and a girl- have alleged that they were beaten up outside the Ramjas College canteen by ABVP supporters, said a senior police officer.

The girl has also alleged that she was hit with a stone by the ABVP supporters, he said.

The Crime Branch team has till now received 25 complaints from the both the sides and is contacting students to record their statements.

"We have contacted students to join the probe. AISA activists have said that they will come together to record their statement. We had also shared our email IDs with the students and in all, we have received 25 complaints," he said.

The complaints mainly pertain to being roughed up and that of molestation.

"There are some complaints that have claimed that while they were being roughed up, policemen were standing there. But none of the complainants have alleged that they were beaten up by the policemen," he said.

Meanwhile, senior Delhi Police officials also met Ramjas college authorities and requested them to ensure "peaceful coexistence of students of different ideologies".

"Since Ramjas College witnessed large-scale violence last week, officers had a word with representatives from the college. We told them to engage with students, irrespective of the ideologies they believe in.

"It was also discussed that a debate between different ideologies is essential for democracy but it should not be allowed to become violent," an officer said.

Cops are also in the process of meeting principals of other Delhi University colleges to ensure peace in the campus area.

Ramjas college had recently witnessed large-scale violence between members of the AISA and the ABVP. The genesis of the clash was an invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid to address a seminar on 'Culture of Protests', which was withdrawn by the college authorities following opposition by ABVP.

Colourful and vibrant spring brings with it variety of fruits. Appealing to the eyes, these seasonal delights are packed with plenty of ‘good for you’ nutrients. These tempting fruits are in season for only a short time. So, what are you waiting for? Fill your cart with variety of different fruits.

Enjoy the seasonal fruits in the form of salads, fresh juices, milk shakes, smoothies, pies and desserts – or just add them chopped in ice-creams and rich cream. You can make fabulous jams and jellies using them. Keep yourself happy and healthy with these March-April fruity showers. Learn about this fruit group and many benefits it provides.

Some of the common spring fruit are strawberries, black grapes, yellow grapes, kiwi and raspberries.

Benefits of eating spring fruits

They are excellent source of antioxidants, Vitamin A, C, E, K and B6

They contain good amount of potassium, folate and dietary fibre.

They reduce the risk of heart diseases, including heart attacks and strokes.

Fruit lower the risk of certain types of cancer.

Being rich in potassium, they control high blood pressure and help decrease bone flaws.

They reduce the chance of getting kidney stone.

They lower the risk of obesity and type II diabetes.

With sweetness in taste that is low in calorie, they help to maintain weight.

Loaded with health promoting phyto-chemicals, fruit provide optimum health.

How to buy to spring fruits?

These vibrant fruits are very delicate and perishable.

Buy them from an ‘A’ grade fruit seller who meets quality standards and has a fixed shop.

Check every piece carefully on your own before buying.

Pick the ripe and firm pieces which can last for few days with freshness.

How to store spring fruits?

Place the fruits in re-sealable bags

Keep the fruits in a refrigerator.

You can store them for up to a week there.

How to eat spring fruits?

Wash them well before using to remove dirt

Pat them dry after washing them.

To remove the wax coating, dip them in water and vinegar solution for few minutes and rinse in running tap water.

At a time when issues like corruption and surgical strikes are predominant, Vidyut Jammwal’s Commando 2:The Black Money Trail brings back the one-man army, only this time to hit the most sensitive issue in the economy – black money. The action-drama film carries a strong social message of eradicating black money from the society.
 
“We can’t compare with the real commandos, they’re amazing. They represent our nation. So, I had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders that if I am playing a commando, I should do it judiciously,” says Vidyut, who plays the lead character, to thestatesman.com in an exclusive tête-à-tête in New Delhi.
 
The 36-year-old will be seen playing Karan Singh Dogra, a commando in the sequel of the film – Commando: A One Man Army came in 2013.
 
Talking about the acclamation he received after playing a commando in the first part, Vidyut says, “I’ve received messages, emails of fans saying they got motivation after watching Commando and they joined the army thereafter. All this make me feel very proud of myself. Like I am doing something meaningful in my life”
 
Vidyut, a son of an army officer himself, has been connected to army closely since childhood. “The biggest advantage of being a son of an army personal is that you treat everyone as your equal and you don’t discriminate. You can mingle with anyone easily. It also makes you a positive human being.”
 
Directed by Deven Bhojani, Commando 2 features Adah Sharma, Esha Gupta and Freddy Daruwala besides Vidyut, who claimed high praise for his action sequences in his debut film Force.
 
Calling it an “already successful franchise”, Vidyut said he had a fun time shooting with the cast and the crew of the film.
 
“It was a great experience for me as apart from Vipul Shah, I knew no one on the set. Everyone was new to each other and thus, everyone gave their hundred per cent. It’s a good feeling to be a part of an already successful franchise.”
 
Vidyut also talks about the improvements he sees in himself from Force to his latest movie. “As a human being, I’ve changed a lot. As a martial artist, action choreographer, I’ve evolved a lot. When I saw myself in Commando 2 yesterday, it made me feel satisfied to see such a level of action.”
 
The actor, who was trained in Kalaripayyatu at an early age, has claimed a big position among action heroes currently ruling Bollywood. However, he doesn’t count anyone from the industry as his competitor in the genre as such.
 
“It’s difficult to find my competition in the industry as the level of my action is far above the standards already set here. With this level of action, I aim to compete with international standards,” he added.
 
Following Commando 2, Vidyut, will be next seen trying his luck in a different genre with the romantic-drama film Yaara. Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, the film also features Irrfan Khan, Amit Sadh and Shruti Haasan.

The GST Council has proposed to raise the peak tax rate to 20 per cent, from the current 14 per cent, in the model goods and services tax Bill to preclude the requirement of approaching Parliament for any change in rates in future.

The change in the peak rate will not alter the 4-slab rate structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent agreed upon last year, but is only a provision being built into the model law to take care of contingencies in future, two officials in the know said.

The revised draft of model GST law, which was made public in November 2016, provides for a maximum rate of tax under the new regime at 14 per cent (14 per cent central GST and an equal state GST, taking the total to 28 per cent).

"There shall be levied a tax called the central/state goods and services tax (CGST/SGST) on all intra-state supplies of goods and/or services… at such rates as may be notified by the central/state government… but not exceeding 14 per cent on the recommendation of the Council and collected in such manner as may be prescribed," the draft law states.

Officials said this "14 per cent" will now be changed to say the rate will not exceed "20 per cent".

The GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising representatives of all states, has agreed to keep the upper band of the rate in the law at 20 per cent.

"For the moment, we will not tinker with the rate structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. The GST Council has decided to keep the upper cap higher at 20 per cent so that in future in case of need to hike tax rate, there is no need to approach Parliament for a nod and the GST Council can raise it," the officials said.

This means the central GST and state GST can be up to 20 per cent each, leaving the scope for a maximum levy at 40 per cent.

"The 4-tier rate structure that has been decided will hold for now. By keeping the upper cap at 20 per cent, we are just keeping an enabling provision which the Council can exercise at a later date after deliberation," the official added.

Mirroring the model GST law, the CGST, SGST and UTGST law will be firmed up by the Centre, states and Union Territories, respectively.

The Centre plans to introduce in Parliament the Central GST (CGST) Bill in the forthcoming session beginning March 9.

After it is ratified, the states will introduce the State GST (SGST) Bill in their respective legislative Assemblies.

The central and state officials will soon start the exercise to determine which goods and services should fall in which tax bracket and the same will be taken to the Council for approval soon.

Together with this, they will also decide the goods and services that would attract a cess on top of the peak rate to create a corpus that can be used for compensating states for any loss of revenue from implementation of GST in the first five years.

The government is looking at GST rollout from July 1.