Demonetisation has hit hard the winter wedding season. But many rush for the pre-wedding spa that is becoming a trend. Hectic marriage preparations can stress you out completely. But your body and mind need rejuvenation to look your best on your D-Day. To help ensure a picture perfect appearance, spa is the best option to rejuvenate your mind, body and soul.

Full body massage: This head to toe massage involves help in the release of certain hormones that calm nerve endings. It increases blood circulation and quietens the mind. You can get rid of dirty and dead skin, especially from areas that are susceptible to its accumulation. This massage revitalise your skin. It beats dryness, pigmentation and signs of sun damage. It helps eliminate toxins from your body. You will be able to sleep better before your D-Day after this spa.

Thai massage: With gentle pressures on energy lines and yoga-like stretching, it relaxes the whole body from inside out. It will enhance your personal appearance, emotional and mental status that are vital on your big day.

Deep tissue massage: It helps to lower both physical and psychological stress. It stimulates blood flow and relieve muscle tension. It also helps release happy hormones to keep you hale and hearty on your wedding day.

Hot stone massage: This massage offers deep relaxation, easing the stressed muscles and relieving all pain due to the tiring schedule you went through. It promotes sound sleep a day before your D-Day.

Swedish massage: This massage may relax the entire body by rubbing the muscles with long gliding strokes. With the body building up a lot of stress owing to tedious wedding chores, now it’s time to melt away all the worries and pains.

To ease the knots and tensions, book an appointment along with your fiancé at your favourite spa. It should be the day just before your wedding day to retain the benefits the whole big day.

Although, modern day luxury spa resorts are many, a perfect blend of traditional Ayurveda and super luxury ambience are most in demand. Make the most important and memorable day of your life go off without a glitch with this therapeutic treatment.

The Army on Wednesday paid homage to four soldiers, including an officer, who laid down their lives during two counter-insurgency operations in Bandipora and Kupwara districts of Kashmir.

Joined by officials of other security forces operating in the Valley, Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen J S Sandhu paid rich tributes to Major Satish Dahiya, Rifleman Ravi Kumar, Paratrooper Dharmender Kumar and Gunner Astosh Kumar in a solemn ceremony at Badamaibagh Cantonment here.

"Survived by his wife and a two-year-old daughter, 31-year-old Maj Dahiya had led the operation launched by Army in Handwara on Tuesday which eventually resulted in the elimination of three terrorists, thus delivering a major blow to the terror network in North Kashmir," defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

He said the officer, hailing from Mahendergarh in Haryana, had been a part of several counter-terrorist operations and had also been awarded for gallantry earlier.

33-year-old Rifleman Ravi Kumar hailed from Samba in Jammu and Kashmir and was part of another operation in Hajin, Bandipora yesterday in which one terrorist was killed.

He is survived by his wife and a three-year-old daughter, the spokesman said.

Also forming part of the same operation was Paratrooper Dharmender Kumar of Nainital, Uttarakhand.

"The young paratrooper, who defied his 26 years of age and had established himself amongst his comrades as a spirited and daring soldier, is survived by his parents," he said.

Gunner Astosh Kumar hailed from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh and is survived by his mother Shila Devi. His father Havildar Lal Sahib had laid down his life during the Kargil War.

"The mortal remains of the martyrs will be taken to their native places for last rites with full military honours. The Army stands in solidarity with the bereaved families and remains committed to their dignity and well being," the spokesman said.

A mob on Wednesday ransacked a private hospital here and beat up the security guards following a patient's death.

"A mob attacked and vandalised the Calcutta Medical Research Institute in Ekbalpur after a girl admitted to the hospital died," a police official said.

According to hospital attendants, a group of nearly 100 men attacked the hospital with metal rods breaking down the front door and ransacking the reception area.

The mob also beat up the security personnel posted at the gate.

"They shattered the glass door at the entrance and smashed the computer peripherals that were kept at the specialty counters. The duty manager was also severely beaten up when he tried to stop them. We were helpless. How could we stop a mob of 100 men," said a security guard posted at the hospital.

"We are extremely scared. Our hospital was full of patients when the incident happened. They completely destroyed the well-decorated counters and smashed the computers. We all are feeling insecure," the hospital's public relations officer said, visibly petrified after the incident.

However, the family members of the deceased accused the hospital of killing their girl through wrong treatment and demanding money without taking care of critical patients.

"Our girl suffered a heart attack after she was given a wrong injection. She was taken to the operation theatre after a long delay. The hospital killed the patient," alleged a relative of the deceased.

"They kept demanding money without treating the critical patient. We said we will pay the fees as soon as possible but they never listened," another local said.

Keeping aside positive global equity markets, domestic bourses closed Wednesday’s trading session in the negative zone. The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended 184 points down at 28,156, and the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 68 points lower at 8,725.

However, broader markets again underperformed the front liners. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices plunged 1.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

All the BSE sectoral indices, except FMCG index, closed in the red zone with Realty index leading the declines, down 3.5 per cent. FMCG index inched up 0.1 per cent.

On Tuesday, the Sensex had closed 12 points down at 28,339 and the Nifty had closed 13 points lower at 8,792.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: ITC (up 1 per cent), TCS (up 0.5 per cent), HDFC Bank (up 0.5 per cent), Bajaj Auto (up 0.4 per cent) and Asian Paints (up 0.3 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Tata Motors (down 10.3 per cent), Sun Pharma (down 4.3 per cent), Tata Steel (down 2.6 per cent), Adani Ports (down 2.1 per cent), and Hero Motocorp (down 1.8 per cent).

However, the Rupee was trading two paise higher at 66.92 against the US Dollar.

Astronomers have spotted a rare pulsating star which is expanding and contracting in three different directions simultaneously.

It is situated 7,000 light years away from Earth in the constellation Pegasus, said astronomer Farley Ferrante, a member of the team that made the discovery at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

The star is one that pulsates and so is characterised by varying brightness over time. 

Called a variable star, this particular star is one of only seven known stars of its kind in our Milky Way galaxy.

"It was challenging to identify it," Ferrante said in a university statement. 

The Milky Way has more than 100 billion stars. But just over 400,900 are catalogued as variable stars. 

Of those, a mere seven — including the newly-identified one — are the rare intrinsic variable star called a Triple Mode 'high amplitude delta Scuti' or Triple Mode HADS(B), for short.

"The discovery of this object helps to flesh out the characteristics of this unique type of variable star. These and further measurements can be used to probe the way the pulsations happen," Robert Kehoe, Professor at Southern Methodist University, said.

"Pulsating stars have also been important to improving our understanding of the expansion of the universe and its origins, which is another exciting piece of this puzzle," Kehoe said.

The astronomers discovered the variable star by analysing light curve shape — a key identifier of star type — created from archived data procured by ROTSE-I telescope.

The Kerala cabinet on Wednesday gave in-principle approval for setting up a greenfield airport at Sabarimala to cater to lakhs of devotees who visit the famous Lord Ayyappa hill shrine every year.

The cabinet entrusted the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation to hold a study on the proposed airport, an official release said here today.

Presently the only way to reach the hill shrine is by road.

The increase in number of pilgrims visiting the temple had gone up in recent years and the airport is the option to reduce traffic congestion during the November-January festival season, it said.

The CPI(M)-led LDF government had proposed the airport at Erumely near the hill shrine that would benefit Sabarimala pilgrims coming from across the country and also from abroad.

Erumely is located about 45 km from the temple town in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, which is around 100 km from Thiruvananthapuram.

Oscar winner A.R. Rahman will stage a live concert in UAE on March 17 after a gap of seven years.

Media house Mathrubhumi Group will host the evene at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

M.V. Shreyamskumar, Director – Marketing and Electronic Media of Mathrubhumi Group, told that they are excited about getting Rahman to perform, especially as he will take to the stage in UAE after so long.

"The show will be staged using the most modern electronic gadgets and would be technically superior," said Shreyamskumar, a former legislator in the Kerala Assembly.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday urged schools to eliminate corporal punishment by following the guidelines issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

The NCPCR under the authority of the Union WCD Ministry has developed and issued guidelines for eliminating corporal punishment in schools.

"Corporal punishment has been banned under Section 17 of the Right to Education Act. The WCD Minister has urged the Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar that the government as well as private schools may be suitably directed to ensure that these guidelines are strictly observed," the WCD Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The guidelines call for setting up special monitoring cells to take prompt action in cases of physical punishment or harassment of children. 

They also suggest that Corporal Punishment Monitoring Cells (CPMCs) should hear grievances related to corporal punishment within 48 hours of the occurrence. 

According to these guidelines, school teachers should provide a written undertaking that they would not engage in any action that could be construed as amounting to physical punishment, mental harassment or discrimination. 

They also direct schools to have annual social audits of physical punishment, harassment and discrimination.

Gandhi expressed concern at the disturbing incident in Uttar Pradesh where girl students faced tormenting corporal punishment in the school for not completing their homework. 

She has asked the HRD Ministry to ensure a widespread circulation and implementation of the guidelines for elimination of corporal punishment in schools.

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) would soon sign orders for selling 73 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and 106 HTT-40 trainers to the armed forces, said a top official on Wednesday.

"We expect to sign the order for 73 ALH worth Rs.14,000 crore to the Services soon and order for 106 HTT-40 to the Indian Air Force (IAF) worth Rs.4,770 crore when ready for production," HAL Chairman T. Suvarna Raju told reporters here.

The city-based defence behemoth has already delivered 231 ALHs to the Services since 2002 and has an order for 159 more from them.

HAL makes military (Rudra) and civil (Dhruv) variants of the 5-tonne twin-seater multi-utility chopper to meet the various needs of the air force, army and navy, including combat, utility, reconnaissance, transport and medical aviation.

The company also exported a few of the heavy choppers in both variants.

Though the IAF has already signed an order to buy 75 Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 for basic training of its rookie pilots, HAL has designed, developed the Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40) to replace its HPT-32 Deepak trainers the IAF phased out.

"The indigenously designed and developed basic trainer aircraft has to complete stall and spin manoeuvre for certification. We plan to produce 100 of them initially," said Raju on the margins of the biennial Aero India 2017 expo at the IAF's Yalahanka base.

The city-based aerospace major has flown the tandem-seat HTT's prototype on June 17, 2016, and built capacity to meet the IAF's requirement, including its weaponisation.

With advanced features like zero-zero ejection seats and multi-function displays, the trainer can be adapted as a light attack aircraft. Its role includes basic flying training, aerobatics, instrument flying, navigation, night flying and close formation.

In the rotary wing segment, the company is waiting for orders to supply its multirole Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) to the IAF and the army as the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared 15 of them, including 10 to IAF and five to the Army.

As a derivative of the ALH platform, the 5.5-tonne combat copter was certified by the defence regulator Cemilac on October 16, 2015, after extensive performance trials in all weather conditions.

Known for its agility, the tandem twin-seat chopper is equipped for day-and-night combat operations, with digital camouflage system for stealth actions.

The DAC has recently cleared the IAF order for an additional 83 Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mark-1A worth Rs.50,000 crore.

"The government has recently sanctioned Rs.1,000 crore to ramp up our production capacity for rolling out 16 Tejas fighters every year from eight currently," the official said.

As per the agreement, the air force and navy will each share 25 per cent of the investment while the company (HAL) will invest the remaining 50 per cent.

The company has an order to produce and deliver 40 Tejas Mark-1 fighters to the IAF, including eight in the limited series production for IOC (initial operational clearance) and FOC (Final Operational Clearance).

Expecting a hike in National Pension Scheme (NPS) subscribers, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairman Hemant Contractor on Wednesday said the Budget announcements will support the pension plan.

"We are expecting a major boost in the number of NPS subscribers in the private sector,” Contractor said here.

It will happen because “in the 2017-18 Budget announcements, Arun Jaitley (Finance Minister)  has allowed partial withdrawal of 25 per cent," Contractor said.

“No tax will be levied on partial withdrawal not exceeding 25 per cent of contribution from the NPS,” the Finance Ministry said earlier.

The benefit on partial withdrawals from NPS would be effective from next financial year which starts on April 1.

NPS is a voluntary retirement scheme, which enables systematic savings during the subscriber's working life.

(With inputs from agencies)

In a major twist to the ongoing battle for leadership over the ruling AIADMK party, the Chennai police on Wednesday has booked party's general secretary VK Sasikala and its new legislative party leader Edappadi Palanisamy on charges of detaining party MLAs at a resort near Chennai.

The Koovathur police, in whose limits the Golden Bay resort is located, had registered an FIR based on the complaint of MLA Saravanan, who is currently part of Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's camp.

Saravanan had on Monday claimed that he had managed to escape from the resort after disguising himself.

Nearly 95 MLAs of the Sasikala camp have been staying at Golden Bay resort since Wednesday, a day after Panneerselvam revolted against the party's leadership.

Panneerselvam and his supporters had said that the MLAs were being held in the resort under threat by Sasikala's supporters.

In a major twist to the ongoing battle for leadership over the ruling AIADMK party, the Chennai police on Wednesday has booked party's general secretary VK Sasikala and its new legislative party leader Edappadi Palanisamy on charges of detaining party MLAs at a resort near Chennai.

The Koovathur police, in whose limits the Golden Bay resort is located, had registered an FIR based on the complaint of MLA Saravanan, who is currently part of Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's camp.

Saravanan had on Monday claimed that he had managed to escape from the resort after disguising himself.

Nearly 95 MLAs of the Sasikala camp have been staying at Golden Bay resort since Wednesday, a day after Panneerselvam revolted against the party's leadership.

Panneerselvam and his supporters had said that the MLAs were being held in the resort under threat by Sasikala's supporters.

Manchester City confirmed the injury that Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus sustained during the English Premier League (EPL) football game against Bournemouth.

The 19-year-old suffered a fractured metatarsal and could be out of action for three months, reports Efe.

"Manchester City can confirm Gabriel Jesus suffered a fractured metatarsal during the 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Monday night," the English club said in a statement on Tuesday.

Jesus, who moved from Palmeiras to Manchester City during the winter transfer market, had to leave the field 15 minutes into the game.

He was photographed on Tuesday on the streets of Manchester walking with crutches and a protective boot on his right foot.

The English club added that Jesus will undergo "further examinations in the coming days to establish the extent of his layoff".

Manchester City confirmed the injury that Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus sustained during the English Premier League (EPL) football game against Bournemouth.

The 19-year-old suffered a fractured metatarsal and could be out of action for three months, reports Efe.

"Manchester City can confirm Gabriel Jesus suffered a fractured metatarsal during the 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Monday night," the English club said in a statement on Tuesday.

Jesus, who moved from Palmeiras to Manchester City during the winter transfer market, had to leave the field 15 minutes into the game.

He was photographed on Tuesday on the streets of Manchester walking with crutches and a protective boot on his right foot.

The English club added that Jesus will undergo "further examinations in the coming days to establish the extent of his layoff".

Poor eating habits, unhealthy working conditions, stress and irregular sleep led to 71 cases of cardiac arrest among BSF personnel in 2016 — or six deaths a month, officials say.

In comparison, only 18 Border Security Force (BSF) troopers were killed last year in cross-border attacks by terrorists, the officials told.

Although controlled by the Home Ministry, the Army trains the BSF. It is deployed along the 2,289-km border with Pakistan and the 4,096-km border with Bangladesh.

This is not the first time when heart attacks caused so many deaths in the border force.

BSF personnel suffered a total of 338 heart attacks from 2010 to 2015. This year, till January 29 the toll was six. Sixty-four deaths occurred in 2015, 77 in 2014, 80 in 2013, 46 in 2012, 29 in 2011 and 42 in 2010. 

The most number of deaths from 2010 till January 29, 2017, was reported from West Bengal (87) followed by Jammu and Kashmir (77), Rajasthan (50), Punjab (39), Tripura (30), Chhattisgarh (21), Meghalaya (19), Assam and Delhi (16 each), Gujarat (13), Manipur (12), Odisha (10), Mizoram (7), Madhya Pradesh (6) and one each in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

BSF medical personnel as well as senior officers are concerned over the increasing number of heart attack deaths and say the trend can be reversed only if the troopers become better aware of, and lead, a positive lifestyle.

"Cardiac arrest has been a serious concern in the BSF for years," BSF spokesperson Subhendu Bhardwaj told IANS.

"We have taken several measures to curb this. But at the end, it depends on a trooper — how he leads his life. Awareness of what to do and what not to do is a basic problem," he added.

The major problems BSF doctors have come across in the force include, surprisingly, bingeing and slip-ups vis-a-vis weight, although the men do a hard job along the border. 

Bhardwaj said the force compiles an annual report on the health status of the troopers and takes preventive steps on the direction of its medical teams.

"All our men, including seniors, have to undergo an annual medical check-up called SHAPE. They are put in different categories after this and advised to change their habits accordingly," the officer said.

Officers admit that work stress and irregular sleeping habits are additional problems. 

The re-use of edible oil and aluminium cooking utensils have been banned in the BSF to curb the heart attack incidents and the troopers are told to do yoga and exercises to get fit.

A report by BSF Chief Medical Superintendent Rajneesh Sharna mentions unhealthy food, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, drinking alcohol and stress as some of the major reasons leading to lifestyle diseases. 

"We suggest several preventions to cure diabetes, chronic liver disease, chronic renal failure and more," he said.

"This is essential for maintaining a healthy body weight, moderate level of physical activity on a regular basis (at least 3-5 days in a week for 30 minutes), avoid use of all forms of tobacco and alcohol, choosing a cardiac-friendly diet, stress management, informative sessions and compulsory medical examinations," Sharna said. 

With a 270,000 strong force, the BSF is the second-largest paramilitary force in India after the Central Reserve Police Force. Officials say it is a must that its men — and women — always stay fit.

Poor eating habits, unhealthy working conditions, stress and irregular sleep led to 71 cases of cardiac arrest among BSF personnel in 2016 — or six deaths a month, officials say.

In comparison, only 18 Border Security Force (BSF) troopers were killed last year in cross-border attacks by terrorists, the officials told.

Although controlled by the Home Ministry, the Army trains the BSF. It is deployed along the 2,289-km border with Pakistan and the 4,096-km border with Bangladesh.

This is not the first time when heart attacks caused so many deaths in the border force.

BSF personnel suffered a total of 338 heart attacks from 2010 to 2015. This year, till January 29 the toll was six. Sixty-four deaths occurred in 2015, 77 in 2014, 80 in 2013, 46 in 2012, 29 in 2011 and 42 in 2010. 

The most number of deaths from 2010 till January 29, 2017, was reported from West Bengal (87) followed by Jammu and Kashmir (77), Rajasthan (50), Punjab (39), Tripura (30), Chhattisgarh (21), Meghalaya (19), Assam and Delhi (16 each), Gujarat (13), Manipur (12), Odisha (10), Mizoram (7), Madhya Pradesh (6) and one each in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

BSF medical personnel as well as senior officers are concerned over the increasing number of heart attack deaths and say the trend can be reversed only if the troopers become better aware of, and lead, a positive lifestyle.

"Cardiac arrest has been a serious concern in the BSF for years," BSF spokesperson Subhendu Bhardwaj told IANS.

"We have taken several measures to curb this. But at the end, it depends on a trooper — how he leads his life. Awareness of what to do and what not to do is a basic problem," he added.

The major problems BSF doctors have come across in the force include, surprisingly, bingeing and slip-ups vis-a-vis weight, although the men do a hard job along the border. 

Bhardwaj said the force compiles an annual report on the health status of the troopers and takes preventive steps on the direction of its medical teams.

"All our men, including seniors, have to undergo an annual medical check-up called SHAPE. They are put in different categories after this and advised to change their habits accordingly," the officer said.

Officers admit that work stress and irregular sleeping habits are additional problems. 

The re-use of edible oil and aluminium cooking utensils have been banned in the BSF to curb the heart attack incidents and the troopers are told to do yoga and exercises to get fit.

A report by BSF Chief Medical Superintendent Rajneesh Sharna mentions unhealthy food, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, drinking alcohol and stress as some of the major reasons leading to lifestyle diseases. 

"We suggest several preventions to cure diabetes, chronic liver disease, chronic renal failure and more," he said.

"This is essential for maintaining a healthy body weight, moderate level of physical activity on a regular basis (at least 3-5 days in a week for 30 minutes), avoid use of all forms of tobacco and alcohol, choosing a cardiac-friendly diet, stress management, informative sessions and compulsory medical examinations," Sharna said. 

With a 270,000 strong force, the BSF is the second-largest paramilitary force in India after the Central Reserve Police Force. Officials say it is a must that its men — and women — always stay fit.

In a bonanza, Union Public Service Commission chairperson has got nearly three-fold hike in his monthly salary.

President Pranab Mukherjee has cleared a proposal for the increase in salaries of the chairperson and members of the UPSC.

As per the new norms, "the chairman shall receive a pay of Rs 2,50,000 and each of the other members shall receive a pay of Rs 2,25,000 per mensem".

"The hike in salary was necessitated due to implementation of the Seventh Central Pay Commission's recommendation that has resulted in increase of salaries of all Central government employees," a senior government official said.

"The salary of UPSC chief will now be that of Cabinet Secretary and members' monthly remuneration will be that drawn by a secretary-level officer," he said.

According to the official, the chief and members of the UPSC, a constitutional body that conducts the prestigious civil services examination, were getting a monthly salary of Rs 90,000.

The UPSC conducts civil services examination annually in three stages — preliminary, main and interview– to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS), among others.

According to the new rules, in case of a person who immediately before the date of assuming office as the chairman or a member was in receipt or eligible for a pension (other than a disability or wound pension), then the salary would be reduced by the amount drawn by him as the post-retirement benefit.

A new provision has been made for providing pension to an UPSC member for life in case he was not in the service of the Central or state governments, any other body wholly or substantially owned or controlled by government.

The chairperson and members will also be entitled for travel allowance, medical facilities, Leave Travel Concession, conveyance allowance and such other conditions of service as are for the time-being applicable to equivalent pay in the Central government, the norms said.