Country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation eased further to 3.17 per cent in January 2017 compared to 3.41 per cent in December 2016.

CPI inflation had dipped to a 25-month low of 3.41% in December 2016. The inflation had grown 5.69 per cent in January 2016.

Many experts had predicted decline in the inflation rate due to cash crunch post demonetisation.

Meanwhile, consumer food inflation (CFI), an indicator of kitchen spending, came down to 0.53 per cent compared with 6.85 per cent in January 2016. CFI inflation was 1.37 per cent in December.

Data from the Commerce Ministry showed while Food index in January rose 1.29 per cent (year-on-year), housing index jumped 5.02 per cent. Inflation in fuel and light segment was 3.42 per cent.

Nearly 59 per cent of people who used online dating services or apps on their mobile devices reported experiencing a security problem, a survey by global leader in cyber security Norton by Symantec has revealed.

Every February, users — both single and couples — tend to increase their downloads of Valentine's Day-centric apps — romance-themed content, horoscope compatibility tests, greetings and games, among others. 

According to the recently released Norton Mobile Survey, dating-based social networking is rapidly becoming the norm in India with about 38 per cent of consumers admitting to having used online dating apps at some point in their lives.

However, these romance-related apps are four to five times more likely to be uninstalled within a month. This offers opportunity to cyber criminals looking to leverage user-interest towards the related offerings.

While 64 per cent women reported experiencing security-related problems, 54 per cent men faced security issues, the survey said. 

One should not visit links sent by people that are out of contact for a long time, as scammers can pose as a known member to get people to click on links that usually lead to porn or webcam sites, said the cyber security firm while providing various tips to spot online dating scams.

They may also lead to malicious sites that download malware onto your computer. 

Scammers can also create fake profiles that are run by programmes called bots, clicking on which may lead to either porn or malware that may take credit card information. 

Further, one should create a username and password that has not been used on any other accounts, as the username can be searched and anything tied to that username can be used to locate people on other social or online platforms, the firm said.

Before choosing an online dating site or app, proper research should be done and only reputable and well-known service or paid service should be used.

One should also check the site's privacy policy as well as verify how information regarding your account is handled, as some dating sites make profiles public by default, which means that they can be indexed by search engines.

Assam government on Monday said it will consider the inclusion of various tribal dominated areas under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

"We will discuss the issue with all stakeholders. We will consider it positively," state Parliamentary Affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said in the Assam Assembly.

Patowary was responding to a query by BJP MLA Dipak Kumar Rabha regarding inclusion of areas under the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council under the Sixth Schedule.

"However, we cannot directly declare a tribal area under the Sixth Schedule. We have to hold consultation with various groups and the public at large. We will also have to convince the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry and others for it," he said.

The minister said under the presidentship of former minister Bhumidhar Barman, a six member cabinet sub-committee had approved inclusion of Rabha areas under the Sixth Schedule.

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Monday said sowing operations during the demonetisation period increased by seven per cent as compared to the year-ago period.

"During November 8 to December 30, 2016, sowing operations increased by about 7 per cent. This data was sent by the states," Singh said while responding to a query that state governments, including West Bengal, claimed that the note-ban hit the farmers and sowing during Rabi season was affected. 

"Purchasing of seeds with scrapped notes was allowed during the demonetisation period," he said on the sidelines of the Indian Seed Congress 2017 here.

Inaugurating the Congress, Singh said the central government was committed to providing income security of farmers to double their income in 5 years.

For the post-harvest phase, the Centre has been taking steps to enable farmers to get better prices for their produce in the markets. "The coverage of National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) will be expanded from the current 250 markets to 585 APMCs," he said. 

The minister said the central government has set a target to cover 14 crore farmers under the Soil Health Card Scheme which would enables farmers to get information about nutrient level of the soil and could help to make make judicious use of fertilisers.

Singh also urged the West Bengal government's official to speed up the process of providing the soil health card as the state covered 16 lakh farmers under the scheme but it was supposed to cover 72 lakh farmers by March 2017.

West Bengal Food Processing and Horticulture Minister Abdur Razzak Molla also urged the Centre to formulate a vegetables' seed certification process in order to clear confusion among farmers.

In reply, Singh said states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have started the process by setting up Seed Certification Authority.

Molla appealed to the seed producing companies to explore the western zone of West Bengal to set up their plants, claiming that districts like Bankura, West Midnapore and Purulia are suitable for seed production.

People change with times. In Uttar Pradesh, where voters are being wooed left and right, the most striking election campaign, although low profile, is of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Raring to wrest power from arch rival Samajwadi Party (SP), the BSP has changed tack and gone for a different brand of campaign – a departure from its earlier methods.

The BSP has not only got an audio-visual campaign stitched up to tell voters how Mayawati is a harbinger of social change but also to remind them of the better law and order in 2007-12 when she was the chief minister.

Unlike in the past when the party heavily relied on corner meetings and low-profile rallies in rural constituencies, this time it has roped in the likes of Bollywood star Anil Kapoor to seek support.

The BSP has never been known to woo the media. This time, the party mandarins are not only in touch with journalists but are also sending regular press releases in PDF format using WhatsApp, SMSes and emails. 

The party is also extensively using the social media network – something Mayawati had ridiculed not so long ago.

Candidates have been told to create Facebook pages and Twitter handles and keep the 'tech savvy' and youths hooked on to the BSP.

The strategists are sending live feeds of speeches of 'Behen ji'. The speeches of the four-time chief minister are also posted on YouTube in the new 'avatar' of the party.

A party leader said much credit for these changes goes to Rajya Sabha member and Mayawati's close aide Satish Chandra Mishra, who has been able to get the Dalit leader to embrace all possible avenues to reach out to voters.

Dozens of new-age candidates – Paresh Mishra, Afzaal Siddiqui and even retired IPS officer like Gurbachan Lal – have their own teams for social networking.

They also keep track of their opponents and devise ways to beat them by use of technology.

The BSP does not have any official Facebook or Twitter presence and depends on its supporters to expand its base and promote its ideology.

Mayawati has ruled Uttar Pradesh twice with BJP's legislative support and once in alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

While her three terms were brief and full of upheaval, she had a full five-year term in 2007-12 until the SP stormed to power, led by the young Akhilesh Yadav. The BSP got a duck in the Lok Sabha polls of 2014.

Determined to return to power, Mayawati is leaving nothing to chance now. This explains the BSP's new slogans, jingles, TV spots and social media reach-out. 

Whether the BSP's new love for technology will fetch her the desired results or not will be known only on March 11 when votes polled in Uttar Pradesh are counted.

The government is working towards increasing exports to China to balance a wide trade deficit and formulate a sustainable trade relationship between the two nations, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Monday.

"Our Commerce and Trade Department is working with China to increase our exports there so that there is parity in trade with China," Das said in a tweet.

Das held a meeting with the Chinese media delegation here.

"For sustainable trade relationship, balance of trade is required between India and China. There has to be evenness and balancing regarding our huge trade deficit… So we are able to move together," he added.

Total trade between India and China in 2016 was $71 billion. India had a very wide trade deficit of $46 billion in this.

"We are very strong in IT software and pharma. We would like to export these to China along with fruits, fish and vegetables," he said.

"We would like to have greater market access to China. So far as government is concerned, our economic policy is to have a very good economic partnership with China," he added.

"We are looking for more inflow of investment from China. Our embassy is working closely with China for this. We value our economic relations with China," he added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to India in 2104, had announced $20 billion investment in India, which has started flowing now.

"Now in India, you can start a new company in just two days by getting online permissions. We have simplified many procedures to increase ease of doing business. Clearances are given very quickly," Das added.

The Economic Affairs Secretary further said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) will improve business environment and GDP growth.

"Last time when I was in China, they showed a lot of interest in our GST," he said.

Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) has released the hall tickets/admit card on the official website psc.ap.gov.in for the candidates applied for APPSC group 2 recruitment examination 2017.

APPSC candidates trying to download their hall ticket/admit card have to visit the official website and fill the blank space with the required information including roll number, registration number and other required information in the blank space.

As per the latest update, APPSC has planned to recruit 442 candidatea for executive posts and about 540 candidates for non-executive posts. Along with this it has been informed that the candidates applied for Hyderabad exam center will get their hall ticket after February 14, 2017.

Candidates are advised to carry a printed copy of APPSC admit card/hall ticket at the time of examination.

The iconic Singur movement would be introduced in the history syllabus of schools run by the West Bengal government from this year, West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee said.

The minister, who described the Singur movement as a "historic win" for the farmers, told a question-answer session in the assembly that a chapter detailing the agitation would be included in the history syllabus of class eight.

Later, speaking to reporters, Chatterjee said, "It's a historic win for the farmers. Along with the Singur movement, the Tebhaga movement and Krishak Andolan will also feature in the syllabus and students must know that this movement is one of the milestones in the country's history."

Chatterjee said that distribution of the books had already been started.

After the Supreme Court verdict allowing redistribution of Singur land among farmers, the state education department had sent the proposal to the syllabus committee for approval of the inclusion of Singur movement in the Madhyamik school syllabus.

The minister also said that by March 15 the government would complete the entire process of employing 72,000 teachers in primary, upper-primary, Madhyamik and Higher Secondary schools.

He requested 'opponents' not to move court creating hurdles in the process of employment of teachers and said that his department was going through a verification process at present. PTI SCH MD

AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala will on Monday hold discussions with party MLAs at a resort near Chennai for the third consecutive day as speculation continues over the formation of the next Tamil Nadu government under her.
Sasikala left for the resort, around 90-minute drive from Chennai on Monday afternoon, hours after she expressed confidence of forming government.

Addressing hundreds of supporters outside the Poes Garden residence of the late J Jayalalithaa, Sasikala said that the Chief Minister's post is not important for her and she never projected herself in the party.

She reiterated that it was she who pressed O Panneerselvam to become the Chief Minister in December.

She claimed Panneerselvam wanted her to take charge of the state but she told him that it was important at that time for her to be with the body of Jayalalithaa, who died on December 5.

Sasikala and Panneerselvam are locked in a bitter power struggle in the AIADMK.

Ten Lok Sabha and two Rajya Sabha members of the AIADMK as well as six of the 135 MLAs are siding with Panneerselvam.

The rest of the MLAs are reportedly with Sasikala and holed up in a resort near Mahabalipuram, about 90 km from here. Sasikala has sought to meet the Tamil Nadu Governor again to stake claim to form a government.
 

Larsen & Toubro, India's diversified engineering giant and Europe's largest missile manufacturer, MBDA, signed a pact to manufacture missiles as a part of the `Make In India' program and to meet the expanding requirements of the armed forces.

The 51:49 joint venture will develop missiles of all sorts for the Indian Army, Air Force and the Navy and employ nearly 500 engineers to design anti-tank, anti-ship and anti-aircraft weapons, officials from both companies told reporters in Delhi on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid fresh emphasis on re-arming forces after nearly a decade of political neglect. Under the umbrella of the `Make in India' policy some of the largest weapons makers have made a beeline to India, the biggest importer of arms in the world. The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force have floated global tenders to buy new artillery pieces, submarines and fighter aircraft and update Soviet era defence equipment such as radars, anti-aircraft batteries and missile systems.

To begin with the L&T-MBDA joint venture will develop a fifth generation anti-tank guided missile, missiles for coastal batteries and high speed target drones. The two companies have worked together since the past six years and MBDA has a 5-decade presence in India's defence procurement.

“The time has come for us to gear up and start manufacturing on the shop floor," A.M. Naik, Group Executive Chairman at Larsen & Toubro, said. “The picture that is emerging in India's defence sector is that we should have a partnership with a global player.''

Larsen & Toubro has 9 units engaged in the manufacture of defence equipment such as hulls for nuclear powered submarines, artillery guns for the infantry, communication equipment for soldiers, missile targeting equipment and ships. Larsen has been a part of India's defence set up since the 1960s when it began fabricating nuclear reactors for the Department of Atomic Energy. Later, L&T diversified into the space sector by making rocket components for Indian Space Research Organization and then started making prototypes of defence equipment for local ordinance factories.

The advent of the Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre has seen a lot of attention being paid to local manufacturing of defence equipment since 2014 and private players such as L&T, the Tatas, Mahindras and Reliance Defence have jumped into the fray to snatch a piece of the defence budget.

Naik said he was hoping defence sales would account for an annual Rs.10,000 crore to Larsen's topline by 2018-19. He was hopeful that the government would place an order worth Rs.4,600 crore for 155 mm Howitzer guns over the next six months

Aam Aadmi Party MLAs will fan out across the markets of Delhi from Friday with the poser – how much black money has demonetisation managed to unearth.

AAP's plan to hit the streets, following a brief hiatus after the polls in Punjab and Goa, is being seen as primarily aimed at the upcoming MCD polls.

In a press conference here, the party's Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey claimed that cash crunch has returned after the polling in western Uttar Pradesh seats.

"The ghost of note ban is back to haunt people. Cash crunch is back and ATMs are empty. Modiji misled Parliament and the nation," he alleged.

"The question that we will pose is that 100 days have passed since demonetisation which has claimed over 100 lives, but how much black money has been unearthed?" Pandey said, adding AAP MLAs and workers party will raise these issues with the traders and people at large.

Pandey also wondered why BJP was "not canvassing" for votes in Uttar Pradesh projecting demonetisation as one of its achievements.

"The people of Uttar Pradesh will hand BJP and Modi a major drubbing in the claimed," he said.

The Islamabad High Court on Monday imposed a ban on Valentine's Day celebrations across Pakistan.

The order came during the hearing of a petition arguing that the day was not part of Islamic tradition and should be banned, the Dawn reported.

According to the court order, Valentine's Day related festivities have been banned in public places. 

The electronic and print media have also been told not to give coverage to any promotion of the day.

Last year, President Mamnoon Hussain urged Pakistanis not to celebrate Valentine's Day.

As Valentine's Day is just around the corner, the makers of Rangoon have come up with yet another promotional gimmick of stationing  "kissing photo booths" across cinema halls to celebrate the day of love.

In the kissing booths, the couples who are willing to share their love story would have to recreate Kangana and Shahid's pose as on the 'Rangoon' poster and those who manage to replicate it exactly will get a customised Rangoon poster.

Rangoon is an intense period drama revolving around love, deceit and war, set against the backdrop of World War II. 

Kangana essays the role of the feisty, sultry actress Julia, who falls in love with two men at the same time. One is Saif who plays the dapper filmmaker Rusi Bilimoria, and the other is Shahid who plays a soldier named Nawab Malik. Their simmering, passionate romance has been beautifully captured in the film. 

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Rangoon is all set to hit the theatres on February 24.
 

As Valentine's Day is just around the corner, the makers of Rangoon have come up with yet another promotional gimmick of stationing  "kissing photo booths" across cinema halls to celebrate the day of love.

In the kissing booths, the couples who are willing to share their love story would have to recreate Kangana and Shahid's pose as on the 'Rangoon' poster and those who manage to replicate it exactly will get a customised Rangoon poster.

Rangoon is an intense period drama revolving around love, deceit and war, set against the backdrop of World War II. 

Kangana essays the role of the feisty, sultry actress Julia, who falls in love with two men at the same time. One is Saif who plays the dapper filmmaker Rusi Bilimoria, and the other is Shahid who plays a soldier named Nawab Malik. Their simmering, passionate romance has been beautifully captured in the film. 

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Rangoon is all set to hit the theatres on February 24.
 

Even as the Congress in Goa has claimed that the state is heading for a constitutional crisis, due to the automatic lapsing of the state assembly on March 3, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Monday said that there was no reason to worry.

"The Advocate General has orally informed me that there is no reason to worry if the assembly session is not convened," Parsekar told reporters on the sidelines of a media event near the state capital.

In a letter to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha last week, state Congress President Luizinho Faleiro had warned that the coastal state was heading for a constitutional crisis, and urged the Governor to either summon the state legislative assembly by March 3 or dissolve Goa's incumbent sixth legislative assembly altogether, paving way for President's Rule.

March 3 marks the end of six-month period during which members of the sixth legislative assembly have not met for a session.

"If the government of the day seeks to continue in office without having the seating within six months, then this will be wholly unconstitutional and the government will be an unconstitutional government," Faleiro said in his letter to Sinha.

The results to the state assembly elections will be declared on March 11.

Even as the Congress in Goa has claimed that the state is heading for a constitutional crisis, due to the automatic lapsing of the state assembly on March 3, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Monday said that there was no reason to worry.

"The Advocate General has orally informed me that there is no reason to worry if the assembly session is not convened," Parsekar told reporters on the sidelines of a media event near the state capital.

In a letter to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha last week, state Congress President Luizinho Faleiro had warned that the coastal state was heading for a constitutional crisis, and urged the Governor to either summon the state legislative assembly by March 3 or dissolve Goa's incumbent sixth legislative assembly altogether, paving way for President's Rule.

March 3 marks the end of six-month period during which members of the sixth legislative assembly have not met for a session.

"If the government of the day seeks to continue in office without having the seating within six months, then this will be wholly unconstitutional and the government will be an unconstitutional government," Faleiro said in his letter to Sinha.

The results to the state assembly elections will be declared on March 11.

Scientists have shortlisted three landing sites for NASA's Mars 2020 rover — slated for launch in July 2020 aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The three potential landing sites include Northeast Syrtis (a very ancient portion of Mars' surface), Jezero crater, (once home to an ancient Martian lake), and Columbia Hills (potentially home to an ancient hot spring and explored by NASA's Spirit rover).

The sites were recommended by participants in a landing site workshop, NASA said in a statement on Monday.

The rover will conduct geological assessments of its landing site on Mars, determine the habitability of the environment, search for signs of ancient Martian life, and assess natural resources and hazards for future human explorers. 

It will also prepare a collection of samples for possible return to the Earth by a future mission.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will manage operations of the Mars 2020 rover.