The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to give details of recovery cases filed by banks and financial institutions and those pending in debt recovery tribunals and their appellate bodies for the last ten years.

A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur also sought a response on the question as to whether the recovery tribunals are equipped to decide the loan recovery cases within a fixed time frame, stipulated under the law.

It had earlier said that non-performing assets amount to lakhs of crores of rupees as the recovery mechanism is not upto the mark and the facilities at DRTs and Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs), meant for recovering bad loans of financial institutions, are poor.

"There are lakhs of crores of rupees as NPAs and one of the reasons for their non-recovery is that the mechanism for recovery is not upto the mark," it had said.

Earlier, the court had reserved its order on one of the issues, raised in the PIL, relating to lack of infrastructure, manpower and other facilities at DRTs and DRATs which deal with banks and FIIs' loan recovery petitions.

It was hearing the PIL, filed in 2003 by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), which had originally raised the issue of loans advanced to some companies by state-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO).

The plea had said that about Rs.40,000 crore of corporate debt was written off in 2015.

Nepal's trade deficit surged by 87.44 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to same period the last year as imports increased substantially.

According to Nepal's Department of Customs, the country witnessed trade deficit of $3.22 billion during the first five months of fiscal year 2016-17, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nepal imported goods worth $3.5 billion during the period as imports surged by 78.26 per cent compared to same period last fiscal year.

On the other hand, the Himalayan country exported goods worth $280 million, a rise by 14 per cent year-on-year.

Both exports and imports declined during the same period last fiscal year as the country faced Indian blockade since September 2015 for four-and-a-half months.

Nepal imported largest volume of goods from India and China, the two largest trading partners of the country.

According to DoC, Nepal imported goods worth $2.3 billion from India which is two third of the country's total imports. From China, it imported goods worth $500 million.

Bay leaves are used in many dishes. The culinary herb is best known to add flavour and aroma to the food. It offers an excellent addition to season a bouquet of dishes, in many cuisines around the globe. In India, it is commonly used even in tea.

Today, the food tastes of people have changed enormously with globalization. There is an increased use of bay leaf consumption in most of the kitchens across the world. This natural flavouring element is used most often used in dried form and sometimes fresh and whole. But, it has to be removed from the dish after cooking as its sharp edges if chewed may cause harm to the soft tissues of the mouth and throat. Apart from being an essential flavouring agent, it is important to have in your kitchen as a healing agent too.

Bay leaves help in promoting digestion and may cure digestive disorders.

By dropping the sugar levels in the body, they provide protection against type-2 diabetes.

Being rich in phytonutrients, bay leaves are effective in treating cardio vascular diseases very effectively. They may regulate the functioning of heart and prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The anti-cancerous properties in bay leaf provide resistance against different types of cancer.

Boil few bay leaves in one glass of water for 10 minutes. Strain and drink it every day to get rid of pains caused by rheumatism arthritis, migraine, headache and sprains.

Drinking hot rinse made from induced bay leaves may treat cold, cough, sneezing and fever.

Its regular consumption helps in having regular and normal menstrual periods. It may also cure vaginal discharge.

If you want to have a sound sleep, you may mix a few drops of bay leaf extract in water and drink before going to bed.

Having high nutritional value and natural anti-oxidants, they may boost immune system by removing free radicals from the body and regulating the metabolism.

Bay leaves offer herbal healing benefits for skin and hair. Its oil has antifungal and anti-bacterial properties that may ease skin infections, bruises, cuts and insect bites. To treat hair fall, dandruff and lice, you may boil 200 grams of bay leaves in one litre of water until it remains one-fourth. Massage your scalp with this water and leave for half an hour before washing off. It is a miraculous remedy for these problems.

Explore new tastes and enjoy good health with bay leaves in different cuisines.

Bay leaves are used in many dishes. The culinary herb is best known to add flavour and aroma to the food. It offers an excellent addition to season a bouquet of dishes, in many cuisines around the globe. In India, it is commonly used even in tea.

Today, the food tastes of people have changed enormously with globalization. There is an increased use of bay leaf consumption in most of the kitchens across the world. This natural flavouring element is used most often used in dried form and sometimes fresh and whole. But, it has to be removed from the dish after cooking as its sharp edges if chewed may cause harm to the soft tissues of the mouth and throat. Apart from being an essential flavouring agent, it is important to have in your kitchen as a healing agent too.

Bay leaves help in promoting digestion and may cure digestive disorders.

By dropping the sugar levels in the body, they provide protection against type-2 diabetes.

Being rich in phytonutrients, bay leaves are effective in treating cardio vascular diseases very effectively. They may regulate the functioning of heart and prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The anti-cancerous properties in bay leaf provide resistance against different types of cancer.

Boil few bay leaves in one glass of water for 10 minutes. Strain and drink it every day to get rid of pains caused by rheumatism arthritis, migraine, headache and sprains.

Drinking hot rinse made from induced bay leaves may treat cold, cough, sneezing and fever.

Its regular consumption helps in having regular and normal menstrual periods. It may also cure vaginal discharge.

If you want to have a sound sleep, you may mix a few drops of bay leaf extract in water and drink before going to bed.

Having high nutritional value and natural anti-oxidants, they may boost immune system by removing free radicals from the body and regulating the metabolism.

Bay leaves offer herbal healing benefits for skin and hair. Its oil has antifungal and anti-bacterial properties that may ease skin infections, bruises, cuts and insect bites. To treat hair fall, dandruff and lice, you may boil 200 grams of bay leaves in one litre of water until it remains one-fourth. Massage your scalp with this water and leave for half an hour before washing off. It is a miraculous remedy for these problems.

Explore new tastes and enjoy good health with bay leaves in different cuisines.

 Indian-origin British actor Dev Patel has revealed that it took him eight months to perfect an Australian accent for "Lion".

The 26-year-old actor, who plays Saroo Brierley in the drama film, said it was "a lot of effort" to nail the accent he needed to use in the movie, reported Contactmusic.

"A lot of effort is what it took. Eight months of effort in fact with the genius of a dialect coach from Sydney, Jenny Kent. I was really lucky that the production gave me that comfortable lead up to take that time to do that," Patel said.

The actor said he was honoured to work alongside Nicole Kidman, who plays his character's adoptive mother in the film.

"I feel Nicole just really opened up … for this one. She is such an icon and to have her in this movie takes it to another level.

"I have a mum who I am very close to and when I read this script I knew my mum would be really proud of it and she was a couple mess when she saw it."

 Indian-origin British actor Dev Patel has revealed that it took him eight months to perfect an Australian accent for "Lion".

The 26-year-old actor, who plays Saroo Brierley in the drama film, said it was "a lot of effort" to nail the accent he needed to use in the movie, reported Contactmusic.

"A lot of effort is what it took. Eight months of effort in fact with the genius of a dialect coach from Sydney, Jenny Kent. I was really lucky that the production gave me that comfortable lead up to take that time to do that," Patel said.

The actor said he was honoured to work alongside Nicole Kidman, who plays his character's adoptive mother in the film.

"I feel Nicole just really opened up … for this one. She is such an icon and to have her in this movie takes it to another level.

"I have a mum who I am very close to and when I read this script I knew my mum would be really proud of it and she was a couple mess when she saw it."

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan today released two new posters of his upcoming film "Raees" featuring Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.

The 32-year-old actress is making her Bollywood debut with the movie and SRK took to Twitter to share the posters.

"Tu shama hai toh yaad rakhna… Main bhi hoon parwana…" Shah Rukh captioned one of the posters.

Mahira plays the 51-year-old actor's love interest in the film, which also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a police officer.

Post Karan Johar's "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", the Rahul Dholakia-directed movie will be the second big film to be released after Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) called for a ban on Pakistani artistes in wake of Uri attacks.

Ahead of the release of "Raees" (January 25), Shah Rukh had also met the MNS chief to avoid any pre-release trouble due to Mahira's presence in the movie.

There was a dense fog here on Tuesday morning with the minimum temperature recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.

"The sky will remain clear in the day. However, there was very dense fog at some isolated places," an official from the India Meteorological Department said.

According to the weather office, the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 24 degree Celsius.

"The temperature is expected to remain constant for two more days and set to rise by one or two degrees from January 6 onwards. The fog situation would continue for at least three more days," the official said.

The humidity was 100 per cent and fog at some places bought down the visibility to 50 metres.

The minimum temperature was 9.3 degrees Celsius on Monday and the maximum was 24.3 degrees Celsius.

Stocks consolidated on Tuesday as they again found support at crucial levels in a market that is light on speculative positions on the long side. Trade is confined to a narrow band mainly due to the lack of strong cues from overseas markets.

Among major stocks, Hero MotoCorp, the top selling bike maker, was under pressure after its sales for December fell 33 per cent to 330,202 units. This fall was a part of a wider decline in overall economic demand after the government's sudden move to demonetize the 1,000-rupee and 500-rupee notes. As a consequence, Hero MotoCorp dropped 1.2 per cent to 2,992 rupees. Smaller rival TVS Motor Co, too, reported lower monthly sales but its stock inched up 0.5 per cent to 369.20 rupees.

Here are the major events of the trading day:

* The Nifty resumes its upward climb after finding support at 8,150 levels. The index was quoting 8 points higher at 8,187 points.

* Yes Bank, Power Grid, BPCL, BHEL and IndusInd Bank rose 1.4-2.2 per cent and were among 30 shares that advanced on the Nifty.

* Infosys, HeroMoto, Idea, Bharti Airtel and Bharti Infratel dropped 0.8-1.8 per cent and were among 21 shares that dropped on the Nifty.

* State Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC and LIC Housing Finance were the top traded shares by value.

* Hindustan Construction, JP Associates, MMTC and State Bank were the most active shares based on volume.

* Broader markets saw modest buying at lower levels and, as a consequence, the NSE 100, 200 and 500 indices inched up 0.2 per cent.

* The sectoral space was in a mild uptrend with major indices rising between 0.1-1 per cent; Banking benchmarks rose between 0.3-1 per cent, mainly on short covering.

* The wider trend in the market favoured the bulls with 1149 shares rising versus 381 that fell.

Stocks consolidated on Tuesday as they again found support at crucial levels in a market that is light on speculative positions on the long side. Trade is confined to a narrow band mainly due to the lack of strong cues from overseas markets.

Among major stocks, Hero MotoCorp, the top selling bike maker, was under pressure after its sales for December fell 33 per cent to 330,202 units. This fall was a part of a wider decline in overall economic demand after the government's sudden move to demonetize the 1,000-rupee and 500-rupee notes. As a consequence, Hero MotoCorp dropped 1.2 per cent to 2,992 rupees. Smaller rival TVS Motor Co, too, reported lower monthly sales but its stock inched up 0.5 per cent to 369.20 rupees.

Here are the major events of the trading day:

* The Nifty resumes its upward climb after finding support at 8,150 levels. The index was quoting 8 points higher at 8,187 points.

* Yes Bank, Power Grid, BPCL, BHEL and IndusInd Bank rose 1.4-2.2 per cent and were among 30 shares that advanced on the Nifty.

* Infosys, HeroMoto, Idea, Bharti Airtel and Bharti Infratel dropped 0.8-1.8 per cent and were among 21 shares that dropped on the Nifty.

* State Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC and LIC Housing Finance were the top traded shares by value.

* Hindustan Construction, JP Associates, MMTC and State Bank were the most active shares based on volume.

* Broader markets saw modest buying at lower levels and, as a consequence, the NSE 100, 200 and 500 indices inched up 0.2 per cent.

* The sectoral space was in a mild uptrend with major indices rising between 0.1-1 per cent; Banking benchmarks rose between 0.3-1 per cent, mainly on short covering.

* The wider trend in the market favoured the bulls with 1149 shares rising versus 381 that fell.

Rupee recovered by 14 paise to 68.08 against the Dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange in early trade on Tuesday on fresh selling of the US currency by banks and exporters.

Dealers said fresh selling of the American unit by exporters and banks and the Dollar's weakness against other currencies overseas supported the Rupee.

Further, a higher opening in the domestic equity market influenced the Rupee uptrend, they added.

On Monday, the domestic currency had lost 30 paise to 68.22 against the US Dollar due to huge demand for the American currency.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex recovered by 43.46 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 26,638.91 in early session on Tuesday.

Rupee recovered by 14 paise to 68.08 against the Dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange in early trade on Tuesday on fresh selling of the US currency by banks and exporters.

Dealers said fresh selling of the American unit by exporters and banks and the Dollar's weakness against other currencies overseas supported the Rupee.

Further, a higher opening in the domestic equity market influenced the Rupee uptrend, they added.

On Monday, the domestic currency had lost 30 paise to 68.22 against the US Dollar due to huge demand for the American currency.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex recovered by 43.46 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 26,638.91 in early session on Tuesday.

Dense fog shrouded the national capital this morning, leading to cancellation of two flights and delaying 10 other flights and 55 trains.

According to the weatherman, the minimum temperature was recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.

The weatherman said visibility recorded at Safdarjung and Palam observatories was less than 50 meters at 8.30 AM which affected both flight and train operations.

Flight operations at Delhi Airport were severely hit after the visibility dropped below minima level. As many as two flights were cancelled and over 10 flights delayed due to dense fog which engulfed the runway, airport sources said.

According to Air India, due to dense fog, the visibility has fallen drastically. "The flight services in and out of Delhi has been affected. Flights are holding up in different airports from one to four hours," the airline said.

Due to bad weather, 55 trains were running late by several hours while 22 had to be rescheduled.

The MeT department said that humidity level recorded at 8.30 am was 100 per cent, adding that skies will remain partly cloudy throughout the day.

"The maximum temperature is expected to settle at 24 degrees Celsius," an official of the department said.

On Monday, the maximum and minimum temperature were recorded at 24.3 degrees Celsius and 9.3 degrees Celsius respectively.

Dense fog shrouded the national capital this morning, leading to cancellation of two flights and delaying 10 other flights and 55 trains.

According to the weatherman, the minimum temperature was recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.

The weatherman said visibility recorded at Safdarjung and Palam observatories was less than 50 meters at 8.30 AM which affected both flight and train operations.

Flight operations at Delhi Airport were severely hit after the visibility dropped below minima level. As many as two flights were cancelled and over 10 flights delayed due to dense fog which engulfed the runway, airport sources said.

According to Air India, due to dense fog, the visibility has fallen drastically. "The flight services in and out of Delhi has been affected. Flights are holding up in different airports from one to four hours," the airline said.

Due to bad weather, 55 trains were running late by several hours while 22 had to be rescheduled.

The MeT department said that humidity level recorded at 8.30 am was 100 per cent, adding that skies will remain partly cloudy throughout the day.

"The maximum temperature is expected to settle at 24 degrees Celsius," an official of the department said.

On Monday, the maximum and minimum temperature were recorded at 24.3 degrees Celsius and 9.3 degrees Celsius respectively.