Actress-producer Dia Mirza says she plans to produce romantic drama and coming of age films.

Dia co-owns Born Free Entertainment with her husband Sahil Sangha and they have produced films like "Love Breakups Zindagi" and "Bobby Jasoos". Now she plans to come up with interesting slate of movies.

"We are working on dramas – one is a romantic drama, coming-of-age film," Dia said.

The 35-year-old actress, who has acted in films like Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, Lage Raho Munna Bhai and Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, has not not ruled out starring in a film made by her production company.

The former Miss Asia Pacific is all praise for her filmmaker-husband.

"Sahil is one of the coolest persons to work with, he is so peaceful… his presence creates a healthy work environment.

As women, we want individuals in our life to look up to and respect and give us the opportunity to grow and express ourselves. We both celebrate each other's (success)."

Considering the current financial scenario the former beauty queen thinks film funding has become a problem.

"Funding has been a huge problem due to studios shutting down and demonetisation. But we will overcome all. Hopefully, we will start films next year. We want to make entertaining films, films that will touch audiences' hearts."

"We aim to come out with good, content-rich cinema for today's audience, including youngsters," she added.

Asian Games 2010 champion Somdev Devvarman announced his retirement from tennis, following his injury-forced wilderness.

"Starting 2017 on a new note, retiring from pro tennis. Thanks to everyone for the love and support over the years. #newyearnewbeginnings," the 31-year-old wrote on Twitter.

Somdev played 14 rubbers in the Davis Cup and he was one of the driving forces behind India making it to the World Group in 2010.

He achieved the highest ranking of 62 in 2011 and reached his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour final at the 2009 Chennai Open. On his way to reaching the finals, he had beaten two-time Chennai Open champion and World No.42 Carlos Moya of Spain and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia.

Over 26,000 youth would get employment in industries sector in coming years with state government giving approval for setting up 283 new industrial units in Himachal Pradesh.

A government official said the State Level Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority has approved 283 industrial enterprises involving investments worth Rs.13262.27 crore. “These industrial units would provide employment opportunities to 26,680 youths,” he said, adding, 7054 persons have already been provided with employment under Prime Minister Employment Generation Program.

The official said the state government’s efforts have has borne fruit as 3659 industrial units have been established in the state with an investment of Rs.3581.48 crore during the last four years. “These industries had provided employment to 48,422 youth of the state. In addition, loans worth Rs.23.93 crore were distributed to the youth to start their self-employment ventures,” he said.

He said, three State of the Art industrial areas are being developed in Una, Kangra and Solan districts. World class facilities would be provided in these industrial areas to the entrepreneurs for setting up their ventures.

Further, land measuring 72-82-74 hectare has been transferred for developing industrial area at Kandrori in Kangra district by spending an amount of Rs.88.05 crore. Similarly, Rs.95.77 crore would be spent on developing an industrial area at Pandoga in Una district said the official.

A Technology Centre is coming up at Baddi with a cost of Rs.102 crore and 100 bigha land at Bhatoli-Kalan village has been provided for this. This would provide technological support and tooling facilities to micro, small and medium sector enterprises and also help in skill development and up-gradation of unemployed youth. With a view to boost export from the state, Inland Container Depot has been constructed at a cost of Rs.14.42 crore at Baddi.

A Trade Centre has been stablished at Baddi with an investment of Rs.10.81 crore and a Ware House has been constructed at a cost of Rs.26.89 crore at Baddi. A Common Facility Centre has been established at Nalagarh with an investment of Rs.2.11 crore, he added.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called the dispute in the Samajwadi Party a 'drama, comedy and melody'.

“It is a drama, a family drama. At times it is comedy, sometimes it is melody but it will end in tragedy,” the Union minister tweeted.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Samajwadi Party on Saturday revoked the expulsion of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav, a day after they were ousted from the party for six years over anti-party activities.

Reiterating his doubts that Russia was behind cyber meddling in the US elections, President-elect Donald Trump said that he knew "things that other people don't know" about the hacking, and that the information would be revealed "on Tuesday or Wednesday".

Speaking to reporters outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump cast his declarations of doubt as an effort to seek the truth, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

"I just want them to be sure because it's a pretty serious charge," Trump said of the intelligence agencies. 

"If you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong," he added, referring to intelligence cited by the George W. Bush administration to support its march to Iraq war in 2003. 

"So I want them to be sure," the President-elect said. "I think it's unfair if they don't know."

He added: "And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So, it could be somebody else. And I also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation."

When asked what he knew that others did not, Trump said, "You'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday."

Trump, who does not use email, also advised people to avoid computers when dealing with delicate material. 

"It's very important, if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way, because I'll tell you what, no computer is safe," Trump said.

The comments on Saturday were a departure from a statement that Trump issued through transition officials last week, in which he said that it was time for people to "move on" from the hacking issue but that he would be briefed on the matter by intelligence officials early in the New Year.

As the Tata-Mistry tussle continues, an unintended consequence for the multi-billion dollar image-conscious group has been the bad press it — and its "patriarch" Ratan Tata, 78 — has received globally.

From a piece in The Economist headlined "Ratantrum" and a New York Times report that dwelt on some of the Tata Group's alleged murky deals, to a Financial Times columnist who said "much of the fiasco is Mr Tata's fault", a good bit of the reporting and analysis has been critical of the manner in which Tata's handpicked successor Cyrus Mistry was suddenly ousted from the $100 billion "salt to software" conglomerate — India's first true multinational.

The Economist of Britain — where Tata is a familiar name because of its takeover of Corus Steel and Jaguar Land Rover — bluntly said: "One of Asia's most important firms has descended into chaos. Its patriarch, Ratan Tata, is largely to blame."

Describing the Tata Group as a "rare beacon of good governance in Asia"… "until few months ago", the magazine — which calls itself a newspaper — said: "That reputation has now been shredded owing to a brutal fight for control between Ratan Tata… and Cyrus Mistry… The battle is bad for Tata, rotten for its outside investors… and damaging to India."

The Economist said that Mistry, who took over in 2012 when Ratan Tata stepped down after decades at the helm, has been grappling with two problems. One, that the group is "worryingly flabby" thanks to "an expansion binge at home and abroad" during Ratan Tata's reign, with "vast chunks of the group are not making enough money" — a reference to the UK steel acquisitions and the small-car Nano. 

And two, the group's "Byzantine structure", with companies "controlled by a private holding company" which, in turn, is "controlled by murky and secretive charitable trusts set up in 1919 and 1932. Until recently they were widely viewed as benign and passive, but they now appear to be under Mr Tata's sway".

It added: "Mr Mistry may have thought he had a free hand. Far from it. Mr Tata was breathing down his neck from the start. On October 24th Mr Tata, through the trusts, orchestrated the firing of Mr Mistry from the holding company." 

It concluded that, "Not long ago he (Ratan Tata) was among the most revered figures in the past half century of Indian public life. Now he is flirting with disgrace." 

A long report in The New York Times dwelt on allegations levelled by "crusading" BJP MP Subramanian Swamy that a government report had suggested "that Mr Tata in 2008 used a front company to apply for a telecommunications license, potentially circumventing the limits on the number of licenses one investor could hold". The Tata Group has, however, said it was part of a "bona fide real estate deal" that had nothing at all to do with telecoms licensing.

The NYT report also said that Mistry's ouster was triggered in part because he had "begun reining in some favours that the company had previously extended to Mr Tata's personal friends".

A report in the Financial Times quoted Mistry's warning to shareholders that "we have witnessed an unmatched erosion of ethical values…replaced by whims, fancies and personal agenda", and blamed the "fiasco" on Ratan Tata.

"He either badly misjudged Mr Mistry in the rush to name a successor five years ago, or he could not adjust to a new Tata chairman ditching parts of his legacy. Either way, he fell into the trap he always wanted to avoid," the report said.

The Financial Times report underlined the need to professionalise the group's management, noting that it "urgently needs to outgrow its patriarch… That means a professional chairman being given real power at Tata Group".

Among other reports, The Wall Street Journal said investors have raised questions about whether independent directors at the various Tata companies are playing their proper role.

And Japan's Nikkei Asian Review pointed out that Tata group members have lost a combined $11 billion in market capitalisation since Mistry was sacked as chairman in October.

With major infusion of fresh liquidity arising from the demonetisation measure, state-run State Bank of India said on Sunday it had cut its lending rates by 90 basis points for maturities ranging from overnight to three-year tenures, after experiencing a surge in deposits.

The country's largest lender cut its marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR) effective from New Year's Day in response to a surge in deposits post the demonetisation of high value currency on November 8.

For loans of overnight tenure, the new MCLR will be 7.75 per cent, instead of 8.65 per cent. One-month tenure will attract a rate of 7.85 per cent, while those for three and six months will be 7.90 and 7.95 per cent, respectively. 

For one year, the new MCLR will be 8 per cent. The bank will levy interest rate of 8.10 per cent and 8.15 per cent for two years and three years, respectively.

Lending rates were lowered also across other maturities, effective from Sunday. 

According to estimates, banks have collected cash deposits of over Rs.14.9 lakh crore following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's November 8 announcement, demonetising Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 notes to eliminate black money, counterfeit notes and terror financing. 

The SBI move also comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Saturday asked banks to "keep the poor, the lower middle class, and the middle class at the focus of their activities," and to act with "public interest" in mind.

State-owned IDBI Bank has also cut in its MCLR by 30-60 basis points (bps) effective Sunday.

The bank said it has effectively reduced MCLR by 30 bps to 60 bps across various tenures since April 2016.

Under the MCLR, banks need to consider their marginal cost of funds, or the cost incurred on incremental deposits across different maturities, to decide on interest rates.

Private sector Axis Bank cut its MCLR in November by 0.15-0.20 per cent

Following the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cutting its repo rate by 25 bps last month, public sector lenders — the United Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India and the Syndicate Bank — as well as the private sector ICICI and Kotak Mahindra banks have cut lending rates.

To nudge banks to transfer the benefit of RBI rate cuts, previous Governor Raghuram Rajan had announced a shift to the MCLR regime, under which banks need to consider their marginal cost of funds, or the cost incurred on incremental deposits across different maturities, to decide on interest rates.

However, though Rajan — during his tenure — had cut rates by 150 bps since January 2015, banks had hardly moved at the same pace to cut their lending rates.

From the state-run banks' point of view, their accumulation of massive non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, that is impacting profitability, is keeping them from cutting rates.

The Pakistan Army on Sunday resorted to unprovoked firing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Police said the Pakistanis resorted to unprovoked shelling and firing on Indian positions at three places.

"The Indian Army retaliated effectively using same calibre weapons," a police official said. The shelling and firing started around 9.30 am.

 Singer Adele and her partner Simon Konecki have shelved plans to marry in the US, and instead, they will exchange wedding vows in Britain.

According to the Sunday People, Adele and Konecki wanted to get married in the US over Christmas 2016. But friends say the wedding didn't happen because Konecki's relatives couldn't get to Los Angeles during the festive season, reports mirror.co.uk. 

They secretly got engaged in October last year after five years together.

A source said: "As it was such short notice, people already had plans. Adele and Simon are very family-oriented and wanted those closest to them there on their special day so they decided to postpone getting married."

"A wedding is still very much on the horizon, but where and when haven't been decided yet."

A US wedding could be completely off the cards as Adele and Konecki, who have son Angelo, four, are considering something closer to home so they can have all their family around them.

The couple, who were introduced to each other by singer Ed Sheeran, are keen to involve Konecki's nine-year-old daughter.

Adele will be back in Britain after March, when she finishes her Australia and New Zealand tour, and the nuptials can be expected soon after that.

East Sussex is one of the wedding locations now on the list, as it's where Simon's family are from, added the source.
 

The Indian women's football team coach Sajid Dar has tipped Nepal ahead of his eves as the two teams lock horns in a SAFF Championship semi-final at the Kanchenjunga Stadium here on Monday.

"There's no denying that they are one step ahead than all the rest of the teams in the SAFF Championship. They have prepared thoroughly for the championship. They are a very strong side and have always been tough competitors," Dar told www.the-aiff.com

"I have heard that it has been almost two months that they assembled together to prepare for the tournament. When you stay and train together for almost two months, it reflects your strength," the Kashmiri coach added.

"They have also played some friendly matches against Malaysia and look very match fit. We rate them very highly."

The last time India played Nepal, India won the gold medal in a lopsided final at the South Asian Games final in February. Dar though doesn't want to harp on the past and looks ahead.

"That particular match is past tense, it is history. The sport will never guarantee you the same result every time. This is a new tournament and everything is different. But yeah, that particular match gives us the confidence and reminds us of our capabilities," he said.

"In comparison to that championship, I feel Nepal are much more prepared for this tournament. Having a look at their group league matches, one can understand they have a different plan this time. We have to stay on our toes."

India drew against Bangladesh, an unlikely outcome keeping in mind their dominance in the tournament. Dar though said it is not a setback.

"We played some wonderful football which was appreciated by all. Call it the beauty, or the cruelty of the game, you will always get some unexpected results," he said.

"But such results always make you more motivated to prove all wrong. It unites the team to believe more in yourself."

Whether views of the Chief Economic Advisor and the Finance Minister were taken before the sudden announcement of demonetisation of high-value currency notes by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8? 

The Reserve Bank of India feels this query cannot be answered under the Right to Information Act as it does not comes under the definition of information under the transparency law.

The applicant wanted to know whether the "views of Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramaniam and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley were taken before announcement was made".

"Query is in the nature of seeking opinion from CPIO which is not defined as information as per Section 2(f) of the RTI Act," the RBI said in response to an RTI query.

Asked whether the information sought will fall under "seeking opinion" from the CPIO, former Chief Information Commissioner A N Tiwari said, "No. It does not. It is a fact sought by an RTI applicant. The CPIO cannot say an opinion has been sought from him." 

"How it can be called seeking opinion? Whether someone was consulted or not is a matter of record. Had the question been that should views be taken then it would mean taking opinion," former Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said, expressing surprise at the response of RBI Central Public Information Officer.

The definition of information covers "any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force".

The query was also sent to the Prime Minister's Office and the Finance Ministry but it remained unanswered even after 30 days of filing of the RTI application.

The applicant had also sought to know the designation and the names of officials who were consulted before scraping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

"The information sought relates to sensitive matters pertaining to discontinuation/withdrawal of bank notes. The information is exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(a) and (g) of RTI Act," the RBI said.

The monetary policy regulator also did not disclose if the decision to demonetise currency notes worth Rs 20 lakh crore was opposed by any official or minister, saying the information sought is "hypothetical" in nature.

It also cited Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act to deny minutes of deliberations related to demonetisation.

Blue are the hills, blue is the sky and the river, and the stories are many.

Get away from the smoggy weather that covers your world in grey and come away to where the skies are always blue and let the starry nights shine down on you.

Here, in lush green East,  the sky is always blue even in freezing cold season. The clouds as white as snow. During winter, one can possibly spot a snowman up in the sky. But there’s more beyond blue hills and blue skies…

Go down to the river, or by the lake. The water here is mesmerising blue. You can see the beautiful blue sky and white clouds down below in the water – a magnificent reflection of God’s amazing handywork.

Choose your destination anywhere. The places are many. Head out of the city to the wide open space, far into the wild, high up the forested hills, rush to the waterfalls and trek along the gurgling brooks, it’s calm and peaceful here. Here, you can breath easy.

Listen to the wind. Breath in the fresh smell of the wet green ferns.

Speak to the folks in the village. Sit by their hearth and share a meal or a cup of steaming hot tea with them.

Watch the fire burn and laugh away your blues as the fire crackles take you by surprise.

Ease your feet and listen closely to what they are saying. Behind each word and each smile are things of the wise and pure heart, unsaid and unheard of.

Each place has a story of long ago. Stories told a thousand times and lives in the hearts and minds of every soul there and goes with those who came and stopped for a while and went away. They take pieces of the story to those who dream, a dream that comes true where the water is blue…

Come away, sleep under their clear skies and dream a new dream as the new year dawns.

Alleging that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's focus has not been on Delhi, BJP has formed an "impartial" committee to probe AAP government's performance.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said during his visit to different parts of the city, he found "there was water scarcity in Narela, no marshals in buses, not even 15 CCTV cameras in city against 15 lakh promised by Kejriwal and Delhi has turned poisonous due to pollution."

"Kejriwal has been everywhere except Delhi since he became chief minister. I have decided to set up an enquiry against Kejriwal since he has committed crime against Delhi," he said.

The committee comprising of a doctor, a guest teacher and a legal expert will give its opinion on Kejriwal's performance, he said.

"I hope the committee will give its impartial report in shortest possible time so that everything becomes clear about Kejriwal's crimes," Tiwari added.

Manchester United head coach Jose Mourinho has warned winger Anthony Martial to listen to him and not his agent, as lack of playing has forced the Frenchman to mull a move to another football club.

Martial's representative Philippe Lamboley has already revealed that his client is weighing up a potential move to Spanish club Sevilla.

"He is a player with amazing conditions to be a top player. Martial played, he created, he scored. He fought. He was very positive. I know he is a top talent," Mourinho was quoted as saying by BBC on Saturday.

"Martial has to listen to me and not his agent. He has to listen to me in training every day and in every feedback I give to try and improve him."

The Portuguese coach cited an example of summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who too initially struggled after moving to Manchester from Borussia Dortmund. But the Armenia captain has lately adapted to English football, displaying patience and hard work.

Mourinho said that Martial, 21, needs to learn from Mkhitaryan, whose agent insisted that the winger train with focus and patince.

"I knew Mkhitaryan is a top talent but I was not playing him. At this moment he even plays left back when the team is winning and we need to defend and need more balance," Mourinho said.

"The Mkhitaryan process I was having almost every day. His agent was calling me saying, 'Mkhitaryan with you will be a better player, keep going'.

"With Martial every day I read the newspaper, 'Anthony Martial goes to Sevilla, Anthony Martial goes on loan, Anthony Martial is not happy'. Anthony Martial has to listen to me."
 

From Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra to Karan Johar — a string of Bollywood celebrities wished their friends and fans success, happiness and joy in the New Year.

Interestingly, names like Anil Kapoor, Athiya Shetty, Shraddha Kapoor and even Priyanka found a way to plug in their professional projects into their wishes. 

Here's what the stars tweeted: 

Amitabh Bachchan: New Year wishes for happiness always in 2017! Love to all.

Hema Malini: I sincerely thank each one of you for your love and best wishes for 2017. God bless.

Anupam Kher: Happy New year to you all. May all your dreams come true.

Shah Rukh Khan: Whatever it is you stopped from doing last year. Do it in 2017. Love, family, job whatever. If it scares you, do it more and you will be happier. Happy New Year to all.

Priyanka Chopra: The best is yet to come. Happy New Year BEACHES! Be Baywatch.

Karan Johar: You're ego should be flexible…your self respect intact…the only advice I have to offer for 2017! Make it count without a discount.

Farah Khan: Get some perspective this year!! Wishing a grand happy new year to all.

Anushka Sharma: Happy happy 2017 guys.

Mahesh Bhatt: You are on page 1 of 365. Stop wishing and start doing. If you are unhappy with your life change it now not tomorrow!

Shahid Kapoor: 2017 starts on a killer note! Watch Udta Punjab tomorrow at 2.30pm on @NetflixIndia #UponNetflix

Aanand L Rai: Yesterday is gone and its tale told. Today new seeds are growing: Rumi! Happy new year to all my friends. Love and regards always.

Anil Kapoor: Wishing you Mubarakan for 2017 from across the pond! Happy New Year! Have an amazing year ahead!

Arjun Rampal: Wish you all the best 2017. Own it. Love, light and loads of laughter. Happy New Year.

Subhash Ghai: 2017 clear message – Indians need to change their habits, thoughts behaviour and learnings to make India best or suffer.

Athiya Shetty: Today is the first blank page of your 365 page book. So be kind, spread love, aim for the highest Mubarakan and a very Happy New Year.

Shraddha Kapoor: Happy New Year jaannuusssss! Have an amazing, amazing one.

Emraan Hashmi: New year resolutions: no dumb resolutions. Just going to try and burn the calories I drank last night. Happy new year people.

Riteish Deshmukh: New Day, New Year, New Beginning… Wishing you all glory and happiness. Happy 2017.

Sidharth Malhotra: This is the beginning of anything you want! Happy new year everyone love n respect,cheers 2017.

Sonu Sood: Happy New Year everyone…Make your parents proud and live their dreams. Have a super year ahead.

Nargis Fakhri: A New Year is a time to celebrate past accomplishments and look forward to future success! Have a wonderful and prosperous New Year! 2017.

Sooraj Pancholi: New year, new feels, new changes. Same dreams. A fresh start. Happy New Year.

Sophie Choudry: I woke up in heaven on earth and feel blessed, grateful, positive… May you all have a beautiful, blessed 2017 HAPPY NEW YEAR New Beginnings
 

Bacteria found on the body could help forensic scientists more accurately determine the time of death or other aspects of a crime scene, a new study has found.

Currently, when a deceased human is discovered, the forensic techniques for estimating time elapsed since death is not very precise.

However, in a new study researchers at City University of New York (CUNY) have turned to analysing the human microbiome, the bacteria and other microbes that live on and in our bodies, for clues about the postmortem interval of a cadaver.

A team led by Nathan H Lents of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice sampled bacteria from the ear and nasal canals of 21 cadavers through several weeks of decomposition.

They then analysed the bacterial samples using next-generation metagenomic DNA sequencing to determine the identity and abundance of all microbes present.

With this very large data set, the researchers used a machine learning approach to scrutinise the bacterial communities and how they change over time as the bodies decomposed.

Through iterative testing and tweaking of their computational tools, the researchers built a statistical model that predicts the postmortem interval of unknown samples to within 55 accumulated degree-days, or about two days in summertime.

This degree of accuracy holds through several weeks of decomposition, a substantial improvement over presently available methods.

"Our approach had the benefit of sampling the same cadavers repeatedly as they decomposed and we think that this really added to the ability of our machine learning approach to see through all of the massive amount of noisy data and detect the underlying patterns," said Lents.

"While we consider this a pilot study, it is a very promising proof-of-concept, and I think that microbiome-based approaches will eventually become the standard method of determining the time since death for bodies that are discovered after some time of decomposition," Lents said.

"This study takes us a step further (than the human microbiome), and tells us about the necrobiome, the collection of microbes on a dead body," said Dr Robert DeSalle, Curator of Molecular Systematics at the American Museum of Natural History, who was not affiliated with the CUNY study.

"By knowing which microbes take over a dead body and how long it takes, forensic scientists might be able to use this technique to determine time of death or other aspects of a crime scene," said DeSalle.

With additional research, this microbiome-based method promises a far more definitive method to establish time since death, which could open and close avenues of investigation in homicide cases, shed light upon possible suspects, and corroborate or disprove alibis.

The study appears in the journal PLOS ONE.

North Korea is in the final stages of preparing to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the country's leader said on Sunday in the latest sign that Pyongyang will not abandon its nuclear and missile programmes.

"We were actively engaged in research and development of advanced weapons… The development of long-range missiles is in final stages," Kim Jong-Un said in a televised New Year's message broadcast by the state-run TV station.

His remarks come amid growing speculation that North Korea may carry out more powerful provocations around its key anniversaries this year as it pumps up efforts to make miniaturised and diversified nuclear weapons with the goal of developing a nuclear-tipped ICBM which can fly as far as the US mainland.

Kim, in his speech, said that North Korea soared as a nuclear and military power boosted by the success of the country's two nuclear tests last year. 

The North Korean leader vowed to develop more weapons to boost its strike capabilities. 

Kim also threatened that Pyongyang will beef up its readiness to launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes if the United States and South Korea do not suspend their annual joint military exercises.

"(If they do not stop nuclear threats), North Korea will keep increasing the military capabilities for self-defence and pre-emptive striking capacity with main emphasis on nuclear force," he said.

For Pyongyang, the year 2017 is "an opportune time," as it believes that Seoul and Washington will not be able to take physical or military actions to deter its nuclear aspirations due to their internal political situation, said Thae, a former top North Korean diplomat who defected to the South last July.Jan Dhan accounts witnessed net withdrawal of Rs 3,285 crore in the last fortnight after a huge surge in deposits post demonetisation in November.

Total deposits increased to a record high of Rs 74,610 crore for the week ended December 7 and thereafter, it started gradual decline to close at Rs 71,037 crore on December 28, two days ahead of the close of demonetisation exercise, according to Finance Ministry data.

In the last fortnight, the total deposit came down by Rs 3,285 crore. This was despite the fact that the monthly upper withdrawal limit was fixed at Rs 10,000 per month from November 30 to check misuse of Jan Dhan accounts.

The upper limit for deposits in Jan Dhan account is Rs 50,000.

As of November 9, the balance in about 25.5 crore such accounts was Rs 45,636.61 crore.

Total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts surged by around Rs 28,973 crore in about a month after the announcement of ban on old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8 midnight.

Interestingly, the percentage of zero balance account still remains flat at about 24.13 per cent despite surge in deposits.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was launched in August 2014 to increase banking penetration and promote financial inclusion in the country.

Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states with most deposits in Jan Dhan accounts, followed by West Bengal and Rajasthan.