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New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has heaped praise on 'Uri' helmer Aditya Dhar's upcoming film 'Article 370' starring Yami Gautam Dhar. After watching the film's trailer, he commented that it "looks full of passion."

Kumar, who played a patriot and hero in several films, including 'Holiday' and 'Baby', also reiterated that Kashmir is an integral part of the country.

"Kashmir was, is, and will always be a part of India #Article370Trailer looks full of passion!," the 'Special 26' star wrote in Hindi on X. The original in Hindi read: "Kashmir Bharat ka hissa tha, hai aur hamesha rahega."

The actor also extended his best wishes to Yami. "All the best, Jai Hind! @yamigautam @jiostudios," he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Notably, in December last year, the Supreme Court had upheld the abrogation of Article 370 by Parliament on August 5, 2019. The film's trailer, which also has as Priyamani of 'Family Man 2' fame, offers glimpses of how Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated in response to the dire situation of Kashmir.

The trailer showcases Yami's character reflecting on the state of Kashmir, pained by the events in the region. The viewers are soon thrown into the action set-piece consisting of blasts and violence and separatists making inflammatory speeches.

Priyamani essays the role of an officer with the PMO; the trailer shows Yami's character being appointed by the NIA to round up potential threats in the Valley in order to ensure there's no trouble after the Act of Parliament.

Produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar, the film is slated to release on February 23.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) Small and mid-cap indices slumped on Friday in a broad based selling while the bluechip Sensex was flat.

PSU stocks were also down across the board as the broader market showed most of the sectoral indices were down.

BSE small-cap Index was down 2.6 per cent in trade. MSTC was down 15 per cent, AstraZeneca Pharma was down 14 per cent, Surya Roshni was down 10 per cent, RVNL was down 9 per cent, Bector Foods was down 9 per cent, BEML was down 8 per cent, Onmobile Global was down 10 per cent.

BSE mid-cap Index was also down 2.43 per cent with PFC down 10 per cent, GIC Re down 8 per cent, NHPC down 7 per cent, REC down 7 per cent, Ramco Cement down 7 per cent, SJVN down 7 per cent, UCO Bank 6 per cent, IOB down 6 per cent, IRFC down 5 per cent, HPCL down 5 per cent, Patanjali down 5 per cent.

PSU stocks are down heavily with the index down by more than 4 per cent. MTNL is down 8 per cent, KIOCL is down 9 per cent, NBCC is down 8 per cent, SCI is down 8 per cent, Railtel is down 7 per cent, Hindustan Copper is down 7 per cent, IOC is down 7 per cent, Nalco is down 6 per cent, Hudco is down 6 per cent.

V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said when valuations are high the bears will use any negative news to push the market down. The slightly negative news, from the market perspective, came Thursday in the slightly hawkish comments of the RBI Governor.

The good news that the economy is doing better-than-expected and a GDP growth projection of 7 per cent and CPI inflation of 4.5 per cent for FY 25 was ignored. The selling was aggravated with FIIs, too, running with the bears. There is a significant build up in the short position of FIIs. This normally happens along with the rise in the US 10-year bond yields which is now at 4.15 per cent, said Vijayakumar.

FII selling and bear onslaught are unlikely to take the market down significantly. There will be strong buying on dips. The sustained flows into mutual funds which are gathering momentum will enable the DIIs to buy aggressively, he said.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) A Visionary Step in Environmental Conservation and Public Safety Josler Hydrocarbons India Pvt Ltd, a prominent gas leak detection firm based in Ahmedabad, has played a vital role in holistically enabling its US based technological partner Heath to sign a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MNGL.

Josler Hydrocarbons has been a parter with Houston based company Heath for over 10 years in proving leak instruments and services to all reputed Indian companies.

Ever since 2019, when Josler entered the gas leak detection field, it has achieved significant milestones, surveying over 13,000 kilometers of gas pipelines for leading City Gas Distribution companies across India.

These surveys, conducted by teams trained in advanced methodologies from Heath and utilizing sophisticated equipment, have notably improved the safety, environmental impact, and financial integrity of India's City Gas Distribution (CGD) ecosystem by substantially reducing methane emissions and curbing financial losses from unaccounted gas leakage.

The MoU represents a crucial aspect of the energy collaboration announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden at the Leaders’s Summit on Climate in April 2021. Operating under the US-India Low Emission Gas Task Force (LEGT).

Speaking at the sidelines of MoU signing, Neel Mehta, Director, Josler explicated that this is agreement positions MNGL, Heath, and Josler to jointly explore opportunities in mitigating fugitive methane emissions, preventing damage to underground utilities, recovering waste heat, accurately locating underground gas lines, and enhancing overall public safety.

Reflecting on this significant milestone, Josler's Chairman Sudhanshu Mehta, emphasised, "This Memorandum of Understanding embodies Josler's commitment to 'Keeping Indian Skies Safe and Clean'. It underscores our unwavering dedication to pioneering innovative approaches in the energy sector that prioritise environmental conservation and public safety."

Josler Hydrocarbons India Pvt Ltd is a diversified group that operates in Oil and Gas, IT & ITES, Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems, City Gas Distribution Solutions, Telecom, Solutions for Smart City development, Encrypted Secure Communication, catering the wider needs to clients requirements.

Josler started its activities with base at Ahmedabad in Gujarat, the oil capital of Western India in the year 2008 with evaluation of exploration blocks for bidding in NELP-VII Round of Govt. of India. The journey continued through the years 2009 and 2010 with evaluation of prospective exploration blocks in NELP-VIII and NELP-IX.

--IANS

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Hyderabad, Feb 9 (IANS) Legislators of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) arrived in autorickshaws to attend the Budget session of the state legislature on Friday.

Members of the Assembly and Council belonging to the main opposition party travelled in three-wheelers to reach the Assembly building to draw the government's attention to problems faced by autorickshaw drivers due to implementation of Mahalakshmi scheme under which women are allowed to travel free in TSRTC buses.

The MLAs and MLCs were carrying placards demanding the government to come to the rescue of autorickshaw drivers.

After reaching the Assembly in a three-wheeler from MLA Quarters, former minister and Siddipet MLA T. Harish Rao told media persons that 6.5 lakh autorickshaw drivers were literally on roads due to the Congress government’s scheme.

He demanded that the government provide monthly financial assistance of Rs 10,000 each to autorickshaw drivers.

The BRS legislators also demanded Rs.15 lakh ex-gratia each to the families of autorickshaw drivers who committed suicide after implementation of the scheme.

There was tension at the Assembly gate as BRS legislators were prevented by security personnel from entering the Assembly building with placards. This led to an argument between both sides.

The MLAs and MLCs attended the session wearing black scarves to show solidarity with autorickshaw drivers.

Earlier, the BRS MLAs staged a protest at MLA Quarters Hyderguda. They raised slogans, demanding the government to allocate funds in the State Budget for autorickshaw drivers.

--IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 9 (IANS) Following a huge backlash from the opposition parties and within the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Front, the proposal in the state Budget presented in the Assembly that batted for privatization in the higher education sector has been put on hold.

On Monday, state Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal while presenting his fourth straight budget said the doors have been opened for private and foreign universities to open their campuses. As the first step towards this, he said four international educational conclaves will be held outside the country.

He said experts hailing from Kerala and those working in the higher education sector abroad will be drafted for taking forward this idea. To fast track this idea, special packages will be introduced in the field of higher education. Balagopal had pointed out that all these changes were being made to ensure to attract foreign students to Kerala besides helping students from here presently going abroad for higher studies.

But no sooner had the budget presentation got over, the Congress-led UDF opposition and the BJP went hammer and tongs on this major shift in the ideology of the Left, who have all along been against any sort of privatisation.

State Higher Education Minister R. Bindhu also was seen expressing her displeasure and the only ones who batted for it was the Chief Minister himself, state CPI(M) party secretary M.V. Govindan and Balagopal.

Meanwhile, according to sources, CM Vijayan, who returned from Delhi on Friday, has been directed by the party general secretary Sitaram Yechury not to take it further in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. As this is a major deviation from the CPI(M) ideology, no further action should be taken, Yechury has said, as per the sources, adding that the Congress and BJP will attack the Left during the election campaign.

All along the CPI(M)-led Left in Kerala had staunchly opposed the entry of the private sector in the education sector. The Left led huge protests when the K. Karunakaran government in the '90s planned to open up a few professional courses in the medical sector and also when the A.K. Antony-led government in 2001 opened up the professional education sector in the self-financing mode.

Incidentally, the present lot of CPI(M) state Ministers, including Balagopal, P. Rajeeve (Industries) M.B. Rajesh (Local Self Government) Saji Cherian (Fisheries) P.A. Mohammed Riyas (Tourism) and V. Sivankutty (Education) were all in the forefront of protests in the nineties whenever the Congress-led state governments tried to revamp the higher education sector.

--IANS

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Islamabad, Feb 9 (IANS) As the counting of votes for the national elections is underway, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Friday claimed to have leads on over 150 seats, and asked PML(N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to "accept defeat".

PTI on its official handle on X said: "Show some grace @NawazSharifMNS, accept the defeat! People of Pakistan will never accept you. This is a golden opportunity to regain some credibility as a democrat. Daylight robbery is going to be rejected massively by Pakistan! #PTIWon #RespectMandate."

In a video message posted on PTI founder Imran Khan's X handle, party chief Gohar Khan said: "We will be making the next government in Pakistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

"Attempts are being made to change the results. According to Election Act, results have to be announced by 2 p.m. However 100 per cent results are yet to be announced. I urge the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the results as soon as possible," Gohar, who has won NA-10 in Buner with 110,023 votes, said.

PTI-backed candidates Fazal Muhammad Khan has won NA-25 Charsadda II Muhammad Abdul Salam and Sultan Room have won their seats from PK-58 Mardan and PK-9 Swat, Iftikharullah Jan has emerged victorious with 39,538 votes in PK-64 Charsadda III, Dawn reported.

PTI-backed candidate Saleem Rehman has won from Swat's NA-3 with 81,411 votes, according to the preliminary result announced by the ECP.

Meanwhile PML-N's Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that the party will form the government in the Centre and Punjab province.

In a post on X, she said that the results were still being received by the party’s election cell.

"Due to the unavailability of mobile and internet services, it became difficult to get the results,” she said, adding that the party's position was "strong".

To form the government in the country, a party needs to secure win on 133 of the 265 seats. Polling was postponed on one seat after death of a candidate.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) Almost 1 in 5 Indian adults aged 60+ show signs of mild neurocognitive disorder, according to a study.

Given an estimated 138 million adults over 60 years of age in India, these estimates suggest approximately 24 million and 9.9 million older adults in India are living with mild and major neurocognitive disorder, respectively, revealed the study published in the journal PLOS One.

The findings showed that the prevalence of major neurocognitive disorder was greater with older ages - from about 4 per cent among those aged 60-64 years to 15.2 per cent among those aged over 80 years.

"India, with its rapidly aging population, faces an alarming burden of dementia," said the team including from St. John’s Medical College in Bengaluru and Johns Hopkins University in the US.

For the study, the team recruited almost 4,100 participants residing in 18 geographically and linguistically diverse states such as Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, among others. The majority of the group was aged 60-79 years.

They found that the prevalence is higher with older age, less educational attainment, and among illiterate and rural-living older adults.

These findings highlight the growing importance of dementia in India.

"The prevalence of dementia in India is higher than previously recognised. These findings, coupled with a growing number of older adults in the coming decades in India, have important implications for society, public health, and families," the researchers said in the paper.

The team analysed the participants using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) -- a widely recognised clinical diagnostic authority.

Tbe results showed that the population prevalence of DSM-5 mild and major neurocognitive disorder was 17.6 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively.

Further, 12 per cent reported severe loss in at least one ADL (activities of daily living) and 8.5 per cent reported impairment in any IADL (instrumental activities of daily living).

Major neurocognitive disorder was more prevalent among illiterate (9.3 per cent) than literate (5 per cent) and rural (10.3 per cent) than urban (4.9 per cent)

--IANS

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Patna, Feb 9 (IANS) Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Friday granted interim bail to former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and her two daughters -- Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav -- in the IRCTC land-for-job case.

The court gave them the interim bail on Rs 1 lakh bail bond each. The next hearing of this case is scheduled on February 28.

Earlier, Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav appeared in the Rouse Avenue court on Friday morning after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a charge sheet against them in the case.

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had questioned Lalu Prasad Yadav for 10 hours, Tejashwi Yadav for eight hours, Rabri Devi and Misa Bharti for three hours each in Patna after the government changed in Bihar.

Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, Hema Yadav, Amit Katyal, Hridayanand Choudhary and others are facing charges of money laundering of Rs 600 crore.

Lalu Prasad Yadav as the Union railway minister between 2004 to 2009 had given the jobs to several people in Group D after allegedly taking their lands.

--IANS

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Dallas (US), Feb 9 (IANS) Top seed Frances Tiafoe registered 6-4, 6-3 victory over fellow American Alex Michelsen to reach the Dallas Open quarterfinals.

Tiafoe, who last year cracked the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings, brought out all his tricks in his opening match at the ATP 250 event. He combatted the awkward baseline game Michelsen with an all-court performance.

Late in the second set, he even purposely carved a backhand drop volley with so much backspin, it bounced back to his side of the court.

“It was incredible. You guys really enjoyed yourself, I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. I really love this city, I have a tonne of fun here. You guys really showed me a lot of love tonight, so I appreciate it," Tiafoe said in his on-court interview.

According to ATP Stats, Tiafoe won 52 per cent of his return points and converted five of his eight break points. He will next play another countryman in Marcos Giron, against whom he owns a 3-1 ATP Head-to-Head advantage.

In other action, seventh seed Jordan Thompson cruised past lucky loser Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-1. The Australian will try to slow down the big-serving game of third seed Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.

German lefty Dominik Koepfer also advanced with a 6-3, 7-6(5), victory over Australian Rinky Hijikata. Koepfer will next challenge second seed Tommy Paul.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Feb 9 (IANS) Actress Preity Zinta recalled how filmmaker Mani Ratnam, on the first day on the sets of her 1998 film ‘Dil Se’, asked her to go make-up free.

Preity took to Instagram, where she shared a still from the film, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala.

She said: “This picture was taken on the first day on the set of Dil Se. I was so excited to be working with Mani Ratnam sir & Shah Rukh Khan. When Mani sir saw me he smiled and politely asked me to wash my face…. But sir… my make up will come off, I said smiling …. That’s exactly what I want… Pls wash your face…. He smiled back.”

Preity thought Mani Ratnam was joking.

“I thought he was joking …. Then I realised he was not !!! So thanks to the amazing Santosh Sivan ( our Director of Photography) I filmed with a freshly washed face and got away with it. I guess he shot me Dil Se.”

The romantic thriller was set against the backdrop of Insurgency in Assam, where Manisha played a terrorist and SRK’s character was a programme executive in a radio station.

An example of parallel cinema, ‘Dil Se’ is noted as the final installment in Ratnam's trilogy consisting of Roja (1992) and Bombay (1995).

Actress Dia Mirza took to the comment section and said that Preity did not need a spot of make-up.

“Best decision! You didn’t need a spot of make up I remember watching you and thinking she looks so natural, vibrant and fresh,” Dia wrote.

--IANS

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