(13 Nov) New Delhi, Nov 13: Domestic e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal on Friday said it received over 9,500 bookings to buy real estate on its platform in the run-up to Dhanteras. The company introduced the first-of-its-kind ‘Diwali Home Buying Fest’ from November 3 to 9, extending special promotional offers on purchase of property from over 200 real estate projects.

“We were the first marketplace to introduce the real estate category and this Diwali has affirmed our commitment to further increase our assortment under this category. We are changing the way India shops in each and every category of products and services,” said Tony Navin, company senior vice president, partnerships and strategic initiatives. The average value of houses booked on the platform is Rs.55 lakh, Snapdeal said, adding that “customers from Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune have initiated the purchase process with partner builders”. Snapdeal’s new platform features map-based search, project segregation on the basis of location and convenient inventory booking. The company also offered price-saving deals of up to Rs.500 off per square feet on base selling price, waiver of car park reservation charges, free modular kitchen and air conditioners in bedrooms. IANS Source: www.oneindia.com

(23 Nov) Chennai: With the North East monsoon leaving a trail of destruction in Tamil Nadu, the state government today pegged the damage at Rs 8,481 crore, with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately release Rs 2,000 crore to sustain relief work. In a letter to the Prime Minister, she said that 169 lives have been lost in various rain-related incidents since October 1, 2015. Detailing the extent of the damage, Jayalalithaa told the PM that despite her government’s preventive efforts, the state had suffered severe damage on account of the “extremely heavy and sustained” rainfall which, she said, had left a trail of destruction and that her government had allocated Rs 500 crore for relief work.

The assessment of damages and requirement of funds for immediate relief and restoration of infrastructure which she said had been speedily carried out indicated a much higher financial requirement. “The requirement of funds for immediate rescue and relief and the temporary and permanent restoration of infrastructure has been worked out at Rs.8,481 crore in all..” “This assessment has been made as an immediate measure since the Government of Tamil Nadu requires assistance from Government of India to meet the very high expenditure requirements that such a severe calamity has caused. The funds required are well beyond the resources available with the state, including the State Disaster Response Fund,” she said. She requested Modi to depute a central team immediately to make its on-the-spot assessment of damage and to release central financial aid without any delay keeping in view the urgency of restoring many of the infrastructure facilities and services to the flood affected people. “In the meanwhile, I request that an on account release of Rs 2,000 crore may be sanctioned immediately to enable the state government to sustain the relief and restoration operations with the same vigour,”

Jayalalithaa said. Jayalalithaa recalled that a deep depression of ‘high intensity’ in the Bay of Bengal had hit the Tamil Nadu coast near Marakkanam on November 10, 2015, causing extremely heavy rains, particularly in the four northern coastal districts of Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Chennai and Tiruvallur. “Based on the forecast received from Indian Meteorological Department and the alerts received from the National Disaster Management Agency, adequate precautionary measures were taken which minimised loss to life and property,” she said, adding state-level agencies and the local administration in the affected districts were put on high alert. In addition, the services of the National Disaster Response Force, Army, Air Force, Navy and the Coast Guard were requisitioned wherever the need was felt. I thank you for the promptness in the dispatch of these forces,” she told Modi. However, despite all efforts taken by the state Government, “as the rainfall was extremely heavy and sustained for several days, it has left a trail of damage and destruction,” she said. The CM said many parts of the state had been severely affected due to flooding. One hundred and sixty nine lives were lost during this North East monsoon since October 1 and there was widespread damage to property, including dwelling units and crops, she said.

(23 Nov) New Delhi : The Congress Party on Monday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Assam Governor P. B. Acharya’s ‘Indian Muslims are free to go to Pakistan or Bangladesh’ remark and alleged that he recruits communal people at important constitutional positions. “This is the character of Narendra Modi ji. He is recruiting people, who induce communal hatred in the society at important constitutional positions. First he says, ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas’ and then he recruits people who spread hatred on constitutional posts,” said Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed.

The Assam Governor had during a book launch yesterday said that ‘Hindustan is for Hindus’ and that the name of a single Bangladeshi should not be in the updating of the National Register for Citizens (NRC). Acharya’s comment came in reply to a question on updating the NRC list and on the controversy surrounding the Centre’s notification of allowing religious minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh fleeing persecution to seek shelter in India. “Hindustan is for Hindus. There is nothing wrong with that. Hindus from different countries can stay here. They cannot be outsiders. There is nothing to be feared about that. But how to accommodate them is a big question and we should think about that,” he said.

23 Nov) Seven people, including a pilot, were killed on Monday when a helicopter ferrying pilgrims to the Vaishno Devi temple crashed near Katra in Jammu and Kashmir, police said. The helicopter was privately operated. Following the crash, helicopter services between Katra and Vaishno Devi have been suspended.

India Today reports that the helicopter landed barely meters away from a thickly populated locality, somewhere near the base camp in Katra. In October, over 2.7 lakh pilgrims visited and paid their obeisance at the holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi during Navaratras in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Finance Department, headed by Haseeb Drabu of the PDP, issued a notification on September 2, asking the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) to impose a 12.5 per cent service tax on pilgrims travelling by helicopter to and fro from Katra to Sanjhi Chhat. 5 dead in Helicopter crash near Katra(J&K), pilgrims were on their way to Sanji Chhat.

will star in Rajkumar Hirani and UTV Motion Pictures’ SAALA KHADOOS. The bilingual in Hindi and Tamil marks the reunion of Rajkumar Hirani and UTV Motion Pictures post Aamir Khan starrer PK. R Madhavan, who plays a boxing coach in this sports drama, will be working with Raju Hirani after 3 IDIOTS. Newcomer Ritika Singh makes her debut with this film.

Swati A. Dandekar India-born Swati A. Dandekar, a Nagpur and Bombay University alum was nominated as the United States director of the Asian Development Bank and given the rank of an ambassador by President Barack Obama on Friday. The White House also announced the remaining eight key administration posts.

“I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America and I am grateful for their service. I look forward to working with them,” Barack Obama said. According to her White House biography, Swati received a BS from Nagpur University and a Post-Graduate Diploma from Bombay University, is a former Iowa state legislator and member of the Iowa Utilities Board. She served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013. Prior to joining the Utilities Board, Dandekar served in the Iowa State Senate from 2009 to 2011 and in the Iowa State House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008. From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors. Dandekar also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002.

News24 Bureau New Delhi: Underworld don Chhota Rajan was sent to Tihar prison on 14 days of judicial custody on Thursday evening. Rajan has been kept in jail number 2 of the high security prison, the Hindustan Timesreported. The don has been kept alone under constant CCTV surveillance with a Tamil Nadu state police personnel ensuring that he’s not ‘attacked’, the English daily added. Meanwhile, CBI has taken over all 71 cases against Rajan and it will soon start re-registering FIRs in them. Chhota Rajan, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, was arrested in Bali on October 25. The 55-year old don, who has been on the run for 27 years, arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on November 6 in a special aircraft. He was being accompanied by officials of the CBI, and Delhi and Mumbai police.
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(20 Nov) Bengaluru, Nov 20: In an another exclusive discount offer, AirAsia India has announced a new scheme under which flight ticket can be booked at Rs 1,269. Read on to get all details about the latest discount offer. The promotional airfare by AirAsia India has been announced recently. To avail the above mentioned scheme, interested person(s) needs to book ticket on or before Nov 22, 2015. However, travel period is between Jan 15 to April 30, 2016. AirAsia India services are available at a few selected domestic routes including Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Pune, Delhi, Guwahati, Imphal, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Chandigarh. Indian airlines have been making great profits with such offers. According to reports, air travellers carried by domestic airlines in the first seven months till July 2015 rose 21 per cent to 455.78 lakh.

(7 Oct) – By Natasha Jade Two years ago I spent six months in Nepal, volunteering, studying yoga and painting. During my time in the country I sketched the great Maju Deval temple in Kathmandu that has now been destroyed to the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake. When I returned to London I created a large oil painting of the temple and it is this painting that I have just auctioned, raising £870 for the Save the Children Nepal Earthquake appeal. Now that I am back in London, it seems strange to me that I kept my painting of the Maju deval temple in my room for almost two years without even taking a photo. When I read about the earthquake that had devastated the country that means so much to me, I realised that auctioning my painting was a way that I could give something back to this inspirational country and its people. My experience in Nepal was quite amazing and unique to my journey and me. When I was on the plane coming over from India I met amazing people including one lady By Nepali Blogger, 20 May 2015
who invited me back to her house and let me stay there for my first few days in the country. They were a really wonderful openhearted family. When I arrived in Nepal I could almost feel myself relax as I left the chaos of India. One security guard actually looked at me and said; “it’s OK, you’re in Nepal now” as I left the plane. While volunteering in a school in the east of Nepal I had many strange experiences including taking two of the younger orphans to the local prison to see their mothers, the meeting began with a feast that the female inmates had prepared. At one point I had to repeat a rendition of ‘the cup” with my accordion for 200 Nepali children and their parents in a very isolated village near the border of China. I also spent some time living just outside Pokhara with a community of people nestled in the foothills on the Annapurna range. It was during this time I was able to really absorb the beauty and the silence of the country. I felt safe and inspired and so extremely welcome. Maybe this was why as an artist I felt so compelled to paint. Like a lot of people who have traveled in Nepal, I have many stories. This country offered me so much love and warmth. Nepal has a very big heart, which is displayed in the eyes of each and every person I met. The country has a special soul, a soul that is unique, kind and forgiving. About Natasha Jade Natasha Jade is a British artist based in East London. After a year and a half of immersing herself in the culture of India, Nepal, Turkey and Brazil she now resides in Hackney, London. To view her portfolio, visit Natasha Jade’s website and blog. Follow Natasha Jade on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.