Infosys co-founder gives IISc Rs 225 crore

BANGALORE: In one of the biggest philanthropic contributions to the Pure Sciences, Infosys executive vice-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan has set aside Rs 225 crore to develop a Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. It's also one of the single-largest donations the 105-year-old institute has received from an individual.

Kris, a co-founder of the Bangalore-based IT giant, will give the money under the banner of the Pratiksha Trust, a charitable organization he has set up with his wife Sudha. The trust funds education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

As part of the collaboration between IISc and the Pratiksha Trust, the latter will give the money over 10 years for the establishment and functioning of the research centre. It'll also be supported by the Centre for Neuroscience and other facilities at IISc and collaborate with hospitals across the city.

An international scientific advisory board chaired by Nobel laureate Prof Torsten Wiesel will guide the centre. Stanley Fahn (Columbia University), Sangram Sisodia ( University of Chicago), John Morris (Washington University, St. Louis) and Giovanni Frisoni (University of Geneva) are among the members who will help start operations at the centre, set research goals, and guide it.

Kris will also fund the setting up of three chairs each in the departments of computer science, IISc and at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

"The broad goal of the centre is to understand the functioning of the brain," said Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, chairperson, Centre for Neuroscience, IISc. "We'll study how a normal brain ages and what factors lead to neurodegenerative conditions and diseases like dementia which are accelerated by old age. We'll work on whether it's possible to have an early diagnosis, better quality of life for those diagnosed with the problem and ensure treatment. The centre will also look at links between brains and computers and leverage existing understanding of brain functioning to create better models of computing," she said.

With its focus on clinical research, the centre is expected to have 50-75 faculty as well as visiting faculty and post-doctoral students. The centre will be an autonomous body in the institute.

"There are around 10 institutes in India which do work in these areas. But never has there been an institute which focused on one aspect. Therefore, this is an important initiative because the number of ageing people. In India is rapidly increasing," she said.

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Have prepared a list of the corrupt: Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Targeting Rahul Gandhi, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused him of being corrupt and said the party will field candidates against him, UPA ministers and leaders of other parties.

He also took a jibe at BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and the Congress vice-president for spending over "Rs 500 crore on branding" and image-building exercise.

Drawing up a list of "corrupt" politicians, Kejriwal said the party will field candidates against them.

The list included Gandhi, several UPA ministers, SP supremo Mulayam Singh, BSP chief Mayawati, Union ministers P Chidambaram and Sushilkumar Shinde and former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, among others.

Addressing the National Council meeting attended by Aam Aadmi Party volunteers from across the country, Kejriwal said, "I have prepared a list of dishonest (politicians) of the country. If you come across any honest politician in the list then please tell me.

"I am asking for the country's approval on whether to defeat (these politicians) or send them to the Parliament."

Kejriwal said the party will field candidates against Gandhi, union ministers Shinde, Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, G K Vasan, Salman Khurshid, Veerappa Moily, Prakash Jaiswal, Kamal Nath, Pawan Bansal, as well as MPs Naveen Jindal, Avtar Singh Bhadana, Anu Tandon, Suresh Kalmadi and Assam CM Tarun Gogoi.

"I have started the list. Till evening, you (AAP workers) prepare a list and submit it the party," he told AAP workers.

The chief minister slammed Gandhi and Modi for engaging in expensive image branding campaigns.

"They spent Rs 500 crore for image make over...To prepare brand Modi and brand Rahul, they are spending Rs 500 crore. Can these people, who spend Rs 500 crore for branding, give an honest government? After they come to power, they will recover that money from us," he said.

Kejriwal said the party's motto was not to seize power, but to eradicate corruption.

"Our motto is not to seize power and do politics for power like BJP and Congress. Our motive should be no corrupt leader and no one from dynasty politics should enter Parliament," he said.

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Satya Nadella likely to be next Microsoft CEO: Report

NEW DELHI: Senior Microsoft executive Satya Nadella would replace Steve Ballmer as Microsoft CEO, two media reports said today, citing sources familiar with the processes of selecting the new leader at the Redmond-based company.

Bloomberg reported that the Microsoft board was set to name Nadella, an Indian who was born in Hyderabad and who completed his engineering from Manipal University before heading to the US for higher studies, as the company's next CEO. The report also said that the board was discussing replacing Bill Gates as chairman.

The Bloomberg report came several hours after Kara Swisher, who has a fairly reliable record of breaking stories, wrote on technology website Re/code that Microsoft has apparently finalized Nadella as the next CEO of the company. Swisher wrote that a formal announcement was expected within a week.

While Bloomberg report indicated that Nadella was certain to be the next CEO, Re/code report hinted that he was among the three insiders shortlisted for the job and was the strongest candidate.

"And, at this moment, those who have watched the process think that insider Satya Nadella, who is currently leading its enterprise effort, is the likeliest internal candidate to prevail. That's due to a number of reasons, including his familiarity with the company, where he has spent much of his career, as well as a strong technical background and a varied work history at Microsoft," noted the report. "The two other insiders -- strategy head Tony Bates and Nokia leader and former Microsoft exec Stephen Elop -- seem further behind."

Currently, Nadella is the president of server & tools business at Microsoft. He landed his current assignment in 2011. Before that he was senior vice-president of R&D for the online services division and vice-president of the Microsoft business division. In total he has been with Microsoft for nearly 23 years and is considered a person who is familiar with the internal culture within the company, which has an incredibly complex corporate structure.

Nadella's appointment as CEO is likely to have mixed reactions. He is considered a person who is familiar with the Microsoft's enterprise-focussed products like MS Office, online services like Bing and cloud services like Azure. In the last few years, Microsoft has seen good adoption of products like Office 365, Azure and Windows Servers and many industry insiders believe that for the company, enterprise services and the products are the future. If that is the same consensus Microsoft board has reached, Nadella seems like an obvious and good choice as the next CEO of the company.

But at the same time Microsoft has found going a little difficult in the consumer space. Windows 8 has been considered a flop and the company is trying to fix the OS by dialling down on the Metro user interface. Also, Windows Phone has so far failed to take off even as Google's Android and Apple's iOS continue to woo consumers. In the smartphone and tablet market Microsoft has negligible share. In the personal computer market, the sale is slowing and that has hurt Microsoft and its hardware partners.

While Microsoft's financial performance remains strong, the company seems to have lost mind-share. Google and Apple are now considered more innovating and exciting technology firms compared Microsoft.

Patrick Moorhead, president at Moor Insights & Strategy and a veteran of computer industry, says that Nadella may face challenging time in fixing Microsoft's problems in consumer space.

"Satya Nadella has a lot of experience, but not as much as someone who typically runs a company of the size of Microsoft. He has spent most of his time in the enterprise space, so I think he would need a very strong lieutenant who gets the consumer market. Microsoft's biggest challenge is consumer and Satya doesn't have experience in this market," Moorhead told TOI.

Nadella is said to have little experience with smartphone, personal computer and Xbox divisions at Microsoft. This is a concern that many will raise if Nadella turns out to be the CEO of Microsoft. On Friday when Bloomberg story appeared, Peter Bright, who is Microsoft editor at technology website ArsTechnica, tweeted, "The question is: who will be the champion for mass-market consumer/end-user products?"

As focus turns on him, Nadella has been more active in talking to media in the last few months. A few months earlier in Paris he was meeting startups. He told a French publication, "Meeting with startups is important because the tech cycle is such that the small guys make it big and the big guys die".

Before that he talked to Mary Jo Foley, a long-time Microsoft watcher, for Zdnet website. He told the website that Steve Ballmer taught him "there's nothing in this industry -- and definitely in this particular segment -- that's built to last... It's all about being able to reinvent yourself."

Given the fast-changing technology market and the advances Google and Apple have made in the last few years, leaving Microsoft behind, Nadella will definitely have to reinvent Microsoft if he is its next CEO and if the company does not decide to give up its business in the consumer market.

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Did Mahatma Gandhi see his death coming?

AHMEDABAD: Did Mahatma Gandhi have a premonition of his death just hours before he was shot at by Nathuram Godse? Strangely, there were a number of instances in the last 48 hours of Bapu's life in Delhi's Birla house when the Mahatma indicated to near and dear ones that he wouldn't remain amid them for long.

On the afternoon of January 29, 1948, the day before the assassination, an agitated member of a group of villagers who had been recently rendered homeless due to communal clashes, confronted Gandhiji and claimed that he had done enough damage. "You have ruined us utterly. Leave us alone and take your abode in the Himalayas," the angry person had said. This disturbed Bapu very much. That same evening, while walking to his prayer meeting, he had confided to his grand-niece Manuben, "The pitiful cries of these people is like the voice of God. Take this as a death warrant for you and me."

A few hours later, that afternoon, a four year old Rajiv Gandhi accompanying Krishna Hutheesing, Jawaharlal Nehru's sister and Indira had called on Bapu. Rajiv placed some flowers at Gandhi's feet. To this, Gandhi had playfully chided the little boy and said, "You must not do that. One only puts flowers around dead people's feet." These recorded incidents are part of a new book by Pramod Kapoor, 'My experiment with Gandhi', that explores these and lesser known aspects in the Mahtama's life.

On January 30, Gandhi battled thoughts of death more than just once. Bapu was feeling unwell and had woken up at 3:30 am. He was 'unusually disturbed with the 'darkness' that surrounded him. The darkness being, partition woes and infighting in the Congress. At about 3:45 am, he had surprisingly asked for a rendition of a Gujarati bhajan, 'Thake na thake chhatayen hon/Manavi na leje visramo,Ne jhoojhaje ekal bayen/Ho manavi, na leje visramo (Whether tired or not, O man do not take rest, stop not, your struggle, if single-handed, continues.)," claims Kapoor's book.

Few hours later Bapu was asked to take some penicillin pills that his doctor had left for him to cure a bad cough. "If I were to die of disease or even a pimple, you must shout to the world from the house tops, that I was a false Mahatma. Then my soul, wherever it may be, will rest in peace. But if an explosion took place or somebody shot at me and I received his bullets on my bare chest, without a sigh and with Rama's name on my lips, only then you should say I was a true Mahatma."

Later that day Bapu was in a crucial meeting with Sardar Patel when two leaders from Kathiawar came to visit him unannounced. On being informed of their coming, Gandhi had said, "Tell them that I will see them, but only after the prayer meeting and that too if I am alive."

After finishing his breakfast Bapu rested for a while and got up on his own. When he started to walk towards the bathroom, it was a strange sight for Manuben, his grandniece who helped him walk. "Bapu, how strange you look?" she said, a reference to the fact that he had not gone anywhere recently without her. To this, Gandhi had quoted Rabindranath Tagore, saying "Ekla chalo, ekla chalo (Walk alone, walk alone)". This was eerily accurate as the walk towards the prayer meeting was, in fact, his last lone walk.

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Andhra Pradesh assembly rejects Telangana Bill

HYDERABAD: The Seemandhra-dominated Andhra Pradesh assembly on Thursday rejected the AP Reorganization Bill, 2013. Amid pandemonium and with almost all the members having converged at the well of the House, speaker Nadendla Manohar put the resolution moved by chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy opposing the division of the state to voice vote and declared it as passed.

The 294-member assembly has an effective strength of 279 members of which 160 are from the Seemandhra region, including the speaker and the chief minister.

The bill will now be sent back to President Pranab Mukherjee after which it is slated to be tabled in Parliament in the first fortnight of February.

The House was adjourned for an hour minutes after it met at 9am in view of protests by the members. While the Seemandhra members rushed to the well of the House demanding that the resolution moved by the CM be put to vote, those from the Telangana region did the same with the demand that there should be no voting. The House met again at 11am, observed two-minute silence on the occasion of the death anniversary of Mahatama Gandhi, after which it was adjourned again.

At 11.30 pm, in what appears to be a coordinated strategy between the speaker, the chief minister and the Seemandhra legislators, all the members from that region converged at the well of the House and formed a wall around the speaker even as Manohar read out the resolution, put it to voice vote and declared it as having been passed.

All this was over in a matter of minutes. Immediately, the speaker adjourned the assembly sine die.

In the meantime, several Telangana MLAs tried to rush towards the speaker and prevent him from going ahead with the voice vote. Finding the access blocked by the Seemandhra members, TRS legislator T Harish Rao tried to jump over legislative secretary S Raja Sadaram's table and fell down in the process. By the time he could recover, the voting was over.

TRS legislator K Taraka Rama Rao charged that the chief minister and speaker connived to get the voice vote passed. "However, this will have no bearing on the Telangana bill as the opinion of the state assembly was not binding on the Centre and the bill will still be passed by Parliament," he said.

In the end, both the groups expressed satisfaction with the day's developments. The Seemandhra legislators said that Parliament should not take up the bill as it has been rejected by the state assembly. However, the Telangana members said that the debate on the bill has been concluded in the state assembly and the bill sent back to the Centre for the consideration of Parliament.

Text of the govt resolution

"The House while rejecting the AP Reorganisation bill, 2013, resolves to request the honourable President of India not to recommend the AP Reorganisation Bill, 2013, for introduction in the Parliement as the Bill seeks to bifurcate the State of Andhra Pradesh without any reason/basis and without arriving at a consensus, in utter disregard to the linguistic and cultural homogeneity and economic viability of both regions. The bill also completely ignores the very basis of formation of State of Andhra Pradesh, the first linguistic State created in Independent India."

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Google selling Motorola phone business to Lenovo for $2.9 billion

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is selling Motorola's smartphone business to Lenovo for $2.9 billion, a price that makes Google's biggest acquisition look like its most expensive mistake.

The deal announced on Wednesday will rid Google Inc. of a financial headache that has plagued the internet company since buying Motorola Mobility for $12.4 billion in 2012. Motorola has lost nearly $2 billion since Google took over, while trimming its workforce from 20,000 to 3,800.

Google had previously recovered some of the money that it spent on Motorola by selling the company's set-top operations last year to Arris Group Inc. for $2.35 billion. Google is also keeping most of the patents that came with the Motorola purchase.

It's unclear if Google will have to absorb a charge to account for the difference between what it paid for Motorola Mobility and what it is getting back. The Mountain View, California, company may address the issue Thursday when it announces its fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes.

Most investors viewed Motorola as an unnecessary drain on Google's profit, a perspective that was reflected by Wall Street's reaction to the sale. Google's stock gained $28.08, or 2.5%, to $1,135 in extended trading.

While Google is backpedaling, Lenovo Group Ltd. is gearing up for a major expansion. Already the world's largest maker of personal computers, Lenovo now appears determined to become a bigger player in smartphones as more people rely on them instead of laptop and desktop computers to go online.

Lenovo already is among the smartphone leaders in its home country of China, but it has been looking for ways to expand its presence in other markets, especially the US and Latin America. The company had been rumored to be among the prospective buyers for BlackBerry Ltd. when that troubled smartphone maker was mulling a sale last year.

This marks Lenovo's second high-profile deal this month. The company announced plans last week to buy a major piece of IBM Corp.'s computer server business for $2.3 billion.

Buying Motorola will enable Lenovo to join Apple Inc. as the only major technology companies with global product lines in PCs, smartphones and tablets, putting Lenovo in a better position to become a one-stop shop for companies to buy all their devices from the same vendor, said Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett.

"This makes Lenovo a company to watch,'' Gillett said in an email. "The personal device manufacturer business is consolidating, and manufacturers must compete in all three device markets, plus emerging wearable categories, or get left out of the next market shift.''

After it takes over, Lenovo plans to retain a Motorola management team led by Dennis Woodside. Google had reassigned Woodside, one of its top executive, to run Motorola Mobility in hopes he could engineer a turnaround. Under Woodside, Motorola released two new smartphones last year, the Moto X and Moto G. The phones attracted lots of headlines, but didn't sell as well as anticipated, analysts say.

Lenovo executives also said they aren't planning to lay off any more Motorola employees and that the subsidiary would remain based in its current headquarters in Libertyville, Illinois.

"We buy this business, we buy this team as our treasure,'' Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing said during a Wednesday conference call.

Google is retaining most of Motorola's portfolio of mobile patents, providing the company with legal protection for its widely used Android software for smartphones and tablet computers. Gaining control of Motorola's patents was the main reason Google CEO Larry Page decided to pay so much for Motorola Mobility at a time the smartphone maker was already losing money and market share.

Most analysts thought Page had paid too much money for Motorola and questioned why Google wanted to own a smartphone maker at the risk of alienating other mobile device makers that rely on Android.

Selling Motorola's smartphone operations will "enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem,'' Page said in a statement.

Lenovo is picking up about 2,000 Motorola patents in addition to the phone manufacturing operations.

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The Black Death: Plague that killed millions can rise from the dead

Steve Connor, The Independent Jan 28, 2014, 06.26PM IST

(A Jan 17, 2014 photo provided…)

Two of the most devastating outbreaks of plague in history, each of which killed more than half the population of Europe, were caused by different strains of the same infectious agent, a study has revealed.

The Justinian Plague of the 6th Century AD, which is credited with leading to the final demise of the Roman Empire, and the Black Death of the 14th Century, were both caused by the independent emergence of the plague bacterium from its natural host species, the black rat, scientists said.

An analysis of bacterial DNA extracted from the teeth of two plague victims who died in the early 6th Century in present-day Bavaria, Germany, has shown that they were infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the same plague agent known to have caused the Black Death 800 years later.

However, a detailed comparison of the bacteria's DNA sequences has revealed that the two outbreaks were quite independent of one another. Each pandemic was the result of different Yersinia strains, indicating the independent emergence from the black rat on two separate occasions, the researchers said.

Although the strain behind the Justinian Plague died out completely, the strain that caused the Black Death probably re-emerged a few centuries later to cause the so-called Third Plague pandemic which began in the mid-19th Century in China and went on to kill about 12 million people in China and India alone, although it did not travel to Europe.

The scientists behind the study, published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, warned that the findings suggest there is a possibility of another pandemic strain of plague to emerge from the existing reservoir of Yersinia bacteria living in the current rodent population.

"The key point here is that this bug can re-emerge in new forms in humans and can have a tremendous impact on human mortality. It's done it three times in the past and we should be monitoring it for the future," said Hendrik Poinar, director of the Ancient DNA Centre at Canada's McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

The Justinian Plague, named after the Roman emperor who died of it, probably began in Asia but first came to prominence when it swept through the eastern Roman capital of Constantinople. It killed at least 50 million people, almost half the global population at the time, and is generally regarded as the first documented outbreak of bubonic plague.

The DNA analysis of the full Yersinia genome extracted from the two Bavarian plague skeletons, however, has shown that the pandemic died out completely within a couple of centuries without leaving any bacterial descendants, Dr Poinar said.

"The research is both fascinating and perplexing. It generates new questions which need to be explored, for example why did this pandemic, which killed somewhere between 50 and 100 million people die out?" Dr Poinar said.

The scientists extracted overlapping fragments of Yersinia DNA from the teeth of the two plague victims and were able to build the entire genome of 4.6 million "base pairs" - the individual letters of the genetic alphabet that comprise the bacterium's genetic code.

"We know the bacterium Y. pestis has jumped from rodents into humans throughout history and rodent reservoirs of plague still exist today in many parts of the world," said Dave Wagner of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, the lead author of the study.

"If the Justinian plague could erupt in the human population, cause a massive pandemic, and then die out, it suggests it could happen again. Fortunately, we now have antibiotics that could be used to effectively treat plague, which lessens the chances of another large scale human pandemic," Dr Wagner said.

Long periods of warm, wet weather preceded both the Justinian Plague and the Black Death, which was thought to have resulted in an explosion in the rat population. Scientists suspect that plague outbreaks eventually die out as people develop a natural immunity to the bacteria.

"Another possibility is that changes in the climate became less suitable for the plague bacterium to survive in the wild," Dr Wagner said.

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Girls' body language must not invite attention of rapists: Maharashtra women's panel member

NAGPUR: Remarks made by a member of Maharashtra Women's Commission Dr Asha Mirge on Tuesday are likely to stir up controversy. "Girls should be careful about what they wear. They should mind the time of their moving out. Girls' body language should not be such that it invites attention of a potential rapist lurking around," said Dr Mirge, who later apologized for the remarks.

A gynaecologist from Akola in western Vidarbha, Dr Mirge has been involved in social work for the last two decades and is also associated with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). She was inducted into the state women's commission only last month.

The doctor made these remarks in the presence of her party MP Supriya Sule, who was listening silently when she uttered them. Sule has been in the forefront of girls' and youth movement in the state, holding 'NCP yuvati sammelans' all over the state since last year. The two-day camp here was also on developing leadership qualities among girls.

Dr Mirge's remarks were in response to a question asked by a young participant on security and safety of girls amid growing incidents of rape and assault all over the country. Adding to her politically incorrect remarks, Dr Mirge went on to refer to the Nirbhaya case as well as that of the trainee photojournalist who was gang-raped at the Shakti Mills Compound in Mumbai.

"Why did Nirbhaya go for a late night show with her boyfriend? She could have gone for a matinee or early evening show," said Dr Mirge. Regarding the Mumbai case, she said the girl had taken an unnecessary risk in going to the secluded place at dusk when it was unsafe.

Asked for her comments on Dr Mirge's remarks, Sule said those were Dr Mirge's personal views.

Later, at a separate scheduled press conference, Dr Mirge offered apologies to those who felt hurt by her remarks. "My remarks may be seen as insensitive. They are my personal views, not of the women's commission. I am more of a social worker, lacking the diplomacy and finesse of a politician," she explained.

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'Preity caused the rift in the family'

The Shandar Amrohi-Preity Zinta saga has taken a new turn with the former's sister in a sworn affidavit accusing Preity of misleading him and striking deals for redevelopment of family-owned Filmistan Studio behind his back.

In the affidavit filed at the Bombay High Court in response to Preity's claim that Shandar, who passed away in 2011, owed her Rs 2.8 crore, Rukhsar Amrohi has said that this money was, in fact, an investment made by Preity in what her own account books refer to as the 'Kamal Amrohi Project'. Nowhere in the books, however, it was elaborated what this 'project' was.

READ: Preity Zinta moves HC, claims money from Amrohi family

Rukhsar, who had a long-standing dispute with Shandar over the substantial properties their father filmmaker Kamal Amrohi left in the family, now shares their sole ownership with her brother Tajdar. Describing Preity's motivation for growing close to her brother as malafide, Rukhsar has alleged that she was responsible for the rift in the family.

"Preity not only influenced Shandar, but she also instigated him to go against siblings," she has said. The affidavit adds that as per her father's will, Shandar, she, and Tajdar were bestowed only 'life interest' in the family's properties, which meant that they could only transfer the shares within the family during their lifetime. Thus, Rukhsar has argued, all her brothers' deals with various developers are illegal.

Rukhsar has also charged Preity with dealing independently with at least two developers in Shandar's absence in matters concerning his shareholding in the family assets.

While Preity has claimed that she paid lawyers involved in Shandar's various court cases, Rukhsar believes that the actress spent the money because of her interest in the 'Kamal Amrohi Project' and not as help to her brother.

READ: Maybe Preity is going through a low phase: Tajdar Amrohi

"From the documents produced before this court, it can be derived that the plaintiff (Preity) was not helping Shandar Amrohi to fight any litigation but she herself was interested in the Kamal Amrohi Project," says the affidavit.

The affidavit adds that while Preity has attached bills raised by law firms representing Shandar, but these payments made by Preity are only with regards to those proceedings initiated by Shandar against Rukhsar and her son, whereas, he was fighting other cases too at the Company Law Board level for the sale of same shares.

Demanding a probe by Enforcement Directorate into the Rs 40-crore Shandar received from DB Realty, Rukhsar has said that it needs to be looked into why her brother received such a paltry amount a property whose market value is manifold more.

"The Enforcement Directorate should find out whether any further amounts were received by the parties." The affidavit claims that a large chunk of Rs 2 crore (Rs 1,54,15,000) that Preity claims she loaned to Shandar was paid through a certain Inder Mallick, who is a close associate of Preity and has nothing to do with Shandar or any other member of the family. "If this money was paid to Shandar, why did Preity not raise the issue for two years after his death," Rukhsar has asked.

When contacted, Rukhsar refused to comment. Preity's lawyer Hitesh Jain of ALMT Legal denied all allegations made in Rukhsar's affivadit."We don't want to make any comment as of now as the matter is subjudice. But we will appropriately respond to this in the court."

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Clerics: Boycott Salman Khan's films as star backs Narendra Modi

MUMBAI: A section of clerics has asked Muslims to boycott Salman Khan's films and the products he endorses till he apologises for saying Narendra Modi need not express regret for the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Angry voices have risen from the community since the actor flew kites with the Gujarat CM recently while publicizing his latest movie and seemingly endorsed the BJP leader's push to be the next prime minister. After calling Modi a "great man" in Ahmedabad, Salman told a news channel last week that there was no need for the CM to apologise for the riots as the judiciary had given him a clean chit.

"Salman's statement that there is no need for Modi to say sorry for the 2002 riots is provocative and deplorable. It has hurt the sentiments of Muslims and the community should boycott the actor's present and future films and the products he endorses unless he apologises," said Maulana Ejaz Kashmiri, a member of the All India Ulema Council and an imam at a mosque in Bhendi Bazaar. Kashmiri has appealed to Muslims not to invite Salman to their social and religious functions.

"Modi will do anything to improve his image among Muslims and secular voters. Did Salman feel the pain of women and children who suffered during the riots? What has he done to rehabilitate the victims?" asked Maulana Khalilur Rahman Noorie, general secretary of the Tanzeem Aima Masajid, an organization of imams.

Salman's Ahmedabad comments came soon after another storm over his decision to perform at the Samajwadi Party's Saifai Festival at a time when survivors of the Muzaffarnagar riots were struggling in badly-provided relief camps.

Salman's father Salim Khan said: "Salman didn't say anything outrageous. Does anybody remember the many CMs during whose rule several communal riots happened? They remember Modi because he has won elections and is aiming to become PM."

The call hasn't gone down well with some. Zafar Sareshwala, a diehard Modi supporter, said: "Salman is a soft target and maulvis don't have better things to do than attack Salman Khan."

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One month in office, TOI takes stock of AAP govt's promises and delivery

TOI takes stock of what the AAP government has done over a month and finds some initiatives faltering and a few hitting the target. But a month is too short to measure success or failure

REVIEW

Anti-graft helpline

Launched on January 8, the helpline aimed at "empowering every citizen of the city" by allowing them to conduct sting operations on bribe-seeking officials has received about one lakh calls in 20 days. Official sources said 50% of these calls had been attended but only 1,200 complaints were found to be serious enough to pursue. Ironically, the number of arrests made as a result of the sting operations remains at three and does not support the figures given by the chief minister's office. Government sources say this low rate of arrests has prompted chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to seek removal of five senior officers of the Anti-Corruption Branch. "With a new team joining, we are confident that the arrest rate will go up," said a senior officer.

Power

Within hours of coming to power, the government announced a Rs 220-crore subsidy to slash tariff by 50% for consumption up to 400 units. Next came the announcement of a CAG audit of discoms, forcing the Reliance and Tata Power utilities to move court. The case delayed the audit but it is expected to start soon now. This was followed by a new meter testing drive and a helpline for those who suffer unscheduled outages for hours. AAP tried to waive the "inflated" bills of people who had not paid up since its pre-poll bijli andolan but had to step back under criticism.

Hospitals

The government has decided to make prescription of generic drugs compulsory in state-run hospitals but no step has been taken to ensure the availability of generic drugs in stores. Health minister Satyendra Jain has visited more than 25 hospitals in a month and admits there are many problems. He has invited suggestions on his email ID aapdelhihealth@gmail.com. Officials said more than 2,000 mails have been received and the suggestions range from starting evening OPDs to super-specialty services like heart surgeries and transplants in state-run hospitals.

Education

Instead of lending private schools a sympathetic ear and overturning the new nursery guidelines, education minister Manish Sisodia has given parents a helpline for complaints and boards with grievance-redress information at schools. Volunteers have checked schools and have been randomly checking with parents who call up the helpline. They have also "inspected" government schools for availability of "facilities". Sisodia has made ways for including common people in college governing bodies, but has drawn flak for trying to reserve seats for Delhiites in DU colleges.

Transport

The government still hasn't engaged gears as far as transport is concerned. The only decision taken so far is to go to the Supreme Court for 50,000 more auto permits. CNG price hike, BRT, digitized transport database, GPS in public service vehicles, buses for the DTC as well as cluster buses, more personnel in the enforcement wing: these issues still await a decision. One step that the government took—to take away prosecution powers against autorickshaws and taxis from Delhi traffi c policewas aborted at the last moment. The policy on e-rickshaws has apparently been cleared but is yet to be implemented.

Jan Lokpal Bill

Even before the election results were out, Arvind Kejriwal promised to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill on December 28, 2013. A month later, his government says the draft bill is in its final stage and will be put up for discussion before the cabinet on January 28. The bill is likely to be passed in Ramlila Maidan before mid-February, say sources. The government has said it will call a special assembly session after the cabinet clears the bill that will be on the lines of Uttarakhand's repealed Lokayukta Act and will cover the chief minister, the cabinet and all government servants, including IAS and IPS officers. The judiciary, however, will not be covered.

Women's security

The CM's dharna outside Rail Bhavan was purportedly due to police inaction in cases of crime against women. Women and child development minister Rakhi Birla has been making surprise checks late in the night since she took charge but the promise of raising a commando force to provide security to anyone in distress—with special focus on women—is far from reality. Arvind Kejriwal announced the formation of 'Mahila Suraksha Dal' employing former army personnel and martial arts trainers. But no training has started so far and women are still as insecure and vulnerable as they were before AAP came to power.

Water

Within a week of taking oath, the CM implemented a scheme to provide up to 20kl of free water to each family. Simultaneously, he dealt a blow to heavy users of water, increasing their tariff by 10% and stipulating that they would be charged even for the fi rst 20kl on exceeding the free limit. The sop will not benefi t the lakhs of consumers who do not have metered connections. The CM is working to rein in corruption in Delhi Jal Board. He has made the water tanker service more effi cient, taken over unauthorized tube well connections, and is going over files pertaining to meters and the public-private partnership projects that are allegedly steeped in corrupt practices.

Janta darbar

Less than two weeks into office, the CM called a "Janta Durbar" to hear people's grievances, on January 11. A plan was made for the CM and his ministers to meet people by turns throughout the week. But the first durbar on the road outside the secretariat was a fiasco that nearly resulted in a stampede. The CM fled to the safety of the secretariat while his ministers scrambled in the midst of the crowd. Many people went back unheard, and those who stayed saw the CM promise a better arrangement next time from the secretariat roof-top. There was no next time, though.

Night shelters

Taking strong objection to the large number of homeless in Delhi and making it a priority issue, Kejriwal on January 1 issued directions to all SDMs to carry out night vigils to identify sites for new shelters within four days. The SDMs reported finding 4,000 men, women and children sleeping in the open, largely in 212 clusters. The CM ordered replacement of all tents with porta cabins and more such shelters, but the minister in-charge struggled to cut the red tape and set up tents under flyovers and shelter people in unusable buses. The Delhi Urban Shelter Board added 25 porta cabins to its 175 shelters. Another 34 porta cabins relocated from schools are expected to be ready by January 28.

APMC reform

Taking a strong stand against the alleged corruption in the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), the new labour minister, Girish Soni, has removed the chairman and the vice-chairman of the organization. The decision was taken after the minister reportedly received complaints of mismanagement and corruption against the senior APMC officials from mandi traders. The charges included taking bribes, siphoning off funds, not paying minimum wages to guards, poor sanitation, theft, bungling in licences, etc. Soni will set up an enquiry against both officials and order an audit of APMC for the past three years.

Environment

Environmentalists have applauded the government's decision to move the Millennium Bus Depot from the Yamuna bank. Made as a temporary structure during Commonwealth Games in 2010, it continues to encroach upon the river bank. On January 15, the government decided to submit an affidavit to the high court declaring its intention to shift the depot. Kejriwal's declaration that protection of Delhi's natural resources is crucial has also won him supporters among activists.

VAT

The Aam Aadmi Party manifesto talks of simplifying the valueadded tax (VAT) system. Soon after becoming chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal extended the date for filling up two categories of VAT forms for traders till January 31. "The traders came to me to tell that the last date was December 31 but since the forms were very complicated they were unable to meet the deadline. Hence the date has been extended and the department has been directed to simplify the form," Kejriwal said. On January 27, the CM held a comprehensive review of VAT and discussed with officials ways to simplify the process and the very system of taxation. These complexities and multiple clearances are said to enable the manipulation of norms and corruption.

FAULT LINES

Anarchy

It was presumed that on becoming chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal would let go of his activist past and move on to a political life. However, the CM shocked not just Delhi but people around the world when he decided to sit on dharna with all his ministers outside the high-security Rail Bhavan to demand action against five police personnel, and Delhi government's control over the city's police. Described variously as an anarchist and a reactionary, Kejriwal held the city to ransom with his protest and has given people the power to carry out sting operations against government officials. His critics say that there are procedures within a democratic system which he as CM can use, and it is highly embarrassing for a CM to sit in protest in his own city. A debate is on.

Internal strife

Days into governance, the Aam Aadmi Party had to deal with its first dissident. Vinod Kumar Binny, MLA from Laxmi Nagar and a former Congress corporator, not only sulked on two occasions on being denied what he wanted but also publicly called Kejriwal a liar. Binny attempted to wash AAP's dirty linen in public, accusing Kejriwal of running a one-man show, ignoring workers, carrying on a farce of democracy by deciding in advance candidates for the assembly elections and lying to the electorate. Kejriwal said Binny first wanted a ministerial post and then a Lok Sabha ticket, and sulked when he was denied both. Binny has now managed to gather many disgruntled volunteers and is actively campaigning against the chief minister.

Violence

Arvind Kejriwal's dharna, already under massive criticism for the form of protest adopted by the elected head of the city, took a turn for the worse when scores of its supporters broke down barricades at Rafi Marg to join the CM on his dharna outside Rail Bhavan. In the lathicharge that followed, about 30 persons were injured, and AAP promptly blamed home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for the violence. Some people also had to be hospitalized. At another barricade, some protesters threw stones and rocks at the police force, injuring at least two. On the other hand, police had strict instructions to not use force on the protesters and they stood ignoring barbs and slogans directed at them. This was a first for AAP.

Tension with police

Arvind Kejriwal's first month in office has been marked by attacks on Delhi Police and the Centre, which looks after law and order in the capital. The CM and his cabinet squatted outside Rail Bhavan when prevented from marching up to the home ministry demanding the suspension of three SHOs. The home ministry's stand that an inquiry will decide the fate of cops accused of inaction during a midnight raid in Khirki Village, a bride burning case and the gang rape of a Danish woman enraged Kejriwal. An embarrassing faceoff between the CM and the Centre followed. Rain spoiled Kejriwal's plan to protest till his demands were met. He accepted a face-saver from the Centre which sent two cops on leave. He, however, embarrassed police by talking about corruption in the force during his R-Day speech.

Attack on media

The media has been under the direct attack of the AAP government. Its ministers have suddenly become mediashy and the chief minister himself has alleged that the negative coverage of his party is because of a nexus between rival parties and media houses. He said this even in his official Republic Day speech, slipping in a kind word or two as a concession to journalists. After his dharna at Rail Bhavan, Kejriwal had given vent to similar feelings about media coverage. His law minister, Somnath Bharti, sharpened the attack on the media by asking a reporter how much BJP's prime-ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had paid her to unrelentingly seek an answer to a question.

SYMBOLISM

Right from the time the new government took oath, it has banked on symbolism to prop its image as different from the rest. TOI takes a look at these sidelights of AAP's politics

Mufflers and topis

An AAP cap on the head and a muffler tightly wrapped around his neck, covering his ears: that's the popular image of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. The cap created quite a stir when he attended the fi rst session of Delhi assembly wearing it. While some in the opposition mocked him, BJP actually accused him of breaking the assembly code of conduct. Kejriwal, however, stuck to his ground and the issue dissipated, but it built his popular image. The muffler, in particular, became a talking point after the CM started wearing it wherever he went—the secretariat, a TV studio or the dharna. When he attended President Pranab Mukherjee's Republic Day party at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday, he got a muffl er as gift. Now, Kejriwal's cabinet colleague Somnath Bharti has started wearing a muffl er too, but it is yet to prove lucky for him

Ramlila Maidan

This venue had become synonymous with agitation, but AAP now wants it to symbolize the party and its different style of governance. The cabinet took oath there, and the CM now wants the Jan Lokpal Bill to be passed at a special session of the assembly inside it. Kejriwal has drawn critics' ire for this, as they feel the assembly is a goodenough and constitutional venue for passing laws

Friendly neighbourhood ministers

Most AAP MLAs and ministers have tried to project themselves as accessible to the common man and tried hard to sell the idea that they are one of them. They have done so by not taking the VIP way and using public conveyance like buses, autos and the Metro to go to work. Of course, this has had a flip side to it: when all MLAs went for the swearing-in ceremony, all Metro stations where they got in and out were clogged due to security restrictions, and commuters were greatly inconvenienced. The CM himself has been staying in his Kaushambi society flat, where people have started complaining of being under nonstop media and police glare. But the CM and his cabinet colleagues maintain that they frequently interact with people on the streets (most of which is in full media glare) and know what they want, even though rivals say they indulge in publicity stunts

WagonR that is CM'S AAPmobile

Kejriwal's personal car, a blue WagonR, has hogged the limelight as much as its owner. When the CM sat on dharna outside Rail Bhavan, his car was with him. He slept on the road next to the car; and when it rained on Day 2, he and his cabinet hopped into the car to take cover. Media watchers have called it the 'AAPmobile' after Batman's car, but some market-watchers think this is a good publicity boost for this Maruti Suzuki brand that might go off production in a few years

Aam aadmi cuts ribbon

When the CM was invited to inaugurate a revamped hospital run by the NDMC, he turned down the offer and suggested that a rickshawpuller be allowed to do the honours. Kejriwal saw it through and a 60-year-old rickshawpuller, Vijay Baba, inaugurated the hospital on Saturday with the CM by his side. Many wondered if such a gimmick was necessary, but AAP maintains the aam aadmi needs to know that it's he who calls the shots now.

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Ind vs NZ: Centurion Ross Taylor leads New Zealand to seven-wicket win against India in 4th ODI

HAMILTON: India slumped to their second consecutive series defeat overseas as New Zealand rode on Ross Taylor's unbeaten century to thrash the visitors by seven wickets in the fourth one-dayer and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match rubber on Tuesday.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

Chasing 279 for victory, the Kiwis reached 280 for three in 48.1 overs with Taylor scoring a match-winning 127-ball 112 not out to take the hosts home with 11 balls to spare.

Taylor also shared two important partnerships - first with Kane Williamson (60) putting on 130-run for the third wicket and then with skipper Brendon McCullum (49 not out), an unbroken 92 runs for the fourth wicket.

For India, Mohammed Shami (1/61) and Varun Aaron (1/51) were the only wicket-takers but they proved to be extremely expensive. Ravindra Jadeja (0/33) and R Ashwin (0-41) bowled economically, but couldn't claim a wicket, which proved to be costly. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/62) too proved to be ineffective. Stuart Binny (0/8) and Ambati Rayudu (0/23) didn't get second spells.

Earlier, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja had produced magnificent late onslaught after opener Rohit Sharma scored a half-century, to guide India to 278 for five in their allotted 50 overs.

In reply, New Zealand got off to a rollicking start with Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill mistreating the Indian bowling attack. The two of them scored a flurry of boundaries, especially off Mohammed Shami's bowling, and together hit 10 fours and a six in their opening stand of 54 runs.

But once again Ryder failed to sustain and was bowled in the eight over by first-change Varun Aaron. He scored 19 off 18 balls with four boundaries.

Guptill was gone four runs later in the never next over, as Shami extracted his revenge from the opposite end, trapping the Auckland centurion LBW. He scored 35 off 27 balls (6X4, 1X6).

Williamson and Taylor thereafter capitalised on the platform laid by the openers.

India had lost 0-2 to South Africa in the three-game ODI series in their last tour.

As Taylor and Williamson were scoring heavily, Dhoni brought in Jadeja and Ashwin to put the brakes on the run flow and the two spinners bowled in tandem for 10 overs, giving away only 30 runs.

But the medium pacers had to come back into the attack and that once again opened the flood-gates as the next 10 overs yielded 70 runs with Taylor and Williamson putting the chase back on track.

Their 50-run partnership off 86 balls had come in the 23rd over as Rayudu bowled some part-time spin.

Taylor then brought up his half-century and New Zealand crossed the 150-mark as well. It was Williamson's turn to celebrate in the next over, scoring his fourth consecutive fifty in the series, and his 10th in ODIs overall.

The 100-run partnership between the two also came up. It seemed the chase was dead and buried, but India were given some hope by Jadeja, who ran out Williamson, who once again missed out on a hundred, falling for 60 off 82 balls, with two fours and two sixes.

The powerplay came on as Brendon McCullum walked in to bat. Having taken his time to settle down, the Kiwi captain started marauding the Indian bowling.

Only 24 runs came off the powerplay but the hosts were in no hurry, especially Taylor who didn't hit a single six in his innings, and calmly brought up his ninth ODI hundred in the 43rd over. He faced 110 balls and hit 14 fours, routing any Indian hopes of a comeback in the series.

Towards the end, the duo hurriedly finished off things. While McCullum was unbeaten on 49 off 36 balls, studded with four boundaries and three sixes, the star of the night, Taylor knock included 15 boundaries.

Dhoni had earlier won the toss and opted to bat first, a change from the team's usual policy in the first three ODIs on this tour. They also made two changes, dropping both Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina, and bringing in Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny, who was handed his first ODI cap.

The visitors lost their top order quickly, but Rohit rebuilt the innings with a 94-ball 79, before Dhoni (79 not out) and Jadeja (62 not out) put on a fighting 127-run stand for the unbroken sixth wicket.

The final 10 overs brought 100 runs. For the hosts, Tim Southee (2 for 36) was the pick of the bowlers, while Kyle Mills (1 for 42) provided an able support.

Kane Williamson (1/26) and Hamish Bennett (1/67), too, picked up wicket apiece but the latter was very expensive.

In the absence of Dhawan, Virat Kohli came out to open the innings with Rohit Sharma. India got off to a slow start. In the fourth over with only five runs on the board, Kohli (2) got frustrated and went after a short delivery from Southee, mistiming his pull and caught at midwicket by Neesham.

Rahane (3), too, moved up the order, coming in at number three, but in the 9th over, pulled straight to Southee at fine-leg off Mills.

Things were looking bad for India at 22/2 but Rayudu, who walked in to bat for the first time in an ODI since the tour of Zimbabwe in mid-2013, together with Rohit, re-built the innings.

But once set, the two batsmen sped up their run-scoring, bringing up their 50-run partnership in the 22nd over.

Rohit cut loose with a flurry of boundaries, hitting three fours and three sixes, as he brought up his 21st ODI fifty off 72 balls. India also crossed the 100-run mark.

Rayudu too sped up, hitting two sixes and three fours in his 58-ball stay at the wicket. The batsmen put on 79 runs for the third wicket as the run-rate shot up to 4.60 per over, with the last 41 runs of their pairing coming in 32 balls.

Rayudu (37) got out in the 26th over, becoming the third batsman on the day to lose his wicket to a short delivery.

Dhoni walked in and hit Williamson for a six straightaway. Rohit too carried on but did not curb his strokes. He hit three more fours and another six, going up to 79 runs (94b, 6X4, 4X6), when disaster struck. He opened the bat-face to a Williamson delivery going down legside, and Ronchi latched on to it in his second chance.

Troubles were compounded when nine runs later, just as India crossed the 150-run mark in the 33rd over, Auckland's hero Ashwin (5) was out caught at third man, cutting a short and wide delivery from Southee.

Eden Park's other hero joined his skipper and together with Dhoni resurrected the Indian innings.

Their first challenge was not to lose any more wickets, especially in the batting powerplay and they scored 24 in those five overs. Jadeja was more aggressive with Dhoni looking to stay on till the end.

As the innings entered the last 10 overs, both opened up gradually, playing attacking strokes and looking for big runs.

The tactic worked very well for India as they brought up their 50-run partnership off only 55 balls in the 43rd over, and then Dhoni completed his second consecutive half-century -- and his 54th in ODIs overall -- off 58 balls.

While Jadeja also brought up his eighth ODI fifty off only 46 balls.

They made sure that India didn't lose a wicket for the last 16.5 overs at a run-rate of 7.54 per over, as Dhoni finished the innings off in style, hitting a massive six off Neeshan and staying unbeaten on 79 (73b, six fours, four sixes), while Jadeja was 62 not out (54 balls, eight fours, two sixes).

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Japan enters where China is barred – northeast India

NEW DELHI: Japan is sailing in where China fears to tread. As India and Japan ramp up their bilateral relationship, India has invited Japan to invest in and build overland infrastructure in areas which are generally out of bounds for Chinese investments.

India and Japan used the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to dramatically expand the scope of bilateral cooperation to include the politically sensitive northeastern states of India, areas where Chinese investment or projects are actively discouraged. Japanese companies will have the opportunity to help the development of the northeast specially to build roads, and aid agriculture, forestry and water supply and sewerage in these states.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as its territory, which has aggravated border tensions between India and China. Security agencies have also long tracked Chinese weapons assistance to militant outfits in northeastern states. It has taken India many difficult years to calm down these hills, but China remains a significant security threat.

For India to invite Japan to build infrastructure here is a huge political statement. In 2007, China opposed an ADB loan for development works in Arunachal Pradesh describing it as "disputed territory". The last time the Japanese were in India's northeast was during the second world war, when they worked with Netaji Subhash Bose's INA to confront the British in Nagaland.

Japanese companies have also been invited to help develop a new port in Chennai, which would be used to improve India's sea-route connectivity. India assiduously keeps China out of port development because they constitute India's critical infrastructure. Japanese assistance for Chennai port is also aimed at giving teeth to a new sea-based route that would start in Chennai, and end in Dawei port in Myanmar's Tanintharyi region. The port is being developed by Thailand.

In 2012, Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra had promised PM Manmohan Singh that Thailand would pump in a massive $50 billion into Dawei, making it a bigger investment than China's in Gwadar or Hambantota.

The development of a new port in Chennai would serve to connect the industrial centres of southern and western India with southeast Asia. In addition, Japan's investment in the Bangalore-Chennai industrial corridor would find easy outlet from Chennai.

In the larger strategic matrix, this would help in building an alternative supply chain network, giving Asia a viable alternative to the China-dominated networks currently in play. The India-Japan team for economic projects is ultimately placing pieces together to build a multi-polar Asia, a declared strategic intent of both countries.

Japan and India have agreed to work together to develop infrastructure in other regional countries as well. This would have the double benefit of being a power projection for both countries in South Asia, it could be an effective counter to the Chinese juggernaut. For India, this would be an added advantage because it always falls short in delivering quality infrastructure by a moribund public sector system. An injection of Japanese funds and expertise is just what India needs.

As part of the trilateral dialogue between India, US and Japan, a trilateral highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand (the ambitious draw it further to Hanoi, Vietnam) is likely to see more Japanese and US interest. This is an India-led project due for completion in 2016, but by itself, India is unlikely to make the target.

In Sri Lanka, where India is working hard to squander its hard won gains, it has invited Japan to help develop a huge thermal power plant in Trincomalee. Foreign minister Salman Khurshid recently inaugurated the project, which India has promised would be a better, cheaper power project than the one developed by the Chinese in Norachcholai.

India and Japan could also jointly develop the strategically crucial oil terminals in Trincomalee. In retaliation for India voting against Sri Lanka in the human rights council, Sri Lanka has threatened to take away some of the oil terminals from India. A joint development project with Japan would solve many issues with Colombo.

Buried in the agreements between India and Japan are a promise by Japan's JICA to help India's Export-Import Bank develop more attractive funding packages for Indian projects in regional countries. India always loses to China because Beijing offers finances at very attractive rates, which India cannot. India reckons that with Japanese help, it can up its own game in the neighbourhood.

In the power play that is quietly underway in Asia, India has made Japan the centerpiece of its strategic outreach.

Manmohan hosts Abes at home

Keeping the special tempo in the India-Japan partnership, PM Manmohan Singh and his wife hosted the Japanese premier Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie to an exclusive, quiet dinner at his home Sunday evening.

Also at the dinner was Shotaro Yachi, recently appointed Abe's national security adviser, and his Indian NSA Shiv Shankar Menon.

Yachi has been Abe's closest foreign policy adviser for years. Japan's deputy vice minister Shin Sugiyama completed the table. This was probably the hihhest level strategic foreign policy conversation between Abe and a normally reticent Singh.

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Police suspect suicide in Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym's death

Slym, a British national, was hired in 2012 to revive Tata's flagging sales and market share in India. 

The author has posted comments on this articleReuters | Jan 27, 2014, 10.25AM IST

BANGKOK/MUMBAI: Karl Slym, managing director of India's Tata Motors Ltd, died after falling from a hotel room in Bangkok in what police said on Monday could be possible suicide.

Slym, 51, had attended a board meeting of Tata's Thailand unit in the Thai capital and was staying with his wife in a room on the 22nd floor of the Shangri-La hotel. Hotel staff found his body on Sunday on the fourth floor, which juts out above lower floors.

"We didn't find any sign of a struggle," Police Lieutenant Somyot Boonyakaew, who is heading the investigation, told Reuters.

"We found a window open. The window was very small so it was not possible that he would have slipped. He would have had to climb through the window to fall out because he was a big man. From my initial investigation we believe he jumped."

The police found a three-page note, written in English, which they were translating into Thai. An autopsy on Slym's body should begin on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Tata Motors, India's biggest automaker, declined to comment on the possible cause of Slym's death. A company statement on Sunday said Slym had provided leadership in a challenging market environment.

Turning the corner

Slym, a British national, was hired in 2012 to revive Tata's flagging sales and market share in India. Tata Motors is part of the Tata conglomerate.

"His death comes at a time when the company seems to be close to turning the corner," said Anil Sharma, an analyst with researchers IHS Automotive. "It comes before his efforts bear fruit. We should be able to see the results in a year or two."

Tata Motors recently introduced a new petrol engine for its passenger vehicles and was planning to launch a hatchback and compact sedan this year, the first all-new Tata-branded passenger vehicles since 2010.

Slym led the automaker's operations in India and international markets including South Korea, Thailand and South Africa, but he did not look after the Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) luxury unit that Tata Motors acquired in 2008.

The Thai police said they were called to the Shangri-La hotel around 7:45am on Sunday after staff found Slym's body. They woke up Slym's wife, who looked shocked when she was told what had happened to her husband.

Tata Motors had lost traction in the Indian passenger vehicle market as domestic and foreign rivals rolled out new models while it mostly tweaked existing models and offered heavy price discounts.

The firm has not had a hit car at home since 1998. Sales of the Nano, the world's cheapest car which it unveiled in 2008, have been lacklustre.

Before joining Tatar Motors, Slym was executive vice president of SGMW Motors, China, a General Motors joint venture. Before that he had headed General Motors in India.

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Salman Khan to take responsibility for Jai Ho's failure

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan is not only the Dabangg Khan of the film industry but he is also Dabangg in real life. Unlike most stars who refuse to take responsibility if their movies fail to do well at the box-office, Salman says he would take blame on his head if it doesn't do well, according to an interview he gave on Headlines Today.

Speaking to Headlines Today, Salman said that if the film doesn't pick up from Monday, he will take the blame for it. He has also candidly admitted that his film has not fared well at the BO as compared to his other films.

ALSO READ: Jai Ho's opening bigger than Dhoom 3?

Despite getting rave reviews for his performance and the movie, the movie has failed to crack the box-office.

Further to the reports on Headlines Today, Salman admits that it is the actor who is responsible for a movie's failure. He takes responsibility for not being able to woo his fans to the theatre.

ALSO READ: 'Boycott Salman's Jai Ho' gathers momentum

Headlines Today further mentioned that Jai Ho managed to barely collect over Rs.17 crore on its opening day at the domestic box office. Reportedly made on a budget of Rs.75 crore, Jai Ho hit about 4,500 screens in India.

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Salman gets wooed by Bharti Singh at Mirchi Top 20 event

He came, he blushed but did he consent? Salman Khan certainly was in the mood to indulge as he attended the Mirchi Top 20 event and got proposed on stage! Stand-up comedian Bharti Singh wooed the actor in different avatars — as Krrish, Milkha, Dhoom3's Aamir, Chennai Express's Meenamma and finally as herself. What happened next will only be aired on national television just like the proposal!

SEE PICS: Why Salman Khan may not marry

Besides Salman grooving on stage, the evening also saw entertaining performances by some popular TV names like Gauahar Khan, Kushal Tandon, Ajaz Khan, Gurmeet Choudhary, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Jai Bhanushali, Sana Saeed and many more.

ALSO READ: Salman Khan is too honest to be a politician, says Ekta Kapoor

Mirchi Top 20 Countdown will air tonight on Colors, 7 onwards.

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BJP poised for best-ever tally, Narendra Modi set to be PM, say polls

NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi could be poised to become India's next prime minister with two opinion polls released on Friday predicting that the NDA will get at least 210 seats and the BJP itself would cross the 180 mark and perhaps even 210 in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

In contrast, the UPA and the Congress appear to be facing a rout with both polls giving the ruling alliance less than 130 seats and the Congress perhaps less than three digits for the first time ever. With parties like the AIADMK, the TDP, the TRS and the BJD, all of which would be regarded as potential BJP allies, projected to win 50 seats or more between them, the news for the BJP and Modi couldn't get better.

The India Today-CVoter poll predicted that the NDA would win 212 seats on the back of a dominant performance in the Hindi belt and the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The CNN-IBN-CSDS poll was not very different in terms of the big national picture, though regional details vary between the two polls.

According to the CSDS poll, the NDA would win between 211 and 231 seats if elections were held now and the BJP alone would bag anywhere between 192 and 210, which would make it the party's best showing ever. At the upper limit of this range, the NDA would need just 41 more MPs to support it to gain a majority in the Lok Sabha.

While agreeing on the big picture, including on the fact that AAP will not have a major impact in terms of seats anywhere other than in Delhi, the two polls have significantly different predictions for key states. In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, the India Today-CVoter poll projects that the BJP will win 30 of the state's 80 seats, the BSP 24 and SP 20. The CNN-IBN-CSDS poll gives the BJP between 41 and 49 seats, BSP 10-16 and SP 8-14. Both agree that the Congress will decline drastically from the 21 seats it won last time in UP.

Similarly, while the CVoter poll sees the JD(U) getting nearly wiped out in Bihar, with just four seats, the CSDS poll gives Nitish's party anything between 7 ands 13 seats. Both give the BJP the bulk of Bihar's 40 seats but disagree on the distribution of the rest, primarily between RJD and JD(U).

In Tamil Nadu, too, while the CVoter poll gives the AIADMK a decisive edge with 29 of the state's 39 seats, the CSDS poll sees Jayalalityhaa's party winning between 15 and 23 seats. In Kerala, CVoter suggests the Left has the edge in a close contest while CSDS feels the Congress-led UDF is well ahead.

One of the regional parties on which both polls agree is the Trinamool Congress, with CVoter giving Mamata's party 23 of West Bengal's 42 seats and CSDS saying it could win between 20 and 28 seats. Either way, it would improve on its tally of 19 in 2009 and could end up being the third largest party in the Lok Sabha after the BJP and Congress. Whether Mamata would be able to leverage this gain in seats could be another matter.

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Ind vs NZ: Ravindra Jadeja helps India tie 3rd ODI against New Zealand

AUCKLAND: Ravindra Jadeja very nearly pulled off a sensational victory with some lusty hits but could not take India home in the last over as the third one-dayer against New Zealand ended in a nail-biting tie to keep the visitors afloat in the five-match series on Saturday.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

Chasing New Zealand's stiff target of 315 largely built around opener Martin Guptill's 111, India came back from the dead to tie the game, riding on R Ashwin's 65 and Jadeja's 45-ball unbeaten 66 to save themselves the blushes of another overseas ODI series defeat.

In the thrilling dying moments of the game, India needed 18 off Corey Anderson's last over for a victory but Jadeja and last man Varun Aaron could get 17 to tie the game on a good batting track at the Eden Park.

The visitors needed just two runs off the last ball but Jadeja could manage just a single. Though India could not win the match, they can still draw the five-match series by winning the remaining two matches in Hamilton (Jan 28) and Wellington (Jan 31).

The tie also ensured that India remained in the number one position in the ICC ODI rankings, having regained it on Friday following Australia's defeat to England in the fourth one-dayer.

Put into bat for the third time in a row, New Zealand piled up 314 with Guptill scoring his fifth ODI century and useful contributions from Kane Williamson (65) and Luke Ronchi (38). The score could have been much bigger had there not been not a minor collapse towards the end of the innings which pegged the Kiwis back to some extent.

The Indians got off to a fairly good start but Shikhar Dhawan (28) and Rohit Sharma (39) again squandered the start to let the team down badly.

The quick dismissals of the in-form Virat Kohli (6) and Ajinkya Rahane (3) served as a huge jolt for the visitors who suddenly slumped to 79 for four from 64 for no loss.

Captain Dhoni (50) and Suresh Raina (31) stitched 67 runs for the fifth wicket to keep India in the hunt. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja than put on 85 runs for the seventh wicket to raise hopes of a stunning victory.

Corey Anderson was the pick of the Kiwis bowlers with five for 63 though he appeared a trifle shaky in the tense last over.

During the Indian innings, Anderson tied down the two openers with a clever mix of deliveries and it resulted in a wicket.

Dhawan made 28 runs (off 25 balls) and was the first to go, pulling one straight to deep mid-wicket where Guptill took a fine, low catch. Only eight runs were scored when Rohit too was dismissed. The batsman, having scored 39 runs off 38 balls, with one four and four sixes, threw away his rousing start as he tried to play one over extra-cover only to edge it to third-man.

It put the focus once again on Kohli but the number three batsman had an off-day for once, looking edgy in his 20-ball stay at the wicket. He found it tough to handle Hamish Bennett and was caught behind in the 15th over to put an early douser on Indian hopes.

Three overs later, Rahane too gave away a faint edge down the leg-side as Anderson picked up his 3rd wicket of the spell, routing India's chase in this must-win encounter.

It brought skipper MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina together, and the two put on 67 runs for the fifth wicket. Their runs came in good time, off only 60 balls, but the asking run-rate was already over seven-per-over when the 20th over of the Indian innings ended. As a result, the pair tried to break through the shackles and up the scoring ante, hitting a couple sixes.

But this bid made Raina a little circumspect as he tried to play uncharacteristic strokes once again, falling to a loose shot outside the off-stump, playing half-a-pull-shot.

He scored 31 runs off 39 balls, with three fours, a case of an Indian batsman once again throwing away his start. More importantly he left his skipper in the lurch, who still batted solidly to score his 53rd ODI half-century. He scored exactly 50 runs, off 60 balls, hitting two fours and three sixes, and putting on 38 important runs for the sixth wicket.

It was a platform from which Ashwin's pairing with Ravindra Jadeja exploded.

The duo put on 85 runs in just 55 balls, at a striking rate of 9 runs per over as they looked to do the impossible.

The two batsmen backed each other perfectly, alternating the roles of aggressor and defender. Ashwin scored his maiden ODI fifty in the 41st over as the second power play resulted in 54 runs for the loss of one wicket.

With 54 runs needed off the last six overs, Ashwin was dismissed in the 45th over, as Guptill pulled off another smart catch and avoided a six, hopping over the boundary rope.

It nearly ended any hopes of a successful chase on the night, but Jadeja ploughed on. He enjoyed very less support from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4) and Mohammad Shami (2), but Varun Aaron (2 not out) stuck around long enough for Jadeja to strike a few lusty blows and take the match into the last over.

Earlier, riding on opener Martin Guptill's hundred, New Zealand were bowled out for 314 as Guptill scored 111 runs (129 balls, 12 fours, two sixes) and put on 153 runs for the second wicket with Kane Williamson (65).

Guptill and Jesse Ryder (20) made another quick start, as 32 runs came off the first four overs. But the latter again failed to get going after an initial burst, bowled this time by Kumar in the 5th over.

It brought Williamson to the crease, who didn't let up in his golden run of form, putting up 50 runs with Guptill and Williamson in the 18th over of the innings, off only 79 balls.

India had conceded 15 additional runs in the first ten overs itself and finished with 21 extras for the whole innings.

The Black Caps crossed the 100-run mark three overs later, while Guptill brought on his half-century in the 25th over. He used up 80 balls and hit five fours, but looked to press on and increased his pace of scoring, bringing up his 100-run partnership for the second wicket with Williamson came up in the next over.

Williamson too scored his half-century off only 61 balls, with two fours and one six.

They put on 153 runs in 28.3 overs, passing 138 runs by Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming (in 2001) at Colombo. Williamson again squandered the chance to get a hundred, bowled by Shami in the 33rd over, making 65 runs off 74 balls, with four fours and one six.

Corey Anderson walked out to bat at number four, ahead of Ross Taylor, in a bid to make use of the small ground and push the score in the range of 350.

But Ashwin bowled him for just 8 runs (5 balls, one six), his first wicket in international cricket since the Durban ODI, after 78.3 overs without one in both ODIs and Tests combined.

The batting power play was taken in the 35th over of the innings as Guptill went on to complete his fifth ODI hundred next over

He looked to push the scoring rate further and was out caught on the boundary by Ajinkya Rahane off Jadeja. The fielder was in action again running out Ross Taylor and then catching Luke Ronchi (38) again off Jadeja, just as the keeper-batsman was starting to look dangerous.

In between, skipper Brendon McCullum played a loose shot and was caught by Ashwin off Aaron, out again for a duck, as the Kiwis lost six wickets for 90 runs.

It meant that the death overs were a different experience for the Indian attack this time around, conceding only 81 runs in the last ten overs. Only 33 runs had come off the second power play with two wickets lost therein, and it had set up this good finish for the Indians.

Nathan McCullum (1) and Mitchell McClenaghan (3) didn't contribute much, but Tim Southee (27) hit a few lusty blows to take the score past the 300-run mark in the penultimate over. He was run-out off the last ball of the innings, even as Hamish Bennet was unbeaten on three runs.

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MP3 player for Rs 2, LED torch for Rs 8: Undervalue Chinese imports, make a killing

In an investigation spanning six months, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has found that for over 3,673 items brought from China, the importers usually declared 1-9% of the actual value of the goods.

The author has posted comments on this articleC Unnikrishnan, TNN | Jan 23, 2014, 01.30AM IST

MUMBAI: An MP3 player for the price of a candy; an LED torch that costs less than a Mumbai local train ticket; an emergency lamp at little more than the price of a kilo of tomato; an LED bulb for as much as "cutting chai"! No it's not Christmas again but a peek at how Chinese goods are grossly undervalued by importers to evade customs duty.

The declared value of an MP3 player is Rs 1.83, but you are unlikely to get it for less than Rs 230 in the market. An LED torch and LED bulb, both valued at Rs 8, will set you back by anything between Rs 350 and Rs 450. An emergency lamp shown as worth Rs 25 goes for Rs 1,000. The retail price of a tablet with 4GB memory is declared as selling for Rs 400, but is being sold in the market for Rs 4,299.

In an investigation spanning six months, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has found that for over 3,673 items brought from China, the importers usually declared 1-9% of the actual value of the goods. Customs duty is about 31% of the value declared by the importers.

In one specific case, the duty evasion was around Rs 300 crore on imports worth over Rs 1,000 crore in the past four years by M/s Riddhi Siddhi Collection and M/s Aisha Electronics.

Faisal Javeri, proprietor of Aisha Electronics, claimed he was not even aware of the import procedures. He said he called up a Hong Kong-based supplier from a telephone booth and placed orders. DRI seized 66 containers of goods at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

But there is usually a web of connections behind such frauds. Investigations revealed that Javeri was a dummy importer controlled by Sunil Jain, proprietor of M/s Riddhi Siddhi Collection. DRI says the supplier — Hong Kong-based KS Group of Kishore Sohanda — was also a dummy. Saturn International, a company owned by Mitesh and Manoj Jain, the Hong Kong-based brothers of Sunil were the actual suppliers.

"Once the Jain brothers decided to capitalize on the huge demand for cheap Chinese goods, mainly in rural areas, Manoj and Mitesh established themselves in Hong Kong and started trading under the name of Saturn International. Sunil stayed in India to look after the import and sales. He roped in friend Javeri, whose uncle owns a chain of shops, and Sohanda as the director of a front they floated in Hong Kong," explained an investigator.

They routed the imports through several front firms to mask the transactions and also raise undervalued manipulated invoices that they could produce before customs to evade duty. The rest would have been taken care of with some greasing of palms.

DRI has issued show-cause to Jain brothers (Sunil, Manoj and Mitesh), Javeri, Sohanda and clearing agents, Balraj Kumar and P P Associates for recovering duty and imposing penalty.

"Their operations are typical of covert black money operations involving smuggling and tax evasion," the notices sent to the Jain brothers said.

Investigators said the MP3 players' retail price was declared at Rs 4, which they found ridiculous. "Strangely, for the MP3 players, the customs increased the value to just Rs 5 during clearance, which again raises questions about the process," an official said. "The clearing agent was paid Rs 45,000 in cash for every container over and above the official charges," he added.

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Tribal girl gang-raped by members of kangaroo court as punishment for affair in West Bengal

SURI: A 20-year-old tribal girl was allegedly raped by at least 10 members of a kangaroo court in a Birbhum village on Monday night as punishment for having an affair with a youth from another community. She is in critical condition after the assault and is clinging to life in spite of the rapists stopping her from reaching a hospital.

All 13 accused — including the village headman — have been arrested for rape. The girl's boyfriend has also been arrested.

TOI spoke to the girl in Suri Hospital on Wednesday evening. Although in severe pain, she feebly said: "I had an affair with a man. We were dragged to a gathering where our community-headman was present. They told me to pay Rs 50,000. When I said I couldn't, they brutalized me." A doctor said she was alive "only because she is a tough tribal girl".

Her mother said: "The crime was committed by our own people. They tortured my daughter and dumped her home late at night. We were threatened not to go to police. We tried to go to Bolpur hospital but they stopped us."

Sources say the girl was raped in a village in Labhpur police station area, about 60km from Tagore's Santiniketan. Her lover is from Chowhatta village. On Monday afternoon, a group of tribal men found her sitting with the man and dragged both of them to the village 'than' (a religious place). A kangaroo court was hastily assembled under the tribal chieftain. The youth was asked to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 and warned that if he didn't pay up, village youths "would have fun with the girl", said a police officer.

On Monday night, the girl was forced into a shed and raped till Tuesday morning.

The rapists forced the family to stay indoors all of Tuesday. Bleeding from severe injuries, the girl somehow survived. Late Wednesday afternoon, the family slipped out and took her to Labhpur health centre, where the doctors advised she be taken immediately to Bolpur subdivisional hospital.

From Bolpur she was shifted to Suri hospital in a very critical condition at night. That is when the crime came to light. Additional SP Prashanta Chowdhury said the woman was gang-raped. "Details are yet to be investigated," he said.

This area had been in the news around four years ago when a teenage tribal girl was stripped and forced to walk naked through four villages for having an affair. Hundreds of villagers molested her and mocked her all the way. They took cellphone videos of her, which exposed the incident four months later. The girl got a bravery award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is now in a state-run welfare home.

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Twin toilets photo at Sochi Olympics goes viral

SOCHI (RUSSIA): At least one Olympic bathroom seems to be flush with toilets.

When BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg went to use the bathroom at the cross-country skiing and biathlon center for next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi, he found two toilets but only one stall.

His tweeted picture instantly became a national joke.

Although toilets like that are not common in Russia, social media users posted photos of other side-by-side toilets, including ones in a courthouse and a cafe.

The editor of the state R-Sport news agency said such communal toilets are standard at Russian soccer stadiums.

"Why are the BBC folks scaring us?" Vasily Konov wrote in this personal Twitter account. "This is what the gents look like at football stadiums in Russia."

He posted a photo showing two urinals and three toilets in a large room.

Russians jested that the toilets in Sochi were designed for a "tandem," the name used to describe the duo of President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. One popular blogger altered Rosenberg's photo to put in a framed portrait of the two leaders above the toilets.

In a nod to the tight security measures imposed in Sochi for the Winter Olympics, another joke has it that the second toilet was for a Russian security officer.

The Sochi organizing committee refused to comment on the picture. The games run from February 7-23.

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Emraan Hashmi calls Ash 'plastic' on Koffee With Karan

Mahesh Bhatt's outspoken ways seem to have rubbed off on his usually reserved nephew Emraan Hashmi. The duo took on actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Imran Khan and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Karan Johar's talk show and their take on the four were brutally candid.

While Bhatt labelled Bhansali an "overrated filmmaker", Emraan went on to say that Aishwarya Rai is "plastic", Aamir is "boring" and then used the "overrated" adjective for Imran.

READ: Expected revelations on Koffee With Karan

A source told Mirror that jaws dropped when the duo gave these damning reviews with a straight face. When contacted, Bhatt retorted, "Does this nation have no sense of humour? Or is the nation awed by their non-existent greatness? Koffee with Karan is a lighthearted show on which you are asked frivolous questions which you are expected to answer honestly. People have an opinion about Emraan and me, ditto for us. But this is all in context of the show."

READ: 5 unusual couples on Koffee With Karan

Mahesh added that he did not spare himself too. "When I was which director's career should be put in the graveyard, I answered 'Mahesh Bhatt', since that's where it had gone 15 years ago. I may have shown irreverence to some people but I have also demolished myself," explained Bhatt.

But isn't the industry sensitive to such remarks? Bhatt pointed out that if the artistes in question are real artistes they won't mind.

"Real artistes are are not in awe of themselves. They demolish themselves before anybody else demolishes them. These comments are not going to be preserved for posterity," he reasoned.

READ: Bitchiest celebs on Koffee With Karan

"I hope our opinions are taken in the right spirit. If you are in a public space you should take such comments with a pinch of salt."

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My mother was too strong to commit suicide, Sunanda's son says

NEW DELHI: Sunanda Pushkar's son has come out in the defence of Union minister Shashi Tharoor even as he strongly rejected the possibility of his mother committing suicide.

In a signed statement released to the media, Sunanda's son, Shiv Menon has called the media reports on his mother's death untrue and outrageous.

"Anyone who knew my mother would simply know that she was too strong to commit suicide, the letter says.

"I also do not believe that Shashi was capable of physically harming her, let alone the speculation that he could have taken her life. They were very much in love, despite occasional differences, which they always overcame," Shiv Menon says in the letter.

He further goes on to say that his mother was under stress.

"It was an unfortunate combination of media stress, tensions and a wrong mix of different medications. Her death was peaceful and she passed in her sleep," the letter says.

"Please let her soul rest, I think there has been enough attention drawn towards her life - let us at least let her rest in her passing," the signed statement issued by Shiv Menon states.

Shiv Menon had along with Shashi Tharoor performed the last rites of Sunanda Pushkar.

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India surrender top ODI ranking after back-to-back defeats

HAMILTON: India were on Wednesday dethroned as the number one ODI team after they suffered an agonizing 15-run defeat in a rain-truncated second ODI against New Zealand, who have now taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

India, who desperately needed a win to retain their top spot, made a valiant effort to overhaul the revised target of 297 in 42 overs but failed to cross the finishing line scoring 277 for nine in 41.3 overs, giving Australia pole position in the ICC ODI rankings. The Duckworth-Lewis par score in 41.3 overs was 293.

Put into bat, the Kiwis rattled up 271 for seven riding on Kane Williamson's 76 and all-rounder Corey Anderson's rampaging 17-ball-44 that included five huge sixes as the hosts amassed a whopping 101 runs in 8.4 overs after rain interruption.

India were left with a daunting task of chasing a revised target of 297 as per the D/L method and were again done in by a shaky start and lack of big partnerships which has been their bane of late.

Virat Kohli, who hit a century in the first ODI, again top-scored with a sparkling 78 while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (56), Suresh Raina (35), Ajinkya Rahane (36) got the starts but could not translate them into match-winning knocks.

Tim Southee (4/72) was pick of the New Zealand bowlers while Anderson again displayed his all-round prowess picking up three for 67 with wickets of Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Shikhar Dhawan (12, 22 balls) and Rohit Sharma (20, 34 balls) wasted a lot of deliveries upfront as India couldn't take advantage of the bowling Powerplay.

The loss was all the more heartbreaking for India as they conceded the No. 1 ODI position to Australia, having relinquished their top position in Tests to England back in 2011 after 0-4 whitewash.

India now travel to Auckland for the third ODI at the Eden Park on January 25, which will be a do-or-die match for Dhoni's men.

During the chase on Wednesday, Kohli and Rahane added 90 runs for the third wicket after Dhawan was bowled by a fullish delivery from Southee and Sharma edged one to Luke Ronchi behind the stumps.

Both Kohli and Rahane played confident strokes but the Mumbaikar was done in by Mitchell McClenaghan, who got one to kick up and Rahane only got a thickish edge to the keeper.

Kohli was obviously the more aggressive batsman in this pairing, bringing up his 29th ODI fifty in the 23rd over of the innings. In the next over, they brought up their 50-run partnership, off only 49 balls.

Skipper Dhoni came out to bat ahead of Suresh Raina but they could not take the score closer to the target unlike Napier.

Kohli was looking to accelerate when he mistimed and hit straight to the substitute fielder at mid-on. He made 78 runs off 65 balls, with seven fours and two sixes, and walked off dejected as there was yet another hundred for the taking.

Raina then came out fighting, looking more comfortable at number six than he has batting higher up, as he chipped in with a quick-fire 35 off 22 balls with six fours.

He put on 62 runs in only 39 balls with Dhoni as the chase started looking hopeful once again. But he fell in the 37th over, much to the disappointment of his captain.

Thereafter Dhoni reached his 50 in the 39th over, off 41 balls, looking to take India home single-handedly.

His efforts came to nought though as he holed out in the deep in the 40th over.

Earlier, Indian bowlers dished out yet another listless performance as New Zealand scored an imposing 271 for seven in 42 overs.

Williamson set the platform with a polished knock of 77 helping all-rounder Anderson to cut loose as he played a brilliant cameo smashing 44 off only 17 balls with five huge sixes. Ross Taylor also hit 57 off 56 balls with seven hits to the fence.

For India, Mohammed Shami (3-55) was once again the most successful bowler. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-43), Ishant Sharma (1-46), Ravindra Jadeja (1-46) and Suresh Raina (1-18) took a wicket apiece while R Ashwin (0-50)'s poor form with the ball continued.

The lengthy rain break didn't put the brakes on home team's scoring although they lost five wickets post interval.

Williamson and Taylor started off after the rain break, looking to up the ante immediately as the Kiwis had a little over eight overs left to play.

Williamson was stumped in the 34th over off Jadeja. Williamson's 77 came off 87 balls, with five fours and one six and he added 60 runs with Taylor.

Skipper Brendon McCullum's decision to send Anderson ahead of himself to take advantage of the bowling Powerplay was a good move.

Anderson made full use of it as he pummelled the Indian bowling for five sixes in his 17 ball stay, carting two each off Ashwin and Ishant. His 50-run partnership with Taylor came up in only 21 balls, and in total adding a massive 74 runs in 4.4 overs.

His partner Taylor was not quiet either, reaching his 26th ODI fifty in the process.

The big-hitting all-rounder was out caught in the deep in the 39th over, but by then, he had done his job. Off the four Powerplay overs, 58 runs had come with the loss of just one wicket.

New Zealand slowed down a little bit thereafter, with Taylor and McCullum (0) falling in the 40th over bowled by Shami. Kumar then bowled Nathan McCullum (1), but Luke Ronchi (18 not out, 10 balls, two fours, one six) and Kyle Mills (2 not out, 2 balls) helped them cross 270 run mark.

Earlier, MS Dhoni won a second toss in a row and elected to field once again. The threat of rain could have perhaps proved a factor in this decision, given his team did not chase too well in the first match at Napier.

The first wicket came in the sixth over, but once again it was more fault on part of the batsman. For a second consecutive match, Jesse Ryder played a nothing shot to Shami, and this time edged a rising delivery outside off-stump to Dhoni. He threw away his quick start, wherein he scored 20 runs off only 11 balls, with four fours.

It brought Kane Williamson to the crease, who carried on from where he left at Napier. Against the erring Indian bowling, Ishant in particular bowling a middle-leg line, he settled in quickly.

At the other end, Guptill found the going good as well and the two batsmen rotated the strike well enough to bring up their 50-run partnership, off only 49 balls, in the 14th over.

Then they took New Zealand past the 100-run mark in the 18th over, after a first rain-break of the day.

Their second-wicket pairing lasted until the 19th over, costing India 89 runs when Guptill top-edged Raina to be caught at short fine leg. He scored 44 runs off 65 balls, with five fours and one six.

It was Raina's first over of the innings, with Dhoni rotating his bowling in a bid to not let the batsmen settle down.

Spin had been introduced in the 12th over with Jadeja coming on to bowl, while Kohli was brought on in the 14th over. Ashwin only came on to bowl in the 18th over, after the initial rain-break.

Williamson had reached his second successive half-century of the series, following up his 71 runs at Napier. He reached the mark in the 22nd over, off only 52 balls inclusive of four fours and one six, scoring his 4th ODI fifty overall.

At the other end, he had Ross Taylor for company and the duo looked as ominous as the clouds above carrying their good work from the previous match forward.

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Sunanda Pushkar's death caused by drug poisoning: Doctors

NEW DELHI: The forensic report of Sunanda Pushkar has revealed that her death was caused by drug poisoning. Doctors say that this means that Sunanda did not die because of an inadvertent drug overdose but by deliberate administration of drugs aimed to end life. Whether this was suicidal or homicidal, the doctors are unable to say, adding that was for the police to establish.

Sources at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where the post-mortem was conducted on Saturday, said the forensic findings have been submitted in a sealed envelope to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) who is holding the inquest proceedings under the provisions of the Criminal Procedural Code.

The forensic report gives a new turn to the investigations into the death. Police officials said the report will now require them to review all the video footages of the hotel lobby and check who all went to her room, including the hotel staff.

Alok Sharma, the SDM who is holding the inquest proceedings, refused to disclose the details of the report. He said he would examine it along with the statements of various people, including that of Tharoor and Sunanda's brother as well as other evidence. "I cannot say anything about the report," said Sharma, who was at AIIMS on Monday.

"The toxicology report of the sample of the viscera - internal organs of the body, for example, heart liver and intestines - has revealed that death has been caused due to poisoning. Whether Sunanda took the poison herself to commit suicide or somebody poisoned her to death is a matter of police investigation," said a source. He refused to disclose any details about the nature of the poison.

The source, who is conversant with the findings, ruled out any possibility of accidental death due to overdose of prescription medicines - a possibility suggested by some doctors since Sunanda was on anti-depressants and several other medicines.

Sunanda Pushkar, wife of union of Minister Shashi Tharoor, was found dead in suite 345 of Leela hotel on Friday evening. Her body was reportedly found by Tharoor at around 8 pm when he returned to the hotel after attending a meeting of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

The post-mortem report showed that Sunanda's death occurred at around 4-7 pm and by the time her body reached AIIMS - at around 2 am on Saturday - it had turned completely stiff. A medical board of forensic experts from AIIMS conducted the post-mortem, which was filmed and photographed. The post-mortem report states there were physical injuries in 'certain body parts'.

As for the injuries on her body, a doctor had said, "In medico-legal cases, the number of injuries does not matter. Whether the injuries are related with fatality or not, is what matters. So, before giving a medical opinion we need corroborate it with circumstantial evidence."

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