Cute Taimur celebrates Raksha Bandhan with sisters : Pics

Taimur Ali khan Raksha Bandhan Photos

Raksha Bandhan was celebrated with gusto by Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor and Kartik Aryan on Sunday.

While megastar Amitabh Bachchan reached out to his 'extended family' to share a message urging people to celebrate love, respect, peace and harmony, a string of other celebrities took to social media to share some of their memorable moments with their siblings. Photographs and messages from the film stars were splashed across Instagram and Twitter.

Priyanka, who recently got engaged to American singer Nick Jonas, posted a photograph with her brother Siddharth, and wrote: "I've got an army of brothers, and this one (Siddharth) happens to be the leader of the pack (by default). Happy Raksha Bandhan!

"It's one of my favourite festivals where the sister ties a sacred thread around the brother's wrist for protection, symbolic of the beautiful bond between siblings. I can't imagine life without having my brothers in my corner... Love you guys!"

Kartik was in Gwalior for the festival, which celebrates the brother-sister bond. He was nostalgic.

"Really miss our bachpan (childhood). Celebrated Raksha Bandhan after such a long time with my sister and my family and in my city. Love you Kittu a lot. You are the apple of our eye. And we are so proud of you," the "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" actor wrote and posted a set of happy family pictures.

Actress Aditi Rao Hydari also shared some photographs with her brothers, and wrote: "From being my props in pictures to always having my back... Thank you broskis! Happy Raksha Bandhan. P.S. I will continue to bully you for as long as I live!"

Deepika's Rakhi message was for her younger sister Anisha, whom she lovingly calls 'Smallie'. The "Padmaavat" star shared their childhood picture, and wrote: "Like always... I promise to love you, protect you and bug you... forever! I love you Smallie."

Sonam Kapoor shared a special photograph with her army of brothers, and wrote: "To my brothers, a very very happy Rakhee... I'm so thankful to have all of you in my life... Love you all a lot! And sorry I'm not there today to tie you rakhi... Your favourite sister, Sonam." (more)

PM Modi Celebrates Raksha Bandhan with Children & Women’s.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today followed on Twitter 55 women, including sports and media personalities, to mark Raksha Bandhan.

These women include professional badminton doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa, tennis players Sania Mirza and Karman Kaur Thandi, athlete P T Usha, former Miss India and child rights activist Swaroop, and journalists Romana Isar Khan, Sweta Singh, Padmaja Joshi, Sheela Bhatt and Shalini Singh.

Others followed by the prime minister on the micro-blogging platform include actor Koena Mitra, weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, photo journalist Renuka Puri and some BJP members and state government ministers.

Some of those followed by Modi, thanked him and wished him on Raksha Bandhan.

Sources in the government said the prime minister followed them on Twitter to mark the festival.

The prime minister follows 2,000 people on his personal Twitter handle @narendramodi and is followed by 43.7 million people.

His official Twitter handle @PMOIndia follows 438 people, including world leaders. The official account is followed by 26.9 million people.

Article Source : BS

Xiaomi Poco F1 launched in India at Rs 20,999, to go on sale on August 29

Poco -- a sub-brand Xiaomi will use the manufacturing and supply chain as well as the after-sales network of the Chinese parent in order to bring Poco F1 to the customers

Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, launched the Xiaomi Poco F1 in India today, under their new sub-brand Poco which stands for 'a little'. The Flipkart-exclusive smartphone is the most affordable smartphone to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and is a premium addition to the portfolio of parent Xiaomi, known mostly for its budget and mid-range smartphones.

In a recent media interaction, Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Kumar Jain had said that the company was working on a premium smartphone, which would not be from the company’s existing portfolio, but a new offering designed specifically for Indian consumers. The Poco F1 launched today, has premium looks, features and specifications while the price starts from Rs 20,999 and one can get a first sale offer of Rs 1000 instant cashback if bought through HDFC Bank credit or debit card.

"As a small outfit within Xiaomi, Poco has the freedom to start from scratch, zeroing in on the product choices and technologies that matter. The brand focusses on delivering performance and innovation, which we believe will resonate with tech enthusiasts," Jai Mani, Head of Product at Poco Global, said.

Apart from the flagship Snapdragon 845 chipset, the Poco F1 sports a 5.99-inch fullHD+ notch display with 19:9 aspect ratio. The notch houses an infrared face-unlock feature as well. The phone comes with a 20MP selfie camera and 12-megapixel and 5MP dual rear cameras, a 4000mAh battery, a fingerprint sensor on the back and LiquidCool Technology cooling system

The Poco F1 comes in three RAM and internal storage configurations - 6GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB and is available in three colour options - Rosso Red, Steel Blue and Graphite Black and a kevlar-backed armoured 8GB/256GB edition.

The OS is based on Android 8.1 Oreo with a MIUI skin on it and is expected to receive the Android P update in near future.

"Poco brand is focussed on innovation and has a different positioning. Our first handset - F1 - is for the power users....We don't think Poco will impact Xiaomi sales, Poco will be complementary to Xiaomi," its Global Head Alvin Tse said. (more)

CBSE wants to revamp Class X, XII exam pattern from 2020: Here's the plan

The questions will be shorter and stress would be on probing the critical thinking abilities of students

If everything goes according to plan, the question papers of Class X and XII will, in a couple years, wear a fresh look. The questions will be shorter and more in the nature of problem-solving. In effect, rote learning will walk out the door and questions based on testing students' analytical abilities will be the new norm.

All of these changes and more will become a reality if the CBSE Exams goes ahead with its revamp plan, as was reported on Thursday by 'The Times of India'.

"The questions will be more in the nature of problem-solving. There will be more short questions (between 1 to 5 marks). The stress would be on probing the critical thinking abilities of students and test actual learning outcomes rather than allow students to score high marks by virtue of rote," the report quoted a senior unnamed HRD official as saying.

According to the report, the CBSE also plans to hold vocational subject tests earlier and early declaration of results. The exams for vocational subjects will be held in February while the main subject tests will end in March "in around 15 days".

"This will give evaluators more time to check papers. Results, too, will likely be declared earlier", the report said.

The board is also mulling introducing new bylaws to simplify and shorten the affiliation process. According to the new affiliation/renewal laws, the decision will be based highly on the school's academic quality -- such as the quality of teachers, learning outcomes, and pedagogy. Also, the state's directorates of education/school education departments will evaluate the schools' facilities and the CBSE will depend on their reports while arriving at a decision.

"Instead, CBSE will put to use its resources in measuring the academic quality," the official said.

While the proposals regarding the examination schedule are "still at the discussion stage", according to the report, the board is already working toward implementing the changes in question paper by the year 2020.

Article Source : BS

MHRD announces entrance dates; JEE Mains to be held twice in 2019

All the exams will be computer-based except for NEET, which will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on Tuesday announced the schedule for various entrance examinations till May 2019 to be conducted by the newly-established National Testing Agency (NTA).

It announced the schedule for UGC-NET, JEE Main I & II, CMAT & GPAT, and NEET-UG.

All these exams will be computer-based except for NEET, which will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode as before. This mode of writing exam was kept unchanged at the request of the Health Ministry.

"The change in the NEET exam pattern (as against the statement made on July 7, 2018) -- which will now be a single exam in pen-and-paper mode and in the same number of languages as has been conducted last year -- is on the request of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which wanted the same pattern as last year's to be maintained," the HRD Ministry said in its statement.

While declaring the establishment of NTA, the Ministry had in July said that all these exams will be conducted online.

As per the schedule announced on Tuesday, the UGC-NET will be conducted on several days during December 9-23, 2018; JEE-Main I on days between January 6 and 20, 2019, while JEE-Main II will be held between April 6 and 20, 2019.

The CPAT-GMAT entrance, earlier conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education, will be conducted by the NTA now on January 28 and NEET-Undergraduate on May 5 next year.

The Ministry said that through NTA it has also established 2,697 Test Practice Centres (TPCs) in schools and engineering colleges for candidates to practice and familiarise themselves with the pattern of the exams.

These centres will be available to the candidates on Sundays and Saturdays starting from September 1 and will be free of charge.

"The TPCs will have a downloaded Computer Based Test (CBT) which will be similar to the actual test to be conducted on the exam day. (more)

Simple leg exercises can reduce negative effects on heart and blood vessels

Did you know how beneficial are simple Leg exercises while lying down? A sedentary lifestyle can cause an impairment of transportation of blood in the body which in turn may increase the risk of diseases in the heart and blood vessels.

Performing simple leg exercises can make a huge change and prevent such problems, a new study reveals.

Earlier work has demonstrated that prolonged sitting for up to 6 hours results in a decline in both blood flow to the limbs and in our larger arteries' ability to widen to accommodate increased blood flow. This is the first study to show that sitting for just 10 minutes is sufficient to reduce blood flow to the legs and impairs the function of small blood vessels supplying muscles in the leg.

This paper also highlights a reduction in the function of small blood vessels when lying down. However, this study suggests that we might be able to reverse this impairment to some extent by performing some simple leg exercises when lying down in bed or on the sofa.

Also Read : Here's why diabetics should get proper sleep

The effects of sitting on blood circulation have been attributed to blood passing more slowly through arteries while sitting. The researchers aimed to find out whether these reductions were caused by sustained sitting, or whether 10 minutes would be sufficient to have a negative effect.

The researchers used a Doppler ultrasound technique alongside the knee to measure blood flow and examined the extent to which blood vessels widened in 18 healthy, young males. These measurements were made prior to and following a 10 -minute period of sitting or during a period of rest while lying down, with or without leg exercises, which were performed by extending the foot back and forth every two seconds for a third of the time spent lying down.

Results showed that a 10 minute period of sitting reduced participants' ability to rapidly increase blood flow to the lower legs via small blood vessels, but it did not affect the widening of larger arteries in response to increased blood flow. The results also suggest leg exercises can help maintain rapid increases in the blood supply to the limbs.

The study demonstrates changes in blood vessel function measured at the level of the knee. However, the researchers only tested healthy young males and their findings cannot be extended to females. It remains unknown as to how these responses may vary with age, or with people who have heart problems.(more)

5,600 job aspirants turn up at HCL's 3-day recruitment drive in Lucknow

HCL has tied up with banks to provide loans for the training, which would be repayable in easy instalments from the employees' salary once they get confirmed

HCL Technologies on Tuesday said its three-day mega recruitment drive in Lucknow saw a huge turnout of 5,600 young job aspirants from the city and its neighbourhood.

During the recruitment drive from August 10-12, 5,600 candidates appeared in walk-in interviews wherein 120 fresh engineers and over 600 fresh non-engineering graduates were selected, company's Executive Vice President Sanjay Gupta told PTI.

Over 300 experienced professionals were also selected, he said.

Around 20 students, who have completed their 10 plus 2 from science background with mathematics as one of their subjects, too were selected.

The freshers will be given training by the company and during the training period they would get a stipend, he said.

Gupta, who is also Program Director (New Vistas), said in a similar recruitment drive in Noida earlier in August,

700 people were recruited of which 520 were freshers.

He said HCL has tied up with banks to provide loans for the training, which would be repayable in easy instalments from the employees' salary once they get confirmed.

While the training cost for engineers is Rs 2,00,000, for non-engineers it is Rs 1,00,000, he said.

HCL started its operation in Lucknow in October 2016 and in less than two years it has created over 2,500 jobs for local people, he said.

The company has invested over Rs 6 billion in the last three years in its project in the state capital, he said.

Gupta said a number of people migrate from tier-2 locations to work in metros and such opportunities by HCL would help them "stay rooted" in their native place and also help stem attrition and bring more stability to HCL's operations.

He said HCL has ensured the homecoming of hundreds of techies through its IT City project in Lucknow, which is offering jobs both to home-grown professionals as well as freshers.(more)

Ajit Wadekar, who taught India to win overseas, dies at 77; India mourns

Ajit Wadekar is one of the only three cricketers who represented India as a captain, coach, and national selector. The other two players are Chandu Borde and Lala Amarnath

Former Indian cricket team captain Ajit Wadekar, who led India to maiden Test series wins in England and West Indies, died at the age of 77, at the Jaslok Hospital in South Mumbai on Wednesday, after suffering prolonged illness.

The aggressive batsman left an indelible mark on Indian cricket despite making a mere 37 Test appearances. He led India to triumphs in England and the West Indies in 1971. Wadekar also served as India's manager in the 1990s when Mohammed Azharuddin was the captain. He later went on to become the chairman of selectors as well.

He is survived by his wife Rekha, two sons, and a daughter.

Ajit Wadekar as Indian cricket captain in 1971

In 1971, Wadekar was appointed the captain of national cricket team after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi opted out of the West Indies tour. He led the side that included players like youngster Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer, Gundappa Viswanath and the Indian spin quartet of Bishen Singh Bedi, E A S Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan.

Under the captaincy of Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai and debutant Sunil Gavaskar excelled with the bat and India went on to beat Sir Garifield Sober's West Indies side to clinch the series 1-0. After a successful Caribbean series, he went to England where his team defeated the home side, inspired by B S Chandrasekhar's 6 for 38, at The Oval, to win the series 1-0. Wadekar also led India to a 2-1 win against England at home in 1972-73.

The end of Wadekar's captaincy was, however, quite cruel. During the 1974 tour of England, he lost the series 3-0, which included the infamous match in which India were bundled out for 42 runs at Lord's cricket ground. Wadekar was sacked after the England tour and shortly after, he announced retirement.

ALSO READ: President Kovind, PM Modi pay tributes to former India captain Ajit Wadekar

Ajit Wadekar records

An aggressive left-handed batsman, Wadekar made his first-class debut in 1958 before making his India debut in 1966. He played 37 Tests in which he scored 2,113 runs at an average of 31.07. His only century, a match-winning 143 at Wellington, came during India's 1967-68 tour of New Zealand, where India won a series away from home for the very first time. He was also India's first ODI captain, although he appeared in just two matches. Apart from his batting skills, Wadekar was also an excellent slip fielder.