Gujarat conman with fake PMO card baffles J&K cops; sent to 15-day judicial custody

Z-plus security cover, a bulletproof Mahindra Scorpio SUV, official accommodation at a five-star hotel, and a whole lot more. A Gujarat conman managed to take the J&K administration for a ride by posing as a senior official from the Prime Minister's Office.

Smriti Irani hits out at George Soros for remarks against PM Modi

BJP's Smriti Irani hit out at billionaire investor George Soros, for his "targeting" remarks on PM Modi. During a speech ahead of the Munich conference, Soros criticised PM Modi and highlighted the Adani crisis.

FIFA World Cup 2022: Iranians celebrate football team's loss at world cup against US

Following Iran's defeat in the football World Cup, Iranians were seen celebrating the moment of loss.Visuals that emerged online showed people dancing on the streets and lighting fireworks. In a rare display of joy, some even waved US flags in support of the American football team.

Delhi: Male students enter Miranda House, harass girls on Diwali fest

Chaos in Delhi's Miranda house after a few male students allegedly climbed walls and harassed girls during the diwali fest. The boys, who were denied entry into the college, jumped over the gates and created a ruckus.

Iranian women cut hair, burn scarves in protest: All you need to know

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16 following a mob attack in the capital city of Tehran has triggered protests in Iran, with women taking to the streets and adopting unique methods to bring to the spotlight the repression women face in the Islamic nation.

Israel-Palestine ceasefire: 44 dead over 300 injured before violence abated

The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestine has signalled a halt to the fighting between the two sides, even as 44 people including 15 children were reportedly killed in Israeli assault on Gaza. Meanwhile, as it came into effect late on July 7th night, the Israeli military confirmed it was striking Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in Gaza in response to rockets fired just before. Israeli media also reported some isolated rocket fire from Gaza in the minutes after the deadline. But no further violence was reported. The Gaza health ministry blamed "Israeli aggression" for the deaths of Palestinians and for the more than 300 people wounded.

BJP pulls up Congress for "demeaning" President Draupadi Murmu; demands apology

The BJP on July 28 accused the Congress of "demeaning" President Droupadi Murmu and demanded an apology after its leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called her "rashtrapatni". Chowdhury, however, claimed it was a mistake and he did not call Droupadi Murmu ‘rashtrapatni’ deliberately. The issue was raised inside Parliament as women MPs, including Nirmala Sitharaman, protested against Adhir Chowdhury.  

“It’s lovely to be back in the physical space”: Kiran Nadar on the new exhibitions at KNMA

In an exclusive interview with the New Indian Express, artist Kiran Nadar speaks about the new exhibitions at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. The exhibition, which showcases 135 selected works from the artist’s series, was inaugurated at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Saket, on Tuesday. #KiranNadar #Exhibitions #Art

Three dead as seven vehicles collide with one another in Kerala's Kuthiran

Three people were killed in a series of accidents in the treacherous #Kuthiran on the Thrissur-Palakkad National Highway in the wee hours of Thursday.

Assam's Kaziranga National Park reopens after seven months

Couldn’t be onlooker as people suffered, says Puducherry L-G Kiran Bedi

Covid-19 is like any other crisis, it tests the whole system, says Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi. Often in the news for her run-ins with the Puducherry government, Bedi says she refuses to be an onlooker when people are suffering. She was in conversation with Prabhu Chawla,  Editorial Director, The New Indian Express, and senior journalist and author Kaveree Bamzai in TNIE Expressions, a series of live webcasts with people who matter. “I have refused to be an onlooker and played the role of an administrator. I only filled in the gaps as the representative of the government of India here. I have been playing a coordinating, collaborating, facilitating role but with very serious limitations as the Disaster Management Act excludes the Lt-Governor in a direct role. I played an indirect role, certainly, being very careful that things do not slip out of control,” said the retired IPS officer while speaking about the Covid-19 situation in Puducherry, which has the highest number of patients per one lakh population in the country. Speaking about why it is so, Bedi pointed at certain gaps in handling the pandemic. “They (government) have heavily delayed equipping of the private medical colleges. We have seven of them, but they were not co-opted well in time to provide their beds. I saw a very big gap between people’s needs and facilities — they were not developing as per the challenges of Covid-19. That’s why I thought we have suffered. People’s suffering is common suffering and everyone is responsible for mitigation. We have not succeeded to an extent because of the delays.

Safety, efficacy of data must for Covid vaccine: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Sharing her own experience of fighting Covid-19, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson of Biocon Limited, said that over time, people were learning to grapple with the crisis. There are no short cuts to developing a vaccine and the first step is to have a comprehensive data, she said in conversation with author and senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai at TNIE Expressions, a series of live web casts with people who matter. Let’s talk about the vaccine because yesterday, a clinical trial was halted because of unforeseen circumstances. When do you see a vaccine coming? I can understand accelerated approval for a cancer drug because it is a huge problem. But remember, this is about treating an illness. A vaccine actually immunises healthy people, hoping that you protect them against the virus. In order to do so, we have to have a lot of safety data, efficacy data. We need to have data on durability of response, which means how long it is going to protect you for. At the moment, the speed development that everyone is talking about is short-circuiting everything. Normally, it is a sequential process. So, you do a phase 1, a phase 2 and a large phase 3. A phase is where you realise which is the best and safest dose to give. In phase 2, you start studying the efficacy, and in phase 3, you do it in a very large population to ascertain it’s safe. Today what is happening is they have started doing things parallel… There are no shortcuts for vaccine developments and it is for the safety of people worldwide that we do not rush through it. This is the same vaccine as is being developed by the Serum institute?  It’s the same... In my view, the Serum Institute should have made a statement that ‘in view of the AstraZeneca vaccine programme being put on hold, we are also putting our programme on hold unless we understand what the problem is’. What about Biocon? Are you involved in any efforts to develop the vaccine? We are only supporting vaccine development. Our company Syngene is supporting many vaccine developers in providing them with support. We can do categorisation of spike protein.  How has your company managed economic crisis? We have actually hired people instead of laying off. What we have had is disruption in our work… We are testing our staff vigorously. You have just come out from battling Covid-19. This is a disease that people have not understood at early stages…Now, we have a much deeper understanding. …I felt that since I am an influencer, I should say that I tested positive... I wanted to share my experiences to allay the fears of people testing positive.  

Acting is about lying convincingly: Boman Irani

In the latest chat arranged as part of ‘Time Pass’, a series of webinars organised by The New Indian Express, veteran actor Boman Irani spoke about the evolution of screen writing, working with students and the kind of roles he prefers to do. Irani began speaking about his association with Birdman screenwriter, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. “I wrote a script years ago and shared it with Alex in New York. He had then written a script he knew was not mainstream,” said Irani, who was later heart warmed to learn the reception Birdman received and of course, the Oscars Alexander received. “Fame does funny things to people but strangely, our friendship got stronger. I flew Alex to India for a party, which was actually a workshop that went on for six hours.” The actor is wellknown for organising such workshops. “Screenwriters are not paid well, not respected enough, and not protected enough. Great stories need to be translated into a script; that’s what we are teaching. I am sharing everything I have learned over the years,” said Irani. “Be it content-driven films or potboilers, a film should be a memorable piece of work that can be spoken about years later. It’s like making sure the table doesn’t rock before adding inlays.” Answering a question about the current OTT fixation, Irani said, “I miss theatres but OTT cannot be dubbed the new normal. India has done a great job in curbing the virus but this can’t go on forever.” The Munna Bhai MBBS actor went on to talk about his choice of roles: “I want to be a part of truthful stories. You have to make a character that makes people say, ‘I know that guy.’ Acting is a lie and how convincing that lie is the question.” The actor added that he’s proud of his less-serious films. “I cannot expect every person to like a content-driven film. There has to be someone to entertain them as well. Putting a smile on someone’s face is a noble job. My mom tells me that God has blessed me with talents but not for a minute, must I think that the talent has anything to do with proving to the rest of the world that I am a good actor. My job is to bring joy to the people.” Circling back to writing, the actor said, “Developing a good screenplay takes time and practice. Transforming an idea into screenplay takes craft and dedication.” The actor looked to underplay the fixation on ‘good ideas’. “Getting a good idea is just the beginning and it’s not even necessary at times. You need a character who wants something. There is a craft and science; at least know the rules before you break them.”

Better days ahead for textile industry: Union Minister Smriti Irani

Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles Smriti Irani said India can make world-class products at a competitive price. Deep engagement with officials at the state and district levels has yielded positive results, she said in a conversation with Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director, The New Indian Express and author and senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai on TNIE’s Expressions, a series of live webcasts with people who matter. Women across classes have shouldered a lot of the burden during the pandemic. Can you take us through some of the initiatives you have taken in the past two months, especially for domestic violence — one of the biggest issues women faced? We were working to ensure that the one-stop crisis centres across the country were functional and never shut their doors, irrespective of the country being in lockdown. We reached out to every one-stop centre. Similarly, we engaged with all child care centres and women’s homes across the country to ensure that the people living in those homes are safe and have access to essential commodities. We also ensured that the anganwadis, which are at the frontline, continued to function. Even if anganwadis were shut, the take-home rations were delivered at the doorstep. In the lockdown, we had 9 crore female beneficiaries who received the rations at the doorstep. How do you take the incident of anganwadi workers being beaten away? The PM has been very vocal not only in terms of his words but also his action that the breakdown of law and order will not be accepted by the Centre. We have taken a Cabinet decision to protect frontline workers as well. There was also a public outrage over it. During the COVID-19 crisis, we saw a cohesiveness in the PM’s approach and the people’s response.

Express Expressions l Smriti Irani on the post-Corona world

Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles Smriti Irani said India can make world-class products at a competitive price. Deep engagement with officials at the state and district levels has yielded positive results, she said in a conversation with Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director, The New Indian Express and author and senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai on TNIE’s Expressions, a series of live webcasts with people who matter. Women across classes have shouldered a lot of the burden during the pandemic. Can you take us through some of the initiatives you have taken in the past two months, especially for domestic violence — one of the biggest issues women faced? We were working to ensure that the one-stop crisis centres across the country were functional and never shut their doors, irrespective of the country being in lockdown. We reached out to every one-stop centre. Similarly, we engaged with all child care centres and women’s homes across the country to ensure that the people living in those homes are safe and have access to essential commodities. We also ensured that the anganwadis, which are at the frontline, continued to function. Even if anganwadis were shut, the take-home rations were delivered at the doorstep. In the lockdown, we had 9 crore female beneficiaries who received the rations at the doorstep. How do you take the incident of anganwadi workers being beaten away? The PM has been very vocal not only in terms of his words but also his action that the breakdown of law and order will not be accepted by the Centre. We have taken a Cabinet decision to protect frontline workers as well. There was also a public outrage over it. During the COVID-19 crisis, we saw a cohesiveness in the PM’s approach and the people’s response. Have cases of child abuse and violence against women gone up? When COVID-19 hit India, there was a lot of talks — and it came from international agencies — that across the world 80 per cent women are getting beaten at home. When we asked for validated figures, they said this is just a supposition. When we tracked the numbers, we found that they have gone down. But because it is an evolving situation, it would be premature for me to make a generic statement. What have we achieved in the journey from Make in India to ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’? We studied 580 export-import lines and we alerted the revenue department on increasing the import duties. In light of Covid-19, we tried to figure out how we can enhance the opportunities for local artisans. We coordinated with self-help groups for making face covers which are being locally consumed. I am engaged in further discussions on the textile ministry with the ministries of finance and commerce which I cannot mention right now. Will the existing textile units have to reinvented for new kinds of products? They have themselves adapted to new market needs.

Boman Irani on playing Farokh Engineer in 83 and his script writing workshop

In the latest chat arranged as part of ‘Time Pass’, a series of webinars organised by The New Indian Express, veteran actor Boman Irani spoke about the evolution of screen writing, working with students and the kind of roles he prefers to do. Irani began speaking about his association with Birdman screenwriter, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. “I wrote a script years ago and shared it with Alex in New York. He had then written a script he knew was not mainstream,” said Irani, who was later heart warmed to learn the reception Birdman received and of course, the Oscars Alexander received. “Fame does funny things to people but strangely, our friendship got stronger. I flew Alex to India for a party, which was actually a workshop that went on for six hours.” The actor is wellknown for organising such workshops. “Screenwriters are not paid well, not respected enough, and not protected enough. Great stories need to be translated into a script; that’s what we are teaching. I am sharing everything I have learned over the years,” said Irani. “Be it content-driven films or potboilers, a film should be a memorable piece of work that can be spoken about years later. It’s like making sure the table doesn’t rock before adding inlays.” Answering a question about the current OTT fixation, Irani said, “I miss theatres but OTT cannot be dubbed the new normal. India has done a great job in curbing the virus but this can’t go on forever.” The Munna Bhai MBBS actor went on to talk about his choice of roles: “I want to be a part of truthful stories. You have to make a character that makes people say, ‘I know that guy.’ Acting is a lie and how convincing that lie is the question.” The actor added that he’s proud of his less-serious films. “I cannot expect every person to like a content-driven film. There has to be someone to entertain them as well. Putting a smile on someone’s face is a noble job. My mom tells me that God has blessed me with talents but not for a minute, must I think that the talent has anything to do with proving to the rest of the world that I am a good actor. My job is to bring joy to the people.” Circling back to writing, the actor said, “Developing a good screenplay takes time and practice. Transforming an idea into screenplay takes craft and dedication.” The actor looked to underplay the fixation on ‘good ideas’. “Getting a good idea is just the beginning and it’s not even necessary at times. You need a character who wants something. There is a craft and science; at least know the rules before you break them.”

Boman Irani on content-driven films and his iconic roles in Munnabhai and 3 Idiots

 In the latest chat arranged as part of ‘Time Pass’, a series of webinars organized by The New Indian Express, veteran actor Boman Irani spoke about the evolution of screenwriting, working with students, and the kind of roles he prefers to do. Irani began speaking about his association with Birdman screenwriter, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. “I wrote a script years ago and shared it with Alex in New York. He had then written a script he knew was not mainstream,” said Irani, who was later heart warmed to learn the reception Birdman received and of course, the Oscars Alexander received. “Fame does funny things to people but strangely, our friendship got stronger. I flew Alex to India for a party, which was actually a workshop that went on for six hours.” The actor is wellknown for organising such workshops. “Screenwriters are not paid well, not respected enough, and not protected enough. Great stories need to be translated into a script; that’s what we are teaching. I am sharing everything I have learned over the years,” said Irani. “Be it content-driven films or potboilers, a film should be a memorable piece of work that can be spoken about years later. It’s like making sure the table doesn’t rock before adding inlays.” Answering a question about the current OTT fixation, Irani said, “I miss theatres but OTT cannot be dubbed the new normal. India has done a great job in curbing the virus but this can’t go on forever.” The Munna Bhai MBBS actor went on to talk about his choice of roles: “I want to be a part of truthful stories. You have to make a character that makes people say, ‘I know that guy.’ Acting is a lie and how convincing that lie is the question.” The actor added that he’s proud of his less-serious films. “I cannot expect every person to like a content-driven film. There has to be someone to entertain them as well. Putting a smile on someone’s face is a noble job. My mom tells me that God has blessed me with talents but not for a minute, must I think that the talent has anything to do with proving to the rest of the world that I am a good actor. My job is to bring joy to the people.” Circling back to writing, the actor said, “Developing a good screenplay takes time and practice. Transforming an idea into screenplay takes craft and dedication.” The actor looked to underplay the fixation on ‘good ideas’. “Getting a good idea is just the beginning and it’s not even necessary at times. You need a character who wants something. There is a craft and science; at least know the rules before you break them.”

NEP will be responsive to feedback over the next decade or more: Dr K Kasturirangan

NEP, which is likely to be released soon, will be responsive to feedback from the implementation, stated Dr K Kasturirangan.

JNU Violence: Delhi Police name seven students as suspects after Smriti's statements on Deepika

The Delhi Police released images of the suspects, caught on a CCTV camera during the attack at a Sabarmati hostel on January 5.

Informed people are standing with terrorist supporters: Smriti Irani

Smriti Irani spoke at the Think Edu 2020 Conclave on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the protests that have erupted in response to it.