MUMBAI: Kiara Advani-starrer “Indoo Ki Jawani” will be released theatrically in the country on December 11.
The announcement was made by filmmaker Nikkhil Advani in a post on Twitter on Saturday.
Nikhil, who has produced the movie, also shared the first look of Kiara from the Abir Sengupta-directed the film.
“One single right-swipe is enough to flip your world upside down and downside up! Get ready to see how! #IndooKiJawani releasing in theatres near you on 11th December 2020. @advani_kiara @AdityaSeal_ #MallikaDua @AbirSenguptaa @monishaadvani @madhubhojwani,” he tweeted.
Kiara also shared the poster of the film and wrote, “It’s happening!!! #IndooKiJawani in cinemas near you on 11th December 2020.”
Described as a coming-of-age comedy, the film will see Kiara playing a feisty girl from Ghaziabad whose left and right swipes with a dating app results in hilarious chaos.
“Indoo Ki Jawani” was earlier scheduled to be released theatrically on June 5 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as theatres remained shut across the country and worldwide then.
Also featuring Aditya Seal and Mallika Dua, the film has been produced by Bhushan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar, Krishan Kumar (T-Series), Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani, Nikkhil Advani (Emmay Entertainment), Niranjan Iyengar and Ryan Stephens (Electric Apples Entertainment). (AGENCIES)
Kiara Advani’s ‘Indoo Ki Jawani’ to release in theatres next month
Punjab farmers lift rail blockade for 15 days
CHANDIGARH: In a move that may bring relief to the state facing an acute shortage of essential supplies, Punjab farmer bodies protesting against the Centre’s farm laws on Saturday decided to lift their blockade of passenger trains for 15 days from Monday.
However, the farmer bodies said they will again block the rail tracks if the Government failed to resolve their issues.
The train services have remained suspended in the state since September 24, when farmers launched their “rail roko” agitation against the Centre’s recently enacted agriculture-related laws. (AGENCIES)
Centre okays Rs 107.42cr grant for 28 food processing projects
NEW DELHI: The Government on Saturday said a grant of Rs 107.42 crore has been approved for implementing 28 food processing projects spread over 10 states that are likely to generate jobs for nearly 10,000 people.
A decision in this regard was taken in the virtual meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) chaired by Food Processing Industries Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Junior minister Rameswar Teli was also present in the meeting.
The committee considered the projects applied through an unit scheme of Creation and Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC) under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) for necessary grants-in-aid.
“28 projects with project costs of Rs 320.33 crore, supported with a grant of Rs 107.42 crore by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) were approved under the CEFPPC Scheme by the IMAC,” an official statement said.
Of this, a grant of Rs 20.35 crore has been approved for six projects from north eastern states. These projects are worth Rs 48.87 crore, it said.
The projects will create a processing capacity of 1,237 tonne daily and are spread across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Assam, and Manipur.
These projects are likely to generate employment for nearly 10,000 people, it added. (AGENCIES)
Par panel on COVID-19: Pvt hospitals charged exorbitant fees; spending on health abysmally low
NEW DELHI: Amid rising COVID-19 cases, inadequate beds in Government hospitals and absence of specific guidelines for COVID treatment resulted in private hospitals charging exorbitant fees, a parliamentary panel on Saturday said, asserting that a sustainable pricing model could have averted many deaths.
Chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on health Ram Gopal Yadav submitted the report on ‘Outbreak of Pandemic Covid-19 and its Management’, to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.
This is the first report by any parliamentary committee on the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Underlining that healthcare spending in the country with a population of 1.3 billion is “abysmally low”, the panel said fragility of Indian health ecosystem posed a big hurdle in generating an effective response against the pandemic.
“The committee, therefore, strongly recommends the government to increase its investments in the public healthcare system and make consistent efforts to achieve the National Health Policy targets of expenditure up to 2.5 per cent of GDP within two years as the set time frame of year 2025 is far away and the public health cannot be jeopardised till that time schedule,” the report stated.
The National Health Policy 2017 has set a target of government expenditure on healthcare up to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2025 from just 1.15 per cent in 2017.
Stating that the public had to undergo trauma and distress due to absence of a dedicated healthcare system, the committee observed that the number of government hospital beds in the country were not adequate to handle the increasing number of COVID and non-COVID patients.
“… Cost of health service delivery increased due to absence of specific guidelines for COVID treatment in private hospitals as a result of which patients were charged exorbitant fees,” the committee noted in the report.
Stressing on the need for better partnership between the government and private hospitals in wake of the pandemic and shortage of state-run healthcare facilities, the report said, “The Committee is of the view that arriving at a sustainable pricing model to treat COVID patients could have averted many deaths.”
The committee believes healthcare should never be limited to only those who can afford to pay but should move towards the noble vision of universal health coverage. For this happen, the government needs to be considerate and support the private health care sector, the report said.
The committee was all praise for healthcare workers and doctors for being on frontline in handling of the deadly virus and said they should have defined working hours, predictably functioning reliever rosters and scheduled off-duty days.
The doctors, who have laid down their lives in fight against the pandemic, must be acknowledged as martyrs and their families be adequately compensated, it suggested in the report. (AGENCIES)
ED conducts searches at seven locations in J&K in connection with suspicious transactions in J&K Bank
SRINAGAR: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Saturday conducted searches at seven places across Jammu and Kashmir under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in a case relating to suspicious transactions in J&K Bank.
The ED conducted raids at six locations in Srinagar and one in Anantnag district.
The ED initiated investigation under PMLA after CID, CIK Srinagar registered FIR against bank officials of J&K Bank, unidentified public servants and private persons and others for suspicious transactions in various bank accounts.
The ED said that it has been alleged in the FIR that the bank accounts were used for routing money of public servants as well as some private parties.
“Further, bank officials, in connivance with these public servants, deliberately omitted to raise the alerts as required under Anti-Money Laundering (AML) norms. The investigations conducted under PMLA so far have revealed that the transactions in many of these bank accounts maintained with J&K Bank were not genuine and these accounts were utilized for the purpose of laundering,” said ED.
They added, “On the basis of specific information, searches at seven places belonging to Mohd Ibrahim Dar, Murtaza Enterprises, Azad Agro Traders, M & M Cottage Industries and Mohd Sultan Teli were conducted which resulted in the recovery of evidence of money laundering as the bank accounts have been found to be used for routing suspicious transactions. The parties covered under searches are involved in Hospitality and Agro-based Industries, civil construction and real estate.”
“Statement of persons covered in the searches are being recorded to unravel the source of huge credits and debits in their accounts. Recovered incriminating documents and soft data are also being analysed,” stated ED.
Further investigation is under progress.
Amit Shah springs a suprise, walks on Chennai road to greet supporters
CHENNAI : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday sprang a surprise here when he virtually broke protocol to get out of his vehicle and walk on the busy GST Road outside the airport to greet supporters, minutes after he landed here for a two-day visit of the city.
Shah is slated to attend a Tamil Nadu government event later in the day, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 67,000 crore, including phase II of Chennai Metrol Rail.
Soon after his arrival from Delhi, Shah was received by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam, senior cabinet members and BJP State President L Murugan among others, before proceeding to the city hotel where he will be put up.
However, after exiting the airport, Shah’s car suddenly stopped and the BJP veteran got out, before walking a short distance, waving at scores of BJP and AIADMK workers who had gathered to receive him with their respective party flags.
Accompanied by BJP National General Secretary and party in-charge of poll-bound Tamil Nadu, CT Ravi, and Murugan, with his security detail in tow, the Home Minister warmly waved at the overjoyed supporters who had thronged the airport since the morning.
A heavy security cover has been provided in the city following Shah’s visit, during which he will meet state BJP functionaries and possibly discuss Tamil Nadu elections, due next April-May, before leaving on Sunday morning. (agencies)
Punjab ready to help Delhi govt to fight COVID crisis: Amarinder
CHANDIGARH : Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said Punjab was ready to provide all possible help to the Delhi government to combat the COVID-19 threat.
“Delhi is fighting a tough battle, and we are there to help if needed. I have said that earlier also,” he said.
Singh lauded the healthcare and frontline workers of Punjab for their “excellent” work in handling the pandemic in the state. He assured full preparedness by his government to augment healthcare facilities to prepare for a possible second wave of the pandemic.
Singh said while nobody knew when the second wave of infection would strike Punjab, the experience of the NCR and other states and regions showed it was almost certain.
The chief minister expressed confidence that the health department will once again rise to the occasion to meet any challenge, a government release issued here said.
It was the duty of the state government to support the healthcare and other frontline workers, many of whom have got infected and some have even lost their lives to COVID-19, Singh said.
He also exhorted the people to actively help the state in the fight against the pandemic by strictly following all safety norms.
“Mask hi vaccine hai” (mask is the vaccine), as a resolve for the next few months till a vaccine against infection finally is available, Singh said.
The chief minister also launched 107 health and wellness centres to boost the healthcare infrastructure in the state and to provide health services to patients at their doorsteps in both rural and urban areas.
He said these new centers would take the state’s health infrastructure to a new level of efficacy amid the pandemic.
Of the 3,049 centres planned in the state, 2,046 were now operational and 800 more would become operational in the next two months, with the remaining to be opened in 2021, Singh said.
He said the state government was focused on strengthening healthcare facilities, especially levels two and three, with the aim to save lives through early testing and treatment.
Urging people to avoid crowded places and not have large gatherings and social functions indoors, he stressed the need to observe all precautions, especially washing hands and wearing face masks. (AGENCIES)
33 officer trainees test positive at Mussoorie-based civil services training academy
NEW DELHI : As many as 33 civil services officer trainees have tested positive for coronavirus at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) at Mussoorie, prompting authorities to close “all non-essential departments” there.
The LBSNAA has tweeted, “33 officer trainees have tested COVID positive at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. A total of 428 officer trainees are on campus for the 95th Foundation Course. Academy is taking every measure to break the chain of COVID-19 spread in consonance with guidelines of government.”
Food and other necessities are being delivered to the officer trainees in their hostels by staff who have been equipped adequately in protective gear, it said in another tweet.
LBSNAA Director Sanjeev Chopra said the academy, the Dehradun district administration and Health department of Uttarakhand are working together to address the challenge.
“All classes will be online till November 30, all non essential departments have been closed, complete sanitisation for the entire campus has been undertaken,” he said on Saturday.
Situated at Uttarakhand’s Mussoorie, the LBSNAA is a premier training academy for the civil servants. (AGENCIES)
Petrol, diesel price hiked for second day in a row
NEW DELHI : Petrol price on Saturday was hiked by 15 paise per litre and diesel by 20 paise, the second straight day of increase in rates after firming international oil rates broke nearly a two-month-long hiatus in price revision.
The price of petrol in Delhi was hiked to Rs 81.38 per litre from Rs 81.23, according to a notification from oil marketing companies.
Diesel rates went up from Rs 70.68 to Rs 70.88 per litre.
On Friday, petrol price was raised by 17 paise per litre and diesel by 22 paise.
This is the first revision in petrol prices since September 22. Diesel rates had not changed since October 2.
Public sector oil marketing companies – Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd – revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on benchmark international oil price and foreign exchange rate.
They have, however, resorted to calibrating the rates since the pandemic broke out with a view to avoiding volatility in retail prices.
The 58-day hiatus in petrol price revision and the 48-day status quo on diesel rates were preceded by no change in rates between June 30 and August 15 and a 85-day status quo between March 17 and June 6.
In Mumbai, the petrol price on Friday was raised to Rs 88.09 per litre from Rs 87.92, while diesel rates went up from Rs 77.11 to Rs 77.34.
Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT. (AGENCIES)
#MeToo: Court asks if there is chance of settlement between Akbar, Ramani in defamation complaint
NEW DELHI : A Delhi court on Saturday asked former Union minister M J Akbar and journalist Priya Ramani whether there was a chance of settlement between them in a criminal defamation complaint filed by him against her.
Akbar had filed the complaint against Ramani for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist.
Ramani had said the allegations against Akbar, made in the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018, were her truth and were made in public good.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Ravindra Kumar Pandey posed the query on Saturday as he started hearing afresh the final arguments in the case since the previous judge hearing the matter was transferred to another court on Wednesday.
The court has asked both the parties to respond on the point of settlement and get back on November 24, the next to date of hearing. (AGENCIES)