Prime minister Narendra Modi will from Friday (February 5) begin his three-day visit to Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. He will conclude his visit on February 7. Today, Modi will inaugurate the 12th South Asian Games at Guwahati, in which Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are participating. A Prime Minister's Office release said Modi will reach Dibrugarh on Friday and inaugurate the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd, the first petrochemical project in the entire northeast, at Lepetkata.

He will address tea workers at Moran near Dibrugarh and deliver an address at the 85th Annual Conference of Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangha at Sibsagar. On February 6, the Prime Minister will attend the International Fleet Review at Visakhapatnam. He will also visit a maritime exhibition. Modi will reach Bhubaneswar on February 7 and will dedicate to the nation the National Institute of Science Education and Research. He will also visit the Jagannath Temple at Puri.

MEA team, Tanazanian envoy to visit Bengaluru today
A high-level team from New Delhi, including the Tanzanian High Commissioner to India, will leave for Bengaluru on Friday in connection with the assault on a Tanzanian woman in the Karnataka capital. The decision to send the team was taken at a high-level meeting convened by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Thursday that was attended by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Secretary (Economic Relations) Amar Sinha and other senior officials of the ministry. “A team is going to Bengaluru Friday which includes the high commissioner of Tanzania, who is also the dean of the African diplomatic corps,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing here after the high-level meeting yesterday.

Allahabad High Court to hear plea on bungalow allotted to Mayawati today
 The Allahabad High Court will on Friday hear a pending PIL seeking a CBI probe into alleged merger and transfer of a bungalow to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BSP chief Mayawati in Lucknow. A division bench of Justice Satyendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi gave this order on a PIL filed by ML Yadav in 2013. Earlier, the court had given one last opportunity to the state government counsel on his request to file a supplementary affidavit on information regarding the alleged merger of any other government bungalows in Lucknow. It had also directed the petitioner to do more research work and find out as to how many other bungalows had been merged in Lucknow in an identical way as was done in bungalow allotment to Mayawati.

India ratifies nuclear liability convention
India has ratified an international convention on nuclear energy accident liability, the government announced on Thursday, the final piece in its efforts to address the concerns of foreign nuclear suppliers and draw them into a market worth billions of dollars. Nuclear reactor makers such as General Electric have been reluctant to set up plants in India because of a 2010 liability law that makes equipment suppliers potentially accountable for accidents, not just the plant operators as is the global norm. India plans to construct about 60 nuclear reactors and has been in talks with Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, General Electric, France's Areva. On Thursday, the External Affairs Ministry said it had submitted the document to ratify the Convention of Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, which seeks to establish a uniform global legal regime for the compensation of victims in the event of a nuclear accident. "This marks a conclusive step in the addressing of issues related to civil nuclear liability in India," the External Affairs Ministry said after the document was handed to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.

Paswan demands reservation for SCs, STs in private sector
Union minister Ramvilas Paswan on Thursday demanded that the Centre come up with a law which entitle reservation for the backward classes in the private sector jobs as it would help in the development of backward classes, SC and STs in the country. "We demand that there should be a law which enables there should be reservation for backward classes, SCs and STs in the private sector jobs too. We see that even after so many years of independence the condition of Dalits in the country is still very bad," Paswan told reporters. Paswan said as the private companies are availing benefits from the government they should also provide reservation to the dalits.

Jet crew grounded for letting Sonu Nigam sing mid-air
Passengers of a chartered flight were pleasantly surprised when Sonu Nigam gave an impromptu performance on the plane’s address system recently. The flight, however, didn’t end well for the flight’s crew after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation took a strict view of the performance and asked the airline to take action. The regulatory body pushed the airline to ground the five flight attendants who allowed the concert to go on. In a statement, Jet Airways said all cabin crew on the flight have been taken off from flight duty for enquiry and corrective training to reinforce strict adherence to operating procedure. It also added that the flight announcement system was allegedly “misused” wherein singer Sonu Nigam was allowed to sing from the plane’s address system. The in-flight concert allegedly took place on a flight from Jodhpur to Mumbai on January 4.

10 injured as Kanyakumari-Bangalore Express derails in TN
At least 10 people were injured when the Kanyakumari-Bangalore Island Express derailed early on Friday morning near Tirupathur in Tamil Nadu. No casualties have been reported. Those injured in the accident have been taken to hospitals. Medical emergency services are at the location. Four trains have been cancelled following the accident. The derailment took place between Somanayakanpatti and Patchur in Tamil Nadu around 4:15 am.

PDP waiting for response to its CBMs from BJP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday said it is awaiting New Delhi's reponse over its demand for CBMs (Confidence Building Measures) to be taken by the BJP government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for paving way for early government formation. "We are clear on our side. They (Centre) have to do it. We have nothing to do", said PDP Spokesman Naeem Akhtar. Asked whether there was response from New Delhi, he said "no". Meanwhile, Mehbooba yesterday visited Jammu region's party headquarters at Gandhi Nagar for the second consecutive day and met party leaders, activists and people.

"She visited the Party office today met people there. She would also visit party office tomorrow and meet people", Akhtar said. Mehbooba visited the party headquarters in Jammu for the first time yesterday since Mr Sayeed's death on January 7. She kept away from speaking to media. On Wednesday, the party's MLC and spokesman Firdos Tak said BJP will need to respond to issues raised by Mehbooba before any steps could be taken for coalition government formation. "She (Mehbooba Ji) has categorically stated that some CBMs need to taken by the Centre. BJP has sought time. It is they who will have to explain," he said. "Both coalition partners have to sit and decide," he said