With elections on the horizon, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar seems to be wooing BJP leader and actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha. The state government has named a college after the father of the BJP MP. The decision to name the Government College of Health and Physical Education, Patna, after late B P Sinha was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet yesterday. The college has been rechristened as 'B P Sinha Government College of Health and Physical Education'. The proposal was lying with the government since 2009-10 when BJP was part of Nitish government. The actor expressed gratitude towards the state government for naming the college after his father. He thanked the chief minister and said that his father had been the founding principal of the college.

Business confidence fell in July-September quarter
Optimism level of India's CFOs about the country's business environment in July-September declined for the fourth consecutive quarter amid concerns over passage of key Bills as well as domestic and global headwinds, says a D&B report. The Composite CFO Optimism Index on macroeconomic conditions based on a survey of the Chief Financial Officers from both industrial and services sectors dropped around 14 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis

FTII director says agitation was pre-planned drama, justifies police action
FTII director  Prashant Pathrabe said today that students protest was a facade, a pre planned drama and he is still reeling from shock. Prashant accused that the students resorted to vandalism during their gherao and hence he had to complain to the police. Prashant stresses that he has been fair to the students and despite provocation tried to discuss all the issues. Regarding assessment of the students from 2008 batch, he says it is still in hold. He said pro rate assessment of projects not completed would be done was a decision taken by the governing council. He says that students were given extension by keeping admission on hold for one year, but there was no progress. He said that the faculty was in favour of giving students chance to complete their project even after the assessment is completed. In another development, a three-member team, headed by the Registrar of Newspapers for India SM Khan, has been constituted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to assess the ground situation in Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. Meanwhile, 5 FTII students, who were arrested post-midnight from their Pune campus have been given bail.

Within hours of wife's cremation, president Mukherjee back at work
Within hours after his wife Suvra was cremated here on Wednesday, President Pranab Mukherjee was back at work at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The First Lady's cremation was at 10.30 am. By 12.30 pm, the president was attending to his official duties. Mukherjee -- known to be a strict disciplinarian -- attended to his official duties. His first duty was to pay tributes to Shankar Dayal Sharma, the ninth president of India.

Hiring up 11% in July, to pick up further: Naukri Job Speak Index
Hiring activity registered a 11 per cent jump in July mainly driven by sectors like IT, banking and pharma, while other sectors are likely to pick up momentum in the coming months, says a report. Naukri Job Speak Index for the month of July stood at 1,835, registering a 11 per cent increase in hiring activity over July 2014, as the job market continued to sustain the momentum gained in the first quarter this fiscal. Sector-wise, IT-software and IT-hardware industries reported a Y-o-Y growth of 26 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively in hiring activity in July. The media and Internet industry saw a 19 per cent growth, while, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries saw 16 per cent and 15 per cent jump in recruitment activity, respectively.

June tea output drops 14 per cent
India is world's second largest tea producer and due to rains the country's tea production in June fell 14 per cent from a year earlier to 123.91 million kg due to lower plucking in Assam.  According to Tea Board production in Assam dropped by nearly 16 per cent from a year earlier to 60.91 million kg due to heavy rainfall, resulting in low plucking,

Lower EMIs on Corporation Bank loans as the bank cuts base rate
State-run Corporation Bank today cut base rate or minimum lending rate by 0.10 per cent, a move which will lead to lower EMIs for its customers.  United Bank of India had yesterday announced a cut in deposit rates for various maturities by 0.25-0.50 per cent. Earlier this month, Punjab National BankBSE -1.44 % had also cut interest rates on fixed deposits of select maturities by up to 0.50 per cent.

Anupam Kher appointed UN ambassador for gender equalit
Veteran actor Anupam Kher has been appointed a UN ambassador for the 'HeforShe' campaign for gender equality. The "HeforShe" campaign has been initiated by UN Women. Its goal is to engage men and boys as agents of change for the achievement of gender equality and women's rights, by encouraging them to take action against inequalities faced by women and girls

CBI registers disproportionate assets case against former Telecom Minister A Raja
The CBI has registered a disproportionate assets case against former Telecom Minister A Raja and 16 others, including his family members and friends, and carried out searches in 20 places here and various locations in Tamil Nadu. After registering the case in special CBI court, the agency today carried out searches in Delhi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Perambalur.

Only senior I-T officials to depose before Authority for Advance Rulings: CBDT
In order to present the revenue side more effectively in high-value and important cases before the AAR judicial forum, CBDT has decided to stop the practice of sending junior-level Income Tax officials to these hearings and has ordered their seniors to take up the task. An order to this effect was issued recently by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the apex policy-making body of the I-T department, to deal with cases being heard at the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR).

Bengaluru records highest number of cyber crime cases
The National Crimes Records Bureau says that Bengaluru has topped the list of cities in terms of cyber crime cases filed in 2014. Thanks to the prevalence of the internet today, cyber crimes have become extremely common. Under the Information Technology Act, Bengaluru has registered 675 cases in 2014. Hyderabad, or Cyberabad as it was once popularly called, came second with 384 cases. The number of incidents have also been increasing year on year. In 2014, the cases in the state have nearly doubled to 1020 from 533 in 2013. In 2011, the number of cyber crimes was 117 and in 2012 it had risen to 342. According to the NCRB, most of the cyber crimes in Karnataka are purely for financial gain.

RK Pachauri allowed to travel abroad by Delhi court
TERI's ex-director general RK Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by a younger colleague, has been allowed by a Delhi court to travel abroad between August 21 and September 1 to attend a global climate meet in China and Japan. Pachauri had appealed to the court saying that the meetings are part of his occupation to "earn livelihood" and a denial to do so shall violate his constitutional right to "practise any profession, or to carry out any occupation"

Uphaar case: No jail for Ansal brothers, SC slaps Rs 60 crore fine
The Supreme Court on Wednesday imposed a heafty Rs 60 crore fine on Ansal brothers - Gopal and Sushil – who had been convicted in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case earlier. The supreme court, however, ruled no jail term for the Uphaar cinema hall owners. The fine imposed on them has to be paid within three months. A total of 59 people died and 100 were injured when there was a big fire at Uphaar cinema hall, in the heart of south Delhi, while a film was being screened on the evening of June 13, 1997.

OROP row: Veterans may meet PM Modi next week
Ex-servicemen, who have been protesting for the implementation of 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP) scheme for the last 66 days, are likely to meet prime minister Narendra Modi next week.  Prime Minister's Office yesterday held talks with representatives of the protesters who have agreed not to escalate their agitation for next 10 days. The meeting with Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra at the PMO came on a day when a third veteran joined the fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar here, where the ex-servicemen have been protesting demanding early implementation of OROP.

Even moderate drinking can increase risk of cancer, says study
Even light and moderate drinking - up to one drink a day for women and two drinks daily for men - is associated with an increased risk of alcohol related cancers in women and male smokers, a new study has found. The study, conducted by  Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found that among women, light to moderate drinking was associated with an increased risk of alcohol related cancer, mainly breast cancer. Risk of alcohol related cancers was also higher among light and moderate drinking men, but only in those who had ever smoked.