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PTI, Kathmandu, Nov 24, 2017 Nepal on Friday closed its border with India and China as it gears up for the historic round of provincial and parliamentary polls, eleven years after the country began its journey toward democracy, that many hope will bring much-needed political stability to the Himalayan nation. Land-locked Nepal is holding provincial and parliamentary elections in two phases on November 26 and December 7. The elections are being seen as the final step in Nepal's transition to a federal democracy following a decade-long civil war till 2006 that claimed more than 16,000 lives. More than 300,000 members of the security forces will be deployed for the two-stage election, with northern provinces voting on Sunday and southern areas and Kathmandu going to the polls on December 7. Results are expected a few days after the second vote. While many hope Nepal's first state elections will hasten regional development, others fear they will spark a fr

By: FE Bureau | Bengaluru | Published: November 24, 2017 3:54 AM Biopharma major Biocon on Thursday announced the launch of its new biosimilar bevacizumab for treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and other types of lung, kidney, cervical, ovarian and brain cancers in India. The brand Krabeva monoclonal antibody developed by Biocon will help expand cancer patients’ access to biosimilar Bevacizumab. “It is the world’s first and only bevacizumab with a unique ‘qual-check’ mechanism, which will ensure that patients get a quality-ascertained product right up to infusion,” the company said in a press release.  “We intend to provide a high quality, world-class biosimilar bevacizumab as an affordable therapy option for patients of various types of cancer. We believe Krabeva will be an important addition to our oncology portfolio of novel biologics as well as biosimilars, which are making a significant impact in the realm of cancer care in India,” said Arun Chandavarkar

RAINA PAUL, DH NEWS SERVICE, BENGALURU, NOV 23 2017, 23:31 IST  Around 16% of the three lakh HIV-affected people in the state have dropped out of the life-saving treatment provided by the government. Health activists fear that linking of the treatment with patients' Aadhaar numbers will lead to an increase in these numbers, while officials from the disease control organisation believe that the unique identity number will help track the dropouts. According to the report submitted by ART (Anti Retroviral Treatment) centres across Karnataka to the National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco), since 2004, Karnataka has witnessed 80,000 patients die and more than 50,000 dropping out of ART, the treatment in which daily dose of medicine protects them from infections recurring. Many of those affected by HIV in the city fear that their identity will be revealed due to linking of Aadhaar to ART. "Around 15 of us have stopped taking the treatment in the city," sa

November 23, 2017 10:30 IST The 30 point high jump up the Doing Business rankings masks the essential shallowness of the index as an indicator of the investment climate in the broad diversity of India. In terms of foreign direct investment, the principal reason for the government's hawk-eye focus on this metric, it would be fair to say that the index is skin deep. The standard measure of success in attracting FDI is to track the aggregate inflows. But disaggregated data from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the entity that has worked hard to ensure India's promotion in 2017, shows that FDI is so unevenly distributed as to suggest that even the earlier low ranking flattered to deceive. For a start, just two regions account for over half the FDI inflows between April 2000 and June 2017. These are Maharashtra (which includes Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli), Delhi, parts of Uttar Pradesh (presumably Noida, Ghaziabad), and Haryana (mainly Guru

November 23, 2017 11:01 IST Over recent weeks, worried emails have been flying back and forth between and from artists in New Delhi and Mumbai as they grapple with the complexities of the Goods and Services Tax. If before its announcement it was the likely rate of tax that had them worried, now it is its implementation that is giving them sleepless nights. GST, by their reckoning, is anything but simple and has added to their load of paperwork. At a recent party, almost everyone present lamented art being labelled as 'goods', and therefore the artist its 'manufacturer'. This was the point made by artist Jogen Chowdhury who, in his letter to the chairman of the GST Council, lamented that artists were kept out of a category that included dancers, musicians and sportspersons outside the purview of GST. 'An artwork is not an industrial product or a consumable good. It is an intellectual property created individually by an artist,' he wrote.

Nov 23, 2017, "This Yojana business by governments must stop," M R Venkatesh, chartered accountant and political commentator, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier. "The government must understand that the household is far more efficient and productive than any Yojana under the government," Venkatesh adds. "To tax households excessively and shift money from households to the government must stop. The earlier Modi visits this fundamental aspect of economics," Venkatesh points out, "it will be good for the Indian economy and for him politically." Do you think demonetisation served the purpose of bringing black money in the open? People must understand that around 40 crore (400 million) Indians went to the banks to deposit their old currency. Other than the physical aspect of standing in the queue and depositing the money, there is an emotional aspect to the whole exercise too. People in general -- except for some stu

Indrani Bagchi | TNN | Updated: Nov 23, 2017, 22:11 IST Australia has embraced the "Indo-Pacific" in its new foreign policy white paper, with a growing role for ties with India and the "quadrilateral" with Japan, US and India. Releasing the white paper, Malcolm Turnbull, Australian Prime Minister said his country was attempting to shape the Indo-Pacific region by linking up with countries who "share our interests and commitment to rules-based institutions." However, the support for the "quad" is not uniform in the Australian political system. The opposition Labour party has clarified they had not yet signed off on the "quadrilateral" which is bound to act as headwinds for Turnbull's foreign policy - which appears predicated on maintaining close economic and commercial ties with China but strategic and security closeness with US, Japan, and even India. "A good example is when officials of Japan, India, the US a

Saibal Dasgupta | TNN | Updated: Nov 24, 2017, 09:14 IST The Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday responded to a statement by its ambassador in India, Luo Zhaohui, who recently said Beijing is prepared to rename the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to address India's concerns. The ministry neither endorsed nor denied Luo's statement, suggesting that it was encouraging Luo to negotiate with New Delhi over the issue, while ensuring that it did not upset Islamabad either. The ambassador had said during a speech in Delhi last week that China "can change the name of CPEC" and "create an alternative corridor through Jammu & Kashmir, Nathu La pass or Nepal to deal with India's concerns". In return, it was suggested that India join its One Belt One Road (OBOR) connectivity plan which desperately needs a boost from China's largest neighbour to its south. Chinese investments in Nepal and Myanmar are meant to pressure India to join the

November 23, 2017  The government has put in place the legal provisions to disallow wilful defaulters and unscrupulous entities from bidding for stressed assets with President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday approving an Ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The Union Cabinet had on Wednesday approved the promulgation of the Ordinance. A Bill to replace the Ordinance is expected to be tabled in Parliament in the Winter Session. It amends Sections 2, 5, 25, 30, 35 and 240 of the Code, and inserts new Sections 29A and 235A in the Code. “The amendments aim to keep out such persons who have wilfully defaulted, are associated with non-performing assets, or are habitually non-compliant and, therefore, are likely to be a risk to successful resolution of insolvency of a company,” said an official release. It also places restrictions for such persons to participate in the resolution or liquidation process. Accordingly, companies, promoters and associate compan

PTI, Nov 24, 2017 India on Thursday expressed "outrage" over Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's imminent release from detention and dubbed it as an attempt by Pakistan to "mainstream" United Nations-proscribed terrorists. The ministry of external affairs said that this confirms the "lack of seriousness" on Pakistan's part in bringing terrorists to justice and its nefarious designs to shield and support non-state actors. "India, as indeed, the entire international community is outraged that a self-confessed and UN-proscribed terrorist is being allowed to walk free and continue with his evil agenda," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told a press conference in New Delhi. Describing Saeed as the "prime organiser" of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Kumar said the banned Jamaat- ud-Dawah head is also responsible for unleashing numerous other terror attacks against Pakistan's neighbours.

November 24, 2017 Putting pressure on Myanmar, the United States on Wednesday declared as "ethnic cleansing" the violence against Rohingyas in the country and warned that the Trump administration could impose new penalties on it. More than 600,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine state have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, creating one of the world’s most dire refugee crisis. US lawmakers and human rights advocates had called for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to act on the recommendation of the state department and declare the situation ethnic cleansing. Tillerson, in a statement, said that the Trump administration would "pursue accountability" through US law, including "possible targeted" sanctions. However, senior administration officials ruled out a broad based sanctions against Myanmar, noting that the democracy in the country is in its nascent stage. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has moved toward civilian government in recent