The government today approved the National Health Policy which proposes to provide 'assured health services to all' in the country.

Government sources said the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to the policy which has been pending for the last two years.

Union Minister J P Nadda is likely to make a suo moto statement in the Parliament tomorrow elaborating on the salient features of the Policy.

Health Ministry sources said that in a major policy shift, the policy increases the gambit of sectors covered in the Primary Health Centre level and envisages a comprehensive approach.

"For example, till now, PHCs were only for immunisation, anti-natal check ups and others. But what is a major policy shift is that now it will also include screening non-communicable diseases and a whole lot of other aspects," a senior official said.

The source said that under the new policy, there will also be a bigger focus on upgradation of district hospitals while for the first time, there will be an implementation framework in place. -- PTI

As many as five persons were killed on Wednesday after an explosion following Ammonia gas leak that took place in a cold storage in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur.

Two others have been rescued.

National Disaster Response Force teams reached the spot to investigate the accident.

All the deceased belong to Bihar.

Further details are awaited.

Top losers at BSE today.

BSE Sensex: Top losers and gainers today.

Unemployment rate in India compared with other economies. 

In what may come as a matter of concern for India, Pakistan is planning to declare Gilgit-Baltistan region as its fifth province.

The Gilgit-Baltistan area is Pakistan's northernmost administrative territory that borders the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

A committee headed by Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz recommended to grant the region a provincial status, reports the GeoNews.

Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh are four provinces of Pakistan.

However, India claims the Gilgit-Baltistan area as an integral part of its territory. -- ANI

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar would present budget in Goa Legislative Assembly on March 24, which he said would indicate the "mind" of the BJP-led coalition government.

BJP issues three-day whip in Lok Sabha for March 16, March 17 & March 20.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University has ruled out foul play in the death of MPhil student Muthu Krishnan, who was found hanging from a ceiling fan at a friend's residence in Delhi on Monday.

Muthu Krishnan was at the forefront of a students' movement following Rohith Vemula's suicide.

His family has demanded CBI probe into his death.

Krishnan was a M Phil student at JNU's Centre for Historical studies. His family from Tamil Nadu was not ready to accept the police's version that he committed suicide.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump reacts to the SnoopDogg controversy.  "Can you imagine what the outcry would be if @SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail time!"

Snoop Dogg has been criticised for shooting a toy gun at a Donald Trump character in a music video. Florida Senator Marco Rubio said the rap star was unwise to pretend to shoot a clown dressed as the US president in the video. Rubio told TMZ: "If the wrong person sees that and gets the wrong idea, you could have a real problem."

The video, featuring Snoop Dogg and Kaytranada, is a remix of Lavender by Canadian group BadBadNotGood.

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Kashmiri separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik for allegedly violating foreign exchange rules.

Malik, chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, has been asked to appear before the agency on March 28, while Geelani, chairman of the hardline Hurriyat faction, has been summoned on April 3.

In June 2002, $10,000 was found during searches by the Income Tax department at Geelanis residence in Hyderpora. The separatist leader was unable to declare the source of funds and was not able to give a satisfactory answer to the I-T department.

He was summoned by the I-T department in 2003, but failed to appear. The case has been pending with the I-T department and the ED since then.

The Yasin Malik case dates back to 2001 when the police seized $1 lakh from one Mushtaq Ahmad Dar and his wife Shazia Rasool. During examination, Dar had said that the money was handed over to him by Nepal-based Altaf Qadri and was to be handed over to Yasin Malik. Qadri works for the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. Malik was arrested but was later released on bail.

The agencies have been finding it difficult to investigate the cases since important documents were washed away during the 2014 flash floods.

Three people were injured as a Sukhoi 30 plane of the Indian Air Force crashed near an air base in Rajasthan's Barmer. Sources said the plane was about to land at the Uttarlai Air Force Base, at a village called Devaniyon ki Dhani. Both pilots had managed to eject to safety, sources said. The people injured were from the same family - Dhura Ram, his wife and grandson. They have been hospitalised.

OK, then... Home minister Rajnath Singh's staff does a recce at the UP CM's official residence. CNN News18 says security staff have visited his house. Rajnath Singh is frontrunner for the CM's post and is among the party's most-senior leaders from UP.

The names of several probables, including Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who had led the BJP government in the state in the past, were doing the rounds at the state party office.

Though Singh, 65, is still regarded as a good choice for the key post given his vast experience and popularity, he appears reluctant about shifting back to state politics.

Moreover, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar having moved over to Goa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not want to lose another senior member of his cabinet.

Ram, Ram, was Singhs response to a journalists query as to whether he was a contender for the chief ministers post, remark that many interpreted as showing his unwillingness to return to UP politics.

Another name doing the rounds is that of Manoj Sinha, 57, the minister of state for Railways. An upper caste Bhumihar, he belongs to Poorvanchal, the area which is in the focus of the BJP. Prime Minister Modis Varanasi constituency is also part of Poorvanchal.

Reports also say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present at the swearing-in ceremony which will be held on Friday.

The BJP has won the biggest electoral prize of India's politically most important state. With over 80 per cent votes, its the biggest result for a party since 1977.

An online petition has proposed the name of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)'s prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.


Tharoor is currently MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

The petition, started on online platform "change.org" by Thiruvananthapuram resident Paul Trivandrum, had garnered 14,080 supporters so far.

"In another two years' time India, the largest democracy of the world will face another national election. Success of a democratic country requires a strong public interest based opposition led by a visionary leader capable of prime ministership," the petition said.

"Shashi Tharoor is a man well qualified with deep knowledge of international and national issues, who can connect with the people of India and with world leaders.

"We nominate Shashi Tharoor to be the Prime Ministerial candidate of UPA in the run up to 2019. In best interest of the world's largest democracy and to rejuvenate the opposition," it added.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections the Congress could manage only 44 seats, despite being in power for two consecutive terms.

Varanasi (UP): Yogi Adityanath's supporters perform hawan for him to be UP CM. 

Kupwara, J&K encounter ends; three terrorists killed.

Mocking Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for putting the onus on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the dismal show of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the recent Punjab Assembly polls, Union Food and Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday said that the former has lost his mental balance.


"Kejriwal is mentally unstable and we all can see that. When he got 67 seats in Delhi then everything was fine, now when Punjab has rejected him he is not able to digest his defeat and is creating a ruckus," Kaur told ANI.


She further said that the Delhi Chief Minister should focus on the affairs related to the national capital rather than making lame statements about the EVMs and ballots."He has always lied. Why the public will support him? He should introspect," Kaur added.


The Union Minister also attempted to downplay the defeat of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab."


Though we have lost the elections, we have a 31 percent vote share at the end of it. It means the people of Punjab still have faith in us," she said.


Kejriwal today alleged that the EVMs were tampered during the recently conducted assembly polls in the five states which ultimately resulted in his party's dismal show especially in Punjab.Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal suggested that the Election Commission needs to relook at the use of EVMs in the electoral process until faith is restored in it.

Pakistan today launched a countrywide census, the first in nearly two decades, amidst security fears and concerns about the political fallout of the massive exercise.

Chief Statistician Asif Bajwa inaugurated the process of 6th census from Attock district in Pakistans largest province of Punjab.

Some 119,000 officials including 84,000 enumerators are taking part in the census with 200,000 troops providing security and monitoring the process to ensure authenticity.

The first phase of housing and population census will continue till April 15, followed by a 10-day break and then the second phase will begin from April 25 and continue till May 25.

BJP leaders today hinted that the party might pick a "caste-neutral capable" leader as chief minister of politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, saying the focus was on governance and the ability to deliver on the ground ahead of the 2019 parliamentary elections. Read more

That's what the torched and vandalised sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati sets looked after unknown goons attacked at 10.30 pm on Tuesday night. According to reports, animals were present on Padmavati sets when they were set on fire and a horse is said to be badly injured. None of the films cast or crew was there at Kolhapurs Masai plateau on Tuesday night where the sets have been erected.

Tejinder Singh Bagga came into limelight in 2012 for slapping lawyer and then anti-corruption activist Prashant Bhushan for talking in favour of plebiscite in Kashmir. Read more on the BJP's spokesperson for Delhi.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Congress' huge loss in the north-east tweets, @himantabiswa Congrats #NBirenSingh Ji on taking oath as #Manipur CM. Wish you best for your endeavours on #SabkaSathSabkaVikas @AmitShah @rammadhavbjp


Sarma, who was in the Congress just two years ago, delivered both Assam and Manipur to the BJP in its mission of forming a Congress-mukt north-east.

In Manipur, Sarma replicated his Assam model of building a coalition of anti-Congress forces. The National People's Party and the Naga People's Front, BJP allies at the Centre, contested separately to consolidate the votes of different communities. 


Image: After the heat and dust of the campaign trail, BJP's Ram Madhav who looks after the north-east shares a light moment with ex-CM of Manipur Cong's Okram Ibobi Singh

In Goa, Sidharth Kuncalienker BJP MLA from Panaji, appointed as Protem Speaker for Goa Assembly floor test; will be sworn in by governor today.

Nongthombam Biren Singh and his ministers took oath today as the BJP's second government in the north-east after Assam. BJP chief Amit Shah and several union ministers, who were scheduled to attend the oath ceremony, have returned to Delhi, after their flight developed a technical snag.

The BJP is forming government in Manipur in alliance with small regional parties and is expected to reward them for their support with cabinet posts as it has done in Goa on Tuesday. In both states, the BJP had fewer seats than the Congress but moved faster than the rival party to secure support to reach get a majority.

Couldn't agree more. Omar Abdullah @abdullah_omar tweets: Good to see @SushmaSwaraj ji back & looking in good health. Here's wishing her continued good health going ahead.

External affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been ill was hospitalised in November 2016 for 20 days for kidney failure in New Delhi's AIIMS hospital.

Raj Babbar offers to resign as UP Congress chief after party's poor performance in assembly elections. So, is that the 'structural change' Rahul Gandhi spoke of?


After the massive defeat in Uttar Pradesh where it had forged an alliance with the Samajwadi Party to take on the BJP, the Congress vice-president said yesterday that there was a need to make structural and organisational changes in the party.

Commenting on the power struggle in Manipur and Goa, where the Congress won majority of seats but the BJP staked claim to form government, Rahul said the BJP is misusing money for power.

Rahul also accused the BJP of "stealing" the mandate of people and "undermining democracy" in these states by use of money power. He alleged that the Goa Governor acted in a "partisan" manner.

"They are saying that it is okay for them to misuse the office of the Governor...In the two states where we won, democracy has been undermined by them (BJP) using financial power, money. That is what is happening. The mandate of the people of Goa and Manipur has been stolen by the BJP," he told reporters outside Parliament.

The government has directed the Delhi Police to urgently file an FIR in the suicide of JNU scholar Muthu Krishnan, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha today after several opposition members raised the issue of discrimination on campuses. Sitharaman also said she had met family members and friends of the deceased student today and the government was also considering his father's request for a job to his sisters.

Shashank Manohar quits as ICC Chairman with immediate effect. 

Manohar Parrikar takes charge as the new chief minister of Goa. Speaking to reporters today, Parrikar said the Congress defeat and the fact that many ministers lost, indicates there was something wrong in governance in the last 2.5 years. "Let me identify that aspect, " the CM said.

Parrikar, who quit as defence minister, was on Tuesday sworn in as chief minister to head a coalition government of local allies and Independents, three days after the Bharatiya Janata Party ended up second behind the Congress in a fractured mandate.

The decks for his swearing-in were cleared after a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar refused to grant the stay on the Congress' plea and ordered a floor test.

Parrikar returned to Goa as the chief minister for the fourth time, though he could not complete full terms in his earlier stints.

He had formally staked claim to form the coalition government on Sunday, following which he got an invite from Governor Mridula Sinha to prove majority in House.

At a function held at the Raj Bhavan, the governor administered the oath of office and secrecy to Parrikar along with nine MLAs including two members of the BJP, three of the Goa Forward Party, two of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and as many Independents.

They will be allotted ministerial portfolios after the floor test.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Parrikar on becoming the chief minister of Goa and hoped that he will take the state to new heights of progress.

Addressing reporters later, Parrikar exuded confidence that his government will last its full term.

After BSP chief Mayawati, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday tore into the BJP alleging that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were tampered during assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab.

Yesterday, the Election Commission said that EVMs would be used during the Delhi civic polls. Kejriwal had requested the EC to have ballot papers instead of EVMs. Highlights of what the Delhi CM said.


Speaking about the AAP decimation in the Punjab polls, Kejriwal said, "Many said that there is anger against Akali's and AAP is sweeping polls, still AAP got 25% votes & SAD got 31%. How is it possible? Through the EVM is it possible that 20-25% vote share meant for AAP was transferred to SAD-BJP alliance."

He added that it was the Election Commission's responsibility to keep people's faith in EVMs. "They cannot shirk responsibility. I know it is too late to declare the Punjab, Goa elections void, but this is for the future. Faith has to be restored in the electoral process. The EC should count slips of voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) and match it with figures of EVM results and if it matches people's trust will increase.

"In fact, the Supreme Court has said that EVMs are vulnerable to tampering, we aren't saying it. I know you will all make fun of me, hash tag me. SC se bada kya hai?

"Developed countries have given up EVMs, should we not rethink? Even the BJP including Advaniji had said EVMs can be tampered. People who tamper EVMs, they should answer why they didn't do so in Delhi and  Bihar."



File pic: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Goa in June had met members of the fishermen community and wore the flower headgear in Panaji.

The Chetak chopper which toppled while making an emergency landing during a training sortie from Bamrauli near Allahabad today. Both the pilots are safe, but a court of inquiry has been ordered. 

Operations at Amritsar airport resume. Area outside airport still under security agencies as checking of suspected briefcase is on.

Image: The abandoned briefcase which sparked a security scare in car park outside Amritsar airport.

First reactions from NCP's Jitendra Awhad, says the incident is condemnable. He says the fact that Bhansali packed up his set in Rajasthan and came to Maharashtra speaks for his faith in the state. It is absolutely condemnable that this incident has occurred. 

Unidentified goons vandalise, burn down filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati film set in Kolhapur. Thankfully, nobody was harmed. The filmmaker and the crew were not present during the incident which took place last night.

This is the second attack on the film.

In January, the activists of a Rajput organisation, Karni Sena, entered the Jaigarh Fort and assaulted Bhansali, slapped him and tore his shirt. They even misbehaved with the crew and criticised the National Award-winning director for 'distorting' history in the film about the medieval-era Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji, who fell in love with Rajput queen Padmavati.


They damaged cameras and other equipment, forcing Bhansali to stop shooting. The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in leading roles.

The Karni Sena alleged that the film had a dream sequence between Padmavati and Allaudin Khilji.

Following the attack, Bhansali had issued a statement saying: "We clarify that there is no dream sequence or any objectionable scene between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. We have been carefully researching and making the film... The attack on the shoot and crew was uncalled for and was extremely damaging to the image of the beautiful city of Jaipur."

Just in: Amit Shah returns to Delhi after a technical glitch in his flight; he was to attend N Biren Singh's oath taking ceremony in Imphal.

Rape-accused UP minister Gayatri Prajapati, arrested in Lucknow this morning, has been sent to jail for 14 days.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Lucknow, Manzil Saini said that Prajapati was arrested from Aashiyana area of the city early on Wednesday morning.

He is likely to be produced before the POCSO Court later in the day, Saini said.

Six persons named in the FIR against the 49-year-old Samajwadi Party leader have already been picked up by the police.

Police had on Tuesday interrogated the SP leaders two sons and nephew to get some inputs regarding his whereabouts.

Prajapati was booked on a Supreme Court directive and an FIR was lodged on February 17 against the minister and six others for allegedly gang-raping a woman and alleged attempt to rape her minor daughter.

The apex court had asked the UP Police to submit an action taken report regarding the incidents in eight weeks.

A look out notice was also issued against him as also a non-bailable warrant. His passport too has been impounded.

Airports across the country had been alerted about the possibility of Prajapati trying to flee the country.

A Chetak helicopter of the Indian Air Force toppled while making an emergency landing during a training sortie from Bamrauli near Allahabad today. Both the pilots are safe. The chopper toppled when the pilots tried a forced landing after it developed a technical snag, sources in IAF said. The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry (COI) to ascertain the cause of the accident. The sources said the aircraft toppled while the pilots tried to force land it on an uneven field. The helicopter was on a routine training sortie from Bamrauli.

Chennai: TTV Dinakaran, Sasikala's nephew, will be the AIADMK candidate for the RK Nagar bypoll.

Just in: Operations at Amritsar Airport suspended after suspected bomb threat as an unidentified briefcase was found in parking area Punjab. Operations at Amritsar's Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport were suspended after a suspected bomb threat was reported at the airport premises. Authorities raised the alarm after an unidentified briefcase was found in the airport's parking area. A bomb disposal squad has been called in to examine the briefcase. More details awaited.


File pic: Amritsar airport

A terrorist has been killed as security forces continue to battle with them in Kashmir's Kupwara region. 

Samajwadi Party leader Gayatri Prajapati, absconding since February 27, in a rape case, has been arrested from Lucknow this morning. 

With the Supreme Court asking the Bharatiya Janata Party to prove its majority in the Goa assembly on Thursday, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said another Independent MLA has supported his coalition government, raising its tally to 22.

"There has been a speculation for the last two days if the BJP has really got the majority required to form the government and here we are; we have 22 legislators with us," Parrikar told reporters after taking oath at Raj Bhavan.

Responding to reporters' query, Parrikar said another Independent MLA has given support to the coalition, taking its tally to 22, two more than the halfway mark of 20 in the 40-member House.

While Independents Rohan Khaunte and Govind Gawade have already backed the BJP-led coalition and even took oath with Parrikar as ministers, the third Independent MLA Parrikar referred to is Prasad Gaonkar (Sanguem).

When contacted, Gaonkar said, "I have given my letter of support to the BJP-led government. And my support is unconditional."

Parrikar exuded confidence that the BJP would prove its majority on the floor of the House on March 16. -- PTI