Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said in a democracy it is natural to have different views but one must strive towards unity.

Interacting with National Cadet Corps cadets, National Service Scheme volunteers and tableaux artists, he asked them to take responsibility for social change and to fight blind faith.

"In order to make India a stronger and progressive nation, then (one should work on) its biggest strength (which) is its unity," Modi told the young participants.

After a photo-opportunity with various groups of young participants, Modi, in a break from tradition, also interacted with the children and addressed them.

He told them that in a democracy it is natural to have different views but one must strive towards unity.

There are certain proverbs that are often attached to a community or caste but the youth must question and dispel them, Modi said.

He also asked them to fight blind faith, starting at home.

The prime minister also told the youngsters to take responsibility for social change instead of expecting the government to do everything and urged them to fulfill Mahatma Gandhi's dream of a clean India by 2019 -- the year of the father of the nation's 150th birth anniversary.

Modi told the youngsters that they should make an effort to know more about those who receive civil and military honours, especially those who sacrifice their lives for the country.

"Very few people know that in free India 33,000 policemen have sacrificed their lives, which they have for someone's protection," Modi said harping on the need to show respect to the police personnel.   -- PTI

Photograph: ANI

Shri Rajput Karni Sena today said it was ready to pay the money spent on making Padmaavat if it was handed over the film's rights and stressed that the organisation had nothing to do with the incidents of violence that happened over its release.

Karni Sena's chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi said at a press conference that their members or of any other Kshtariya organisation had no hand in the attack on a school bus.

On Wednesday, a mob attacked the school bus carrying 20 to 25 children in Gurugram, where hundreds of violent protesters took to roads torching vehicles and destroying public property to oppose the film's release.

"We are ready for any kind of probe, be it by the CBI or a judicial one. A Rajput can never think of doing such a thing. If we were present there, we would have never let such an attack happen," Kalvi said.

He also said that their outfit's members had nothing to do with the violence in Ahmedabad in which vehicles were vandalised outside the malls.

Kalvi accused those connected to the film to be behind the attacks.

"Yesterday, we did not carry out any protests because it was Republic Day and we respect our nation. But we will continue our protests till the film is taken down from cinema halls," he said, stressing that they would never resort to violence.

Kalvi said they were ready to pay Bhansali the money he had spent on making the film.

"We are ready to collect the money and pay him if he hands over the rights of the film to us. We will then carry out a jauhar of the film's reels (assign them to flames)," he said.

Bhansali's Padmaavat starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh finally released on January 25 amid protests and vandalism by disgruntled groups which accused the filmmaker of 'distorting historical facts' and wrongful portrayal of Queen Padmavati.

Historians, however, are divided on whether Rajput queen Padmavati existed.  -- PTI

Oxford Dictionaries has chosen 'Aadhaar' as the Hindi word of 2017.

The word gained popularity due to Aadhaar card, which was in news last year and is likely to remain in highlight this year as well.

The announcement was made at a session 'Oxford Dictionaries' Hindi Word of the Year' during the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival.

Other words such as 'Mitron', 'Notebandi', 'Gau-Rakshak' were also considered, but the widespread discussions and debates around 'Aadhaar' was reason it was selected as the word of the year, journalist Saurabh Dwivedi said during the discussion.

Writer Pankaj Dubey said new words like 'Sleepawastha' (state of sleeping), 'Maukatarian' (opportunist) should be coined to express certain moods.

Chitra Mudgal objected to the suggestion and instead advocated for correct use of languages.

"If a person with lack of proper knowledge coins and expresses such words then it can be understood but this is not acceptable when educated people do this," Mudgal, an author, said.

Poet and writer Ashok Vajpeyi said politicians use Hindi word 'Mitron' (friends) which is not grammatically correct, when in fact the correct word is 'Mitro' -- an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who uses the term often in his speeches.

Vajpeyi said the responsibility to conserve language lies with people.

"Changes would come, new words would be coined but ultimately the responsibility to conserve the language is on citizens," he said.

Talking about the languages used by media, journalist Vinod Dua said that media's job is to provide news in a simple language for audience, instead of creating a literature while broadcasting the news.  -- PTI

Saudi Arabia released billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal today nearly three months after his arrest in an anti-corruption drive targeting the kingdom's elite.

"He (Prince Al-Waleed) is out," a business associate of the Prince was quoted as saying by agencies.

Prince Al-Waleed, dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia, was among some 350 suspects rounded up since November 4, including billionaire tycoons and ministers who were detained in Riyadh's luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Prince Al-Waleed is the latest in a series of high- profile detainees to be freed from the hotel.

However, the Saudi information ministry has not issued any remarks in this regard.

Authorities have previously said most of those detained struck monetary settlements in exchange for their freedom, which could earn state coffers about $100 billion.  -- Agencies

One person was killed and several others were injured in a firing, after an army patrol party came under heavy stone pelting from a mob in Shopian's Ganowpora village in South Kashmir on Saturday.

Due to this, tension escalated in the area and clashes are still on.

The incident comes days after two terrorists were killed in an encounter in Dairoo's Chaigund area in Shopian on Wednesday.

Their bodies have been recovered by the security forces as well.

The slain terrorists were later identified as locals.

A local boy was also killed in the ensuing crossfire, while two women sustained injuries.

More details are awaited. -- ANI

Image only for representation.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu hits at snapping ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"We are maintaining 'Mitra Dharma' with the BJP but if it does not want to continue with the alliance, we will go on our own," Naidu was quoted as saying by ANI.

Naidu heads the Telugu Desam Party which is a National Democratic Alliance partner.

The BJP is also the junior ally of the TDP in Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu's statement comes after he was criticised by some state BJP leaders.

Photograph: ANI

Fresh violence erupted in curfew-bound Kasganj city today with miscreants torching two shops and a bus, even as nine people were arrested in connection with yesterday's clashes that left a boy dead and injured two others, police said.

The area remained tensed after clashes had broken out on Republic Day following reported stone-pelting at a motorcycle rally taken out by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad volunteers on Mathura-Bareilly highway.

Following the clashes curfew was imposed in the city.

According to police, miscreants torched two shops and a bus.

Fire department personnel have been sent to the scene.

The Uttar Pradesh Police tweeted that they have arrested at least nine people in connection with the clashes yesterday.

'A complaint has been filed at Kasganj police station and nine persons involved have been arrested so far. A special team has been constituted and we are trying to arrest others involved,' the police said.

A 16-year-old boy was killed and two persons were injured in the clashes yesterday, according to District Magistrate R P Singh.

"It seems the (stone pelting) incident was not pre-planned (sic), but spontaneous," Additional DG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar has said.

"The troublemakers are being identified, and stringent action will be initiated against them. The district administration has been able to control the situation so far, but additional forces will be called to ensure that the situation does not worsen," he has said.  -- PTI

Please note: Image used ONLY for representative purposes.

UPDATE: At least 40 people were killed and 140 injured when a bomb hidden in an ambulance was detonated at a police checkpoint in Kabul on Saturday.

The incident occurred  close to the gate of the old Ministry of Interior building in the city.

There are foreign embassies and other government buildings also in the area.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast.

This is their second big attack in a week, after the attack on Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in which 22 people were killed.  -- Agencies

Photograph: ANI

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the goods and service tax has stabilised in a very short time that provides an opportunity to widen its base and further rationalise the rates in the future.

Also, he said the GST has brought about an entire change in the indirect tax system in the country.

Jaitley further said the GST has 'stabilised in a very short time in India' as compared to various other countries.

"Therefore, it gives us an opportunity in the times to come to increase its base and rationalise the structure as it continues to evolve," he said at an event to mark the International Customs Day.

At present, the GST has four rates of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent.

It is to be noted that the GST Council in the November meeting had decided to keep only sin goods and white goods under the 28 per cent tax bracket and moved 178 items from the highest tax bracket to 18 per cent.

Thirteen items were moved from 18 per cent to 12 per cent bracket; 8 items from 12 per cent to 5 per cent; 6 items from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, while 6 other items moved from 5 per cent to zero per cent slab.

Following the reduction on more than 200 items, the GST collections hit lowest in November from Rs 80,808 crore in the previous month.

However, halting two months of decline, the collections gathered momentum in December, rising to Rs 86,703 crore.

Total GST collections in October were over Rs 83,000 crore.

In September, the GST mop-up was over Rs 92,150 crore.  -- PTI

A Special Investigation Team has been constituted to investigate the violence that took place during the release of movie Padmaavat in Gurugram.

'To investigate the cases of PS Bhondsi and Sadar Sohna incident, the SIT has also been constituted in which ACPs, Inspectors and ASIs are the members of this SIT under the direct supervision of the DCP South GGM.

'This team will make all-out efforts to collect scientific evidence and to identify the remaining hooligans,' read a press statement from the Haryana police.

So far, 38 protesters have been arrested and sent to the judicial custody in connection with the matter.

'24 miscreants were arrested in eight criminal cases and 14 miscreants were detained under section 107/151 CrPC as a preventive measure,' the statement added.

Karni Sena Gurugram chief Thakur Kushalpal has also been detained by the police in connection of incidents of violence in the city.

The police also assured the public that the efforts are being made to identify other miscreants who were involved in violent incidents.

'Best efforts are being made by GGM Police to identify the other remaining miscreants who were involved in violent incidents which occurred in different places in Gurugram,' it said.

The Haryana police also clarified that the situation in Gurugram is peaceful and under control.

'The situation in Gurugram is peaceful and under control. Police personnel have already been deployed in large numbers at malls and sensitive locations to maintain law and order,' the statement added.

On January 24, a school bus was attacked by a group of men who were protesting against the release of the film in Haryana's Gurugram.

The protesters threw stones at the bus, which was carrying students, teachers and other staff members of Gurugram's GD Goenka World School.

The protesters also torched a state bus in Gurugram.  -- ANI

IMAGE: A bus torched by protesters at Gurugram's Sohna Road in Haryana. Photograph: ANI

A huge blast rocked Kabul today, reporters and witnesses said, in latest apparent attack in the capital of war-torn Afghanistan.

TOLONews quoted emergency hospital officials as confirming that at least 50 people have been wounded in the massive explosion that tore through the city late in the afternoon.

An eyewitness said the explosion was a car bomb close to the gate of the old Ministry of Interior building in the city.

More details awaited.  -- Agencies

United States President Donald Trump declared before a full house at Davos that he has made '15 new friends' whom he did not know before at a dinner on Thursday night -- including three of Indian origin.

After a 'band' welcome and a nearly 20-minute speech, Trump sat down for a brief question and answers session with World Economic Forum Founder Klaus Schwab on the last day of the annual pow-wow of rich and powerful from across the 'fractured' world and began by complementing him for putting together this 'really great' economic forum.

Trump, who arrived here yesterday afternoon, told Schwab -- who on his part said the US President's strong leadership is open to misconceptions and biased interpretations -- that he has made '15 new friends' here in Davos.

"We had dinner last night with about 15 leaders of industry -- none of whom I knew, but all of whom I have read about for years -- and it was truly an incredible group," Trump said.

"And I think I have 15 new friends. So this has been really great what you have done in putting it together, the economic forum," he said.

These 15 industry leaders from Europe -- whom Trump described as 'very powerful businesspeople of the world' and asked them to introduce themselves one by one and say a few words at the dinner table, as per a White House release --- included Swiss pharma giant Novartis' incoming CEO Vas Narasimhan, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri and Deloitte CEO Punit Renjen.

Others were heads of Bayer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Siemens, AB Volvo, SAP, Adidas, Statoil, Nestle, ABB and HSBC. At the dinner, Renjen said, "Mr President, thank you for having me. Punit Renjen from Deloitte. On behalf of 265,000 employees across the globe, 70,000 in the US, thank you again for having us".

As per the White House release, Trump replied, "Great company. Thank you very much. Great job."

After everyone's introduction, Trump said, "I want to thank everybody. Really, you have done incredible work, incredible jobs. These are some of the great companies of the world, many of the great companies of the world".  -- PTI

Scores of diplomats including ambassadors of four of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Russia, China, France and Britain -- attended one of the largest Republic Day receptions outside India at the UN headquarters, besides events across the United States as well.

The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, was the only P-5 country envoy not to attend the impressive Republic Day reception hosted jointly by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN and the Indian consulate in New York.

Haley, who was not in town, sent one of her top diplomats to the event, which was attended by several hundred Indian Americans, officials of the UN and envoys of scores of countries at the UN.

Prominent among those were the President of the General Assembly Miroslav Lajcak, and the Deputy UN Secretary General Amina J Mohammed. Maleeha Lodhi, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, surprised many by her presence at India's Republic Day celebrations at the UN, which was marked by an impressive dance performance at the UN Delegates Dining Room.

'Though far from India's shores, the young sing about the 'land that nourished and nurtured' as we celebrate India's #Republicday2018@IndiaUNNewYork,' Syed Akbaruddin, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, said in a tweet.

'We are grateful this evening that several distinguished officials as well as representatives have joined us. I am grateful to the President of the General Assembly who is here with us, also to the Lt Governor of New York, who is with us and the Deputy Secretary General, who is with us,' Akbaruddin said as he was joined by other dignitaries in lighting the lamp.

For many UN observers, it was one of the largest gatherings of ambassadors at a public event at the UN. Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, paid floral tributes to statues of Mahatma Gandhi outside the Embassy in Washington before unfurling the national flag, in the presence of embassy staff and members of the Indian American community.

Akbaruddin unfurled the national flag at the UN mission in New York, with India's other diplomatic missions in the US -- in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta -- also hosting events. Diego Gomez Pickering, the Consul General of Mexico in New York was the guest of honor at the Indian consulate celebrations in the city.

'Honored to participate in the celebrations of the 69th #RepublicDay at @IndiainNewYork along with Consul General Chakravorty and the vibrant Indian community of #NYC. #Mexico and #India partners, friends and allies,' he tweeted.

Sanjeev Tripathi from Boston wrote a special poem in Hindi on the occasion. Illinois Lt Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti and joined the Republic Day celebrations in Chicago along with a large number of Indian Americans.

Officials of the Indian Consulate in Houston posted a special video on twitter 'Jai Hind. Happy Republic Day'.

Congressman Pete Olson appeared in a traditional kurta at the Consulate and joined Indian Americans in the Republic day celebrations in the Indian Consulate in Houston.

'Great to celebrate the 69th India Republic Day at the Consulate General of India this morning!' he said.

'#OTD in 1950, the largest democracy on earth was born when the Indian constitution was adopted. I look forward to many more years of friendship between our two great countries!' Olson tweeted.

A number of Republic Day celebrations have been scheduled by Indian Americans across the country over the weekend.  -- PTI

Image only for representation.

Censor Board chief Prasoon Joshi has said that he will not attend Jaipur Literature Festival this year.

His statement comes after the Rajput Karni Sena threatened to disrupt his address at the Lit Fest, to protest clearance of the movie Padmaavat by the Central Board of Film Certification.

'Will not be attending #JLF (Jaipur Lit Fest) this year and must say will miss sharing great moments with literature and poetry lovers.

'I am doing this so that the dignity of the event does not get compromised or discomfort caused either to the organisers, fellow writers or the attendees,' Joshi said.

'I did my job and sincerely took a sensitive and balanced call. Certification was done with due processes, incorporating valid suggestions whilst staying mindful to concerns of society and cinema. Sad that we are not relying on genuine peaceful dialogue,' Joshi was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier, Karni Sena had said it will protest censor board chief Prasoon Joshi's lecture at Jaipur Literature Festival.

The fringe group, which has been protesting against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat was upset at the CBFC for clearing the movie after suggesting some modifications.

"We don't want to hear his lecture. He has put the pride of Rajasthan at stake. How can he deliver a lecture here after humiliating us? People of Rajasthan don't want such lectures. We will protest against him," president of the group Mahipal Singh Makrana said.  -- ANI, Agencies