India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday signed a $60 million loan agreement to reduce floods and the riverbank erosion in Assam, the Finance Ministry said.

"The Tranche 2 loan is part of the $120 million multi-tranche financing facility for the Assam Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Investment Program approved by the ADB Board in October 2010," a Finance Ministry statement said.

The loan aims to continue financing riverbank protection works, renovation of flood embankments and community-based flood risk management activities in critically flood-prone areas along the Brahmaputra river in Assam.

While Finance Ministry Additional Secretary Sameer Kumar Khare signed the deal on behalf of the Central government, ADB's India Resident Mission Country Director Kenichi Yokoyama signed it on behalf of the multilateral lending agency.

Producer-director Brijendra Pal Singh was appointed as the new president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and chairman of the institute's governing council by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday.
Mr Singh, best known as the producer-director of popular TV series 'CID', is currently the vice-chairman of the FTII governing council. He succeeds veteran actor Anupam Kher, who had stepped down as the chairman in October citing "international commitments".

"The tenure of Singh, who succeeds Anupam Kher, will be for the remaining period of block of three years starting from March 3, 2017 as per the provisions of FTII rules," an FTII release said.

The FTII functions as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Mr Singh is an alumnus of the FTII (1970-73 batch), and specialised in film cinematography.

The Singh-helmed crime drama recently completed a record 21 years of unbroken run on Sony TV.

In 2004, Mr Singh made it to the Limca Book of Records for taking a single continuous shot of 111 minutes to mark the completion of six years of 'CID'.

FTII Director Bhupendra Kainthola said Mr Singh, as a former chairperson of the FTII academic council and current vice-chairman of the governing council, was fully-conversant with all issues of the institute.

"It is his vision that launched FTII's countrywide film education outreach initiative SKIFT (Skilling India in Film and Television) in May 2017, which saw nearly 120 short courses conducted in over 24 cities and towns across India, touching nearly 5,000 learners so far. FTII looks forward to his guidance and support in the times to come," Mr Kainthola said.

Women constitute almost half of the segment of our society and must be given due weightage and honoured and treated with dignity at places where they work to earn their livelihood, said the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. The court was hearing a plea by a woman for being included in a panel for guest teachers. The government was directed to include her and avail her services when required by any school here, subject to her medical fitness.

The High Court said employers must be considerate and sympathetic towards a pregnant employee. The high court said the employer must realise the physical difficulties that a woman would face in performing her duties at the workplace while carrying a baby in her womb or looking after the child after birth. 
“To become a mother is the most natural phenomena in the life of a woman,” Justice Suresh Kait said. 

“Whatever is needed to facilitate the birth of child to a woman who is in service, the employer has to be considerate and sympathetic towards her and must realise the physical difficulties which a working woman would face in performing her duties at the workplace while carrying a baby in the womb or while looking after the child after birth,” the court added. The court directed the office of Deputy Directorate of Education of the Delhi government to issue necessary order to this effect within two weeks. 

Manika Batra won the 'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' award at the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Awards in Incheon, South Korea on Wednesday. Manika pretty much ruled the table tennis space in India this year with her stupendous performances at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

Manika said she was honoured to have received the award and deemed 2018 as the best year of her career so far.

The Delhi High Court has ordered a ban on the sale of medicines online by e-pharmacists across India and has directed the Delhi government and the Centre to put the order into effect immediately, The Times of India reported.

The order was passed by Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VK Rao, acting on a PIL filed by Zaheer Ahmed, a New Delhi-based dermatologist. Ahmed complained about the lack of regulation over the lakhs of medicines sold on the internet daily, saying that it puts patients and doctors at risk.

Ahmed said that selling medicines online is not allowed under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Pharmacy Act, 1948. He stressed that the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) in 2015 clearly instructed state authorities to curb sales of medicines online in order to protect public health, but the practice continued. In some cases, medicines were sold without prescriptions.

President Ram Nath Kovind on December 12 launched a mobile app for farmers in Myanmar and dedicated a centre to promote agriculture research and education to the people here.

Kovind is in Myanmar on a two-city visit to continue India's high level bilateral engagements under the rubric of the 'Act East Policy' and the 'Neighbourhood First Policy'.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the president launched the mobile app on agritech while dedicating the Advanced Centre for Agricultural Research and Education (ACARE) in Yezin Agricultural University to the people of Myanmar.

Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan on Wednesday formally invited MNF president Zoramthanga to form the government in the state. He will be sworn-in as the chief minister at the governor house at 12 noon on Saturday, the local administration informed. It is not clear if his council of ministers will take oath with him.

Two-time Chief Minister Zoramthanga's party stunned the ruling Congress as it bagged 26 seats in the 40-member assembly.  

The MNF is back in power after 10 years and its victory is being considered an early Christmas by party workers.

"I had predicted over 29 seats for MNF and less than 10 for Congress. My prediction has come true. Voters were fed up of the mismanagement of the Congress. The liquor issue also turned the church and civil society against them. Mizoram is a Christian state and we are a compact society so there is no space for BJP ideology," MNF chief Zoramthanga told NDTV on Tuesday.

Zoramthanga had served as the chief minister from December 1998 to December 2008.

TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao  would be sworn in as the Chief Minister of the State for a second term at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan on Thursday  at 1.33 pm. Rao was unanimously elected leader of the TRS Legislature Party on Wednesday by the newly-elected MLAs.  In all likelihood, Rao  may alone take the oath or with two other colleagues and the ministry can be expanded later.  Rao preferred ‘Dhanista’  star on Thursday for taking oath.  

Born in Aslesha birth star, Dhanista is Rao’s “Sadhana Tara”, that is why he preferred Thursday,  party sources said adding  the muhurtam is also good. 

Meanwhile, Rao on Wednesday sent his resignation for the post of CM, paving way for the formation of the new Assembly and the new government. The Governor accepted the resignations by the Council of Ministers. 

Speaking to reporters later, Rao dropped enough hints about the composition of the new State Cabinet. “I will hold Information and Public Relations Department with me,” Rao declared, while announcing several sops like house sites and others to scribes.

Kevadiya, a small town with a population of 6,788 people and just 3.5 km from the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, is all set to get its own railway station, sources involved in the planning told PTI.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are slated to lay the foundation stone for the same on December 15, they said.

The Statue of Unity of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is located in Gujarat’s Narmada district and to reach it, one has to reach Kevadiya first.

“During the first 11 days of its opening, the monument has already been visited by around 1.3 lakh tourists. This is great news for tourism in the state. However, this area is plagued by connectivity issues and we needed to address that. This will be a modern railway station and will see huge footfall. Other than a boost in tourism, the project will lead to development in the area, create employment among other things,” a source said.

Even as the Congress is forced to choose between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan, sources have told CNN-News18 that in Madhya Pradesh it will be Kamal Nath, and not Jyotiraditya Scindia, who will be sworn in as the new chief minister of the state. 

Sources say that Kamal Nath will take oath on December 14 along with dozen other ministers. 

Sajjan Siingh Verma, Tulsi Silawat, KP Singh, Bala Bachchan, Jitu Patwari, Arif Akeel, Vijay Laxmi Sadho, Govind Rajput, Laxman Singh, Tarun Bhanot, Sachin Yadav, Kamleshwar Patel, Hina Kavre, NP Prajapati, Deepak Saxena, Sanjay Sharma are some of the MLAs who will take oath along with Nath on December 14, according to sources.