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Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Ashwin nearing full fitness, likely to play first Test
Published at Wed Oct 28 2015 11:30 IST
CHENNAI: There is finally some good news for India. Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been undergoing rehab for side strain, is nearing full fitness and is likely to be available for the first Test against South Africa, which starts in Mohali from November 5.
"I'm close to achieving full fitness and I'm feeling fine. I'm confident of bowling well in the series," Ashwin said on the sidelines of a promotional event here on Tuesday.
The offspinner had sustained a side strain during the first ODI in Kanpur and subsequently missed out on the rest of the matches. Being India's No 1 bowler in recent past, his absence was majorly felt in the ODI series, which India lost 2-3.
The defeat has definitely pushed India on the back-foot ahead of the Test series. While admitting that the loss was an unfortunate one Ashwin is not keen to dwell on the past. "It is not that we played poorly. We fought our way back into the ODI series brilliantly after we found ourselves trailing 1-2. We levelled the series 2-2 here and it was up to the last match in Mumbai where anything could have happened. Unfortunately, things didn't go our way and we lost," he said.
The Tamil Nadu offspinner feels the upcoming Test series would be anything but a one-sided affair. "It will be a close contest. South Africa are an excellent side and they have adapted to the conditions very well. It will be a tough challenge and we will be up for it," said Ashwin.
Ashwin believes the wickets have assisted the batsmen. "I am not taking away any credit from the batsmen. But I believe they have been scoring runs on wickets that have aided batting. Bowlers need to be given wickets that are helpful to them. I want to see batsmen scoring runs on wickets that aid bowlers," the 29-year-old said.
India have so far looked anything but intimidating with their bowlers struggling and their batsmen failing to fire. Ashwin feels the players need more time to settle down. "There are no weaknesses in the Indian side. We are a young side which is gaining experience. There are only a few players who have played over 100 ODIs, and so this team needs to be given more time. If you look at the South African side, players like Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers were given a lot of time to settle down.
"I guess Indian players too need a similar cushion. Before the series began, everyone knew it would be hard-fought and it did live up to its billing," Ashwin pointed out.
SKS Microfinance gets Rs 100 crore refinance line from MUDRA
SKS Microfinance informed stock exchanges on Wednesday that MUDRA (Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Limited ) has sanctioned a refinance line of Rs 100 crore at 10 per cent per annum to the company.
By: FE Online | October 28, 2015 11:06 AM
This is the first refinance limit sanctioned to SKS Microfinance by MUDRA. (Photo: Reuters)
Microfinance lender SKS Microfinance informed stock exchanges on Wednesday that MUDRA (Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Limited ) has sanctioned a refinance line of Rs 100 crore at 10 per cent per annum to the company.
MUDRA was launched by the government for financing micro entrepreneurs engaged in small business activities like manufacturing, processing, service sector and trade.
This is the first refinance limit sanctioned to SKS Microfinance by MUDRA. The development is expected to help bring down the cost of interest-bearing liabilities at SKS Microfinance. Earlier, with the cost of its interest-bearing liabilities dropping to 11.9 per cent in Q1-FY16 from 13.6 per cent in FY14 on account of downward adjustments in risk premium, the company could reduce the interest rate charged to borrowers on three occasions since October 2014. With an overall reduction of 3.8 per cent since October 2014, SKS Microfinance charges 20.75 per cent on all its disbursements with effect from October 1, 2015.
“This is the first refinance line availed by us,” said S Dilli Raj, president, SKS Microfinance in a release. “At a rate of 10 per cent, this is lower than regular term loans from conventional lenders, and reinforces our assertion in the recent past that the Non Banking Financial Company – Micro Finance Institution (NBFC -MFI) structure does not preclude us from availing dedicated refinance lines at a lower rate of interest. We are already the lowest cost lender in the MFI segment, and will pass on this benefit to our microfinance borrowers at an appropriate juncture.”
SKS Microfinance shares were trading 5.46 per cent up at Rs 422 in morning trade.
Lawyer: Salman Khan was falsely booked; panchnama, site map fabricated
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The lawyer of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan today argued in the Bombay High Court that the panchnama and site maps were fabricated by police to falsely book the actor under the grave charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the 2002-hit-and-run case.
READ: Salman Khan 2002 hit-and-run case: Site map of 2002 mishap fabricated says Salman's lawyer
The HC is hearing an appeal filed by Salman who was awarded a five-year sentence on May 6 after a sessions court found him guilty of ramming his car into a shop in 2002, killing one person and injuring four others sleeping outside.
"The panchnama and site maps are fabricated and cannot be relied upon... These were prepared to invoke section 304 II of IPC (culpable homicide) and also to add the element of 'drunkness and rashness' to make the charges graver", argued Salman's lawyer Amit Desai.
"Not just this, the police and prosecuting agency had ignored the statement of Salman Khan's family driver Ashok Singh who has claimed that he was driving the car on the ill-fated day when the mishap occurred," Desai submitted.
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"Ashok Singh (Salman's driver and defence witness) came to you (Bandra police station)...You did not interrogate him, you did not record his statement, you have not cared to investigate," the lawyer said.
Moreover, crucial witnesses like Salman's actor-brother Sohail, who was with Salman at 'Rain Bar and Restaurant' and singer Kamaal Khan, who was also in the bar and in the actor's car when the mishap had occurred, were not examined in the court, Desai said.
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"Besides, police constable late Ravindra Patil's claim that there was a dent in a stutter at A-1 Bakery-American Express Laundry because of the impact of the accident, does not corroborate what Samba Gowda, the panch-witness, has said in his statement," the lawyer argued.
This panch-witness was not at the spot, the lawyer alleged. To prove this, he tabled before the court the damaged portion of the car's bumper and a piece of the shop's shutter.
Desai said "there is a scratch but not a dent or a hole" as claimed by Ravindra Patil -- Salman's then bodyguard and the first informant who lodged FIR after the mishap.
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Signal that tells when labour about to begin
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A cellular signal can tell doctors that a woman is about to go into labour, according to a study led by an Indian-origin scientist in the US.
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston uncovered the cellular signal in the amniotic fluid around the foetus that builds up when a pregnant woman is about to go into labour.
"The initiation of the birth process is complex. Several body systems maintain pregnancy through a delicate balance -- altering this balance tends to promote labour," said lead author Ramkumar Menon, assistant professor in UTMB department of obstetrics and gynecology.
Menon's team focused their investigation on telomeres, which are the parts of the DNA that protect our genetic data while cells are dividing.
These telomeres become shorter every time a cell divides, which hinders their ability to ensure that the new cells are identical to the parent cells.
This process is linked with the changes that take place in our bodies as we age. Over time, the telomeres become too short for the cell to divide and they become "senescent".
"We investigated whether the presence of senescent telomere fragments in the amniotic fluid around the foetus is linked with labour status, as we know that the telomeres continue to get shorter as the pregnancy progresses," Menon said.
Menon's team wanted to know what triggered a change in the delicate balance that had maintained a pregnancy.
"We began this study suspecting that the senescent cells cause oxidative stress-associated damages to the amniotic sac that create inflammation in the placenta," he said.
"We know from previous studies that inflammation can alter the balance of the mother's hormones in the uterus, triggering the labor process."
The researchers used telomere mimics, resembling those found in amniotic fluid, and conducted cellular analyses, finding more telomere fragments when a woman who was in labour compared to women who were at the end of their pregnancy but not yet in labour.
They report that as the foetus mature in the womb and nears term, placenta and other related tissues also age correspondingly due to telomere fragmentation and eventual loss.
The telomere fragments can increase sterile inflammation, as Menon termed, potentially signalling foetal maturity to trigger the process of labour and eventual delivery.
The findings were recently published injournal PLOS ONE.
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Beef row: Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta detained
Published at Wed Oct 28 2015 13:15 IST
NEW DELHI:
Hindu Sena
chief
Vishnu Gupta
was today detained by
Delhi Police
for allegedly making a false complaint that beef was being served at the
Kerala house
canteen here.
DCP (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal said that Vishnu Gupta is being questioned but did not disclose any further details.
The development comes a day after a major row erupted when Delhi police entered the Kerala House acting on the complaint, with a miffed Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy condemning the "raid" as "highly objectionable". The Delhi Police and the Centre also came under attack from chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee.
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi had yesterday said that police were contemplating action against the caller, Vishnu Gupta, under IPC Section 182 (false information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person).
He added that the PCR call regarding the beef complaint was given priority because it had the potential to disrupt harmony between communities and could have had "disastrous consequences", especially because of the "past record" of the caller, identified as Vishnu Gupta, national president of Hindu Sena.
"The caller was already in police's notice because of his past record," said Bassi, adding that the officials deployed outside Kerala House to keep a watch were instructed to take preventive action in case Vishnu Gupta and his associates were caught doing any "mischief".