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Delhi’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University witnessed violence on Sunday evening when masked goons armed with sticks and hammers barged into the campus and beat up students and teachers.

JNU violence

At least 19 students all belonging to Left backed groups and five were injured in the attack. They were hospitalized for treatment. After the attack, BJP backed ABVP student-wing leaders and Left leaders traded charges of violence.

Police called in

The JNU authorities called in the police late in the evening to control the situation. The police held a flag march in the campus before declaring the situation normal but the students and the university staff said that they could see the miscreants lurking inside the JNU and that they weren’t feeling safe even after the flag march.

Students and staff accused authorities

The police were called late in the evening by then the miscreants had done much violence in the campus. Glasses and furniture were broken with bricks and students and teachers beaten up with sticks. The authorities were accused of allowing ample time to the goons. The students and the staff accused the authorities and the police helping the goons in an indirect manner.

Amit Shah calls top cop

According to sources, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah called Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and asked for a detailed report on the incident. Meanwhile, hundreds of students gathered outside the police headquarters to protest against the violence in the university.

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Today's Special

GATE 2020: Download Your Admit Card From IIT Website On 3rd January

HT News January 3, 2020

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) would be made available the admit card or hall ticket for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) on its official website on 3rd January 2020. For more information, students can visit gate.iitd.ac.in. The GATE exam is scheduled to be conducted in February on 1, 2, 8 and 9.

GATE 2020: Important documents

Candidates need to download their admit cards from the IIT website. They would carry the printouts of admit cards along with valid photo ID proves to the examination hall.

GATE 2020: Important things to check

Photograph and signature: The photo on the admit card must match with the valid photo ID carried by candidates. Candidates are advised to use A4 size paper and laser printer for printing their admit cards.

Contact: Candidates should report to [email protected], in case they have any queries or issues. The candidates would be held responsible for any issue found at the time of frisking and the authorities have the right to cancel candidature as a penalty.

Details: Candidates’ details on the GATE 2020 admit cards like name, parents name etc. should match with the valid photo IDs carried. Also, the candidates should check other details like exam date, venue, reporting time and instructions.

GATE 2020: Exam pattern

All GATE tests would consist of 65 questions for a total of 100 marks. It would be an objective type test with multiple answers. Candidates would get one or two marks for the correct answer and there would be a deduction of 1/3 of allotted marks for every wrong answer.

Of the 65 questions, 10 questions of 15 marks would be on General Aptitude … Read the rest

Today's Special

Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti: Interesting Facts About The Life Of Tenth Guru In Sikhism

HT News January 2, 2020

The birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru of Sikhs, is falling on the second day of the New Year 2020. He was born on 22 December 1666 according to Gregorian calendar but his birth anniversary is calculated according to lunar calendar and for this reason celebrated on this day.

Guru Gobind Singh

He became guru at the tender age of 9 and did miraculous deed during is lifetime. He stood up against the Mughals who were doing injustice to the people of other faiths at that time. He set up an army of saint soldiers and named it “Khalsa”. He maintained a strict code of conduct and spiritual discipline and asked his army to follow the code. Guru Gobind Singh was both a military and spiritual leader whose teachings still inspire many, even today.

It was Guru Gobind Singh who developed Sikhism as a religion and announced that Guru Granth Sahib to be the eternal Sikh Guru that the Sikhs should turn to the Holy Scripture for teachings.

Celebrations of birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh

The celebrations start with processions displaying the events related to life of Guru Gobind Singh. Today these processions have also become a medium to spread social messages. The processions are followed by prayer meetings at gurudwaras.

Sikh people distribute sweets and food to those coming to gurudwaras and even to those passing by the gurudwaras. Also, they do karsewa cleaning shoes of the visitors and organizing fee medical camps for needy people.

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Today's Special

Happy New Year 2020: People Celebrate New Year According To Their Religious Beliefs

HT News January 1, 2020

New Year celebrations commence on 1st January but little is known about the history behind these celebrations. Do you know that every religion has its own calendar and that New Year date varies from one religion to another?

History of New Year celebrations

The history of celebrating New Year can be traced back to 4000 years when the first New Year was celebrated on 21st March in Babylon during the rein of dictator Julius Caesar. The dictator introduced Julian calendar in 45BC. At that time, the world celebrated New Year on 1st January for the first time. But that calendar was discontinued due to mistakes.After some time, Pope Gregory Gregorian brought a new calendar that was an upgrade of Julian calendar.

Hindu New Year

In Hinduism, the New Year begins on Chaitra Maas of Shukla Paksha. It is an important day because the Panchang starts from this day. Hindus use Panchang to find auspicious days for marriage etc. In India, the New Year starts with spring season.

Islamic New Year

Islamic begins with the Muharram moon. Inspired by the moon, the Islamic calendar has its 12 months revolving around the solar calendar once in 33 years.

Sindhi New Year

Sindhis begin their New Year with Cheti Chand festival that falls on Dwitiya of Chaitra Shukla. They believe that god Julelal that were an incarnation of god Varuna born on that day.

Sikh New Year

Sikhs celebrate their New Year on Baisakhi that comes in April. According to the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar, Hola Mohalla is the New Year. It falls on the next day of Holi.

Jain New Year

Jain community celebrates New Year on the … Read the rest

National Today's Special

US Congratulates Genera Bipin Rawat For Becoming The First CDS Of India

HT News December 31, 2019

General Bipin Rawat is made the first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) by the government of India. He’s currently serving as army general and will retire on December 31. He’ll take the new responsibility on the following day and report directly to the Prime Minister.

Chief of Defense Staff

It is the first time in India that a CDS is appointed but need of a chief for all defense forces was felt from the time of Kargil war in 1999. PM Modi has promised creating of CDS in his Independence Day speech.

The chief of three forces would report to the CDS and the latter would head the Department of Military Affairs. His salary would be equivalent to the emoluments of a service chief. The CDS post would help in improving coordination among the three services – the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

Role and requirements of CDS

A committee headed by National Security Advisor AjitDoval would determine the role and responsibilities of the Chief of Defense Staff. But his primary role would be to bring the three forces on same page. The CDS can serve the country till 65 years of age. General Bipin Rawat would serve as CDS till March 2022.

The world congratulated General Bipin Rawat

The US was the first to congratulate the first Chief of Defense Staff of India. The US Department of State tweeted that CDS would further improve US-India joint cooperation. Maldives Foreign Minister also congratulated General Bipin Rawat for becoming the first Chief of Defense Staff of India.

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Today's Special

December 2019 Is The Second Coldest Month Since 1901

HT News December 30, 2019

Enveloped in dense fog, it is the fourth time between 1901 and 2018 that Delhi witnessed a cold December. This month, the average temperature of the national capital remained either equal to or less than 20 degrees Celsius.

Cold wave in Delhi

The national capital shivers in the cold wave that it witnessed in 1919, 1929, 1961 and 1997. These were the four occasions when Delhi braved coldest December. In 2019, the weather office sounded a red alert regarding the fog. The commuters were seen driving with their emergency and hazard lights on. Also, the traffic moved at a snail’s pace.

Traffic disruption due to fog

Road traffic is the worst hit due to low visibility that remained below 50 meters. 16 flights are diverted to safe places and as many trains are running late due to rough weather conditions. The weather office has predicted light rains with hailstorm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Coldest December in Delhi

With the average minimum temperature remaining around 19.15 degree Celsius, the 2019 December could be the coldest month of the year since 1997 when the average minimum temperature was 17.3 degree Celsius. Also, it is the second coldest month since 1901.

Latest update

At 2.6 degree Celsius, Delhi becomes colder Shimla that recorded a minimum temperature of 3.6 degree Celsius. The flights at the Delhi Airport are operating under CAT III B conditions that are used when the runway visual range (RVR) is between 50 meters and 175 meters. Several parts of Delhi are covered with dense fog.

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Fashion & Lifestyle Today's Special

Christmas Photoshoot Gives Magic Moments To Families Of Hospital Kids

HT News December 24, 2019

Christmas has arrived and people are getting ready for the celebrations but there are thousands of kids that are missing their families, holidays and festivities. Hospitalized for various medical ailments, these kids will celebrate Christmas with a group of photographers.

Photographers for kids

Seasoned photographers have teamed up to give hospitalized children a magical experience with Santa. They have named it Christmas Wish Project and it involves meet-and-greet photoshoots with Santa at hospitals. The pictures are edited and improved to look like kids are enjoying Christmas with Santa. The images are then sent to families of the kids.

An experience editorial team does the behind the scenes job. Green screen shots are transformed into magical wintery scenes said Erin Michalski who is in-charge of the Canadian photoshoots.

The edited images are made to look like Santa playing video games with a child on a snowy rooftop. In another image, Santa is seen holding a baby in stable and two boys riding a polar bear in the North Pole.

Photos are sent to parents

Michalski said that the pictures were for parents and are sent through emails. She said that the parents thanked her for the pictures. Some parents had tears rolling down their cheeks after seeing pictures of their kids.

Christmas Wish Project

It started four years ago in Australia and soon expanded to Canada and the United States. To date, the team of more than 200 photographers and 60 editors has delivered photos to more than 400 families and they are working overnight to reach out to more families.

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Technology Today's Special

Sundar Pichai Promised $242 Million Over Three Years By Google

HT News December 22, 2019

Sundar Pichai would take a salary of $2 million annually starting 2020. This is the first salary hike for Sundar Pichai after assuming the role of CEO in Alphabet Inc. He will also receive a whopping $240 million in performance-based stock awards over a time of three years.

Sundar Pichai grants

He’s behind Tim Cook in terms of grants related to CEO. Tim took $376 million as Apple’s CEO according to Equilar, a firm that tracks executive compensations.But Larry Page was taking a salary of $1 as the CEO of Alphabet Inc before stepping down.

Sunder Pichai’s journey to Google

Sundar Pichai became CEO of Google after serving the organization for 15 years. In 2015, his annual salary was $652.500 but his increased the following year due to a massive $199 million in stock awards. He was highest paid Alphabet executive at that time.

Credited for making the Google Chrome browser a success, Sundar Pichai was once considered the potential successor to Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer before Satya Nadella was instated in February 2014.

Google recently revealed in a statement that Pichai earned nearly $1.9 million in 2018 but most of the cost includes is about his security and use of private airplane. His base salary was $650.000.

Sunder Pichai’s future in Google

He has become the public face of Google at a time when the company is passing through a difficult phase. In addition to the criticism of US Lawmakers, Google is facing wrath of its employees on issues like privacy and monopoly.

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News & Politics Today's Special

July 1, 1987 Is The New Cut Off For Citizenship In India

HT News December 21, 2019

The centre went on an overdrive to dispel fears regarding CAA and the proposed nationwide implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC). Muslims fear that NRC will strip them of their citizenship and leave stateless.

Ministry of Home Affairs dispelled the fear of NRC

The MHA announced that no individual who was born or whose parents were born in India on or before July 1, 1987 would be considered an illegal immigrant. A senior office from MHA said that people born on or before the prescribed date would be considered Indians under naturalization as per the law.

There was no comment on nationwide implementation of NRC but the official said that there was no similarity between CAA and NRC in Assam because the cut-off date in NRC was 1971. The official said that there was no discussion on nationwide implementation of NRC.

2004 Citizenship Act Amendments

The amendments laid certain conditions for awarding citizenship. People that fulfil the following conditions are considered natural citizens of India.

• Born in the country on or after January 1, 1950 but before July 1, 1987

• Born in India on or after July 1, 1987, but before December 3, 2004, and where either parent is a citizen at the time of birth

• If born in India on or after December 3, 2004, to parents who are citizens or one of the parents is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of birth

“Those born outside the country on or after December 10, 1992, but before December 3, 2004, and whose parents were citizens of India by birth at the time of … Read the rest

Top Celebrities Today's Special

Forbes India Celebrity 100 For 2019: Virat Kohli Is The Highest Paid Celebrity Followed By Akshay And Salman

HT News December 20, 2019

Captain of Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli is the number one celebrity in the Forbes India’s list of Celebrity 100 for the year 2019. His earning is capped at Rs. 252.72 crore.

Celebrities in the Forbes India Celebrity 2019 list

Akshay Kumar is highest earning star in Bollywood. His earning grew 58.51% from the previous year. He earns Rs. 293.25 crore. Salman Khan, the dabang of Bollywood follows Akshay Kumar in earning. Salman earns Rs. 229.25 crore.

More from the list

The megastar Amitabh Bachchan earns only Rs. 239.25 crore hence on the 4th spot in the list. Following Amitabh is former Indian captain MS Dhoni. His earning is Rs. 135.93 crore.

Shah Rukh Khan aka King Khan has made a comeback to the list but he’s on 5th spot. His earning is Rs. 124.38 crore. Ranveer Singh, who has been doing well in Bollywood, is after Shah Rukh Khan in the list. He earns Rs. 118.2 crore.

Female stars in the list

There are only two female stars in the top-10 position but their earnings are much lower than their male counterparts. Alia Bhatt on 8th spot earns Rs. 59.21 crore and Deepika Padukone at 10th spot earns Rs. 48 crores. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar stands at 9th position with Rs. 76.96 crores.

Celebrities from South

This year only 13 celebrities are included in the list of Celebrities 100 but this number is down from 15 in 2018. But their cumulative earning has grown up to 12.57% from 11.26% in the previous year.

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