Decision on withdrawing from Centre after talking to PM: Uddhav

"Joining NDA and then pulling out is not that easy. All MPs who have been elected and those who could not win have bagged votes of both Shiv Sena and BJP. It is the people's mandate. A decision will be taken after discussions with Prime Minister Modi and considering what our supporters feel," Uddhav told reporters after RPI(A) leader Arjun Dangle visited him to offer support in the next month's Assembly elections.

On Monday, Uddhav had announced that his party's minister in the Modi government, Anant Geete, will quit the ministry, four days after the BJP snapped ties with the alliance partner of 25 years.

The Sena will leave NDA and Geete will submit resignation after the Prime Minister returns from US, he had said.

Uddhav's announcement came after estranged cousin and NS chief Raj Thackeray criticised the Sena at a poll rally here Sunday for "sticking to" the Union ministerial berth despite end of the alliance with BJP.

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Rajan softens stance on Jan Dhan, says it's a welcome scheme

"We welcome the Jan Dhan Yojana, it is part of RBI's plan to get universal access," he told a press conference called for announcing bi-monthly monetary policy.

"I am not as worried about the quality of KYC for small accounts. In fact, we have essentially allowed for KYC that can be upgraded over time and in fact we have been more liberal on KYC," Rajan added.

The RBI governor had earlier cautioned the banks on the risks involved in just hunting for numbers, asking them not to compromise on core objectives of the programme.

"When we roll out the scheme, we have to make sure it does not go off the track. The target is universality, not just speed and numbers," Rajan had said while addressing bankers a fortnight ago.

However, on tuesady Rajan said he wanted a proper inclusion of unbanked households into the banking system.

"What I am more concerned about is that we actually achieve proper inclusion by bringing in households that were not reached in past... We are working with the government to try and make this dream a possibility," Rajan said.

Jan Dhan Yojana was launched with great fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August to bring 7.5 crore more families into the banking network by January 26, 2015.
  
So far, over 5.1 crore accounts have been opened and Rs 3,600 crore deposited in banks.

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Indian women lose to Kazakhstan in volleyball event play-off

The Kazakh women won the contest 25-20 25-19 25-20 in only 69 minutes as India will now play in the 7th-8th place play-off final.
   
India will play the loser of the encounter between Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei in the 7th-8th place play-off.
   
For India, the only saving grace was Tiji Raju, who got 11 points with some good dinks and spikes.
   
The disappointment as far as India was concerned was young Anushree Ghosh, one of the tallest girls in the team standing at 6 ft 1 inch. She could bag only a solitary point for her team.
   
The performance of libero Priyanka Khedkar was also below par as most of the times, her anticipation skills were questionable as she was not in perfect position to retrieve the powerful smashes executed by Yelena Gordeyeva, who got 11 points for her country.
   
The two Anastassiyas --Kolomoyets and Rostovchshikova, got seven points.

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'Bang Bang' a very difficult film for me: Katrina Kaif

The 31-year-old actress says she has been hard at work for over a year along with the team to bring the Rs 140 crore film to the big screen.
  
"Whatever was required in the film I was able to do myself and execute in a manner that was desired. The journey of the film was huge with action sequences, 6 to 7 locations all across the globe. It was a very difficult film for me. We had a very strong team and we did everything we could," Katrina told PTI.
  
'Bang Bang' also stars Hrithik Roshan, who plays the male lead and has been directed by Siddharth Anand. The Fox Star Studios-produced film is set to hit theaters on October 2.   

Katrina said the look and feel of the film does give out the impression of it being a action movie but 'Bang Bang' blossoms into a love story.
  
"What attracted me to the film is that along with action there is a very good storyline behind it. There is action in the film but it is basically a love story," she said.  

When asked if she was open to play the lead in a female-centric action film, Katrina said since she pulled off stunts in 'Bang Bang' she could do a 'Tom Raider' or 'Kill Bill'.
  
"The stunts that you see in the trailer I have done mostly myself. You know if a good script comes then I would love to do solo action films. I don't think physical challenges scare me provided I have time to train and prepare," the actress said.

'Bang Bang' is an official remake of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz starrer Hollywood film 'Knight and Day' but Katrina said the similarity of the two films ends there as Siddharth has given the former a complete Indian feel.     

"It is an official remake so obviously comparisons are inevitable. But having said that I think Siddharth has completely given his own take. It is inspired by the original but not copied same to same. I think he has done a great job to adapt it to suit the Indian audience. People will not feel they are watching the same film," Katrina said.   

The actress said having a co-star in Hrithik, with whom she shared a crackling chemistry in their last outing 'Zindagi Milegi Naa Dobara', was great as he brought out the best in her.
  
"It was great to work with someone who is so passionate and he makes you want to push yourself. It always makes a better end result," she said.
  
The film suffered several delays in its shooting stage with lead star Hrithik's injury and subsequent brain surgery besides the cancellation of the Kashmir schedule of the film due to unrest in the Valley.
  
However, Katrina says the delays did not affect her other film commitments like 'Jagga Jasoos' and 'Phantom'.
  
"Things happened, no body can predict the future and we go along. We have to learn to adapt to it, adjust and make it work. Thankfully, the makers of the other films that I had signed understood the situation and allowed me the time. They were very accommodating," she said.

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Over 1.36 lakh Indian pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia for Haj

"All the 1,36,020 Indian Haj pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia with the last flight carrying 394 pilgrims from Mumbai arriving yesterday," Indian Consul General BS Mubarak said.

Monday was the last day of flight operations, he said. Two senior BJP leaders representing India at this year's Haj also arrived on Monday.

Arif Beg, a former federal minister who hails from Bhopal, is heading the delegation and is accompanied by Abdul Rasheed Ansari, National President of party's minority wing, of Delhi.

Ambassador of India Hamid Ali Rao received the Haj Goodwill Delegation headed by Baig.

The first batch of Indians arrived in Saudi Arabia on August 27 when 235 pilgrims landed in Madinah while the final batch reached the country on Monday, with a total of 365 flights carrying the pilgrims for Haj this year.

Of the 136,020 Indian pilgrims who have reached Saudi Arabia this year, 100,020 came through the Hajj Committee of India.

Saudi Airlines carried 49,230 Indian pilgrims while Air India transported 50,790 others from 21 embarkation points.

The remaining 36,000 pilgrims came through private tour operators.

Over two million pilgrims, coming from all corners of the globe, will begin their trek to the tent city of Mina on Thursday on the first leg of the five-day pilgrimage.

The Haj will reach its zenith on Friday, October 3, when nearly 3 million pilgrims will stand on the plains of Arafat. The pilgrimage will end after Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.

The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in a lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable.

On Monday, Mubarak had said all preparations have been completed to ensure that the 1,36,000 Indian pilgrims can perform a hassle-free Haj with everything going according to plan.

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Modi's visit offers golden opportunity to reboot India-US ties

Modi's visit to Washington will provide the two countries with "a golden opportunity to repair their faltering partnership," wrote Ashley J. Tellis, senior associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading Washington think tank.

Tellis, who was involved as an adviser in negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India, wrote, "Modi can, through the conduct of his diplomacy during this visit, do the three things necessary to renew bilateral ties in their most fundamental terms."

"First, Modi must build personal relationships with key interlocutors," he suggests. Modi's second task is to rejuvenate the concept of "strategic partnership," Tellis wrote noting during then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure, US-Indian relationship acquired genuine depth for the first time since the 1962 Sino-Indian War.

Modi's third task during his visit will be to co-opt American civil society to support India's development, he said. "What US-Indian relationship desperately needs for lasting success at this juncture is not more activities, regardless of how valuable or well-intentioned those may be," Tellis wrote.

"Rather, President Barack Obama and Modi should seek a genuine rediscovery and reaffirmation of the fundamentals that brought the two countries together in the first place."

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Daniel Twining, senior fellow for Asia at the German Marshall Fund of United States, suggested "America anticipates an Indian resurgence that could tilt Asia's power balance in a democratic direction and drive global growth."Obama and Modi, he said, "should embrace an agenda that strengthens their role as democratic and economic counterweights to growing global disorder."

"A thriving India could also uplift the region, including troubled Pakistan. As sectarian violence engulfs the Middle East, India and its nearly 200 million Muslims exemplify relative tolerance," Twining wrote.

"United States has a considerable stake in India's success," he wrote. "Modi urgently needs to revitalize India's economic fortunes and manage pressing security challenges. For both he could use, and deserves, American help."Richard M Rossow, the Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank noted that since Modi's election people have been wondering whether his development record in Gujarat can be replicated nationally.

"Most people take this to be a polar question-either 'yes' or 'no.' The reality is likely to be somewhere in between," he wrote in a commentary."There will be a stronger emphasis on the economy, greater direction in policymaking, and faster decision-making. India will not be completely transformed overnight, or even within five years," Rossow wrote.

"But the business environment will improve quite a bit. The biggest transformation is likely to occur in a critical 'Arc of Industry,' an important block of states in western and central India that will likely be controlled by the BJP and allies, and which contain key productive assets," he suggested.

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First Ebola treatment clinical trials to start in West Africa

"Ebola treatments are to be tested in West Africa for the first time," said the Wellcome Trust, a British biomedical research charity, which is funding the effort with a 3.2 million pound grant (USD 5.2 million).

The charity said there had been some experiments with treatments already "but none has yet been tested for efficacy and safety in humans with Ebola" and scientists underlined that months of cautious work lay ahead.

David Heymann, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine suggested that plasmapheresis, where serum is taken from survivors and their antibodies given to patients, could be a valuable tool in the battle to contain the epidemic.

"This would be a sustainable method of providing support to patients if it were effective, but unfortunately it has never been tested in a clinical setting, even though it has been used ad hoc many times," he said at a press conference at Wellcome's headquarters in London.

Heymann said that they hoped to collect enough serum for trials to begin once suitable sites had been identified.

Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England, said that William Pooley, the British nurse who recovered after contracting the disease in Sierra Leone, had volunteered his blood plasma.

Pooley was treated with ZMapp, and clinical tests of this experimental drug, along with anti-viral drugs, will also begin once possible sites for the trials in the affected countries have been established.

Health workers must also set up infrastructure and recruit personnel, pending WHO recommendations on which products to test first. The first tests could take place "by November", according to Peter Horby, Senior Clinical Research Fellow at Oxford University.

Wellcome added that the initiative, whose partners include the World Health Organisation (WHO), would aim to "fast-track trials of the most promising drugs", but warned that it would take several months before any treatments bore fruit, and that they would only succeed as part of a wide raft of initiatives to combat the disease.

Several pharmaceutical companies are taking part in the tests, and will provide key data on safety and production abilities.

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