NEW DELHI: Marching contingents, strategic defence weaponry and colourful tableaux were on display as India celebrated its 69th Republic Day with a grand parade watched by thousands of people along with ten Asean leaders who attended the event as chief guests, in a historic first. Signifying India's fast growing strategic ties with Asean, leaders of all the 10 countries of the powerful bloc attended the parade at the majestic Rajpath which showcased the country's military might and cultural diversity. Cold weather conditions and dense fog failed to dampen the enthusiasm of thousands of spectators who witnessed the nearly one-and-half-hour-long parade that marched down the eight-kilometre stretch from the Rajpath to the Red Fort amid an unprecedented security cover.

AAP leader Manish Sisodia today said that the MLAs of his party, who were recommended by the Election Commission for disqualification, were never given a chance to put forward their side of the story and appealed to the President to hear his party's view as well. The deputy chief minister of Delhi was addressing the media a day after Election Commission recommended to President Ram Nath Kovind to disqualify 20 MLAs of his party.

Sisodia also alleged that his government is being deliberately targeted for the "honest work" they have been doing in the capital city. He said that the latest attempt by the EC is another move by the Centre to deter the Aam Aadmi Party from pursuing the path of honest politics. Later in the day, Jarnail Singh, the MLA from Delhi's Tilak Nagar constituency, who is also one of the 20 MLAs recommended for disqualification, challenged the Election Commission to prove if the MLAs received benefits for holding the posts of parliamentary secretary.

"I challenge the EC to prove that we got even 1 rupee as salary, or even a house or car. We are ready to go to any court and if there is no option we will go to the people's court," he said. On Friday, in a blow to Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party, the Election Commission had asked the President to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for holding offices of profit, setting the stage for their ouster from the Delhi assembly. Following the EC's recommendation, the MLAs moved the Delhi High Court on Friday evening but Justice Rekha Palli refused to pass any interim order.

AAP leader Manish Sisodia today said that the MLAs of his party, who were recommended by the Election Commission for disqualification, were never given a chance to put forward their side of the story and appealed to the President to hear his party's view as well. The deputy chief minister of Delhi was addressing the media a day after Election Commission recommended to President Ram Nath Kovind to disqualify 20 MLAs of his party.

Sisodia also alleged that his government is being deliberately targeted for the "honest work" they have been doing in the capital city. He said that the latest attempt by the EC is another move by the Centre to deter the Aam Aadmi Party from pursuing the path of honest politics. Later in the day, Jarnail Singh, the MLA from Delhi's Tilak Nagar constituency, who is also one of the 20 MLAs recommended for disqualification, challenged the Election Commission to prove if the MLAs received benefits for holding the posts of parliamentary secretary.

"I challenge the EC to prove that we got even 1 rupee as salary, or even a house or car. We are ready to go to any court and if there is no option we will go to the people's court," he said. On Friday, in a blow to Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party, the Election Commission had asked the President to disqualify 20 of its MLAs for holding offices of profit, setting the stage for their ouster from the Delhi assembly. Following the EC's recommendation, the MLAs moved the Delhi High Court on Friday evening but Justice Rekha Palli refused to pass any interim order.

Bollywood star Kajol is back to work and as per the reports, the actress is all set to begin shooting her next film reportedly titled ‘Ela’, on January 24. The actress who played a mean corporate in ‘VIP 2’ starring opposite Dhanush, will now be seen as an aspiring singer in the film being produced by hubby Ajay Devgn. According to the reports, she plays a single mother in the film that will trace her journey from a divorcee to a successful singer. We can't wait to see how this one turns out.

LONDON: The UK today scrambled Royal Air Force fighter jets to intercept two Russian bomber planes that were headed towards its airspace over the North Sea, the latest incident involving Russia. Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) aircraft took off from Royal Air Force (RAF) base Lossiemouth in north east Scotland, without confirming the exact number of Typhoons involved. "We can confirm that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled to monitor two Blackjack bombers approaching the UK area of interest," an MoD statement said. "The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea. At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign UK airspace," it said. The closest the Russian jets came to the UK land was 40 nautical miles, or around 46 miles and were 30 nautical miles (34.5 miles) from British sovereign airspace.

Shankar's '2.0' starring superstar Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar, promises an out of the world visual experience coupled with action stunts and sequences that match international standards. That's not it, there's another thing the audience will witness- Khiladi Akshay getting punched by Rajinikanth. Talking about the same, Akshay reportedly revealed that once, while waiting on the set for the next shot, Rajinikanth brushed some dirt off his pants and the entire unit was "awestruck" by how "stylishly" he did it. Akshay went on to add that he even "enjoyed getting punched" by the South Superstar. Just like the rest of us, Akshay Kumar too is a die-hard Rajinikanth fan and confessed that Thalaiva is "the only one in the industry who has got swag." '2.0' is said to be one the most expensive films made in India to date and is scheduled to release worldwide in April 2018.

Indian captain Virat Kohli had something to cheer about after the second Test debacle against South Africa when he was named the ICC Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards on Thursday. Kohli was also named the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year and captain of both ICC Test and ODI teams. In the qualification period from September 21, 2016 to the end of 2017, Kohli scored 2,203 Test runs at an average of 77.80 including eight centuries and 1,818 ODI runs including seven centuries at 82.63.

MUMBAI: Providing a stimulus to job creation is likely to be a focus areas of Budget 2018. In the run-up to the Budget, this has been a focus of discussions between finance ministry officials and external stakeholders as well as in internal brainstorming sessions. Various countries provide tax benefits for creation of additional jobs (see table). Even India has such provisions, but owing to certain conditions that have been stipulated, many companies — especially in the service sector — have been unable to reap its benefits. It's likely that section 80JJJAA of the Income Tax (I-T) Act may be tweaked to provide a greater impetus for job creation or some other new provision introduced. Under section 80JJJAA, which came into effect from fiscal 2016-17 and replaced an earlier provision, 30% of additional employee cost is available as a deduction for three years, including the year in which the new employment is generated. Companies who have a turnover of Rs 1 crore or more are eligible to claim benefits for new employment created by them. Govt may tweak tax laws for job creation Various conditions have been set out in this section. If an individual is employed for less than 240 days in the first year, such an individual is not treated as an additional (or new) employee. For the textile sector, a lower threshold of 150 days has been set. Further, if the monthly salary of any additional employees exceeds Rs 25,000, then the salary of such employees are excluded for the purpose of computing the additional employee cost against which the benefit is available. In its pre-Budget memorandum, Ficci points out that in a scenario where an employee has worked for less than 240 days in the first year, but for the entire year in year two and year three, even if all the other conditions are met with, the company will still not be able get the corresponding benefit under this section in any of the three years.