Amma Jayalalithaa Passed Away: Death Reason of Tamil Nadu CM – Latest News and Developments

Amma Jayalalithaa passed away: Amma Jayalalithaa was on critical stage life support since last 2 days. She was being treated in Apollo Hospitals of Chennai. Being one of the most eminent personalities of India, She changed the entire state of Tamilnadu in her ruling. Uniting a state having people from different religion, background, etc. was one of the most memorable works of Amma Jayalalithaa.

00:20 6th of December: With great demise, we have to inform you that Our beloved leader, The Iron Lady of India Puratchi Thalaivi Amma is no more. The news has been confirmed by AIDMK on Twitter.

Her full name is Jayalalithaa Jayaraman, and she oftenly referred as Amma by her party workers and countrymen. Born on February 24, 1948, Amma Jayalalithaa was 68 years old when this tragic incident happened. She was suffering from severe heart disease.

Even at this crucial stage, Amma decided not to leave her state and back to the office after being in the hospital for several days. Unfortunate Cardiac arrest struck her evening of 4th December which she couldn’t fight off. Governor took proper measures to make sure every necessary step before releasing the news in public.

As a mark of respect to CM Jayalalithaa, many theaters, shops and various offices decided to remain close for one day. Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu reached Apollo Hospital before any public announcement in order to maintain decorum outside the hospital.

Various forces including the special forces and Indian Army were deployed in all the important part of the cities to avoid any forthcoming uncertainty.

We can confirm that Amma Jayalalithaa passed away on 5th December 2016 at 11:30 pm. 

The reason of Jayalalitha Death: Cardiac Arrest – ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) given for more than 12 hours.

Age at the time of death: 68 years

Time and Date of death: 00:20 AM 6th of December

I can confirm that everything possible is being done to give her the best chance of surviving this shocking event. She is being cared for by a highly expert multidisciplinary team and is now on extracorporeal life support. This is the most advanced level of support available and is an approach that best centers internationally would take in this situation. Madam has received exceptional care from the Apollo and AIIMS Teams, which are the equal of any in the world. – Professor Richard Beale

jayalalitha Rip

Amma CM ( Tamil Nadu )

New 1000 Rupees Note Going Viral on Web

A picture of 1000 rupees note is going viral on the internet. It has first started on Twitter and then is being shared on Facebook and Whatsapp. People are still in a dilemma if this is real or fake. The new note almost resembles the new 2000 note. However, it is not confirmed if this is just a hoax.

As per reports in the early demonetization days, officials denied on printing the new 1000 note and a few refused to comment on the same. If this is true that 1000 note is to come into circulation soon, people out there would be relieved from the change trouble. With the shortage of 100 and 500 notes, though the 2000 denominations are out, the cash circulation is not the same as it was before demonetization, as no one is ready to give the change to 2000 rupees note.

Now, in this situation, if the 1000 rupees denomination comes out, the cash crunch issue could be resolved in short period of time. Earlier, before the demonetization scheme was announced, the picture of 2000 rupees note has gone all over the internet before it was released and now after 3 weeks of demonetization announced, the image of 1000 rupees note is being shared all over. Like 2000 news came true would the new 1000 rupees turn real? Let’s see.

Reliance Jio Mukesh Ambani Announces Reliance Jio Happy New Year Offer

My website introduction video

rahul gandhi twitter hacked

HIGHLIGHTS :
Congress party's Twitter account hacked on Thursday morning
Account restored after 12 tweets were posted including abuses and threats
Rahul Gandhi's Twitter account was hacked yesterday
 Hours after abusive tweets were posted on Rahul Gandhi's Twitter account, his Congress party's account was hacked.
A dozen abusive tweets were posted on the @INCIndia account on Thursday morning, until the party regained control of the page in around half an hour.
One of the tweets threatened to post a "full dump" of Congress emails.
One of the tweets posted by the hacker threatened to dump emails of the Congress party.
Last night, hackers posted multiple abuses on the Twitter account of Mr Gandhi, removed his profile picture and changed the title from @OfficeOfRG to Retarded Gandhi.
Eight tweets were posted in quick succession around 8:30 pm. One of the hacked posts read "My family is a bunch of corrupt...(expletives) retarded... (expletives)".
The tweets were deleted within an hour but new ones came up immediately.
The Congress said it smacked of a "sinister conspiracy and reflected disturbing insecurities of prevalent fascist culture".
"Such lowly tactics will never drown sane voice of reason nor deter Rahul Gandhi from raising people's issues," tweeted Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
"Such unscrupulous, unethical & roguish conduct of venal trolls... reflects disturbing insecurities of prevalent fascist culture," he said in another tweet.
The account has now been restored and all objectionable tweets have been removed.
The Congress said it would file a complaint with the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police

Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan's 'fat to fit' video highlights dramatic weight loss for Dangal

With his 2008 action romance film Ghajini, actor Aamir Khan established two trends in the industry - innovative promotional campaigns and transformation of one's body to fit into the skin of the character, quite literally.

He creatively combined the two trends and instructed his PR machinery to release a video of his intense training schedule in the gym to build the enviable physique that he flaunted in AR Murgadoss' Ghajini. His character demanded this as he played a man suffering from short-term memory loss who scribbled clues on his body in order to reach the villain who murdered his beloved.

His next film Rajkumar Hirani's 2 Idiotsrequired him to play a college student so he underwent rigorous training yet again, but this time for weight loss. Khan has always been a method actor. Bulking up and then losing all the extra kilos is nowhere near a cakewalk but he has managed to do it on more than one occasion.

Now the makers of his next Nitesh Tiwari's Dangal have released a Fat to Fit video that traces Khan's transformation from a stout 97 kg man to a fit man flaunting six packs. However, this time Aamir invested double the efforts for a film as his biopic on wrestler Mahavir Phogat travels from his younger days as a formidable wrestler to his older days as the aged father of two teenagers.

"I suggested to the director that I should put on weight first as 80 percent of the film revolves around my fat avatar. Also, if I shoot those parts later then I will be left with no motivation to shed the extra kilos," says Khan who admits that his metamorphosis was extremely challenging, given the side effects of such a drastic change in body shape.

"I credit it to my team - nutritionist Dr Nikhil Dhurandhar from London and fitness trainers Rakesh Udiyar (the trainer of actor Salman Khan) and Rahul Bhatt (son of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt)," says Khan. Though he was given the option of using a bodysuit instead of going through the ordeal of training, he chose to opt for the latter as he believed that the extra fat will also affect his breathing and body language which, in turn, will complement his performance on the screen.

Thus began his journey of weight gain which he thoroughly enjoyed. Gorging on junk food helped him reach the mark of 97 kg from 70 kg, with 38 percent body fat. However, it was followed by the exhausting phase of weight loss where he had to cut down to 9 pecent body weight. As the video suggests, his transformation is nothing short of remarkable.

He also issues a disclaimer stating that his metamorphosis was under the supervision of health experts and that he would not advise the same to anyone. While the health hazards associated with such a transformation could be lethal, we are surprised that Khan managed to pull it off, owing to his conviction and unflinching dedication towards method acting.

Colombia plane crash: 75 dead and six survivors on flight carrying Chapecoense football team

• 75 killed as Flight 2933 crashes on way to Medellin
• Plane was carrying 72 passengers, nine crew members
• Passengers include Chapecoense football team from Brazil
• Six survivors reported, including at least two players

division football team crashed near Medellin while on its way to the finals of a regional tournament, killing 75 people, Colombian officials said. Six people survived. 

The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by a charter airline named LaMia, declared an emergency and lost radar contact just before 10pm on Monday (0300 GMT) because of an electrical failure, aviation authorities said.

The aircraft, which had departed from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was transporting the Chapecoense team from southern Brazil for the first leg of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin, which was due to be played on Wednesday.

What was supposed to be a celebration has turned into a tragedy," Medellin mayor Federico Gutierrez said from the search and rescue command centre.

The club said in a brief statement on its Facebook page that "may God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation".

South America's football federation extended its condolences to the entire Chapecoense community and said its president, Alejandro Dominguez, was on his way to Medellin. All soccer activities were suspended until further notice, the organization said in a statement.

Dozens of rescuers working through the night were initially heartened after pulling three passengers alive from the wreckage. 

But as the hours passed, and heavy rainfall and low visibility grounded helicopters and complicated efforts to reach the mountainside crash site, the mood soured to the point that authorities had to freeze until dusk what was by then a body recovery operation.

Images broadcast on local television showed three passengers arriving to a local hospital in ambulances on stretchers and covered in blankets. 

Among the survivors was a Chapecoense defender named Alan Ruschel, who doctors said suffered spinal injuries. Two goalkeepers, Marcos Danilo and Jackson Follmann, as well as a member of the team's delegation and a Bolivian flight attendant, also survived the crash. However Danilo died a short time later.

The plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, aviation authorities said in a statement. 

Local radio said the same aircraft transported Argentina's national squad for a match earlier this month in Brazil, and previously had transported Venezuela's national team.

British Aerospace, which is now known as BAE Systems, says that the first 146-model plane took off in 1981 and that just under 400 - including the successor Avro RJ - were built in total in the UK through 2003. It says around 220 of are still in service in a variety of roles, including aerial firefighting and overnight freight services.

Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of Colombia's aviation authority, said initial reports suggest the aircraft was suffering electrical problems although investigators were also looking into an account from one of the survivors that the plane had run out of fuel about five minutes from its expected landing at Jose Maria Cordova airport outside Medellin.

A video published on the team's Facebook page showed the team readying for the flight earlier Monday in Sao Paulo's Guarulhos international airport. It wasn't immediately clear if the team switched planes in Bolivia or just made a stopover with the same plane.

The team, from the small city of Chapeco, was in the middle of a fairy tale season. It joined Brazil's first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it last week to the Copa Sudamericana final - the equivalent of the Uefa Europa League tournament - after defeating two of Argentina's fiercest squads, San Lorenzo and Independiente, as well as Colombia's Junior.

"This morning I said goodbye to them and they told me they were going after the dream, turning that dream into reality," a Chapecoense board member told TV Globo. "The dream was over early this morning."

The team is so modest that its 22,000-seat arena was ruled by tournament organizers too small to host the final match, which was instead moved to a stadium 300 miles (480 kilometers) to the north in the city of Curitiba.

"This is unbelievable, I am walking on the grass of the stadium and I feel like I am floating," Andrei Copetti, a team spokesman, told The Associated Press. "No one understands how a story that was so amazing could suffer such a devastating reversal. For many people here reality has still not struck.

Sunny Leone

Watch Sunny Leone combat her food cravings

The campaign showcases how foodpanda comes to the rescue of people in the liquidity crunch situation that has cropped up post demonetisation
foodpanda, India’s leading online marketplace for food delivery today announced that Sunny Leone will be a part of their new digital marketing campaign. The campaign showcases how foodpanda comes to the rescue of people in the liquidity crunch situation that has cropped up post demonetisation. The campaign would target the consumers through various social platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

The campaign videos can be viewed on foodpanda’s social properties. In the videos, Sunny would be seen along with her husband; in an informal relaxed disposition at her home yearning for some great food and foodpanda does the trick for her. The short digital campaign would majorly play on Snapchat which is in sync with the content consumption by the users of today. The sentiment of the campaign talks of what foodpanda stands for- convenience, making users feel special and express delivery.

Watch the spot here:

Commenting on the new campaign, Gagan arao , CMO, foodpanda India says, “Post the announcement of demonization , if you are low on cash and want to have your favourite dish, foodpanda is exactly what you need. We are extremely delighted that Sunny Leone is a part of our new campaign around the cashless pocket ATM. We are continuously trying to provide seamless service to our customers along with some lucrative deliverables.

Parthiv is a good headache to have: Kohli

          IMAGE: Parthiv Patel. Photograph: BCCI

Parthiv Patel’s positive batting with scores of 42 and 67 (not out) have impressed skipper Virat Kohli so much that he did not rule out a possibility that along with second wicketkeeeper’s slot, the Gujarat stumper could also be an option as back-up opener.

- PHOTOS: Dominant India take unassailable 2-0 lead

With KL Rahul’s injuries, failure of Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan still to hit a good run of form, Parthiv hashas emerged as an another alternative for the skipper.

Asked if Parthiv could be Rahul’s back-up, Virat sounded optimistic, "Wow, that’s a good headache to be honest. You never know, there are all kinds of possibilities. The way he approached both the innings, it was amazing to see. That’s where experience from first-class level comes into play. The intent he showed in both innings deflated the opposition totally. Credit to him to go out there and counter-attack the seamers. He really stood out for me as a batsman, as a keeper as well he did well. So you never know, let’s see what happens in next few days and we will take a call accordingly."

The skipper is also happy that the reserve pool of bowlers has enabled him to push his strike bowlers that bit extra.

"Obviously, it boosts your confidence up a notch, when you have quality bowlers in your reserves as well. As a captain, you always feel that you can ask your main guys to push every game that they play. Especially, we have Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar sitting and waiting for their chance. Even spinner like Amit Mishra is not playing. So it’s a good thing that whoever is playing is standing up and making his presence felt. That as a captain is pleasing.       "Especially in a game like this, where you get opposition out for 280 on a flat wicket gives you confidence as a bowling unit that you are on top and dictating terms.  As a captain, it is an added advantage."

Virat said that Ashwin’s was a minor niggle sustained while taking a run and apart from the reported ones like Wriddhiman Saha, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya, the others in the team are fit.

"All three niggles have been addressed -- Rahul, Saha and Hardik. All others are fit and fine. Ashwin is fine and it was just an exaggeration while taking a run on that particular day. All are fit and fine."

About his duel with Ben Stokes, Kohli did not want to divulge any details as to what transpired.

"See, he is a competitive player and so am I. I wouldn’t like to explain or elaborate what happened on the field. It’s better left to officials to understand and know what happened. These things only motivated me in the past and they continue to do so, I don’t mind it."

Bill Goldberg

WWE NEWS: VERY INTERESTING NOTE ON HOW ANNOUNCERS WERE ORDERED TO CALL GOLDBERG VS. BROCK LESNAR AT ‘SURVIVOR SERIES’

One of the most shocking and unexpected results of the past year in the professional wrestling world was Brock Lesnar being squashed by Goldberg at Survivor Series. Goldberg absolutely decimated the former UFC fighter in a mere 86 seconds, and it’s just something that absolutely no-one saw coming. Now, there is more information about the match coming out as time passes and that includes how the WWE announcers were told to call the bout.

The finally match ended up being decided upon in the week leading up to Survivor Series when Lesnar and Goldberg finally met face-to-face on Monday Night Raw. Not many people knew about it, and it all came about because Goldberg extended his contract with WWE and decided to stick around for the Royal Rumble and beyond.

The company knows there is a lot of money in the former World Heavyweight Champion and the continuation of the feud with Lesnar. Fans that saw the build-up of the match from mid-October to Survivor Series knows that it was being billed as a championship boxing match and that is in many ways.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, per Wrestling Inc., the announcer told him by WWE to call Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg like a fight and not like a wrestling match.

Word came down from the top that the announcers were to call the Survivor Series main event unlike anything else that was on the card. They didn’t want it called in the same way that the elimination-style tag matches or championship matches were called at all.

Everyone in the organization was to present this match as a prize fight and like something that wasn’t normally seen within the company. In other words, WWE knows that their fans are familiar with UFC and the world of MMA so they wanted this match seen as an “anything can happen” type of thing.

[Image by WWE]

Well, that’s exactly what happened was “anything” and the squash was likely something that next to no-one knew was coming. Adding that different feel to the match by Michael Cole and others meant that no matter what happened, fans may not feel slighted since it was more a fight and not a wrestling match.

Now, Goldberg holds a 2-0 lead in the series with Lesnar and the company is going to likely capitalize on a third match somewhere down the line. The official website of WWE even put together a poll asking the fans if they would like to see Goldberg vs. Lesnar III at some point, and the results are kind of shocking.

As of this writing, fans are leaning toward wanting to see another match between the two men, but only by the slight margin of 51 to 49 percent. If that truly is how many fans feel, keeping Goldberg around for a third match with Lesnar could end up backfiring for them in the long run.

That likely wouldn’t be the case, though, once the third match is presented to them. Well, that is if one is presented to them.

[Image by WWE]

For now, the immediate plan is for Goldberg to be in the Royal Rumblematch in January and that was officially confirmed by WWE. Depending on what happens in that match, it could lead to Goldberg having a match at least one more match.

That match is likely to come at WrestleMania 33, and it is expected to be against Brock Lesnar so the two beasts can officially finish out their long-running feud.

The match at Survivor Series was built up in a huge way for the month leading up to it, and it truly had a big fight feel. Knowing that WWE told the announcers to call the match as if it was a heavyweight fight and not like anything else on the card isn’t overly surprising. Vince McMahon wanted this match to be huge and exciting and grand and then shocking as Bill Goldberg totally demolished Brock Lesnar to set up another future battle.

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir: Rs 2,000 notes recovered from terrorists killed in Bandipora

Over 290 incidents of firing and shelling along the LoC and the IB by Pakistani troops have been witnessed since Indian army conducted surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on

district of Jammu and Kashmir, news agency ANI reported. Security forces had cordoned off the area early morning after the terrorists who were holed up there opened fire.  A heavy gunbattle ensued soon after. A combing operation was underway to flush out for more terrorists, if any, the agency further reported.

On November 8, Prime Minister narendra modi  , while announcing the move to scrap old high currency
intruder was challenged by troops and was shot when he did not pay heed. On Monday, a BSF head constable was killed and five others were injured when Pakistani troops resorted to heavy mortar shelling on forward Indian positions and civilian areas at separate places along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Over 290 incidents of firing and shelling along the LoC and the International Border by Pakistani troops have been witnessed since
September 29.

BY: HEMANTH RAJ|Jammu and Kashmir: Newly introduced Rs 2,000 notes along with ammuniton were recovered from two Militants gunned down in Bandipora on Tuesday.

The Army on Tuesday recovered Rs 2,000 notes, which have been in circulation for less than a fortnight, from two terrorists killed in Bandipora
tender, said counterfeit notes are being used to fund terrorist activities in the country. The recovery of the new notes from the terrorists will provide ammunition to the opposition which has been in a combative mood inside the Parliament.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani intruder was killed in firing by Border Security Forces (BSF) along the International Border in RS Pura sector of Jammu district. According to reports, the
Indian army conducted surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29.

Rs 9800 crore deposited in the bank account of a taxi driver in Barnala Punjab

Today big news coming from Barnala,Punjab  Where 9800 crore rupees have been deposited in a taxi drivers bank account.He have received a message from bank in which it is mentioned that 9800 crore have been deposited in your account.

after that he knows that by mistake income tax department have deposited cash in his account. after doing some documentation cash has been taken  back from his account.His account is in state bank of Patiala,SD branch Barnala. In that topic state banks of Patiala employees do not want to say anything.On the other hand Income tax department is taking that issue very seriously.

The latest threat to India's food security: Demonetisation

Customers buy vegetables from a stall at a market in Ahmedabad

Away from the India where Mother Dairies and Kendriya Bhandars feed a few – mostly employees of the Central government – much of rural India is stretched thin for access to food. As the government undertakes a series of knee-jerk policy measures to counter the adverse impacts of demonetisation, it is overlooking the severe threat that the food security of India's poor is facing from these policies. 

Poverty figures are a difficult admission of India's reality. Officially, around 22 per cent of India's population was below the poverty line in 2012, while several indicators on nutrition suggest far more Indians are nutritionally vulnerable. Any policy – howsoever 'noble' in intent – that disrupts their access to food have can have a disastrous impact on their food security status.

Nutritional security

Food security and nutritional status are deeply connected, it is pertinent to review some nutrition indicators. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS III) showed 43 per cent of India's children were malnourished – 55 districts in the country had more than 50 per cent of India's malnourished children under the age of five. A new NFHS survey – currently delivering results – shows a marginally better but pessimistic picture. The slowly changing figures over the decades show that India's malnourished children are growing up to become nutritionally challenged adults.

Other indicators corroborate this. More than 55 per cent of Indian women are anaemic (anaemia indicators are among the few available for studying the nutritional status of adults). India's stunting figures (low height for age) are alarming with 48 per cent of Indian children qualifying as stunted. However, the data that correlates to the poverty figures of the government is on 'wasting' – the gravest of nutrition indicators – which means low weight for height. One-fifth of India's children are wasted. This segment of the population faces the greatest risk and is not as wired to the mainstream as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's optimism indicates. 

Banking figures

As the demonetisation of the higher denomination notes enters its next phase – with the exchange of old bank notes no longer permitted and banks becoming the only place for depositing and withdrawing money – a look at banking figures for India suggests that Indian people don't bank all that much.

Census data show the poorest penetration of the banking sector in Manipur (29.6% of households), Meghalaya (37.5%) in the northeast, followed by Bihar and Assam at 44% each, with Odisha (45%) Madhya Pradesh (46.6%) and West Bengal following closely. Rural banking figures are lower. While more than 25 crore new accounts have been opened under the prime minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana scheme according to official records, it is unclear if these belong to households that did not have bank accounts prior to opening these under the scheme. The accounts were opened on the basis of identity cards or endorsement by gazetted officers, both of which are usually not available to a large portion of India's poorest people. It is difficult to understand how they are expected to sign cheques and swipe cards when they had difficulty counting their paltry earnings until yesterday.

In the government's war against black money, the first casualties are the poor. A conservative estimate by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) estimates current job losses at 4 lakh daily-wagers, who in the cashless, dying markets have no work.

This is the picture of the textile and garment sector, which employs 32 million people. A quarter of the 2.5 lakh workers in the leather industry are reported to have lost their jobs already, while around 20 per cent of the workers in the jewellery industry have been adversely affected. The job losses are likely to hit the construction industry too – already witnessing a slowdown – which employs more than 45 million people, mostly as informal workers. More than 90 per cent of India's workers are employed in the unorganised sector. On their shoulders they carry India's economic growth while they themselves earn modest incomes.

In this context, the demonetisation exercise is not merely an 'inconvenience' to those on the edge. It is a matter of life and death. Erratic climate conditions and job market and related food insecurity led to the passing of National Food Security Act which committed to providing food security for Indians, particularly the poor and marginalised, through the public distribution system (PDS). Although ridden with inadequacies, the PDS does manage to reach many economically deprived families. Studies have shown that PDS lists have around 60 per cent error of exclusion and 25 per cent error of wrong inclusion, while 'leakage' of subsidised grain into the open market is a common practice which makes the PDS undependable for preventing food insecurity. However, this is the only system that you have in rural India. In not extending the old currency exceptions to the PDS, the government has revealed its urban focus and its distance from India's reality.

While news trickles in from across the country about people devising systems of their own such as going back to a pre-currency barter system and using the currencies of other countries, these self-devised survival measures may exclude the most vulnerable. Deaths caused by hunger and under-nutrition are hard to notice as they are disguised as common illnesses. It is unlikely that the cries of those who go over the edge will be heard in the background noise of Indian rulers' chest-thumping.

Xiaomi clocks record India sales of over 2 million smartphones

We crossed 2 million plus sales in one quarter in third quarter for the first time, compared with our performance last year, we have attained more than 150% growth year-on-year, said Manu Jain, head of India operations.

Chinese smartphone maker XIAMOI clocked record sales of over 2 million units in the July-September quarter, its highest ever in India since it started operations, paving way for a record year with the company selling more than a million phones in October. 

Expansion in the offline market and adding new online partners through the year, coupled with large product portfolio and manufacturing capacity to meet consumer demand, have lead to a 150% growth in volumes sales in the quarter, compared to 2015. 

“We crossed 2 million plus sales in one quarter in third quarter for the first time, compared with our performance last year, we have attained more than 150% growth year-on-year,” Manu Jain, head of India operations said, citing International Data Corporation (IDC). Third quarter this year was the best for the smartphone industry with the highest ever number of smartphones shipped into India - 32.3 million. 

Mi India has been warmly welcomed by users, which is why we are one of the fastest growing brands in the smartphone industry today - one out of every four smartphones sold online was Xiaomi,” he added. 

The highest sales are also the reason behind Xiaomi's leap to No 4 position with 7.5% share - just behind Micromax – in the Indian smartphone market, as per IDC, another first for the company which considers India its most important market after home market China. Xiaomi’s global chief executive Lei Jun expects Xiaomi to become India’s top smartphone brand within five years

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We crossed 2 million plus sales in one quarter in third quarter for the first time, compared with our performance last year, we have attained more than 150% growth year-on-year, said Manu Jain, head of India operations.

The firm has been selling about 1 million to 1.5 million smartphones every quarter this year, but with the large sale uptick last quarter, analysts expect the company to report its best yearly performance.

During three days of Diwali sale, over 247,000 units were sold through its online site Mi.com – which took them 100 days last year during the same time – and till October 18, its overall sales had crossed 1 million.

Xiaomi started operations in the South Asian market in July 2014 and made a significance presence through its online flash sale model. However, in 2015, it almost went under the radar with few product launches. This year, the company has turned itself around and not only launched five smartphones at affordable prices and Mi air purifier, its first ecosystem product, it increased offline and online partners this year.

Distributors Redington, Just Buy Live, Innocomm, StoreKing and YMS Mobitech, made Xiaomi’s phones available across 8500 retail stores by September this year, up from 1500 in January, by adopting a direct-to-retial model that saved them up to 12% in commissions.

Besides launching its own e-commerce portal, it increased reach through online players Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Paytm and Tata CLiQ, what together covered 40% of the country, allowing more users to order phones thus increasing sales. In July-Sept period, Xiaomi was the No 2 player in online sales, as per IDC, after Lenovo-Motorola, on the back of 880,000 units of Redmi Note 3 being sold.

Redmi 3S and Redmi Note 3 contribute significantly to the online smartphone market with nearly 50% market share among top 10 phones in India, the company said quoting IDC data.

The online and offline sales were backed by increasing manufacturing capacity – through contract manufacturer Foxconn – such that 75% of the phones sold in India are made from the Sri City factory in Andhra Pradesh. While Xiaomi’s own employee base has tripled to 150 within the year, after sales service centres were doubled to 160 plus to address consumer concerns.

Facebook gears up for Express Wifi launch in India

Less than a year after its grand attempt to connect much of India to the internet was shot down by the government, Facebook has confirmed that its new program to bring connecting to people is live in the nation.

Facebook's Express Wifi is now available in India, according to its website, months after the company first began testing the program in remote parts of the country.

SEE ALSO: Facebook's internet beaming drone Aquila is not headed to India

On the Express Wifi website, the company says, "we’re working with carriers, internet service providers, and local entrepreneurs to help expand connectivity to underserved locations around the world. We’re currently live in India, and are expanding to other regions soon."

"Express Wifi empowers local entrepreneurs to help provide quality internet access to their neighbors and make a steady income. Working with local internet service providers or mobile operators, they’re able to use software provided by Facebook to connect their communities," the website adds.

Through Express Wifi, Facebook allows customers to "purchase fast, reliable and affordable data packs via digital vouchers to access the internet on the Express Wifi network," a spokesperson told Mashable India.

"We focus on building a sustainable economic model for all stakeholders involved, so that local retailer entrepreneurs, ISPs, operators, and Facebook can continue to invest in and operate lasting connectivity. We believe a sustainable economic model is the one which can scale to bring all of India online," the spokesperson added.

Facebook hasn’t shared the places where Express Wifi program is live currently, insisting that the company is still conducting tests around the service. It has not revealed pricing details to access the internet service either.

According to an earlier report, at least one of the ISPs that Facebook may have partnered for Express Wifi program is state-owned RailTel, which offers internet facilities tapping the optic fibre cable that runs alongside railway tracks that cover almost 70 percent of the country. It is the same carrier that Google has a partnership with for its free Wi-Fi services at over 50 railway stations in India.

Express Wifi, also part of Facebook's Internet.org initiative, differs from Free Basics program that received a lot of flak earlier this year in India. Free Basics was banned by the Indian government earlier this year on grounds of violating net neutrality. With Free Basics, Facebook was offering customers with unlimited access to select services.

Privacy advocates had asked Facebook to consider making amendments in the service, and offer access to the entire internet, even if it required Facebook to put a cap on the amount of data a user could consume for financial reasons. It appears that Facebook took a note of these suggestions while building up Express Wifi.

Bahubali director as Rajamouli birthday

SS  Rajamouli’s directorial venture ‘Baahubali:The Beginning”, which has created sensation at the box office and has been already screened at the several international events, is going to be screened today on 27th November at ongoing 27th edition of IFFI. The team of  Baahubali tweeted,” Baahubali - The Beggininng is screening today at 5 45 P.M, Inox Screen 2!! @IFFIGoa @DFF_India.” The festival was started from 20th November and it will be ended tomorrow on 28th November, followed with award ceremony. Other movies  like ‘ Graduation’,  ‘I, Daniel Blake’, ‘The Last Family’, ‘God in Shackles’ are also scheduled to screen on Sunday.  It is heard that Oscar award winner Alan Heim will conduct a master class on editing whereas Clyde Christopher will  discuss on Virtual reality today.

India

Left parties have called nationwide strike or 'Bharat Bandh'Other opposition parties have not supported callImpact expected to be limited to three states with Left presence

New Delhi: After a week of acrimony in parliament, the opposition has planned countrywide protest on Monday against what they call the government's "mishandling" of the currency ban. Only the Left Front, which has a presence in Kerala, Bengal and Tripura, has called for a strike or 'Bharat Bandh' in the three states.

Here are the top 10 updates in this story:

Most of the parties had not called for a Bharat Bandh, a nationwide strike, in view of the huge costs involved, which according to the business lobby FICCI, can be Rs 13,000 crore a day.

The Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party said they do not want a strike but will hold protests across the country. The Congress has called it a Jan Aakrosh Diwas.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who had started the call for a unified protest against the currency ban, will hold a march in Kolkata at 1 pm. Sources said a turnout of at least 1 lakh people is expected. The Aam Aadmi Party will hold a protest at Central Park, the heart of Delhi.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is staying , saying he supported the currency ban and was "convinced" that it would help in the fight against black money.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took on the opposition at the BJP's Parivartan Rally in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar, asking wether it was   a stop to corruption and black money or shut down the country.

The Congress hit back, saying it has not called for a Bharat bandh. "Misinformation has been spread by the BJP which is ill-informed," said senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

"Knowing the popular support to demonetisation, Congress has changed its tactics from calling for a countrywide bandh to Aakrosh rallies. It is clear that all this is aimed at finding space in the media as they have clearly lost out space in the debating forum of Parliament and the minds of the people," said Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu.

Last week, the opposition stalled proceedings in parliament, demanding that the Prime Minister respond to the debate on notes ban and apologise for the decision that has put the common man in trouble. In LOK SABHA they have demanded a debate with a vote. The government has turned down all the demands.

The opposition parties agree on the principle of the currency ban, meant to flush out black money, but say the government has taken the step without adequate preparations, resulting in immense pressure and hardship for the common man.

Since pm modi announcement of the currency ban on November 8, banks and ATMs have witnessed block-long queues. The cash crunch has meant deprived sections and small traders working and selling on credit. The government says move has received large-scale support from the common man.