NEWS,

• Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao to reach Chennai this afternoon; two warring factions of AIADMK led by O.Panneerselvam and chief minister designate VK Sasikala to meet him.

• Campaigning for the first phase of Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh ends this evening; notification for the second phase of Manipur polls to be issued today.

• Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan to make 6 crore rural household digitally literate by March 2019.

• University Grants Commission asks central varsities to review and revise curricula at least once in every three years to make students more employable.

• In Britain, House of Commons approve Brexit bill.

• And in Cricket; India faces Bangladesh in the lone Test match at Hyderabad.

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Amidst politically charged atmosphere in Tamil Nadu, the Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao holding additional charge of the state is visiting Chennai this afternoon. The two warring factions of the ruling AIADMK led by caretaker chief minister O.Panneerselvam and chief minister designate VK Sasikala are planning to meet him.

Meanwhile, war of words between the two factions continued yesterday with Ms Sasikala claiming her rival camp playing into the hands of the opposition and Mr. O.Panneerselvam reiterating his stand said he was subjected to humiliation and forced to resign. He favoured an inquiry panel led by a Supreme Court judge to look into the circumstances leading to late Jayalalithaa's hospitalization and the line of treatment meted out to her while Ms Sasikala said any such inquiry would prove her care for the departed leader.

More from our correspondent:

"The critics of the AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala claim she armtwisted her way into the party position and got herself elected as the Legislature Party leader. However, Sasikala faction says her elevation has been unanimous. The MLAs  reportedly supporting her were about to be led to Delhi last night but cancelled their visit after reports about Governor's arrival to Chennai came in. While Sasikala faction flaunts the list of 131 MLAs in support of her, the party Rajya Sabha member V.Maitreyan, owing allegiance to Mr O.Panneerselvam, has said, though the MLAs are being held captive, what matters is the floor test. The Governor's decisions at this critical juncture would be regarded as the most crucial. Jayasingh, AIR News, Chennai."

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Campaigning for the first phase of Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh ends this evening. 73 constituencies, in the western part of the state, will go to polls in the first phase on Saturday. Key constituencies include Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Dadri, Meerut, Ghaziabad and Agra.

More from our correspondent:

 "The administration, in order to instill a sense of security among the masses, conducted security march in every village and town of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts. In Muzaffarnagar alone, 50 companies of CRPF have been deployed and all the polling booths of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli will be manned by CRP jawans. Initially only 18 flying squads were constituted to check and seize illegal money and liquor etc in Muzaffarnagar but its number has now been enhanced to 54 to make the drive more effective. Merajuddin, AIR News, Muzaffarnagar."

Our correspondent brings a profile report on Meerut district:

 "Voting will be held in all assembly seats of meerut on day after tomorrow.political parties are leaving no chance to convince voters on the concluding day of campaigning. Entire western UP including Meerut the difficult situation of sugarcane farmers and their unpaid dues from sugar mills were core issues and those have been raised by different political parties. Demand for establishment of a separate bench of Allahabad High Court was also raised by parties and public forums. Issues of exodus from politically volatile places always remain a major topic of debate. Sanjay Pratap,AIR News,Meerut."

Notification will also be issued today for the seventh and final phase of the polls in the state. The last date for filing of nominations is the 16th of this month, while the withdrawal of candidature can be done till the 20th.

Today is also the last day for withdrawal of nominations for the fourth phase.

For the fifth phase, in which 52 Assembly segments will go to polls on the 27th of this month, today is the last date for filing of nominations.

Over in Uttarkhand which goes to poll on 15th of this month, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines will be installed at 553 polling booths.

 A report:

"Earlier, 956 VVPAT machines were to be installed in 4 assembly constituencies but due to shortage of such machines only 553 booths will now have these machines in place. The VVPAT machines are to be used in three constituencies of  Dharmpur in Dehradun, Ranipur in Haridwar and Rudrapur in UdhamSinghNagar. Earlier it was also decided to install these machines in Haldwani constituency of Nainital district.  with OP meena this Sanjeev sundriyal AIR News Dehardun."  

In Punjab, re-polling is being held today at 48 polling stations spread across 5 districts of the state. Polling began at 8 in the morning and will continue till 5 PM. Administration has declared holiday today in these districts to facilitate voters for polling.

Meanwhile, notification for the second phase of assembly elections in Manipur will be issued today. 22 constituencies will go to polls in this phase on the 8th of next month. While nominations for this phase will end on 16th of this month, last date for the withdrawal of nominations will be 20th.

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The Cabinet has approved Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan to make 6 crore rural households digitally literate by March 2019.

Our correspondent reports, the outlay for this project is over two thousand 351 crore rupees to usher in digital literacy in rural India.

"Under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the current financial year, two crore 75 lakh in next financial year and three crore candidates in 2018-19. Each of the gram panchayats in the country  are expected to register an average of 200 to 300 candidates. Digitally literate persons would be able to operate computers and digital access devices like tablets, smartphones and browse internet to actively participate in the process of nation building. The implementation of the scheme will be carried out under the supervision of Ministry of Electronics and IT in collaboration with states and union territories. With Dipendra Kumar,Arti Rana, AIR News Delhi."

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The central varsities have been asked by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to review and revise their curricula, at least once in every three years, to make the college and university students more employable. In a letter UGC said, recommendation to review and revise the curricula of Central Universities was discussed in a recently held meeting of the Group of Secretaries on Education and Social Development with the Prime Minister. The letter added, this review and revision of academic curricula should focus on the existing and potential demand and supply of skill sets to make the university and college students employable.

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In Bihar, the state government has cancelled the clerical examination of Bihar Staff Selection Commission following a question paper leak. These examinations were held on 29th of last month and on Sunday. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, the decision to cancel the examinations has been taken in the interest of students.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of Bihar Staff Selection Commission Parmeshwar Ram and data entry operator Avinash Kumar have been sent to jail in connection with question paper leak of clerical examination. Earlier they were produced before a local court of Patna. The court forwarded them for 14 days judicial custody.

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Supreme Court is likely to pronounce its verdict today on the pleas seeking review of its 2015 order in the Uphaar fire tragedy case. CBI and Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) had sought review of the apex court verdict, asking real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal to serve a two-year jail term if they fail to pay 30 crore rupees each as fine. The convicts have already paid the fine.
In its review plea, AVUT had said, the sentences of the convicts have been reduced to the period undergone without taking into account the gravity of their offence.
Fifty nine people had died of asphyxia when a fire broke out during the screening of the movie 'Border' in Uphaar theatre in South Delhi on June 13, 1997.

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The Supreme Court has dismissed the pleas of the Tamil Nadu government and a convict seeking review of its judgement in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The court, in its judgement, had ruled that the Centre has primacy over states' right to grant remission. A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, dismissed the pleas on the ground of delay in filing the petition and also on merit. The verdict, which was passed by the bench on Tuesday, was made available on the apex court website yesterday.

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British MPs overwhelmingly backed a bill in House of Commons enabling Prime Minister Theresa May to officially trigger Brexit and start negotiations for leaving the 28-member European Union. According to BBC, the draft legislation was approved by 494 votes to 122, and now moves to the House of Lords. Ms. May wants to trigger formal Brexit talks by the end of March.

The bill was tabled last month after the Supreme Court ruled that MPs and peers must have a say before Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty could be triggered. It rejected the UK government's argument that Ms. May had sufficient executive powers to trigger Brexit without consulting the Parliament.

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A US court has ruled that American authorities can access data with internet companies even if such data is located on foreign servers. The ruling, given by a court in Philadelphia, means personal data on platforms such as Facebook and Google is no longer firewalled from American investigators.
Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden had, earlier, said that American tech giants secretly co-operate with US authorities for global surveillance.

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And now news from the world of sports:

"The lone cricket Test between India and Bangladesh will be played in Hyderabad from today. The match will begin at 9:30 AM. This is the first time in nearly 17 years that Bangladesh will play a Test on Indian soil. Currently at the top of the rankings, India is on an 18-game unbeaten streak, its longest in Test cricket. The side, led by Virat Kohli, had recently blanked New Zealand and England at home, with the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in a devastating form. Bangladesh, on the other hand, are 9th in the rankings and had defeated England in a home Test before losing in New Zealand, 0-2.
Over in the Twenty-20 World Cup for the Blind, India defeated Nepal by 152 runs in their ninth and final league match at Vijaywada yesterday. Batting first, India, which have already made it to the semi-finals, posted 289 for 1, riding on Ajay Kumar Reddy's 109. In reply, Nepal could only make 137 for 5 in the alloted 20 overs. It was India's eighth win in 9 games.
And, in the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers, India will take on Ireland in their third match at Colombo today. The Indian eves have won both of their last two matches. SAVVY HASAN KHAN, FOR AIR NEWS."

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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

• The Tamil Nadu crisis makes for front page news in most of the daily newspapers this morning."OPS quake rattles Sasikala's fortress. Chinnamma herds MLA's to safety as Paneerselvam orders inquiry into Jaya's death, governor consults legal experts" is the lead in Hindustan Times.
• Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scathing attack on his predecessor Manmohan Singh  The  Pioneer writes "Congress walks out to protest PM's MMS raincoat jibe" adding "Opposition seeks apology threatens to boycott House whenever Modi attends it".
• "All cash withdrawal curbs to go, come March 13"says the DNA.The paper writes that Reserve Bank increases limit from Rs 24,000 to Rs 50,000 per week from February 20.
• On the Calcutta High Court Judge Justice C .S Karnan The Hindu says "In a first, Supreme Court issues contempt notice to sitting High Court judge"adding"Justice Karnan accused of disgracing judiciary, impeding justice."
• Writing that Reserve Bank Of India surprised investors for the third time in a row The Economic Times writes "Patel prefers to drive in neutral mode, keeps rates unchanged.Room to cut rates shrinks as stance shifted from accommodative to neutral".
• "US to cut legal immigrants by half" notes The  Asian Age.The paper writes that two top US senators have proposed a bill that seeks to reduce the number of green card or legal permanent residency issued every year from currently about a million to half a million.