IKEA Group, the leading Swedish home furnishings company, on Friday announced that it has purchased land in Hyderabad to build its first retail store in India.

The strategically-located, 13 acre site is close to HITEC City, the IT hub, is within easy access to public transport and next to an upcoming metro line, the company said in a statement.

It signed land purchase agreement with Telangana government. The size of the deal and other details of the agreement were not released.

The company is in parallel evaluating suitable sites in the cities of Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi and the National Capital Region to open 25 stores in the long term.

IKEA had last year signed an MoU with the Telangana government for opening the store.

According to a statement then released by the government, IKEA retail outlets have a standard design and each location entails an investment of $100 million (Rs.500-600 crore). Headquartered in Sweden, IKEA is one of the world’s largest and recognisable international furniture, household goods and textiles retail company. It has been sourcing from India for the last 28 years and it plans to double its sourcing volumes in the country by 2020.

Around 45,000 people work directly for 50 IKEA suppliers in India and about 400,000 in the extended supply chain. IKEA has recently organized three "Make More in India" campaigns, including one in Telangana, to look for new suppliers, said the statement on Friday.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said IKEA will bring best business practices, great employment opportunities and contribute to the overall development of the city. He assured all necessary support to IKEA for its future expansion plans in the state.

IKEA India CEO Juvencio Maeztu said, India was a very promising market for IKEA as it offers them the opportunity to source, retail, conduct CSR initiatives through IKEA Foundation and empower social entrepreneurs through next generation projects.

"Our focus now is to bring all of it together in Hyderabad as we have bought our first land to build an IKEA store. We will bring a unique shopping experience through our inspiring stores offering affordable home furnishing products," he said.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) will come up with an digitised and updated database of landslide susceptible zones for West Bengal’s Darjeeling hills where recent landslides claimed over 30 lives, an official said on Friday.

In the aftermath of the Darjeeling landslides that struck the region earlier this month, two teams of GSI experts are currently surveying two worst-affected zones of Mirik and Kalimpong.

"Four officials divided into two teams have started survey work on Thursday. Initially, they have begun work in and around Mirikh and Kalimpong. The GIS-enabled map will be ready by next year," Saibal Ghosh, superintending geologist and officer-in-charge Geohazards Research and Management Cell, GSI, told IANS.

The team will ascertain the category of landslides, the dimension of the landslide, the geology, the geomorphology (study of characteristics, origin, and development of landforms) as well as what triggered them, he said.

The team comprises three officers from Kolkata and one from Sikkim.

Ghosh said the causes of these landslides are mainly natural "because Darjeeling-Sikkim Hills are perennially landslide-prone, but effect of anthropogenic (man-made) interference sometimes aggravates the situation locally at some places". 

In addition, the survey will add to the know-how on the relation of rainfall intensity and landslides initiation. The priority is places where human population is more.

The data collected by them will be fed into a national database as part of the ongoing ‘National Landslide Susceptible Mapping’ programme.

The susceptibility database will aid in disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction with the target to minimise impact on human settlements, said Ghosh.

Hollywood star Hugh Jackman is now seen in the latest action-packed campaign of Indian mobile phone brand Micromax Informatics Ltd.

In the new campaign for Canvas Sliver 5, fans get to see ‘The Wolverine’ star in a storyline. The association comes as an extension of Micromax&’s partnership for the Canvas Series.

Jackman was last seen in the company&’s campaign for the Canvas Turbo.

The television commercial, conceptualised by Lowe Lintas and Partners, has been shot like an action-packed thriller and introduces the slimness of the phone.

Jackman plays the role of a tough character trying to escape a high security prison, and the only weapon he has is the Canvas Sliver 5. The story demonstrates how he uses the slimness of the phone in the most innovative way and manages to escape, thereby showcasing the sleek design throughout the commercial, which went on air on Friday.

“Micromax Canvas Sliver 5, the slimmest and the lightest phone ever, deserved a campaign that could become the most entertaining ever. That&’s why, we have teamed up once again with Hugh Jackman, best known for his role as Wolverine," Shubhajit Sen, chief marketing officer, Micromax, said in a statement.

Jackman is also delighted to work with the company again.

“It&’s a pleasure to work with Micromax once again. This time on their campaign for the slimmest phone to date, the Micromax Canvas Silver 5," he said.

A Coast Guard Dornier aircraft, missing for over a month now, has been found but there is no information about its three crew members, an official said on Friday.

The Dornier aircraft with three crew members — all in their 30s — went missing on the night of June 8 while returning to the base after a regular surveillance sortie along the Tamil Nadu coast and Palk Bay. 

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday held talks with over 250 principals of private schools in the capital on the issue of fees regulation and assured that the autonomy of private schools would not be compromised on quality.

“Sisodia spoke on the issue of how the government could shield the common man from being charged exorbitant fees without compromising on the autonomy and quality of schools,” an official spokesperson said.

The meeting with principals is a part of an ongoing consultation of the Delhi government with school representatives on the issue of an amendment of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973.

Sisodia highlighted a report of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) that around 30-40 per cent of the household income going for the school fee, and appreciated the good works done by the private schools.

 School representatives, however, expressed their concern over high cost of land, teachers’ salary, commercial rates for electricity and water.

“School representatives submitted suggestions in detail along with various working models that can allow schools to continue to provide quality education without compromising on the autonomy,” the spokesperson said.

Saying that the government respects the autonomy of private schools, Sisodia said that his government would not take actions that compromises on quality, the spokesperson added.

India will not receive gas for the next 4-5 years from energy-rich Central Asia through the proposed USD 10 billion TAPI pipeline, says a report.

"The TAPI pipeline is unlikely to be commissioned by the proposed timeline of FY18, and India will continue to rely on domestic gas and imported LNG," India Ratings said in a note on the Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India (TAPI) project.

The agency saw four key issues associated with the successful commissioning of the pipeline — seller’s willingness to sell gas at a price feasible for the ultimate buyer, volume off-take assurance by end-consumers, funding of the pipeline and geopolitical risks associated with the construction and operation of the 1,735-km long pipeline.

"The willingness of Turkmenistan state concern to price its gas in a manner which would ensure its cost competitiveness in countries where the gas is finally sold is essential for the project to take off," it said.

Turkmenistan is a net exporter of natural gas and its economy depends on that and hence may keep prices high.

Additionally, the extractability of the proven reserves of 16 trillion cubic meters of gas from the South Yolotan- Osman field from where the gas would be supplied, could pose a challenge. "This could limit the quantum of gas available for transportation from the pipeline," it said.

India Ratings said many user industries may find the gas unviable for their operations if the landed price of gas in India from the pipeline were to be high at USD 10-12 per million British thermal unit, almost double the domestic gas rate.

Gas-based power plants and fertiliser plants using gas from TAPI would lead to high power tariffs and higher subsidy.

"Transit fee payable to each nation from where the pipeline passes and funding tie-ups for the project could hinder the prospects given the geo-political risks and the lack of off-take agreements," it said.

Financial closure for the project would involve significant support from participating countries including equity participation and guarantees for the project debt.

"This is because the construction and operation of the pipeline, which will pass through difficult and conflict- affected geographies in three countries, carry major credit risks," it said.

TAPI pipeline is likely to transport 90 million standard cubic meters of gas per day, out of which India’s share will be 42 per cent (38 mmscmd).

India’s gas deficit stood at 148 mmscmd in FY15, which means 26 per cent of the deficit can be bridged if TAPI materialise.

"The pipeline will thus be a boost for energy starved India. However, its commissioning faces multiple challenges which are unlikely to be addressed quickly and will make it a long gestation project," India Ratings said.

A German man was arrested on Friday after an 82-year-old woman and a cyclist were shot dead near the town of Ansbach, police said.

Police reported that the assailant was driving a Mercedes convertible and had a firearm, The Local news portal reported.

He shot two people dead at a distance of several kilometres from one another.

An elderly woman was the first victim. She died immediately after the attack.

The assailant then shot a male bicycle rider who also died at the scene of the crime.

After each attack, the man made an immediate getaway in his car, a police spokesperson said.

The man also appears to have shot two more people. But police did not confirm their current condition.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on Friday that Beijing welcomed Pakistan’s upcoming entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif prior to the 15th SCO summit, which is set to start procedures for granting India and Pakistan full membership, Xinhua news agency reported.

"China is willing to maintain close cooperation with Pakistan within the SCO framework," said the Chinese president.

Founded in 2001, the SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its full members.

Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are observers while Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners.

Teenagers whose mothers used cocaine while pregnant are much likely to have sexual intercourse before age 15, a study says.

The study found that teenagers who were prenatally cocaine exposed (PCE) were 2.2 times more likely to engage in sexual intercourse before age 15 than those who were not.

Yet how PCE affects early sexual behaviour may differ by gender, said lead researcher Meeyoung O. Min from Case Western Reserve University, US.

Researchers studied mothers – some who used cocaine while pregnant and others who did not – since 1994 to understand how the drug affected their children’s cognitive and social development.

The new study focused on sexual activities of 354 adolescents (180 prenatally exposed to cocaine and 174 who were not).

Researchers tested the children at 6, 12 and 18 months, and at ages 2, 4, 6, 9 through 12 and 15.

Compared to 23 percent of non-cocaine exposed (NCE) teenagers, 29 percent of prenatally cocaine exposed (PCE) teenagers living in foster/adoptive care and 42 percent of PCE teenagers living with their birth mothers reported having sexual intercourse before age 15.

Cocaine-exposed teenage girls who reported having behaviour problems during their preteen years were more likely to have early sexual intercourse.

As many as 64 youth (37 PCE and 27 NCE) reported having sex as young as 13. Levels of lead in the blood during preschool years was also related to a greater likelihood of early sexual intercourse.

Greater parental monitoring decreased the likelihood of early sexual intercourse, while exposure to violence increased the risk, the study found.

Early sexual engagement has been associated with an increased risk of unintended teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Substantial research has documented that childhood behaviour problems (aggression, antisocial behaviour, delinquency) may be a precursor of sexual engagement at an early age.

After bagging Seityasen Singh in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2015 players auction, NorthEast United FC owner John Abraham on Friday said the team was looking for someone who could play in both the wings and Seityasen&’s presence will fill the spot.

Seityasen, who plays for Royal Wahingdoh in the I-League, was roped in by United FC at a price of Rs.56 lakh. His starting price was Rs.23 lakh.

"We had a planned strategy for the auction and we felt Seityasen added something to the midfield. We had identified the areas we wanted to emphasise on. We wanted someone who could play in both wings," John said at a press conference.

"The decision was taken after a lot of discussions between our assistant coach Santosh Kashyap and our foreign coach Cesar Farais. We are relieved to have finally got him and we would have gone to any lengths to have him.

"We now have someone in the central midfield so we now have the bases covered. He has got quality and he fills up the quality we were looking for North East,” the 42-year-old actor said.

Speaking on his inclusion, Manipuri Seityasen said he was thrilled to be a part of his home team.

"North east is my base and I am very happy and thrilled to be a part of this team," Seityasen said.