Anchor-actor Manish Paul, who makes his debut as lead actor in "Micky Virus", says his anchoring experience helped him when he faced the camera to act.

The 31-year-old has hosted shows like "Dance India Dance Li'l Masters" and "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar". However, he was hugely appreciated for his energetic and spontaneous performance on "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa
5" as its host.

"Anchoring has helped me facing the camera because initially I was not that confident about being in front of the camera," Manish told IANS and added he got comfortable with acting after doing workshops.

Mumbai, May 16 : The public sector oil marketing companies have decided to stop supplies of cooking gas refills to households with multiple connections from June 1 unless they comply with KYC norms, an official said here Thursday.

This would include even delivery of non-subsidised cylinders, and no transactions will be allowed in such cases after the connections are blocked by the OMC - Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, the official said.

New Delhi, May 16 : Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh has sought strict action against those found guilty in the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal which broke Thursday.

Three Rajasthan Royals players - S. Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila - were arrested by the Delhi Police special cell late Wednesday night in Mumbai on spot-fixing charges. Delhi police Thursday afternoon revealed the evidence here at a press conference.

New Delhi, May 16 : Demands for gold in India surged 27 percent to 256.5 tonnes in January-March 2013 even though the global demands dropped by 13 percent, the World Gold Council said Thursday.

Addressing the media, World Gold Council India managing director P. R. Somasundaram said demands for the yellow metal for both jewellery and investment purposes remained strong in the first quarter of 2013.

"The price fluctuations in gold have only served to reinforce Indian consumers' appetite for purchasing physical gold," he said.

Jaipur, May 16 : Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi met party workers and office bearers here Thursday while continuing his task of collecting feedback over the party's prospects in the upcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections, party sources said.

Gandhi arrived in Rajasthan's Bikaner district Wednesday to hold "feedback meetings" with the party's workers. He left for Jaipur in the evening.

Assembly polls are scheduled in Congress-ruled Rajasthan at the year-end.

New Delhi, May 16 : Designer Sabyassachi Mukherjee, the man behind styling Vidya Balan's look at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival, says that as "India is known as a bling country" he used a "little embellishment" to bring freshness.

Vidya made three appearances in traditional Indian costumes - maroon lehenga, an ivory sari paired with a brown blouse and light pink anarkali - on three different occasions on the festival inaugural day Wednesday.

Mukherjee says she was dressed in "a purist ethnic look, almost like a Golconda princess".

Kochi, May 16 : A group of ayurveda experts have launched a medical treatment package in cyberspace.

'NaturWell', which guarantees overall wellness to subscribers of the year-long programme being rolled out through homilies over the internet and medicines at doorstep, is essentially founded on the tenets mentioned in ancient texts of ayurveda, according to the conceivers, Cybele Herbal Laboratories.

Chennai, May 16 : Two years after she stormed into Fort St. George, the seat of power in Tamil Nadu, with a massive victory, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has a mixed bag of results to show so far.

Forcing the central government to gazette the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by filing a case in the Supreme Court, distributing relief to farmers in the drought-hit areas; urging retrieval of the Katchatheevu islet from Sri Lanka; and setting up of Amma Canteen (budget canteen) selling food at subsidised rates are said to be some of the achievements of Jayalalithaa government.

New Delhi, May 16 : A study will be conducted across India to explore better therapy to control the double-barrel menace of diabetes coupled with obesity, doctors said Thursday.

"We have found that Indian population is predisposed to obesity at a younger age and diabetes is a growing menace. The study will be ethnic-specific. We will conduct the study in south, central and north India," said Deep Goel, director, bariatric surgery, BLK Super Speciality Hospital.

"With the help of various institutions, we will start the study in a couple of months," Goel said.

New Delhi, May 16 : Actress Swara Bhaskar believes her survival kit, primarily comprising her friends and family, helps her sail through the ups and downs in her showbiz career.

"Friends who make fun of all my problems, however serious, family that bails me out every time, three furry cats of three different sizes, children's literature...," Swara told IANS on being asked about her survival kit.

There's more.

Chennai, May 16 : After being selected for screening at the Cannes International Film Festival and Shanghai International Film Festival, S. S. Rajamouli's Telugu revenge-drama "Eega" will also be featured at the Madrid International Film Festival and Puchon International Film Festival.

At the Madrid fest, the movie is nominated in six award categories.

"More good news! 'Eega' has been selected for few more film festivals. In Madrid film festival, it is nominated for six awards ... Puchon International Film Festival in Korea is popular and 'Eega' has been invited for screening," Rajamouli posted on his Twitter page.

Mumbai, May 16 : Reliance Capital Thursday said its net profit surged by 77 percent to Rs. 812 crore ($149 million) in the financial year ended March 31, 2013.

The company, a part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, said its consolidated total income jumped by 13 percent to Rs. 7,519 crore ($1.4 billion), largely due to a sharp increase in "topline of general insurance, commercial finance and asset management businesses, and sale of stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management."

Reliance Capital's earning per share increased by 77 percent to Rs. 33.1.

New Delhi, May 16 : Berger Paints has tied up with Bollywood's popular interior designer Sussanne Roshan to introduce 'design rooms theme' titled - Lewis Berger Design Stories.

The Lewis Berger design stories includes an exclusive range of room theme for bedroom, dining and living. The theme consists of wall finish, tattoo, furniture, upholstery and curtains created by Sussanne, wife of Hindi film superstar Hrithik Roshan.

Dressed in blue ankle-length Donna Karan dress, Sussanne looked as ravishing as ever. She said that associating with brand will give her a chance to connect with wider consumer.

New Delhi, May 16 : The Mumbai underworld is involved in spot fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in which Indian fast bowler S. Sreesanth and two of his Rajasthan Royals teammates were arrested Thursday, Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar said.

"We had information that Mumbai underworld is indulging in match-fixing or spot fixing and have contacted a number of bookies and some players," Neeraj Kumar said, giving details of the arrests of three players and 11 bookies in Mumbai.

Mumbai, May 16 : After a two-year gap, Shruti Haasan returns to Hindi movies with "Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya" and clarifies that the Prabhudheva directorial venture can't be tagged as her comeback movie.

"Actually I don't believe in the concept (of coming back in Bollywood). Once you have debuted in films, you are here for life, hopefully. But having said that, this ('Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya') was an absolutely brilliant opportunity," Shruti told reporters here Wednesday at the music launch of the film.

Swedish retail giant IKEA Group, which has obtained clearance for a 100 per cent venture in India, is now looking for large land tract near highways and metro to set up its stores.

IKEA India Chief Executive Juvencio Maeztu said that finding the right locations for the company's stores in the country was very important so that people could access the stores easily.

New Delhi, May 16 : India's sports minister Jitendra Singh Thursday said a roadmap has been finalised with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and it will take another one or two months to get the ban lifted from India.

Addressing the media, immediately after landing here from Lausanne, where he met the IOC along with a delegation from the suspended Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Jitendra said the whole process could take around 60 days.

The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for the LPG (cooking gas) consumers will be launched in 20 districts on 1st of June this year, the Petroleum & Natural Gas Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The launch of the much-hyped scheme would allow the government to put subsidy cash directly into the beneficiaries' bank accounts, which as per Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Veerappa Moily, will help in curbing leakages and black-marketing.

Indian economy will likely grow in the range of 5.5-6.5 per cent in the current financial year, as against of average growth of 3.9 per cent last year, global rating agency Moody's Investors Service predicted.

Moody's said that Indian economy would see an increase in growth in 2013 even though the finance ministry's steps for new investments remained relatively small in scope.

The global rating agency cited relatively high inflation and cautious private sector, and pointed out that Indian economy was struggling to see a boost in investment.

New Delhi, May 16 : German automobile major Mercedes-Benz Thursday launched an all-new luxury SUV (Sports Utility Vehicles) at Rs. 77.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Unveiled by Tennis star Boris Becker, the GL class car named 'Launch Edition' has at present only 100 units to buyers in the form of CBUs (Completely Built Units) and boasts of features like AMG body kit, heated leather seats and temperature-controlled cup holders.