it’s time to take controlFrom scrolling addiction to memory problems, science reveals what more than four hours of screen time a day does to your brain and what you can do about it.Do you think you’re bad at concentrating? Blame your brain’s inherent superpower – and your smartphone.Your brain is not a computer with fixed programming. It’s like Play-Doh – everything you do is constantly being reshaped. Scientists call it neuroplasticity, and it’s the way you learn to ride a bike, speak a new language, or remember your best friend’s birthday.

But here’s the problem: Every swipe, click, and scroll is also a training session for your brain. And with people globally spending more than four hours a day on their phones, we are running a giant, uncontrolled experiment on our brains.Result? Not beautiful.When ‘just another video’ becomes a mental problemFor some people, the Internet has ceased to be a tool and has become a trap. Digital addiction, officially called Internet addiction, is now recognized as a real behavioral condition that affects more than 7% of people worldwide. Teenagers are especially vulnerable.

It’s not about weak willpower or being ‘too attached to your phone’. This is science. Your brain is doing exactly what it was designed to do – learn through repetition. Problem? Compulsive scrolling is teaching it all the wrong lessons.Think of it this way: practicing piano solidifies the path to music. Compulsive phone use reinforces the pathways to craving more screen time – while weakening the circuits for self-control and intense focus.

New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked all independent milk producers and sellers across the country to obtain mandatory registration or license, warning that many are operating outside the food safety regulatory system.In an advisory issued on March 11, the food regulator said many milk producers who are not part of dairy cooperatives, as well as local milk sellers, are selling milk without registering with FSSAI. Such registration is mandatory under food safety rules.The authority has now directed the states and union territories to ensure that all such producers and sellers are registered with FSSAI before continuing their business.This step has been taken amid concerns over milk adulteration. FSSAI has asked food safety officials in states to verify whether milk sellers have valid registration or license and take action in cases of non-compliance.Officials have also been directed to inspect milk chillers used for storage to ensure proper temperature control and hygiene, as poor storage can lead to spoilage and contamination.States have been asked to run special registration drives so that all milk producers and sellers come under the food safety regulatory framework.FSSAI said it has already ordered regular enforcement drives on milk and milk products and asked states to submit fortnightly reports on the action taken.The regulator said the initiative aims to improve the traceability and safety of milk sold to consumers and prevent adulteration in the supply chain.

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on seven medical colleges across the country for failing to disclose stipends paid to MBBS interns and postgraduate medical residents despite repeated instructions.The action follows non-compliance with an earlier directive that required all medical institutions to publicly disclose stipend details on their official websites and ensure transparency in payments to trainees and residents.The penalized institutes include Aakash Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Devanahalli in Karnataka; Dumka Medical College in Jharkhand; Government Medical College, Barmer in Rajasthan; Government Medical College, Ongole in Andhra Pradesh; RKDF Medical College Hospital and Research Center in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh; Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; and Pt. B.D. Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana.According to a notice issued by the Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) of NMC, many institutions failed to submit the required information despite being given adequate time and reminders. The commission said such failure is a violation of regulatory obligations under the National Medical Commission Act and relevant medical education rules.The directive was issued in compliance with court orders mandating transparency in payment of stipends to medical interns and resident doctors. The NMC said continued non-compliance was a serious violation, especially in the light of Supreme Court directions requiring payment of stipend to trainees.The regulator warned that persistent violations could lead to further disciplinary action, including ban on entry, suspension of permissions or other regulatory measures against erring colleges.The Commission had earlier directed medical colleges to disclose stipend details on their websites to ensure transparency and uniformity in payments to trainees and residents. NMC said failure to comply with the order will attract regulatory and punitive action under applicable medical education rules.

New Delhi: Amid lobbying by car companies, the government may defer the implementation of corporate average fuel efficiency norms (CAFE 3.0) beyond April 2027. The PM’s office has held two meetings during the last three weeks and more deliberations are planned on the issue to work out a formula that is acceptable to the industry and helps improve fuel efficiency and emissions.At a meeting at the PMO on Monday, the power ministry gave a detailed presentation on the proposed CAFE 3.0 norms, while highlighting the “urgent” need to notify the norms. For the first time, the ministry presented a detailed assessment of the expected performance of the country’s top five carmakers. It said that based on the proposed framework, which will be released only for public comment Tata Motors At the same time, we will be able to achieve the target between 2027-28 to 2031-32. Maruti Suzuki And Hyundai Motors India can’t make the cut.The presentation shows that Toyota-Kirloskar Motors will be able to meet the targets for the first three years, 2027-28 to 2029-30, while Mahindra & Mahindra will miss the targets in the first three years. “Keeping this in mind, the proposed system will impose higher penalties on companies that do not meet the target,” an official said.The CAFE 3.0 criteria propose removing the humiliation (additional allowance) or relief for small car manufacturers, while seeking to introduce RangeExtended Electric Vehicles (REEVs), which will have a Volume Derogation Factor (VDF) of 3, similar to electric cars. VDF is a targeted government measure to promote sales of low-polluting vehicles such as EVs, REEVs and hybrids.“Given the current situation, it may take at least a few months to notify the norms. The industry will need at least a year to implement it,” said a person with knowledge of the matter.

Kullu/Jammu: Thousands of tourists were stranded in Atal Tunnel and surrounding areas of Himachal’s Lahaul Spiti due to heavy snowfall since Sunday evening, following which police and Border Roads Organization (BRO) started rescue operations. In Kishtwar in neighboring Jammu and Kashmir, the Army rescued 235 civilians from a mountain pass after the road was blocked due to heavy snowfall and bad weather.More than 1,000 vehicles got stuck in Atal Tunnel on Sunday evening. More than 2 feet of snow has accumulated in the area around the tunnel. As the highway to Manali was blocked, thousands of people spent the night huddled inside their vehicles. Some remained stranded for about 20 hours.“We guided 700 of the more than 1,000 stranded vehicles from Atal Tunnel to Manali on Sunday night. Manali DSP KD Sharma, who was part of the rescue team, said, “The survivors returned by Monday afternoon. On Monday, Kullu Police closed Manali Atal Tunnel Highway due to snowfall. Police in Lahaul Spiti issued an advisory to avoid unnecessary travel. The minimum temperature in Manali was 2.9 degrees. Yellow alert has been issued for light rain and snowfall in Himachal on March 17 and 18 and Orange alert for heavy rain and snowfall on March 19.In Kishtwar, the rescue was focused on Sinthan Top, a mountain pass and a popular tourist destination. A spokesperson for the Army’s White Knight Corps said, “On March 15, information was received about 235 civilians and 38 stranded vehicles. Teams reached Sinthon Top and provided hot food, water and shelter to the stranded civilians.”

New Delhi: India’s domestic LPG production has surged by 36% in a fortnight to meet domestic cylinder demand, while the overall availability of cooking gas remains “worrisome”, the Petroleum Ministry said on Monday. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said consumers of both domestic and commercial LPG cylinders are being encouraged to switch to piped gas. He said city gas distribution companies have launched incentives to promote PNG connections, including free gas worth Rs 500 for domestic consumers by Indraprastha Gas in Delhi-NCR; Waiver of Rs 500 registration fee for domestic PNG connections and security deposit for commercial consumers by Mumbai-based Mahanagar Gas; and waiver of security deposit for all commercial connections by Bharat Petroleum. India is relatively comfortable as far as crude oil availability is concerned, with officials admitting that pressure on LPG supplies is evident due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint that witnesses the transit of energy supplies from West Asian countries to India. India imports about 90% of its crude oil requirements, 50% of its natural gas and 60% of its LPG requirements. More than half of India’s crude oil, about 30% of gas and 85-90% of LPG imports from West Asian countries go through the Strait of Hormuz. Unlike crude, LPG has no strategic reserves, and officials said gas was being arranged from any possible source. While India has partially mitigated the disruption in crude supply by sourcing oil from countries including Russia, gas supplies to industrial users have been reduced, and LPG availability for commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants has been limited so that domestic consumers do not feel the pinch. While Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier said India was tapping more sources such as the US, Norway, Canada and Russia for LPG, officials on Monday declined to share details on the additional cargo secured so far. Sharma said no dry-out has been reported at LPG dealerships and action is being taken against hoarding and black marketing. He said online booking has increased from 84% to 90%, and delivery authentication coverage has been increased from 53% to 72% to prevent diversion of cylinders at the distributor level.

Jaipur: A joint team of Rajasthan The ATS and Hanumangarh police are set to visit Ambala after the Haryana STF arrested three suspected terrorists with an improvised explosive device, raising security concerns in Rajasthan and neighboring states, reports Ashish Mehta and Kshitij Gaur.During preliminary interrogation, the accused reportedly said that they were planning blasts in several cities across India. Hanumangarh could have been one of the possible targets. Officials in Hanumangarh said they would coordinate with Haryana Police to gather details about possible associates and any links to Rajasthan.

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: Twelve patients died on Monday in an electrical fire at a trauma unit of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, Odisha. A hospital source said the fire broke out in the trauma ICU on the first floor after a small fire caused by an electrical spark was immediately noticed and extinguished. Till late Monday night, there was no clarity on whether the same spark or an unknown fault elsewhere was the source of the massive fire that spread through the ward and the two upper floors moments later. The fire service department reported a lag of more than 15 minutes between the initial warning signals and firefighters being alerted on the premises. Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of fire services, said the department received a call at 2.58 am on emergency number 112. “Fire engines reached the spot within two minutes,” he said. Health Secretary S Ashwathi said 11 hospital staff were also among the injured. “They sustained injuries while helping in rescue and evacuation of patients. They are all out of danger,” he said. Niranjan Swain of Kendrapara said, “My sister-in-law Maneka Raut, 54, was recovering after suffering a head injury due to a fall on March 1. She was expected to come out of the ICU this week. Who would have thought that something like this would happen.”

Ghanshyam Behera of Daspalla stood outside the hospital building hours after the fire, looking distraught at the enormity of the tragedy. “My father had met with an accident and was undergoing treatment in the third-floor ward when I heard screaming. Within moments, a cloud of black smoke engulfed the ward. I lifted my father on my shoulders and ran outside,” he said. Since then, Ghanshyam’s father Jadumani has been shifted to the Orthopedic ICU. Sudipta Nayak from Bhadrak spent hours trying to locate her 17-year-old cousin, who was in the trauma ICU. “She was on ventilator support for the last eight days due to kidney disease and respiratory complications,” Sudipta said. In the morning, the security guards asked the teen’s mother Sumathi to sign some papers, saying that her niece was also among the dead. “I was shocked to hear this and started searching for the body. It is now evening and I still haven’t found my cousin,” Sudipta told TOI. The last such hospital fire tragedy in Odisha occurred in October 2016 at the private IMS and SUM hospital in Bhubaneswar. SCB Medical College has been facing heat in recent years for allegedly crumbling infrastructure amid plans to upgrade it to an “AIIMS Plus” institute.

Itanagar: Four people were killed and three others injured after a landslide caused the collapse of the safety wall of a building in Niti Vihar in the Arunachal Pradesh capital around 4 pm on Monday, reports Jochen Ete. Officials said that seven workers were buried under the debris after the wall of the under-construction building collapsed. Rescue teams pulled out seven people from the debris. Four of them were found dead, while the other three were admitted to Hima Hospital. The deceased have been identified as Choki Tasar, Ratan Barman, Godak Raja and Godak Tabin, officials said.

The injured workers are Tatung Tajit, Choki Takio and Hasnur Ali. City assistant commissioner Tamo Dadda said seven workers were at the site when the wall collapsed. Rescue operations were being hampered by persistent rain, making it challenging for teams to locate trapped victims. “Due to the rain, the soil became dense and unstable, making it difficult to determine the exact location of the victims. However, the rescue teams made every possible effort to rescue them.” After receiving information about the incident, Itanagar police and district administration officials along with State Disaster Response Force personnel launched the rescue operation.