Author: Akancha Mishra

Actress Alia Bhatt couldn’t attend the screening of her mom Soni Razdan’s show “Pippa,” but she compensated with a sweet Instagram post. Sharing a red carpet photo of her mom from the screening night, Alia praised her as a “casual queen” and expressed excitement for “Pippa” on Amazon Prime. Soni Razdan’s support crew included husband Mahesh Bhatt and elder daughter Shaheen Bhatt, captured in a heartwarming family picture during the event. Discussing her grandchild turning one, Soni Razdan expressed a desire to savor every moment. In an exclusive interview, she marveled at how quickly time passed and expressed a wish…

The initiative “Women for Water, Water for Women” aims to enhance women’s involvement in water governance. Spanning three days, the program raises awareness and imparts firsthand knowledge of water treatment processes through visits to Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) in participants’ respective cities. On its inaugural day, over 41 million women from various states engaged in the heart of the campaign during “Jal Diwali.” The program successfully empowers women through knowledge, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility toward water infrastructure. Participants will explore more than 200 water treatment plants across the country, gaining valuable insights into the complex processes of…

A recent poll has brought to light interesting findings regarding a hypothetical 2024 election matchup in key swing states. The survey, carried out by The New York Times and Siena College, centered on eligible voters in crucial swing states such as Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Wisconsin. The results of the poll indicate that in a head-to-head matchup, former President Trump outperforms President Biden in all of the swing states except for Wisconsin. On the other hand, Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Republican presidential candidate, emerges as a strong contender against President Biden, securing victories in…

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions hit an all-time high in October, totaling Rs. 17.16 trillion (US$ 210 billion), marking a 9% increase from September’s Rs. 15.8 trillion (US$ 190 billion). In terms of volume, UPI transactions reached a record 11.41 billion, an 8% rise from September’s 10.56 billion. Data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) reveals a substantial increase of 56% in volume compared to 7.305 billion in October 2022 and a 42% growth in value compared to last year’s Rs. 12.12 trillion (US$ 150 billion). In August, UPI transactions were 10.58 billion in volume and Rs. 15.76…

The information regarding pensioners and family pensioners who received pensions during the fiscal year 2022-23 under the Union Government was provided by several offices, including the Central Pension Accounting Office (for Civil Pensioners), the Office of the Controller General of Defence Accounts (for Defence Pensioners), the Department of Telecommunications (for Telecom Pensioners), the Railway Board (for Railway Pensioners), and the Department of Posts (for Postal Pensioners). Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, stated that the Government allocated Rs. 241,777.55 crore (US$ 29.39…

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Pune, Maharashtra, where he will inaugurate metro train services in the city and also take part in various development projects’ inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremonies. Prior to the main event, the Prime Minister will visit Dagdusheth Mandir for Darshan and Pooja, and he will be honored with the Lokmanya Tilak National Award. The metro train inauguration marks the completion of two sections of Pune Metro Phase I: from Phugewadi station to Civil Court station and Garware College station to Ruby Hall Clinic station. These sections will connect important locations…

Gujarat is set to achieve a significant milestone by becoming the first state in India to house a large-scale semiconductor manufacturing facility, as announced by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was recently signed between the state and Micron, a renowned computer storage chip maker, for the establishment of a USD 2.75 billion semiconductor facility near Ahmedabad, in Sanand. Addressing the ‘Semicon India 2023’ event, Patel expressed his excitement over this development, emphasizing that the presence of Micron’s manufacturing unit in Gujarat is of great significance. He firmly believes that the state will successfully pave the way…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its forecast for India’s economic growth rate in 2023 to 6.1 per cent, which is 0.2 percentage points higher than its previous projection in April. This upward revision is a result of the strong growth seen in India’s economy during the fourth quarter of 2022, driven by increased domestic investment. In contrast, the IMF has maintained its forecast for China’s growth rate at 5.2 per cent for 2023 and 4.5 per cent for 2024. The report attributes China’s underperformance in investment to the ongoing real estate downturn. The IMF’s latest update of the…

Amazon miniTV – Amazon’s free video streaming service, in partnership with Nissan, has officially entered the Guinness World Records with the largest on-ground hip-hop dance activity, on the day of the premiere of its dance reality show ‘Hip Hop India’. A total number of 1864 dancers came together to jointly perform hip-hop dance for over 5 minutes. The grand event was held at Filmcity in Mumbai in the presence of Hip Hop India’s judges Remo D’Souza and Nora Fatehi, alongside Girish Prabhu – Head of Amazon Advertising and Rajesh Srivastava – Head of Marketing, Nissan Motors India who flagged off…

Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) are projected to achieve a remarkable pre-tax profit of at least US$ 12.19 billion (Rs. 1 lakh crore) during the current fiscal year (FY24), as per a Crisil report. The report indicates that the operating profit for OMCs is expected to rise to US$ 12.19 billion (Rs. 1 lakh crore) this fiscal year, a significant increase compared to the average of US$ 7.31 billion (Rs. 60,000 crore) recorded between fiscal years 2017 and 2022. This surge in profitability is attributed to higher retail prices in the domestic market and the stable, yet relatively low, crude…