Author: Bhakti Narayanan

Nita Ambani, the Founder and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, has been conferred with the prestigious Governor’s Citation by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, recognizing her visionary leadership and significant contributions across education, healthcare, sports, arts, culture, and women’s empowerment. The citation highlights Nita Ambani’s transformative impact, benefiting millions both in India and internationally. Reliance Foundation shared the news on social media, calling Nita Ambani a visionary leader and compassionate philanthropist. During the ceremony, she celebrated the honor by wearing a stunning handwoven Shikargah Banarasi saree, showcasing traditional Indian craftsmanship, including Kadwa weaving and Konya design, a symbol of her commitment to…

South Asian security expert S. Paul Kapur has been nominated by former President Donald Trump as the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs. This role oversees U.S. diplomatic relations with India and the region. If confirmed, Kapur will succeed Donald Lu and become the second Indian-American to hold this position, following Nisha Desai Biswal, who served during the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. Kapur serves as a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, focusing on South Asian politics, regional security, and international affairs. He has previously worked with the State Department’s policy planning staff, focusing on South…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s annual student interaction program, Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC), is set to return in 2025 with a refreshed format and an expanded lineup of notable personalities. The initiative, designed to help students handle exam pressure, will now include insights from figures like Deepika Padukone, Mary Kom, Avani Lekhara, Vikrant Massey, Bhumi Pednekar, Rujuta Diwekar, Technical Guruji, Radhika Gupta, Sonali Sabharwal, and FoodPharmer. The event will take place at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi in a town hall-style format. Launched in 2018, PPC has grown into a national movement, with its eighth edition in 2025 receiving 35.6 million…

Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that Apple Intelligence will debut in India with localized English in April, alongside support for several other languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. Speaking to analysts after Apple’s fiscal Q1 2025 results, Cook emphasized the company’s commitment to expanding its AI capabilities globally. During the quarter ending December 28, 2024, Apple posted a revenue of $124.3 billion, reflecting a 4% year-over-year growth. Cook highlighted that the active installed base of iPhones reached an all-time high across all geographic regions, with the iPhone ranking as the top-selling model in…

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently announced that India’s long-awaited large language model (LLM) is expected to be completed within the next 10 months. This initiative is part of the broader India Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mission, designed to create AI models that incorporate the country’s diverse languages and cultures. The AI project will be supported by the India AI Compute Facility, which has acquired 18,693 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to develop the model, tailored specifically for India’s needs. Vaishnaw emphasized India’s growing AI capabilities, noting that the country now has 15,000 advanced GPUs, positioning its infrastructure on par with global leaders…

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has achieved a remarkable milestone—its 100th mission. This landmark accomplishment highlights India’s growing space capabilities, and ISRO is already setting ambitious goals, planning another 100 missions in the next five years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO on X, praising the dedication of scientists and engineers. He also emphasized the increasing role of private companies in India’s space endeavors. “Congratulations to @isro on this historic 100th launch! This milestone reflects the vision and commitment of our scientists. With private sector collaboration, India’s space journey will continue to soar,” Modi stated. Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister…

India’s Ministry of Mines has earmarked approximately $1.9 billion to strengthen its critical minerals sector, a move designed to secure essential raw materials like lithium for its growing energy and infrastructure needs. To lessen dependence on imports, the country identified 30 key minerals in 2023, with lithium being a top priority. Sources indicate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet is likely to approve an initial investment of around $300 million this week. A significant portion of the funding will come from the National Mineral Exploration Trust, which is set to contribute over $1 billion. Additionally, the Department of Science and…

The United Payments Interface (UPI) has established itself as the leading platform in India’s digital payment sector, accounting for 83% of total payment transactions in 2024, a significant leap from 34% in 2019, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Payments System Report. UPI transaction volumes skyrocketed from 3.75 billion in 2018 to an astounding 172.21 billion by 2024, out of a total digital payment volume of 207.87 billion. The value of these transactions surged remarkably, growing from $67.71 billion in 2018 to $2,852 billion in 2024, reflecting a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 89.3% in volume and…

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to achieve another major milestone with its 100th launch, the GSLV-F15 mission, scheduled for January 29 at 6:23 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This mission will deploy the NVS-02 satellite, further enhancing India’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) system. Marking the 17th flight of the GSLV, this mission includes the 11th use of an indigenous cryogenic stage and the eighth operational flight featuring fully indigenous technology. The rocket will launch from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) using a 3.4-meter metallic payload fairing. Its key goal is to place…

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has carried a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for US President-elect Donald Trump, according to news sources. Representing PM Modi as his special envoy, Jaishankar will attend Trump’s inauguration in Washington DC. This event marks a historic milestone as Trump becomes the 47th President of the United States, regaining office after a four-year interval. Trump is only the second US president, after Grover Cleveland, to reclaim the presidency following an electoral defeat. The tradition of Indian ministers attending presidential inaugurations abroad continues with this visit. Previously, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended Nigeria’s presidential…