Kerala musicians play traditional drums during the Navratri festival, at Kanaka Durga temple, in Vijayawada

People visit a pandal with the theme of The Jungle Book for offering prayers to Goddess Durga during the Durga Puja festival, in Kolkata

A man covering the face of Goddess Durga&amp;#39;s idol with a face-mask to create awareness of Covid-19 during the Durga Puja festival, in Kolkata

An artist gives final touches to an idol of Goddess Durga ahead of the Durga Puja festival, in Sonitpur district, in Guwahati

Artists perform Ramlila organised by Shri Durga Ram Leela Committee on the third day of Navratri festival, in Gurugram

An artisan gives final touches by covering the face of Goddess Durga&amp;#39;s idol with a face-mask, in Sonitpur district

A Bengali woman in traditional attire carrying the clay idol of goddess Durga during the auspicious time of Navratri in Ranchi

Devotees stand in queue to enter Durga temple on the first day of the Navratri festival, in Varanasi

Devotees taking pictures of goddess Durga as they transport the idol ahead of Navaratri festival in Mumbai

A Durga Puja pandal surrounding the theme of coronavirus and Covid 19 treatment centre

Every year Durga Puja and Navratri are celebrated with full fervour, but this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, restrictions have been imposed on celebrations

People visit a pandal or made a sift platform with the theme of The Jungle Book for offering prayer to goddess Durga during the Durga Puja festival, in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Durga Puja pandal

In pictures: Durga Puja, Navratri celebrations across the nation

Business Standard

In pictures: Durga Puja, Navratri celebrations across the nation | Current Affairs News National - Business Standard

The two companies are looking to operate under a single holding company and are expected to soon sign a memorandum of understanding for the new merged entity

Ambani-owned firms, MNC subsidiaries claim top spots

India cannot stay out of global technological race and should build capabilities that will keep it at the top while remaining vigilant against its misuse, said Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd.
Speaking at IIT Bombay's Techfest 2024, Adani, the 27-year old younger son of infrastructure magnate Gautam Adani, said the future of technology is both scary and exciting.
"But be it scary or exciting, we cannot afford to ignore technology or even go slow in our use of technology -- either as a nation or as its citizens. India cannot stay out of this global race," he said.
"Our generation needs to build capabilities to lead India into this new technological era if we want to stay at the top of our game and realise our dream of Viksit Bharat -- to become a USD 26-trillion economy by 2047," he said.
While technology has helped mankind progress, it is also being applied to wrong causes -- fake news, fake photos, fake videos, fake money, online scams, spoofing, phishing, and ...

Speaking at IIT Bombay's Techfest 2024, Adani, the 27-year old younger son of infrastructure magnate Gautam Adani, said the future of technology is both scary and exciting

OnePlus 13 series launch on January 7. OpenAI makes ChatGPT Search free. Google Veo 2 video generation model. iOS 18.3 developer beta. Android 15 QPR2 beta 2. Samsung One UI 7

Appellate tribunal NCLAT on Tuesday dismissed the plea filed by the former promoters of realty firm Spaze Towers to confine the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process to only one project -- Spaze Arrow.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), on October 21, 2024, directed the initiation of insolvency proceedings against Spaze Towers, admitting a plea filed by its flat owners.
Appealing against the order, the former management approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), requesting to confine the CIRP process to only one project.
However, the appellate tribunal rejected it, saying, "When the claimants have filed claims for the Project Corporate Park, which is not complete despite the Occupancy Certificate and Completion Certificate, by confining the CIRP to only one Project shall be tantamount to excluding the claims filed before the RP from different Project".
"We, thus, after considering the facts and circumstances, which have been brought on the record by th

The NCLT also rejected the submissions of Spaze Towers that it had settled the dues of nine petitioner allottees and hence, they should not be treated as financial creditors

In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said unauthorised constructions cannot be legitimised merely due to administrative delays, passage of time, or monetary investments and issued a slew of directions to curb illegal constructions.
A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said even the post-construction violations must trigger swift corrective action, including demolition of the illegal part and penalties for erring officials.
The bench also upheld the demolition of unauthorised commercial constructions in a residential plot in Meerut, emphasising the need for strict adherence to urban planning laws and accountability of officials.
The court issued a slew of comprehensive directions in larger public interest to streamline urban development and enforcement.
"We are of the opinion that construction(s) put up in violation of or deviation from the building plan approved by the local authority and the constructions which are audaciously put up without

In a 36-page judgement, the apex court said that builders must pledge not to hand over buildings without completion/occupation certificates and approved building plans must be displayed throughout

Stakeholders from the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sought a reduction in GST, technology upgrade, and production-linked incentive scheme benefits for various segments in a pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.
The meeting aimed to seek inputs and suggestions for the Budget for 2025-26, expected to be presented on February 1.
Members from the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE); Karnataka SC and ST Entrepreneurs' Association; Plant-Based Food Industry Association (PBFIA); Ambala Scientific Instruments Manufacturers' Association (ASIMA); Rajasthan Footwear Manufacturers' Association were among the participants at the meeting.
The All-India Plastics Manufacturers' Association; All India Manufacturers' Association; Gujarat Chamber of Small Industries Association; Federation of Associations of Cottage and Small Industries (based in West Bengal); Federation of Andhra Pradesh Small and Medium Association; and Laghu Udyog 

The meeting aimed to seek inputs and suggestions for the Budget for 2025-26, expected to be presented on February 1

Call for reining in food inflation and raising investment in pre-Budget  talks

Russia-Ukraine War

The year 2022 is coming to an end and a lot has happened that shaped the world in the year. Let's have a look at some of these significant events

In February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine&amp;#39;s capital, Kyiv, from the north in an attempt to overthrow President Volodymyr Zelensky&amp;#39;s government. In the months following, artillery bombardment and street fighting continued, with Russia seizing multiple cities.

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After a slew of scandals in his term spanning three years, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned from office in July. Johnson was succeeded by Liz Truss, who took over the office in September.
						
						But after 45 days in the office, she resigned, becoming the shortest-serving PM in UK history. Her budgetary plans, at the centre of which were tax cut plans, had crashed the markets, making her lose the confidence of almost all her own MPs.
						
						In the days that followed, Rishi Sunak took over as Britain&amp;#39;s 57th prime minister and vowed to fix the mistakes made by his predecessor, Liz Truss.

Russia Invades Ukraine

In April, protests began in the nation following a sharp rise in food and fuel costs. Thousands demanded the resignation of now-ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The people faced long power cuts daily and shortages of basics, including fuel and food. Sri Lanka&amp;#39;s doctors said they were nearly out of life-saving medicines.
						
						Rajapaksa&amp;#39;s government was being blamed for the chronic mismanagement of the country&amp;#39;s finances. In July, protestors stormed Rajapaksa&amp;#39;s home, pushing him to flee the nation before resigning from office.

UK&amp;#39;s political crisis

In September, 22-year-old Iranian girl Mahsa Amini died after being detained for allegedly violating Iran&amp;#39;s laws requiring women to wear a headscarf. Authorities said she died of illness, but her family claimed she fell into a coma after being mistreated by the police. Sources said the police beat Amini with a baton and banged her head against a vehicle. At her funeral on September 17 in Saqez, women protested by ripping off their hijabs. Protests sparked by her demise have since roped in ethnic minorities and even school children. Thousands of women since then have been showing solidarity by cutting their hair and burning their hijabs in public.
						
						Now, the unrest has spread beyond a women&amp;#39;s right to a movement that is calling for an end to theocratic rule. The protests are now the most broadly supported movement in Iran in over four decades.

Sri Lanka economic crisis

In October, Chinese President Xi Jinping was handed a historic third term in office. He became the first leader of the ruling Communist Party after party founder Mao Zedong to get a third term in power.
						
						This came as China&amp;#39;s economy was running out of steam after decades of high growth. Many expect Xi&amp;#39;s third term may see China revert to more old-school economic management, focusing on shoring up the heavy industry and continuing a crackdown on big tech.

Uprising mounts again in Iran

In a historic first, rich countries agreed to pay for losses and damages caused by climate change. For 30 years, developing nations have been calling for developed countries to compensate for the costs of climate disasters caused by climate change. And rich nations that caused the pollution resisted the demand. But this changed in 2022.

Chinese President Xi Jinping starts record third term in power

In 2022, inflation was rising worldwide, with food and energy prices hitting record highs. The hike was mainly driven by pent-up consumer demand after the pandemic and Russia&amp;#39;s invasion of Ukraine. As the pandemic waned, people wanted to return to normalcy and spend more. This led to companies demanding higher prices. Companies also hired more to serve the pent-up demand. They had to increase wages to attract workers and raise prices to compensate for that.

A landmark deal UN Climate Change Conference (COP27)

In September, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain&amp;#39;s longest-serving monarch, died at 96 after reigning for 70 years. Many said her death would mark a turning point for commonwealth nations as many may disassociate themselves.

The global economy at crossroads

In October, Brazil&amp;#39;s former president, Luiz In&amp;aacute;cio Lula da Silva beat Jair Bolsonaro in the country&amp;#39;s closest presidential race in history. Silva&amp;#39;s win marked Latin America&amp;#39;s shift to the left and pointed to an extraordinary comeback for a man in jail for corruption three years ago.

Queen Elizabeth II dies

In October, billionaire Elon Musk closed his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter after months of dilly-dallying, drama and a lawsuit. The Tesla owner&amp;#39;s Twitter takeover is also one of the biggest tech acquisitions of all time. May fear that Musk&amp;#39;s takeover may turn the social media giant into a hotbed of hate speech.
					
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Brazil elections

Google Messages

In January, Google rolled out end-to-end encryption in group chats for messages app users enrolled in the beta programme

Blend launches Blend Studio: AI tool for ecommerce photography

New Delhi [India], March 16 (ANI/PNN): Blend, an AI-powered design and photography application for DTC brands and ecommerce sellers, recently launched Blend Studio - the Chat GPT for product photos.

Celebrity and Travel Photographer Rahul Lokare from Flamingo Productions creates waves of change in the world of photography.

Xiaomi 13 Pro

Priced at Rs 79,999 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB on-board storage, the Xiaomi 13 Pro offers a novel imaging experience on top of a premium package

In pictures: Durga Puja, Navratri celebrations across the nation

Every year Durga Puja and Navratri are celebrated with full fervour, but this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, restrictions have been imposed on celebrations

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