Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid an unannounced visit to Leh

He is accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief MM Naravane

Nearly three weeks after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash between Chinese and Indian troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh&amp;#39;s Galwan Valley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the region to review the situation

Your courage is higher than the heights where you are posted today: PM to soldiers

Narendra Modi said the tales of the soldiers&amp;#39; bravery and valour are echoing in every house

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being briefed by senior officials at a forward position at Nimmoo in Leh

Located at 11,000 feet, Nimmoo is among the toughest terrains

Indian soldiers shout slogan &amp;#39;Vande Matram&amp;#39; and &amp;#39;Bharat Mata Ki Jai&amp;#39; as Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets them during his surprise visit to Ladakh

China today said that artificial blocks to bilateral cooperation would harm India&amp;#39;s interests and that the two countries should work together to uphold peace in their border region

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed soldiers in Nimmoo, Ladakh, during his trip to the region to review the situation along the Line of Actual Control

Indian soldiers shout slogan 'Vande Matram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' as Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets them during his surprise visit to Ladakh, at Nimmoo in Leh.

Narendra Modi, Leh, Ladakh

In pictures: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Ladakh

Business Standard

In pictures: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Ladakh | Current Affairs News National - Business Standard

SpiceJet on Monday said its founder Ajay Singh will infuse Rs 294 crore into the airline through a promoter group entity by way of conversion of warrants into equity shares, following which promoter group's shareholding will increase to over 33 per cent.
Singh, also the Chairman and Managing Director of the carrier, will be infusing the funds through Spice Healthcare Pvt Ltd, a promoter group company.
In a release on Monday, SpiceJet said Singh will infuse Rs 294.09 crore into the company through the conversion of 13,14,08,514 warrants into an equivalent number of equity shares (13.14 crore equity shares).
"This strategic move will increase the consolidated shareholding of the promoter group in SpiceJet from the current 29.11 per cent to 33.47 per cent," the release said.
Besides, Singh is selling up to 3.15 crore equity shares of the airline and the proceeds will be utilised to enable Spice Healthcare Pvt Ltd to partially fund the balance of 75 per cent of the amount at the time o

SpiceJet said Singh will infuse Rs 294.09 crore into the company through the conversion of 13,14,08,514 warrants into an equivalent number of equity shares (131.4 mn equity shares)

Hindustan Construction Company Ltd in partnership with Tata Projects Ltd has bagged a Rs 2,191 crore contract from the Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MPMRCL).
The Rs 2,191-crore contract is for the construction of an 8.65-km long corridor including underground tunnels and stations for MPMRCL, a company statement said.
HCC holds a 55 per cent share in the joint venture.
According to the statement, the package IN-05R is the first and only underground segment of the 31.32-km Indore Metro Phase 1 project.
The package includes the construction of 11.32 km long tunnel by tunnel boring machine (TBM) and seven underground stations at Indore Railway Station, Rajwada, Chota Ganpati, Bada Ganpati, Ramchandra Nagar, BSF/Kalani Nagar, and Airport, connecting a ramp east of Indore Railway Station to a ramp west of Airport Station, the statement added.
Currently, HCC is engaged in Mumbai Metro Line III, constructing 4 km of twin tunnels and four stations, along with two Chennai Metro

The Rs 2,191-crore contract is for the construction of an 8.65-km long corridor including underground tunnels and stations for MPMRCL

RCS messaging support will enable high-resolution media sharing and enhanced messaging features between iPhones and Android devices

Reportedly, Apple has redesigned several internal components, including the display and silicon, to optimise battery life on the anticipated iPhone 17 Air

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that scamsters collected Rs 281.43 crore from 48,386 people by promising scooters at half the price using CSR funds, but gave vehicles only to 16,348 people as per 386 cases registered into the CSR fund scam in which investigation began.
Responding to a query raised by CPI(M) MLA Murali Perunelly on the status of probe into the CSR scam, Vijayan told Assembly that the police have registered 1,343 cases related to the scam till March 12.
Of these, 665 cases have been handed over to the Superintendent of Crime Branch, Ernakulam, leading the special investigation team under the supervision of ADGP (Crimes), CM said.
The CM was referring to the case where thousands of people were allegedly cheated by falsely promising two-wheelers and laptops at half price using CSR funds.
The Chief Minister added that several crucial documents were seized from the prime accused, whose bank accounts have been frozen.
The police have arrested six ..

According to data from the 386 cases in which investigations have commenced, a total of Rs 281.43 crore was collected from 48,386 people by promising scooters at half the price

Parliament Budget session latest updates: Catch all the news developments related to proceedings in the Parliament here

Finance minister Thangam Thennarasu said that the state's revenue for the financial year 2025-26 is estimated at Rs 3,31,569 crore, while expenditure is estimated at Rs 3,73,204 crore

Chief Minister M K Stalin released the new logo on the X platform in a pre-Budget video

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: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Ladakh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed soldiers in Nimmoo, Ladakh, during his trip to the region to review the situation along the Line of Actual Control

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