President Ram Nath Kovind presents Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2017 to Ramchandra Manjhi for his contribution in the Folk Music (Bihar)

Awardees stand for the national anthem during the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2017, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi

Deepika Reddy gets the award for her contribution in Kuchipudi Dance

Hema Singh wins it for her contribution in the Theatre Acting

Gurnam Singh gets the award for his contribution in the other major traditions of music -Gurbani

Jagannathn Bayan gets it for his contribution in the Traditional Music (Khol) Assam

Deepak Virat Tiwari wins the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for his contribution in the Theatre Acting

The award also goes to Sujata Mohapatra for her contribution in the Odissi Dance

In a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President awarded 42 artistes in five categories for the year 2017

President Ram Nath Kovind  presents Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2017 to Deepak Virat Tiwari for his contribution in the Theatre Acting

In pictures: Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2017, the complete winners' list

Business Standard

Zomato's Sensex weightage stands at 2.77 per cent, ranking 12th among the 30 components, surpassing consumer giants like Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, and Nestle

SEBI-registered stock market research platform Univest has raised USD 10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII).
The funds will be deployed towards scaling the Gurgaon-headquartered firm's offerings, while maintaining a focus on delivering personalised user experience, Univest co-founder and CEO Pranit Arora said.
"With this funding round, we are excited to accelerate our mission to democratise access to high-quality research. The funds will enable us to scale our research-first, full-stack brokerage offering, creating India's first true stock market superapp for retail investors. Our focus will remain on delivering seamless, personalised, and actionable insights that simplify the investment journey for our users," he said.
Univest provides expert trading advice across stocks, derivatives, and commodities. Investor users receive entry and exit signals from SEBI-registered analysts, during Live market hours, ensuring timely and ...

The funds will be deployed towards scaling the Gurgaon-headquartered firm's offerings, while maintaining a focus on delivering personalised user experience

Older phones cannot support the app's evolving features, which is why WhatsApp will discontinue support for certain systems at specific points in their lifecycle

A new Centre of Excellence on Classical and Quantum Communications for 6G has been inaugurated this year at the IITM Research Park in Chennai to spearhead research and development in 6G technologies

Several experts have claimed that the latest government data on India's forests is "inflated" as it includes bamboo plantations, coconut groves, and orchards among others as part of the forest cover.
The 'India State of Forests Report 2023' released on Saturday, after a delay of almost a year, said India's total forest and tree cover has increased by 1,445 sq km since 2021, reaching 25.17 per cent of the total geographical area in 2023.
However, the forest cover grew by just 156 sq km and most of the gain (149 sq km) occurred outside the Recorded Forest Area (RFA), which refers to areas designated as forests in government records.
The overall results could have been stronger, especially since the government included bamboo and smaller trees (5-10 cm diameter at breast height) in the tree cover estimates for ISFR 2023. The assessment also expanded to 751 districts, up from 636 in 2021.
Experts including Kerala's former principal chief conservator of forests Prakriti Srivastava, ...

The 'India State of Forests Report 2023' released on Saturday, after a delay of almost a year, said India's total forest and tree cover has increased by 1,445 sq km since 2021, reaching 25.17 per cent

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday appointed retired IAS officer Rajiv Ranjan Mishra as the one-man commission to look into the sub-categorisation within Scheduled Castes (SC) in the state following the Supreme Court ruling in favour of it.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh has appointed Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, IAS (retired) as One Man Commission to enquire into the sub-classification within Scheduled Castes in the light of judgment of the Supreme Court dated August 1, 2024, said an official press release.
The commission will visit the undivided districts of Eluru, Krishna and Guntur from December 27 to 30 to conduct meetings and receive representations from individuals or institutions familiar with the subject matter.
Memoranda and representations can also be submitted in person or through registered post at the commission's office until January 9, 2025.
In August, the top court had held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the scheduled .

The commission will visit the undivided districts of Eluru, Krishna and Guntur from December 27 to 30 to conduct meetings and receive representations from individuals or institutions

The CII pointed out that despite being successful, the PSL framework required recalibration to stay relevant

The GST Council, in its meeting on Saturday, is likely to decide on reducing tax rates on life and health insurance premiums, but a decision on big-ticket rate rationalisation, including a higher tax on sin goods, may be deferred.
The GoM on GST rate rationalisation had proposed rate rejigs in 148 items in its recommendations, but sources said that consensus is needed to be built on some of the tax changes that the panel has suggested and some more time may be needed for that.
The 55th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, is also likely to deliberate on bringing Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), a major component for airline industry's operation cost, in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) fold.
The GST rate is also proposed to be cut on food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato, to 5 per cent (without input tax credit), from the current 18 per cent (with ITC).
However, the Fitment Committee (comprising tax

Also, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST compensation cess is likely to get a six month extension till June, 2025, to submit its report. The compensation cess regime comes to an end in March, 2026

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: Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards 2017, the complete winners' list

In a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President awarded 42 artistes in five categories for the year 2017

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