President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the dignitaries who joined a prayer ceremony at the memorial of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday to pay tributes to him on his birth centenary. Union ministers, including Amit Shah and J P Nadda, besides BJP allies such as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union ministers Lalan Singh of the JD(U) and Jitam Ram Manjhi of HAM(S) paid homage to the BJP stalwart at 'Sadaiv Atal'. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla besides the members of Vajpayee's adopted family were also present. Senior BJP leaders were also present for the centenary celebrations.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the dignitaries who joined a prayer ceremony at the memorial of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday

Watch: President Murmu, PM Modi pay tributes to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 100th birth anniversary

IndiGo expects to carry 112 million passengers in 2024 and is on the way to become a leading player in global aviation, its chief Pieter Elbers has said.
In 2023, the country's largest airline has flown over 100 million passengers.
India is one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets and IndiGo, which has a domestic market share of 63.6 per cent, is also expanding its international network.
In a statement to PTI on the outlook for 2025, CEO Elbers said A321 XLRs will be arriving next year.
These narrow-body planes have a longer range and will help the airline to start longer-duration direct international flights.
IndiGo, flying for the last 18 years, has a fleet of over 400 aircraft and also placed an order for 30 wide body A350-900 widebodies.
"An airline so young expects to welcome over 112 million customers in 2024, after crossing the 100 million annual customers bar last year," Elbers said.
Aligning with India's vision to establish itself as an aviation hub, he

India is one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets and IndiGo, which has a domestic market share of 63.6 per cent, is also expanding its international network

CoRover develops human-centric conversational platforms driven by generative AI (Gen AI) technology, including chatbots, avatars, and voice bots, and has already gained over a billion users

There are currently no widespread critical bugs reported by users that would necessitate an urgent release

The new Sonic-inspired microSD cards are available in four distinct variants, each representing an iconic character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series

Injured passengers were rushed to nearby hospitals in Bhimtal for immediate medical treatment

The Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana and the free healthcare Sanjeevani Yojana for senior citizens were described as 'corrupt' by the print notices in newspapers

According to the Nathealth-Hospital Federation of India, the sector is pushing for an increase in healthcare spending to 2.5 per cent of the GDP

Healthcare industry body NATHEALTH has asked the government to address systemic gaps such as acute shortage of medical specialists, escalating cancer care costs, and inadequate hospital infrastructure to meet the demands of a growing population in the upcoming union Budget.
In its pre-Budget recommendations, NATHEALTH sought increasing budgetary allocations of the healthcare sector to over 2.5 per cent of GDP and asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to address the growing burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, compounded by long standing challenges.
"The upcoming Union Budget offers an unprecedented chance to address systemic gaps such as the acute shortage of medical specialists, escalating cancer care costs, and inadequate hospital infrastructure to meet the demands of a growing population," NATHEALTH President Abhay Soi said in a statement.
Soi, who is also the Chairman & Managing Director of Max Healthcare Institute Ltd, further said, "Expanding hospital ...

In its pre-Budget recommendations, NATHEALTH sought increasing budgetary allocations of the healthcare sector to over 2.5 per cent of GDP

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

Watch: President Murmu, PM Modi pay tributes to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 100th birth anniversary

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