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The wicketkeeper-batsman was sold for a price of Rs 14 crore, outdoing the previous bid of Rs 13.75 crore by Chennai Super Kings. Former Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul became a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore, having been released by Lucknow Super Giants, owned by Sanjiv Goenka.

Google Research India head Manish Gupta has disagreed with Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani's comments that ‘India should not invest in building foundational models.’ Gupta, speaking at the Bengaluru Tech Summit held between November 19-21, firmly disagreed with Nilekani and said, “There’s a technologist that I deeply respect, Nandan Nilekani, who made this statement: India should forget about foundation model building, just focus on the use cases. And I would say, with the person I respect, I respectfully disagree.” Nilekani is credited with helming world's largest unique identity programme with Aadhaar. The Google research head countered, saying India should invest in foundational AI models or Large Language Models (LLMs). “I think he’s (Nandan Nilekani) wrong because he’s not preaching what he has practised. What he did, he revolutionised India’s technology landscape by starting with the basics for Aadhaar. He didn’t start with use cases. He started with foundations. So, I think we must start with foundations.”

Rajasthan Royals have had excellent performances in last three seasons and is not surprising that the team has retained six players ahead of the mega auction. It was also the only team that distributed the money exactly how the IPL governing body had first prescribed — Two players for Rs 18 crore, two players for Rs 14 crore and one player for Rs 11 crore. The uncapped player was also retained for Rs 4 crore.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has been a team that assembles strong players, filled with super stars year after year, but is yet to win an IPL trophy. They have been three-time runner ups in 2009, 2011, and 2016. The team has used the most number of players in the history of IPL, but one player has remained a constant throughout the 17 years. Virat Kohli. The franchise has come into the auction with three Right to Match (RTM) cards and Rs 83 crore in the purse, which is the second highest. Post the rollercoaster season, the franchise from Bengaluru is set for a major rejig as they retained only three players, all Indians. It was no surprise that the former Indian captain was retained by the franchise for the 18th season for Rs 21 crore, the highest paid Indian before going into the mega IPL auction.

Haj Suvidha App 2.0 with the new version introducing key features such as air travel details, a navigation system with Mina maps, and medical history and health advisories for Indian pilgrims going on Haj. The application was launched by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju after he inaugurated the Conference of Chairpersons of State and UT Haj Committees in the presence of Minister of State for Minority Affairs, George Kurian and Chairman of the Haj Committee of India Abdullahkutti, among others. In his address, Rijiju noted that the Haj pilgrimage is the largest logistical operation undertaken annually by the government of India beyond its borders.

Netflix's wildly-popular historical drama series The Empress finally returned for its second season in 2024. But fans are curious to know whether the much-loved series get renewed for Season 3? The story of 'The Empress' is based loosely on the real historical figure of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the show captures the rebellious spirit of the unorthodox monarch as she challenges the strict social norms of her repressive royal life, and all the challenges she faced as a ruler and as a person. The series was a surprise smash for the streamer, and is still one of Netflix's biggest hits in a language other than English.

Kazakhstan based on its visa free regime for Indians and facilities is attracting many Indians. The flow of Indian tourists has ‘rocketed’ to Central Asia’s biggest and resource rich state of Kazakhstan since the country introduced a 14-day visa-free regime for Indian citizens in 2022. The numbers have seen a sharp increase with an increase in the number of daily flights in the recent months between the two sides. In 2023 over 50,000 Indians visited Kazakhstan. A three-hour flight is the air distance between New Delhi and the historic and modern city Almaty that offers all facilities of a Western city coupled with ropeways and ski resorts.

Having entered the season with a wallet of Rs 55 crore, all eyes are on the team management and Stevan Flemming, as to who will accompany the marquee players for the next season. CSK have retained Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja for Rs 18 crore each, Matheesha Pathirana for Rs 13 crore, World Cup star Shivam Dube for Rs 12 crore and MS Dhoni for Rs 4 crore as an uncapped player.

Yuzvendra Chahal has been sold to the Punjab Kings for a staggering Rs 18 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction, one of the marquee buys of the season already. The seasoned leg-spinner, formerly with Rajasthan Royals, renowned for his wicket-taking prowess, had a successful stint last season, further solidifying his reputation as one of the game’s top spinners. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru were in fray to bag the spinner alongside Punjab.

Mumbai Indians have faced a bumpy ride in two of their last three seasons. In 2023, they just managed to scrape into the playoffs but were knocked out in the second qualifier. This was sandwiched between two of their worst seasons, where they finished at the bottom of the standings. IPL 2025 Auction: Check the complete list of sold players on Day 1 MI won their first IPL title in 2013, the same year Rohit Sharma took over as captain from Ricky Ponting. Since then, the team has lifted the trophy four more times, including back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020, making them the second franchise in IPL history to achieve such a feat.

Sunrisers Hyderabad made their first buy in the IPL 2025 Auction with Mohammed Shami. He will partner Pat Cummins in the franchise. SRH have retained five players including Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. With these five players secured, it will be interesting to see what other additions the franchise makes to their squad during the mega auction.

Virat Kohli swapped fluency with spunk to score his 30th Test hundred which took him past the incomparable Sir Donald Bradman's tally here on Sunday, and it was also one of the most significant knocks in a stellar career that is in its final chapter. Kohli's unbeaten 100 (143b, 8x4, 2x6) against Australia at the Optus Stadium was his first hundred after the 121 against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023, and since then 15 innings have passed without a three-figure mark. It was a massive climb down for a man who churned out hundreds for fun, and the 36-year-old was also a befuddled batter in the turners at home. But at Perth, the venue of his majestic hundred in 2018, and against a favoured opposition, Kohli pushed behind the agonies of the past.

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anti-Naxal operations. The forward operating bases (FOB) have come up in Tumpalpad and Rayagudem in Sukma district and Kondapalli in the adjoining Bijapur district. These bases have been made operational over the last week or so, officials told PTI. The central force is working on a strategy to make inroads into «hardcore» Naxalite areas of the state where the final battle against Left Wing Extremism (LWE) is concentrated. The FOBs act as launching pads for all security forces, including the CRPF and state police units, to launch specific and intelligence-based anti-Naxal operations in core areas, they said.

KRBL Ltd, a publicly listed company popular for its 'India Gate' basmati rice, is foraying into mixed spices and rice bran edible oil segments. India Gate brand has already forayed into other premium non-basmati rice categories that typically sell at a premium. Their mixed biriymasala is already on e-commerce platforms for about a year now and it is planning to launch it in brick-and-mortar general stores next financial year.

Perth Test hero Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit a stunning century on Sunday, rose to stardom from being homeless and selling snacks on the streets to finance his cricketing ambitions. The 22-year-old opening batsman turned an overnight 90 into 161 on day three in the opening match of the five-Test series against Australia. It was his fourth ton in his 15th Test.

D Y Chandrachud on Sunday said social media is being used by special interest groups to influence outcome of cases and judges need to be wary of them. He also noted that people nowadays want to form an opinion on the basis of 20 seconds they see on YouTube or any other social media platform, saying it poses a great danger. «Today there are special interest groups, pressure groups who are trying to use social media to affect the minds of the courts and the outcomes of cases. Every citizen is entitled to understand what is the basis of a decision and to express their opinions on the decisions of the court. But when this goes beyond the decisions of the court and targets individual judges, then it sort of raises fundamental questions about — Is this truly freedom of speech and expression?» he said. «Everybody, therefore wants to form an opinion in 20 seconds of what they see on YouTube or any social media platform. This poses a grave danger because the process of decision-making in the courts is far more serious. It is really nuanced that nobody has the patience or the tolerance today on social media to understand, and that is a very serious issue that is confronting the Indian judiciary,» he said while speaking at NDTV India's Samvidhan@75 Conclave.

Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC stressed the chemistry of the leadership trio of Mahayuti government in Maharashtra on Sunday as the alliance sweeped the state assembly elections. Speaking to on Sunday, Shaina NC said that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have the «absolute chemistry» of working towards the 'Vikshit Maharashtra' (developed Maharashtra). Referring to the poll results, Shaina NC termed the alliance's strike rate of performance as «phenomenal.»

Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) successfully kept the impressive electoral might of the BJP at bay for a second time, thwarting apparent bids to polarise the state known as a tribal stronghold on religious lines. The JMM-led alliance secured a victory against the BJP in the state assembly elections. This marks the second consecutive defeat for the BJP in Jharkhand. Soren, as part of INDIA bloc, delivered the goods even though the BJP combo of 'name, network, resources and rhetoric' was a huge challenge to overcome, a ToI report (by Subodh Ghildiyal) said on November 24.

Verstappen cruised to a fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship on Saturday night by finishing fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen needed only to finish ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren to give Red Bull a fourth straight driver championship. The Dutchman started fifth but was already up to second by the 10th lap around the street circuit that includes the famed Las Vegas Strip. Norris, who had to score at least three points more than Verstappen to extend the championship fight, finished sixth. Verstappen needed only to finish higher than Norris to win the title, which he did with two races remaining on the season.

The report added that India is poised to become a significant player, as the global geospatial market is set to reach USD 1,064 billion by 2030. The geospatial market, by definition, is the industry that includes the creation, gathering, analysis, and use of geographic data through technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and remote sensing.