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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. On a September evening, yoga mats share space with clothing and jewellery displays at Amala Earth’s store in Delhi. The conscious lifestyle marketplace hosts various events at its Vasant Vihar flagship, and the day’s fixture is a yin and sound bath session.

Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday. Speaking at the Geo India 2024 conference in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of the national capital, the minister said the government's reforms agenda to make it easier to find and produce crude oil (which is refined into fuels like petrol and diesel) and natural gas (which is used to generate power, make fertilizer or turned into cooking gas and CNG) will continue. He promised interference-free administration. «If you have a private sector company which is family owned, you still have interference. But if you have well run state oil companies as our oil firms are, and you have a minister like me, you will have zero interference. I have said that repeatedly,» he said.

Zaragoza, Spain, before firefighters managed to extinguish the flames, local authorities said Friday. The alarm was raised around 5 a.m. on Friday in Villafranca de Ebro, about 28 kilometers (18 miles) from the northeastern city. Two people remained in critical condition, officials said. The cause of the fire was not yet known.

Akhilesh Yadav on Friday criticized the BJP-led government, accusing it of undermining the Constitution while emphasizing his party's commitment to safeguarding democracy. «The government that does encounters doesn't trust the Constitution,» said Yadav during a public rally in support of Dr Charu Kain, the Samajwadi Party candidate for Khair constituency. «We have worked to educate people about the Constitution and the INDIA alliance has gained widespread support. But that doesn't mean the ruling party cannot meddle with it. We, the Samajwadi Party, will continue to protect the Constitution and our democracy,» he added. Taking a jibe at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yadav said, «Sadhus and saints speak less, but in 'kalyug' (the current age), they are speaking more.»

Samsung Electronics has decided to buy back shares worth 10 trillion won ($7.17 billion) over a one-year period to boost shareholder value, after shares plunged to more than four-year lows earlier in the week. It is the first time Samsung Electronics has decided to buy back shares since 2017. Of the total, three trillion won worth of shares, or 50.14 million common shares and 6.91 million preferred shares, will be repurchased in the next three months and cancelled, Samsung said after the market closed on Friday.

Amit Shah on Friday said PM Narendra Modi will amend the Waqf Act despite opposition from leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. «Modi ji wants to change the Waqf Board law, but Uddhav ji, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule are opposing it,» Shah said, addressing a rally at Umarkhed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district. «Uddhav ji, listen carefully, you all can protest as much as you want, but Modi ji will amend the Waqf Act,» he said. Shah said there are two camps in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, one of 'Pandavas' represented by the BJP-led Mahayuti and the other of 'Kauravas' represented by Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Amid uncertainty over India's participation and schedule, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed that the trophy tour for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will kick off from Islamabad on November 16. The PCB took to X and unveiled that the Champions Trophy tour will kick off in Islamabad and will also see destinations like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad.

C Rangarajan said on Friday. Speaking at the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), Rangarajan stressed on the importance of «ensuring efficient fund utilisation before increasing healthcare spending.» «In India, there is a consistent discussion on raising healthcare expenditure to at least 2.8 per cent of the GDP. However, current data indicates that we are spending only about 1.8 or 1.9 per cent of the GDP,» he said. «Governments should increase healthcare spending, focus on establishing hospitals that offer free services, and ensure these funds are utilised efficiently.» The former chairman of the PM's Economic Advisory Council stated that education and health are crucial for accelerating the country's progress. «However, in India's social expenditure system, more resources are allocated to education than to health, which may not be the ideal approach.»

Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Friday announced that the Provincial Civil Services (PCS) Preliminary Exam-2024 will be held on December 22 in two shifts. Giving this information, UPPSC Secretary Ashok Kumar said earlier the PCS Preliminary Examination was proposed for December 7 and December 8. Now it will be conducted on December 22 in two sessions — in the first session from 9.30 am to 11.30 am and in the second session from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm. Since November 11, a large number of students have been agitating and demanding that the PCS preliminary and Review Officer (RO) and Assistant Review Officer (ARO) examinations should be held on a single day. Kumar told PTI, «Looking at the number of candidates in the RO-ARO exam, we have formed a committee which will submit its report as soon as possible. A decision will be taken accordingly.»

«Back when I started in tech in India, grinding late hours was worn like a badge of honor. I had a manager who wouldn’t leave to home before 10:00 PM and always come to office at 9:00 AM sharp. Last min prod deployment on the name of client is god. Even my team members slept in accenture offices in Gurgaon. In India we’re so many people in tech hence so tough competition if you don’t do it — there are 10,000 people in line so most of us don’t have choice,» said Ankur Tyagi on his social media account on X. Further adding, Tyagi said hustle culture was so ingrained in India that sacrificing personal time and family moments without a second thought happens easily.

South China Sea without any confrontation with Chinese forces guarding the disputed area, officials said Friday. The Philippine delivery of supplies and military personnel on Thursday to the Second Thomas Shoal was the third such trip that did not lead to any confrontation since July, when both sides signed a rare deal to stop an alarming spike in violent confrontations. «The Armed Forces of the Philippines continues to uphold its mandate of safeguarding Philippine sovereignty and ensuring the welfare of its stationed personnel in the West Philippine Sea,» military spokesperson Col Xerxes Trinidad said, using the Philippine name for the South China Sea. «There were no untoward incidents during the mission,» Trinidad said.

Amit Shah on Friday dared Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to speak «nicely» about Veer Savarkar and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. «Uddhav ji, if you have the courage, get Rahul Baba to speak two good words about Veer Savarkar and Balasaheb,» Shah said, addressing a rally at Hingoli in Maharashtra ahead of the November 20 state assembly elections. «Rahul Baba's Congress party has passed a resolution in Kashmir to bring back Article 370. Rahul Baba, listen carefully, not only you but even your fourth generation cannot bring back Article 370,» Shah said. Shah said that in the Haryana assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi had said with confidence that his party had won. «So much arrogance in a democracy. Look at the results, Congress was wiped out in Haryana and BJP formed the government,» he said.

Supreme Court has said there is a legislative vacuum with regard to the establishment of a comprehensive rehabilitation framework for victims of sex trafficking. The top court directed the Centre to consider the issue and file an affidavit regarding it. «Human and sex trafficking are crimes that dehumanises the victim and violates the victim's right to life, freedom and personal security. Vulnerable sections of society, especially women and children, are disproportionately affected in such crimes,» said a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal. The apex court said the victims of such crimes are often mistreated by their traffickers and have to endure physical and mental forms of violence that are inflicted upon them.

Remo D'Souza. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan sought responses of the state government and the businessman and ordered that the notices be served through 'dasti' mode. The case dates back to 2016 when an FIR was lodged against D'Souza by Tyagi. The FIR alleged that D'Souza persuaded Tyagi to invest Rs 5 crore in his upcoming film 'Amar Must Die' with a promise of doubling the invested amount after its release.

Pralhad Joshi has proposed formation of a task force in consultation with the Ministry of Power to push efforts to meet India's ambitious target of having 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030. The minister for new and renewable energy has also urged industry players and stakeholders to devise strategies which would help the country meet the target in a time-bound manner. Speaking at an event in Bhubaneswar, the minister proposed the formation of a task force, in consultation with the Ministry of Power, to align the efforts of all stakeholders towards meeting the 500 GW target, the ministry for new and renewable energy (MNRE) said in a statement on Thursday. India has already achieved 212 GW of energy from non-fossil fuel sources and is on track to exceed the 2030 target, he said.

Jake Paul and 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was initally delayed from the original plan for July, but now is just around the corner. The delay was caused by Tyson having a medical episode on a plane and needing time to recover from a stomach ulcer. Read More: Will Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight it out for real? Here's the truth behind the upcoming duel

polished lab-grown diamonds. In October 2024, the exports of gems and jewellery reached USD 2,998.04 million (Rs. 25,194.41 crores), marking a growth of 9.18% in dollar terms and 10.23% in rupee terms, compared to USD 2,746.09 million (Rs. 22,857.16 crores) in October 2023, according to figures released by Gem & Jewellery Export Council (GJEPC) today. Cut and polished diamonds led the recovery in October 2024, with gross exports reaching USD 1,403.59 million (Rs. 11,795.83 crores), marking a growth of 11.32% in dollar terms and 12.39% in rupee terms compared to USD 1,260.91 million (Rs.10,495.06 crores) in October 2023. Commenting on the export growth, Vipul Shah, Chairman, of GJEPC, said, «Notably, the export of cut and polished grew 11.32% compared to October 2023. We are optimistic that this trend will continue, especially with the approaching holiday season in the West, which will likely drive further demand for gems and jewellery. Furthermore, the GJEPC is making concerted efforts to expand into new markets while strengthening demand in existing ones.”

However, there are substantial challenges. Any structure on the Moon will face harsh conditions, including intense cosmic radiation, extreme temperature changes, and moonquakes. Transporting building materials from Earth to Moon is also very expensive. Scientists in Wuhan, China, believe that using lunar soil could be a solution. Researchers at Wuhan’s Huazhong University of Science and Technology have created prototype bricks from materials similar to lunar soil, such as basalt. These samples will be tested for their durability and performance in space. «It's mainly exposure,» said Professor Zhou Cheng. «To put it simply, we put (the material) in space and let it sit there… to see whether its durability, its performance will degrade under the extreme environment.»

Congress Committee (AICC) is investigating the reasons behind the dip, ToI reported on November 15. Despite the lower turnout, the Congress party remains confident of victory for their candidate, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The election, held on Wednesday, saw over five lakh fewer voters compared to previous years. This has caused concern within the Congress, particularly in traditionally strong UDF areas like Nilambur, Wandoor, and Sulthan Bathery. While initial estimates suggested a large margin of victory for Priyanka Gandhi, the party now expects it to be between three and four lakh votes, ToI's report said.

Quick commerce startup Zepto is set to raise $300 million from domestic investors, double of the earlier panned amount, according to people in the know. Top India family offices and ultra-HNIs will be a part of the financing, multiple sources said. The latest funding will come on the back of the company having raised $1 billion over the past few months amid an intensifying quick commerce battle with rivals Zomato’s Blinkit and recently listed Swiggy’s Instamart. Post this round, Indian shareholding in Zepto will go to around 35% including the stakes held by the company founders–Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra. Both the founders have been granted an additional 1% stock based on meeting performance goals, people who know told ET. Celebrities like Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will also be joining the round underscoring the bullishness around the sector. Family offices of Ravi Jaipuria of RJ Corp, Harsh Goenka of RPG group are also in talks to join the round along with the Motilal Oswal group which has increased its investment cheque of $40 million cheque to over $60 million in the round.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the joint-most successful IPL franchise, retained five players, including captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, before the mega auction. They also kept MS Dhoni as an uncapped player, due to a rule change that allows Indian players who haven't played internationally in the past five years to be considered uncapped. Other retained players are Matheesha Pathirana, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shivam Dube. CSK is now left with one Right-To-Match card, which it can use either on an uncapped or a capped player. ALSO READ: How many RTMs do teams have and what are the rules?