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Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the Red Fort was accompanied by an unusual focus on Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Seated in the second last row, Gandhi was positioned next to Olympic hockey forward Gurjant Singh. This seating arrangement, which deviated from traditional protocol, has generated considerable social media discussion. Seating Protocol and Changes Typically, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, whose rank is equivalent to that of a Cabinet Minister, is given a seat in the front row during Independence Day celebrations. However, this year’s front rows were allocated to Olympic medallists. Olympic gold medalists Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh, as well as members of the bronze-winning hockey team, including captain Harmanpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh, occupied these prime seats. According to sources from the Ministry of Defence, which organizes the Independence Day event, Rahul Gandhi was placed in the fifth row as the front rows were reserved for the athletes. The Ministry stated that Gandhi did not request any special arrangements.

Indian institutional investors now consider sustainability information essential in their due diligence process, a study by Deloitte and The Fletcher School at Tufts University said, adding as sustainability becomes more integral to investment management, trust in the ESG data used to inform these decisions is lacking, posing challenges in accessing trustworthy data. «According to Indian investors, the inconsistency or incomparability of ESG rating data (73 per cent), cost constraints on integrating ESG data into investment decision models (71 per cent) and lack of measurable outcomes in corporate disclosures (70 per cent) reduce the trust factor of available sustainability data, inhibiting their ability to implement ESG investment strategies,» Deloitte said citing its study titled 'Investor trust in sustainability data'. The study further highlights that Indian investors are more likely to trust in-house proprietary data systems and audited (or assured) corporate disclosures for sustainability analysis. However, as compared with global investors, Indian investors are less likely to rely on external data sources and ratings.

HR manager was terminated after challenging her boss's controversial leave policy for Raksha Bandhan. The incident has sparked debate on employee rights and company policies. As per the employee's LinkdIn post, The dispute began when the boss of the company introduced a new rule stating that employees who wished to take leave for Raksha Bandhan on August 19 would face a deduction of seven days' salary instead of just one. This policy, shared via WhatsApp, was met with resistance from the HR manager, who argued that it was unfair and illegal under fundamental rights. Despite her efforts, her stance led to her dismissal.

RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the newly appointed principal, Suhrita Pal said on Thursday that she doesn't know anything about the people who initiated vandalism at the hospital. «If you know anything, please tell me. I don't know anything about them,» she said. Pal, speaking on Independence Day said, «I am going for flag hoisting. We should honour our national flag.»

China has put together a revised draft law that will make it simpler for couples to register their marriage, while filing for divorce will become tougher, a move that drew scorn from netizens and became a top trending online topic on Thursday. The draft, aimed at building a "family friendly society", was released by China's Ministry of Civil Affairs this week for public feedback. People are able to submit comments to the ministry until Sept 11, it said. It comes as policymakers struggle to encourage young couples to get married and have children after the country's population fell for two consecutive years.

India House', on the freedom fighters who came together in the building. The pan-Indian historical drama will star Nikhil Siddhartha in the lead role, with Anupam Kher portraying the character of Shyamji Krishna Varma, the man who had bought the building and started the hostel. How India House came up In 2010, a memorial in the beach town of Mandvi in the Kachchh district of Gujarat, captured attention with its Victorian architecture and red brick construction. The Gujarat government had inaugurated a life-size replica of London’s India House and rechristened it Kranti Teerth to honor Shyamji Krishna Varma's contribution to India's freedom movement. The replica aimed to raise awareness among the youth about his significant role in the struggle for freedom.

Amidst the heated debate, Vatsal Sanghvi, founder of 1811 Labs, a Bengaluru-based startup focusing on GenAI SaaS products, stepped forward to defend Cognizant's position. He stated that the salary should be considered a «training stipend» rather than a full-fledged salary, citing concerns over the quality of fresh graduates entering the workforce. “The quality of freshers is often so bad that even Rs 20k per month is overspending. Most don’t know how to communicate professionally, can’t code properly, and don’t know how to behave in a professional environment,” Sanghvi shared on X (formerly Twitter). He emphasized that the market is open, and those who believe the compensation is inadequate are free to seek opportunities elsewhere. “It is an open market—don’t apply if you don’t think it’s fair. Unlike other gigs, there’s plenty of opportunity to grow if these individuals focus on building skill,” he added.

self-help groups and have become integral to family decision-making, contributing to broader social change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. On the occasion of the 78th Independence Day, Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort and hailed women empowerment. «We are proud to see that women are becoming economically self-reliant,» Modi said. «When women become self-reliant, they participate in family decision-making processes, which will ensure significant social transformation,» he said.

“Marriage is a wonderful institution," Groucho Marx quipped, “but who wants to live in an institution?" His joke played on two kinds of set-ups, the latter referring to the one for mental healthcare. On a serious note, Douglass North defined institutions as “the humanly devised constraints that structure political, economic and social interactions." They comprise “both informal constraints (sanctions, taboos, customs, traditions and codes of conduct) and formal rules (constitutions, laws, property rights)." Samuel Huntington, famous for his discredited “clash of civilizations" thesis, held forth a definition based on particulars instead of universals: “Institutions are stable, valued, recurring patterns of behaviour.

Cognizant Technology Solutions is said to have handed out annual salary hikes as low as 1% to some of its employees as the global technology services giant rolled out increments after deferring them by four months. The hikes are as low as 1% and the highest is said to be 5%, at least two people aware of the development told ET on the condition of anonymity. “For a rating of 3, the hike is around 1-3% while a 4 rating has been granted a 4% hike and a 5 rating to an employee is paid an increment of around 4.5% and at the most 5%,” one of the persons said.

Donald Trump's media company shares dipped and neared record lows on Wednesday. This comes after following weak quarterly results and the Republican presidential candidate's return to social media platform X. Trump's dwindling lead in polls and election betting markets in recent weeks has also hit the stock, which has been seen by some retail traders as a bet on whether Trump would win a second term, as per Reuters report. Trump majority owns Trump Media & Technology Group, whose main asset is the Truth Social app popular among some conservatives. On Tuesday, Trump marked his return to X with an interview with the platform owner Elon Musk.

Inflation cooled last month to its lowest level in several years, data today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show, reenforcing estimates that the Social Security COLA next year will be around a modest 2.6 percent.

Donald Trump will have an opportunity to recalibrate his presidential comeback bid with a rally and speech in North Carolina that his campaign is billing as a significant economic address

Himanta Biswa Sarma said proposal to rename the Guwahati railway station after former chief minister Bishnu Ram Medhi would be submitted to the Union Government. Sarma unveiled a statue of Bishnu Ram Medhi, a staunch freedom fighter, social reformer, former Chief Minister, and first Assamese Governor, often hailed as the Iron Man of Assam, at Bharalitola in Hajo. Sarma highlighted Bishnu Ram Medhi's significant contributions which have inspired generations of Assamese people. He thanked the committee members responsible for erecting the seven-foot statue and the residents of Hajo for their support in making this vision a reality.

The United Auto Workers union has filed unfair labor practice charges against Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk

social media in our lives has seen a massive transformation. From facilitating casual interactions to becoming sources of instant news, entertainment, product discovery and promotion, social media performs many roles today. Plus, with more and more companies switching to the social space to generate awareness about their products and services, social media is brimming with opportunities and seeking fresh talent.

Karnataka Congress legislator on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to hesitate to take decisive military action like former PM late Indira Gandhi did in 1971. Rizwan Arshad, who represents Shivajinagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru, in a letter to Modi, also appealed to him to take «decisive action» to not only address concerns of minorities in Bangladesh but also in India, who have been under «constant attack both economically and socially by the right wing.» «I write to you today as a concerned citizen of India deeply distressed by the recent reports and videos circulating on social media, highlighting the ongoing political turmoil in Bangladesh and the atrocities being reported against Hindu minorities in the region,» Arshad said.

Starbucks reportedly fired Indian-origin Laxman Narasimhan from the position of Chief Executive Officer, a recent interview of him saying he 'almost never' worked past 6 pm has been making rounds on various social media platforms. «I am very disciplined about balance. If there's anything after 6 pm and I am in town, it's got to be a pretty high bar to keep me away from the family. Anybody who gets a minute of time after that better be sure that it's important… Because if not it will just wait for another day,» Narasimhan said in an interivew to Fortune. Starbucks on Tuesday announced that Chipotle Mexican Grill's head, Brian Niccol, will replace Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Laxman Narasimhan.

The UK’s image as a multicultural country is the obvious loser from the far-right violence of the past fortnight, but in time these tragic events may have wider implications for the policing of social media everywhere. The role of X in disseminating often-false information and lionizing rabble-rousers, as well as X owner Elon Musk’s provocative tweets and irresponsible retweets, are all under the microscope.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, strongly denounced the targeted violence against Hindus in Bangladesh following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office. Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, strongly condemned the violence targeting Hindus in Bangladesh that occurred after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Ramaswamy expressed his concern about the current situation, stating that «a quota conflict created to rectify the wrongs of rape and violence in 1971 is now leading to more rape and violence in 2024.»

MIB) to hold an open and transparent consultation process before it comes out with a fresh draft of the Broadcast Services Regulation Bill. The MIB has faced criticism for the opaque manner in which it circulated the second draft of the Broadcast Bill with certain stakeholders at the end July. The first draft of the bill, which was released in November 2023, was put up for public consultation; however, the comments were not made public. «We expect the MIB to hold a transparent consultation process and take the views of all the stakeholders, including bodies like the Editors Guild of India, before coming out with the fresh draft,» said Anant Nath, the president of the non-profit organisation of journalists.