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Indian gem and jewellery market, currently valued at USD 85 billion, is poised for rapid growth, projected to reach USD 130 billion by 2030 according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the apex trade body of the gem and jewellery industry. While addressing a press conference Vipul Shah, chairman of GJEPC said “GJEPC has invested Rs 150 crores in the global generic promotion of diamonds till date. To strengthen this effort, GJEPC partnered with De Beers to promote diamonds through Retail Alliance in India, with a formal MoU signed on January 7."” De Beers Group, the world’s leading diamond company, and GJEPC announced the commencement of a strategic collaboration to strengthen the natural diamond narrative within the Indian gem and jewellery trade.

Maha Vikas Aghadi's rout in the state assembly elections, key constituent Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday announced to contest local bodies polls solo, a move raising question mark over the opposition bloc's unity. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut cited the lack of opportunities for workers of respective parties in an alliance and the right to organisational growth as the major considerations for contesting solo. Two days back, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party announced its support for Arvind Kejriwal's AAP in the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections, in a snub to the Congress. Reacting to Raut's announcement, a Congress leader said the party's central leadership will take a call on whether Congress will contest solo or otherwise in local body polls, the schedule of which is yet to be declared.

Z-Morh tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district which is likely to be thrown open by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13, officials said on Saturday. The prime minister is likely to address a public rally after the inauguration of the tunnel in Gagangir in the Sonamarg area of the central Kashmir district, they said. The security has also been strengthened in many areas of the valley, including Srinagar. «Security has been tightened near the Z-Morh tunnel. Multi-layered security arrangements have been put in place and the PM's security team, comprising SPG personnel, has taken over the venue,» the officials said.

The four deceased labourers were among the nine workers trapped inside the mine in Umrangsu on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the quarry. «The rescue operations resumed this morning and three bodies were recovered as the search for trapped miners entered its sixth day. The body of one labourer, hailing from Nepal, was recovered on January 8,» the official said.

Besides, India needs to add an average of 50 GW of renewable energy capacity per annum over the next six years to achieve its target. «Exponential growth from 13.75 GW in 2023 to around 30 GW in 2024, resulting in achieving nearly 218 GW now underscores India's growing commitment to clean energy and its progress in building a greener future,» New & Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a post on X.

Chirag Shetty's impressive run at the Malaysia Super 1000 badminton tournament came to an end following a straight-game loss to Korea's Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae in the semifinals, here on Saturday. Seeded seventh, Satwik and Chirag, who reached the finals last season, lost 10-21 15-21 in a 40-minute semifinal clash. «They played really well, and we could have followed our game plan a bit better. Instead, we played some random strokes, but kudos to them for playing a solid game,» Satwik told reporters. «Today, the pace of the game was very slow compared to the last three days. It's part of the game. It was a valuable learning experience for us. It is disappointing, but we have a long way to go. Today's match showed that we can still make it a good fight.»

human metapneumovirus (HMPV) case, with a nine-month-old child contracting the infection in Ahmedabad, officials said Saturday. All the cases have been reported in less than a week. The baby boy was admitted to a private hospital in the city on January 6 with a cold, cough and difficulty in breathing. He has no history of foreign or other travel, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation said. On Friday, an eight-year-old boy from Sabarkantha district was confirmed to be infected with HMPV, making him the third case in the state. Two days back, an 80-year-old man tested positive for the viral infection in Ahmedabad. The patient, who has been suffering from asthma, is currently being treated at a private hospital.

anti-terrorism court in Pakistan granted bail to at least 153 workers of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party, more than a month after they were arrested during a protest. During a hearing, presided over by Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, petitions of 177 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers were heard. Subsequently, bail was granted to 153 of them while the court rejected the pleas of 24 on Friday, Dawn newspaper reported. Khan, 72, had on November 13 issued a «final call» for nationwide protests on November 26, demanding the restoration of the PTI's electoral mandate, the release of detained party members, and the reversal of the 26th constitutional amendment.

Donald Trump’s inauguration this month, the latest sign that the industry is trying to bolster its relationship with the president-elect ahead of his return to the White House. OpenAI chief executive officer (CEO) Sam Altman plans to go to the swearing-in ceremony on JanU 20, said a company spokesperson. Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg also plans to go to the event, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private information. A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment. Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will be at some of the surrounding festivities, according to the company. Uber also plans to host an inauguration party in Washington with Elon Musk’s X social media firm and The Free Press, a media company.

Gold jewellery cost calculation: How jewellers calculate price of gold jewellery Gold prices have historically increased during times of economic turbulence or uncertainty because investors frequently see it as a «haven» asset that can hold its value even while other investments, such as stocks, are struggling.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Saturday that extensions in service, extensions in any form for a particular post are set back to those who are in line. Dhankhar was delivering the inaugural address at the 25th National Conference of Chairpersons of State Public Service Commission being held in Bengaluru. According to him, extension of service indicates that some individuals are indispensable. «Indispensability is a myth. Talent abounds in this country. No one is indispensable. And therefore, it lies in the domain of public service commissions at the state and the central level that when they have a role in such kinds of situations, they must be firm,» added the VP. He also said public service commissions' appointments cannot be driven by patronage, or by favouritism.

Allu Arjun, a court here has relaxed the conditions of his bail in the 'Pushpa 2' stampede case, exempting him from appearing before the investigating officer every Sunday. The court also permitted him to travel abroad to specified countries, with the condition that he must undertake to appear before the SHO of the Chikkadpally police station as and when required. He has been directed to inform the SHO of his travel schedule for each trip and provide details of his place of stay in the destination country until the charge sheet is filed. The remaining bail conditions remain unchanged, the court noted in its order dated January 10.

A scaled-down version of the famed New York Times Crossword, the Mini delivers a daily dose of wordplay that fits snugly into busy schedules. With a five-by-five grid and a handful of clues, it’s a quick diversion that tests wit and vocabulary, as mentioned in a report by Forbes.

DK Shivakumar on Saturday said he was not looking for anyone's support and he worked as per the wishes of the Congress party amid public voices of resistance within the Cabinet to his ambitions to succeed chief minister Siddaramaiah. The CM is scheduled to present his budget in March, and there are speculations that the party might begin preparations to replace him with Shivakumar in the following months. Shivakumar is also the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). There was a dinner meeting organised by PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi and another was planned by Home Minister G Parameshwara, both tall leaders from the SC/ST communities. Parameshwara's meeting, however, got cancelled on intervention by the AICC general secretary RS Surjewala reportedly on complaints from Shivakumar.

Kochi Water Metro, efforts are on to replicate the eco-friendly and innovative water transport model in 18 locations nationwide, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd said. KMRL, which operates and maintains the water metro, said that the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways has assigned it the task of conducting a feasibility study to assess the potential for similar water metro systems in diverse regions. «With the recent approval of its Board of Directors to form a consultancy wing, KMRL has formed an in-house committee to lead the initial work. If needed, external experts will be brought in to strengthen the process,» it said in a release on Saturday. This new initiative is a proud recognition for Kerala, KMRL innovation and expertise, it added.

Maha Vikas Aghadi's rout in the state assembly elections, key constituent Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday announced to contest local bodies polls solo, a move raising question mark over the opposition bloc's unity. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut cited the lack of opportunities for workers of respective parties in an alliance and the right to organisational growth as the major considerations for contesting solo. Two days back, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party announced its support for Arvind Kejriwal's AAP in the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections, in a snub to the Congress. Reacting to Raut's announcement, a Congress leader said the party's central leadership will take a call on whether Congress will contest solo or otherwise in local body polls, the schedule of which is yet to be declared.

Honey Singh is back! The popular singer and rapper has officially announced his Millionaire India Tour 2025, and tickets went live on January 11 at 2 pm. If you’ve been waiting for this moment, now's your chance to grab those tickets! The concert will take place in 10 cities across India, including Mumbai on February 22, Lucknow on February 28, Delhi on March 1, Indore on March 8, Pune on March 14, Ahmedabad on March 15, Bengaluru on March 22, Chandigarh on March 23, Jaipur on March 29, and wrapping up in Kolkata on April 5.

Amit Shah said on Saturday that dark web, cryptocurrency, online marketplace and drones continue to be a challenge for the country and these have to be checked by strict measures. Chairing a regional conference on 'Drug Trafficking and National Security' here, Shah also asserted that the country will not allow even a single kg of drugs to be smuggled in or out of the country. He said the government has not only been successful in eliminating many networks of drugs, but the terrorism linked with them too was also destroyed. He said many cases of narco-terrorism were busted in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh and these were major achievements. «The use of dark web, cryptocurrency, online marketplace, drones continue to be a challenge for us even today,» he said.

The report, which has not yet been made public, has raised significant concerns about the policy. Reacting to the report, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said, CAG has revealed the whole story of the corruption of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who has played the role of a broker by destroying the happiness of Delhi.

The users complained that they were unable to access the platform. While logging, many greeted with an error message that read, «Booking and cancellation for all sites will not be available for the next hour. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused.» One user posted, «IRCTC Down!!! Users are unable to book tickets as the website faces its first outage of 2025! The site had previously gone down just before New Year, marking the second service disruption in less than two weeks.»

digital arrest scam and lost more than Rs 1.2 crore between December 21 and January 3. In a desperate attempt to pay the fraudsters, she even took out a loan of Rs 40 lakh after they drained her savings. According to a TOI report, Keerthana (name changed), from east Bengaluru, lodged a complaint with the East CEN Crime police, revealing that the scam began on December 11 when she received an IVR call from a number (+971 71518333) claiming to be from the courier service ‘DHL’. Following the instructions, she spoke to someone pretending to be a courier executive, who told her that a parcel sent in her name contained six fake passports, ATM cards, and illegal drugs like MDMA. Keerthana explained that she hadn't ordered any such parcel. She was then told that she needed to go to Mumbai to clear the matter with the police. When she expressed that she couldn't immediately travel, the fraudster connected her to someone posing as «Sunil Dutt Dubey», a police officer from Mumbai's crime team.