Category: Life & Style

Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain, along with their band Shakti, clinched the prestigious Best Global Music Album award for ‘This Moment’ at the 2024 Grammys. This win marked a significant victory for India on the international stage. Comprising guitarist John McLaughlin, percussionist V Selvaganesh, and violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan, Shakti’s fusion of talent and innovation propelled them to the forefront of global music recognition.

Released on June 30 of the previous year, ‘This Moment’ is an album that consists of eight mesmerising tracks created by McLaughlin, Hussain, Mahadevan, Selvaganesh, and Rajagopalan. It captivated audiences worldwide with its enchanting melodies and dynamic rhythms.

As the 66th Annual Grammy Awards unfolded in the vibrant city of Los Angeles, Shakti’s resounding victory illuminated the richness and diversity of India’s musical heritage on a global scale. Shakti’s win highlighted their extraordinary musical talent among artists like Susana Baca, Bokante, Burna Boy, and Davido.

During his acceptance speech, Mahadevan extended gratitude to his fellow band members, expressing appreciation for their collective effort. He also acknowledged the unwavering support of his family, friends, and India, eliciting resounding cheers from the audience. Additionally, he dedicated the award to his wife, recognising her as a steadfast source of inspiration throughout his musical journey.

Prof. Biman Prasad, the Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji of Indian origin, is set to make history by becoming the first foreign leader to visit Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir following the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony held at the temple last month. His visit, scheduled for February 8, marks a significant milestone in diplomatic relations between Fiji and India.

Paramita Tripathi, JS Indo-Pacific, at the Ministry of External Affairs, welcomed him warmly upon his arrival in Delhi on Sunday. Prof. Prasad’s itinerary includes meetings with various Indian ministers during his week-long stay in India from February 4 to 10.

Besides being the Deputy Prime Minister, Prof. Prasad also holds key portfolios, including those of the Minister of Finance, Strategic Planning, National Development, and Statistics for Fiji. During his visit, he is scheduled to visit New Delhi, Goa, and Gujarat, where he is slated to meet with the Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, and EAM, S Jaishankar.

Notably, this isn’t Prof. Prasad’s first visit to India; he previously attended a high-level ministerial session in February 2023, focusing on ‘Strategies for a Sustainable and Decarbonised Future.’ During these discussions, he emphasised the urgent need for global action on decarbonisation, particularly highlighting its profound impact on small developing island nations like Fiji.

Senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani will be honoured with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, becoming its 50th recipient and the 7th during the Modi government.

PM Modi tweeted, “I am pleased to share that Shri LK Advani Ji will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. His contributions to India’s development are monumental. From grassroots activism to serving as Deputy Prime Minister, his journey exemplifies dedication. He notably served as Home Minister and I&B Minister, with profound insights in Parliament.”

Advani, a key figure in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, held various ministerial positions and was a member of both Houses of Parliament from 1970 to 2019.

Born on November 8, 1927, in Karachi, Pakistan, Advani has held the position of BJP President since 1980. He served as Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Vajpayee’s leadership (1999–2004), concluding a nearly three-decade parliamentary tenure.

Despite enduring India’s partition tragedy in 1947, Advani’s commitment to a more secular India remained unwavering. As an RSS pracharak, he pursued this vision diligently, particularly in Rajasthan.

Last month, former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, 35 years after his demise.

France has emerged as the first European nation to embrace digital transactions from India. Recently, India unveiled its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) at the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, marking a significant milestone. Indian tourists visiting the Eiffel Tower can seamlessly purchase tickets using UPI by simply scanning a QR code on the tower’s official website.

The Indian Embassy in France proudly announced the formal launch of UPI during the grand Republic Day Reception at the Eiffel Tower, echoing Prime Minister Modi’s vision of globalising UPI. In 2016, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) established a UPI as an instant payment system. UPI revolutionised banking by consolidating multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application, facilitating effortless fund transfers and commercial payments.

NPCI’s subsidiary, NPCI International Payments (NIPL), collaborated with Lyra, a distinguished French e-commerce and proximity payments provider, to ensure the widespread acceptance of UPI in France.

India is home to the second-largest group of foreign visitors to the Eiffel Tower. With ambitious plans to extend this service to various merchants in the retail and tourism sectors across France and Europe, the Eiffel Tower emerges as the trailblazer, setting the precedent as the first establishment in France to embrace UPI payments.

Indians now have the opportunity to explore 62 countries without the need for a visa. This development is particularly exciting for globetrotters, as Indian passport holders can now travel to destinations such as the Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Zimbabwe, and Jamaica without undergoing the often arduous visa application process. This increased accessibility to global travel reflects India’s growing influence on the world stage.

The recent release of the Henley Passport Index 2024 (HPI) underscores India’s evolving passport landscape, with its global rank reaching 80th place. The HPI, a widely used tool for comparing and ranking passports worldwide, relies on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to generate its rankings.

Six countries—France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain—share this year’s coveted title of having the most powerful visa in the world. Passport holders from these countries enjoy visa-free entry into 194 other nations. The United States of America follows closely in seventh place, with visa-free access to 188 countries.

Conversely, Afghanistan finds itself at the bottom of the list, with only 28 nations granting visa-free entry, while Syria closely trails with access to 29 nations. Iraq and Pakistan round out the list with 31 and 34 visa-free destinations, respectively.

On Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s lawmakers passed a bill to regulate online content. The move has sparked fears among opposition politicians and activities of free speech crackdowns.

With 108-62 votes in favour, the Online Safety Bill was passed. Its objectives are to “prevent the use of online accounts and inauthentic online accounts for prohibited purposes” and “make provisions to prohibit online communication of certain statements of fact in Sri Lanka.”

The bill also calls for the establishment of an “Online Safety Commission,” a five-person committee that the president will appoint, whose responsibility it will be to “direct all persons who communicate prohibited statements under this Act to stop communicating any such statements.”

The Sri Lankan government asserts that the proposed bill aims to safeguard citizens from online harassment. However, human rights groups have raised doubts about this assertion, contending that the bill is designed to stifle dissent and criticism.

Meenakshi Ganguly, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “Sri Lanka continues to grapple with an economic crisis exacerbated by government actions and a lack of accountability. In 2022, prolonged protests calling for reform led to the removal of the Prime Minister and President. Since assuming power in that year, President Wickremesinghe has taken steps to suppress dissent.”

In a bid to combat the ongoing cholera crisis, Zimbabwe initiated a door-to-door vaccination campaign on Monday, aiming to immunize more than 2 million individuals. The initiative is particularly crucial in densely populated urban areas with inadequate sanitation facilities.

As of January 24, the waterborne disease has claimed 452 lives and infected a total of 20,446 people in the southern African nation. Zimbabwe has been grappling with the cholera outbreak since February of the preceding year, with reports indicating that half of the cases involve children, according to the health ministry.

The country has secured 2.3 million vaccine doses from UNICEF, with 892,000 doses already dispatched. The vaccination effort relies on the Euvichol-Plus vaccine, manufactured by EuBiologics (206650.KQ). Administered orally, this vaccine provides at least six months of protection against cholera infections.

Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) will deploy teams to 29 severely affected districts to support the vaccination campaign.

In response to the surge in cases, the Zimbabwean government implemented measures in November to restrict public gatherings, regulate food vendors, and manage burials in cholera-affected districts. Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora confirmed that the vaccines procured are the same ones used during the cholera outbreaks in 2018 and 2020.

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has started a research study to develop lab-grown fish meat. In this groundbreaking initiative, India will soon have its first lab-grown fish meat, meticulously designed to emulate the original flavour, texture, and nutritional value of natural fish.

The Kochi-based CMFRI has partnered with a start-up, Neat Meatt Biotech, which is working on cultivated meat. CMFRI will be responsible for conducting research on the early cell line development of valuable marine fish species, including the isolation and culture of fish cells. It will also manage the project’s analytical, biochemical, and genetic tasks.

The anticipated lab-grown fish meat will be crafted by isolating specific cells from fish specimens and nurturing them within laboratory confines, utilising animal component-free media. Meanwhile, Neat Meatt will assume the responsibility for crafting scaffolds or microcarriers, refining optimal cell growth conditions, and amplifying production through bioreactors.

India’s determination to meet rising seafood demand while reducing pressure on wild resources led to the creation of this innovative initiative. Additionally, it aims to position India alongside trailblazing countries like Singapore, Israel, and the US in the realm of cultured seafood research.

French President Emmanuel Macron will attend India’s Republic Day as a chief guest on Friday. This visit is seen as a significant milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries ahead of a multi-billion-dollar deal to buy French fighter jets and submarines for the Indian military.

On January 25, he will first visit Jaipur to see the Amber Fort and later meet PM Modi to take a tour of the pink city together.

According to reports, Macron’s visit will be more ceremonial than substantial, and he will meet many business leaders from the pharmaceutical, auto, space, energy, and hydrogen industries. India-France ties have been one of the oldest among European nations. Additionally, it has been India’s second-largest arms supplier, and India has been relying on French fighter jets for more than 40 years now.

PM Modi’s last visit to France was for the Bastille Day celebration in July. During his visit, the Indian government first authorised the acquisition of 26 Rafale aircraft, and the two countries collaborated to build three 800 billion rupee Scorpene-class submarines.

However, the deal was not finalised then. France further looks forward to enhancing cooperation in the space and nuclear sectors.

A prominent socialist leader and former Bihar chief minister, Karpoori Thakur, will be awarded the highest civilian award in the country, ‘Bharat Ratna.’ Along with him, 49 other people have been granted the Bharat Ratna award, including 17 posthumously.

Thakur was dubbed the Jan Nayak despite serving for a short while. He served as the Bihar CM from December 1970 to June 1971 and from December 1977 to April 1979. The award was presented 35 years after he passed away on February 17, 1988.

Bihar’s chief minister, Nitish Kumar, and his party, JDU, have long demanded the award from the Centre for the state’s first non-Congress Chief Minister. Kumar stated, “This highest honour to the late Karpoori Thakur ji on his 100th birth anniversary will create positive sentiments among the Dalit, deprived, and neglected sections.”

Upon the award being given posthumously, it is seen as a BJP masterstroke ahead of the general election as Thakur belonged to OBC and BJP aims to gain allegiance of this group as they are still loyal to Nitish Kumar. Bihar has forty parliamentary seats and it is yet to be seen how this move will impact the upcoming elections.