Indian students have overtaken Chinese students as the largest group of foreign students studying in the United Kingdom. Students from India registered a huge jump of 273 per cent in visas granted over the past few years, said the UK Home Office data. The data collated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that there were 1,27,731 (study visa) grants to main applicant Indian nationals in the year ending September 2022, an increase of 93,470 (273 per cent) compared to 2019 (34,261). The new Graduate Route visa introduced in July 2021 to allow international students the chan
Indian Railways' oldest living station, Mumbai’s Byculla has received UNESCO’s Asia Pacific Cultural Heritage Conservation award of merit for restoration work done in the last three years. The railway station commissioned in 1853 was recently renovated and restored to its almost original, Gothic, heritage architectural glory. Non-governmental organisation I Love Mumbai, headed by Shaina NC, and The Bajaj Group Charitable Trust carried out the restoration work of the Central Line railway station of the Mumbai Suburban Railway station. Renowned heritage conservation architect Abha Narain
The President of Egypt, General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will be the Chief Guest for the Republic Day Parade in 2023. This is the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt will be the Chief Guest at our Republic Day, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release, underlining the “warm and friendly relations” between the two countries based on civilizational and deep-rooted people-to-people ties. This year, India and Egypt are marking the 75 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties. The MEA in the release stated that India has invited Egypt as the
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the all-women Ima market in Imphal on Sunday. The market, also known as the Mothers’ Market, Ima Keithel, or Nupi Keithel, is said to be nearly 500 years old and is solely managed and run by women. Sharing the video and photos from his visit on Twitter, Jaishankar called the market a “great example of Nari Shakti powering economic growth." The minister is in Manipur for a three-day visit, which began on Saturday, to attend the ongoing Manipur Sangai Festival 2022. In Ima Keithel, around 5,000 women shopkeepers hold licenses. These licen
India is now the world’s second-largest gamer base with over 369 million gamers, says a report by games market intelligence platform Niko Partners. The country makes up 50.2 per cent of all gamers in the top 10 Asian countries' list, according to the data provided by the market research firm. Indian gamers spend 14 hours per week on average on mobile games. The report added that India is also the fastest growing market with a 5-year growth rate of 21 per cent for revenue, mentioned in the report The Asia-10 Games Market. Niko Partners projects the Asia-10 PC and mobile game market wil
Indian wildlife biologist Dr Purnima Devi Barman is among the winners of United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 2022 Champions of the Earth award. The UN’s highest environmental honour is given for an individual’s work to avert, stop, and undo ecosystem degradation. She has been honoured with the award in the Entrepreneurial Vision category. Dr Barman is the leader of Hargila Army, an all-female grassroots conservation movement dedicated to protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork from extinction in Assam. The women create and sell textiles with motifs of the bird in their attemp
The Centre on Monday cancelled the mandatory rule of submitting the declaration form, Air Suvidha, for international arriving passengers, beginning the midnight of 22 November. A self-declaration form, Air Suvidha, was introduced as a COVID-19 prevention measure for contact tracing. The contactless solution by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Health Family Welfare was facilitated by Delhi Airport for all international passengers coming to India. Following the announcement, people flying into India from abroad will no longer be required to fill out the form and take an RT-P
India plans to showcase Nagaland’s famous Hornbill Festival when it assumes the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022. The start date of the festival – scheduled from December 1 to 10 – also coincides with the day India officially begins the presidency. The thought of showcasing the famous cultural festival on a global scale came up for discussion during a meeting of G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla with Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphu Rio. Shringla discussed opportunities to showcase the festival through the lens of G20 and bring India’s most prestigious multilateral event
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Donyi Polo Airport at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. The greenfield airport has been developed on 694 acres of land at Hollongi, 25 km from Arunachal’s capital Itanagar. It has been developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 645 crore, and is equipped to handle 300 passengers during peak hours. With a 2300 m runway, the airport is suitable for the operation of the A- 320 type of aircraft. The terminal of the airport will be an energy-efficient building, providing balanced glazing and wall panelling along with insulated roof, glazing
The United States, Indonesia and other allies signed a $20 billion deal on Tuesday at the G20 summit to help Indonesia reduce its reliance on coal. The agreement, Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), has the United States, Japan, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom as partners. The $20 billion JETP deal will include $10 billion in public sector pledges from participating governments, while the other $10 billion will come through private investments. Indonesia is the world’s third-largest producer of coal. Its coal power plan