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Finvasia & Yes Bank Launch ‘India’s First’ AI-Powered Financial Superapp ‘Jumpp’

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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The Jumpp fintech superapp team. PHOTO courtesy: Jumpp
Jumpp promises added momentum to your money with a new-age banking experience
Focuses on bridging the inclusivity gap in digital transactions, particularly for users in Tier 2 and 3 cities

Finvasia, a Mohali, Punjab headquartered global innovators’ group leveraging engineering and technology to serve diversified sectors like finance, healthcare, technology, blockchain, and real estate, has partnered with Yes Bank, one of India’s top 10 private banks, to recently launch what is touted as India’s first AI-powered fintech superapp called ‘Jumpp’.

The conversational app, currently supporting English and Hindi languages, provides hyper-personalised guidance in banking, savings, payments, investments, and credit, all packaged into a single, intuitive platform, making banking, investing, and financial planning smarter, more secure, hassle-free, and adding momentum to your money with a new-age banking experience.

Sarvjeet Singh Virk, Co-Founder and CEO, Jumpp, and former Chairman of the Chandigarh State Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), told your own news portal LifeInChandigarh.com that with Jumpp one can save with fixed deposits, pay using IMPS, NEFT, RTGS, invest in stocks and mutual funds, avail instant loans, and track all your assets effortlessly in one place.

jAI, your AI-powered financial buddy on the app with which you can interact via voice or text, provides you with hyper-personalized assistance, in the language of your choice (currently in English and Hindi, later to be available in other languages too, including Punjabi), from analysing spending patterns to tracking income, providing clear, actionable insights to help you budget better and grow wealth.

Virk says “Jumpp is more than just an app – it’s a step towards enhancing financial reach. With AI-powered features and a simple interface, we are helping people manage their money smarter.”

The app is highly encrypted with latest cyber security measures, and the funds are insured as per banking norms, he assures.

Though Jumpp is targeting to onboard 1 million (10 lakh) users pan India by January 2026, Punjab, with its fast-growing digital adoption and entrepreneurial spirit, is a major thrust market for it.

“Punjab is rapidly embracing digital finance, with Chandigarh leading the way in per capita digital payment transactions, averaging over 38 transactions per person. UPI-enabled credit card usage is also on the rise, with users making 40 transactions and spending ₹40,000 monthly. Across the state, fintech adoption is transforming MSMEs and startups, especially in rural and semi-urban areas,” shares Virk.

Recognising the rising demand, Jumpp is expanding beyond major cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Patiala into underserved regions such as Bathinda, Moga, Pathankot, and Barnala, strengthening financial inclusion across Punjab, he adds.

How it works

Once you download the Jumpp Finance app from Play Store or iOS, it offers you to

* Open your zero-balance YES Bank Savings account in 3-minutes, completely paperless
* Get personalised advice from jAI
* Super-charge your investments and savings
* Automate your bill payments and never miss a due date
* Avail quick loans for all your goals
* Track all your assets in one place
* Transfer money instantly with IMPS and NEFT options, RTGS for larger amounts
* Start SIPs or invest in top-performing mutual funds without hidden charges
* Invest in the best Indian stocks with zero brokerage
* Monitor your portfolio performance seamlessly
* Access thousands of billers and make secure, on-time payments for electricity, water, gas, and more
* Set reminders to avoid late fees and never miss a due date
* Benefit from Jai-litics, AI-powered budgeting and expense analysis
* Get personalised budgets based on your spending patterns and track your progress in real-time
* Understand where your money goes with intelligent expense categorisation and insights. jAI helps you identify saving opportunities and optimise spending
* Experience a seamless, 100% digital process for quick and easy loans

For more information visit: https://jumpp.finance/

About Finvasia Group (as per its website)

Finvasia is a global innovator leveraging engineering and technology to operate across various sectors, such as finance, healthcare, technology, blockchain, and real estate. It has served over 5 million clients in more than 190 countries and transacted trillions of USD worth in value through its 10 odd brands combined.

Apart from Jumpp, some of its other brands are Shoonya, ZuluTrade, Fxview, AAAFx, Finvasia Health, Capital Wallet, ACT Trader, Portfolios, Finvasia Estates, OneVault.

It has a team comprising 500-plus employees that work in physical offices across UK, Greece, Cyprus, India, South Africa, Mauritius, Dubai, Japan and Australia

Space Mission Launched To Bring Back Stranded Indian Origin Astronaut Sunita Williams

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Friday (March 14, 2025) propelled the Dragon spacecraft into orbit carrying four astronauts and to bring astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stuck aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for the last more than nine months, back to earth, expectedly by March 19. PHOTOS Credit: NASA
Williams (59) along with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have been stuck at the International Space Station (ISS) due to spacecraft failures for over nine months on a mission which was planned for just over a week

By her own admission, she has been “struggling to remember what it feels like to walk and lie down.” Having been stranded in zero gravity environment on board the International Space Station (ISS) along with a fellow astronaut for over nine months, on a mission which was originally planned to last just over a week, 59-year-old Indian origin NASA astronaut Sunita (Suni) Williams has been putting up a brave front.

Finally, the space ordeal of the astronaut duo may be over as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission successfully launched on Friday from the launch complex at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to bring the stuck astronauts back to earth, expectedly by March 19.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Dragon spacecraft into orbit carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, who will join five crew members other than Williams and Butch Wilmore. While Williams and Wilmore along with two other fellow astronauts will return shortly, the others will continue for a long duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Congratulating the NASA and SpaceX teams on the 10th crew rotation mission under the commercial crew partnership, NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro said “Through these missions, we are laying the foundation for future exploration, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars. Our international crew will contribute to innovative science research and technology development, delivering benefits to all humanity.”

Prolonged exposure to zero gravity in space leads to muscle weakness and loss of bone mass and at 59 years old Sunita Williams’ body would have taken a heavy beating these past nine months. Despite this she and her stuck fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have been all smiles as and when their live videos have been made public by NASA.

On a call video call with students at her alma mater Needham High School located in Massachusetts in the first week of February, Williams had however made comments which were interpreted as concerning when she had said, “I’ve been up here long enough right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk.”

Sunita Williams at the ISS

“I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down. You don’t have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here,” Williams was quoted as saying of her zero gravity environs.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck at the ISS since their Boeing Starliner capsule suffered several leaks and mechanical issues during their weeklong mission last June. The stranded pair’s return home was further delayed in September when NASA ordered the Starliner to fly back empty after deeming the capsule too dangerous for a crewed return flight.

The same month, that is September, SpaceX launched a Crew Dragon capsule to rescue the pair, and it docked at the space station, but NASA opted to stall its return.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore at the ISS

Williams and Wilmore will head back to Earth on one of the docketed SpaceX capsules with fellow American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who had flown up on the rescue mission on SpaceX with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams on the return leg.

Williams and Wilmore helped keep the station running – fixing a broken toilet, watering plants and conducting experiments – and even went out on a spacewalk together. With nine spacewalks, Williams has set a record for women: the most time spent spacewalking over a career.

Tulsi and Usha On Way To India

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Hindu American & Samoa American Tulsi Gabbard in Indian attire.
Appointed the head of US national intelligence services, four-time Congresswoman Samoan American Tulsi Gabbard had embraced Hinduism in her teens and draws inspiration from the Bhagavad Gita, placing her hand on which she has always taken oath of office
The first Indian origin US Second Lady Usha will be accompanying her husband Vice President JD Vance

Two high profile ladies associated with the Donald Trump Administration 2.0, one an embraced Hindu and the other of Indian origin, are on their way to India. Head of Department of National Intelligence (DNI), which oversees all US national intelligence agencies like CIA and NSA, Tulsi Gabbard will be visiting New Delhi next week, followed by US Second Lady Usha, accompanying her husband Vice President JD Vance, later in the month.

Though her parents named her Tulsi, after the basil plant revered by Hindus, and all her four siblings too have Hindu names, 43-year-old Tulsi Gabbard, a military veteran and four times Congresswoman in the US, does not trace her roots to India.

She will be in New Delhi as part of a three-nation tour of the Indo-Pacific which will take her to Japan, Thailand and finally India. Sharing this information in a post on X, Gabbard said “Building strong relationships, understanding, and open lines of communication are vital to achieving President Trump’s objectives of peace, freedom and prosperity.”

The US national intelligence chief, along with top intelligence and security officials from around the world, is expected to participate in a security conclave initiated by India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the margins of the Raisina Dialogue, the country’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics.

The security conclave is expected to focus on long-standing concerns such as terrorism, trans-national and financial crimes, cyber-security and emerging technologies, as well as the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.

Tulsi Gabbard is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Indian officials on the sidelines of the gathering.

She will be the first high-ranking White House official to travel to India after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

According to media reports, the US intelligence chief’s visit is expected to be followed by US Vice President JD Vance, accompanied by Second Lady Usha Vance, later in the month, though there has been no official confirmation from the Indian side yet.

If it happens, it will be Vance’s second foreign trip as Vice President after making a sensational debut at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where he outlined a blunt new US approach towards its European and NATO allies, sending ripples across the world.

During his first tour, he also travelled to France to participate in an AI Action Summit, on the sidelines of which he briefly met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Later Modi departed for the US to meet President Trump for their first bilateral meeting after Trump’s inauguration.

The US President is expected to visit India later this year for the Quad leaders’ summit.

About Usha Vance

US Vice President JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance with their three children – sons Ewan and Vivek, and the youngest a daughter named Mirabel

The first Indian American Second Lady of the United States, Usha Vance, daughter of Krish Chilukuri and Lakshmi Chilukuri who emigrated from Hyderabad, India to the US in the late 1970s, grew up in a San Diego suburb.

A graduate from Yale Law School, she is a litigator in the San Francisco and Washington DC offices of law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, her practice focusing on complex civil litigation and appeals in a wide variety of sectors, including higher education, local government, entertainment, and technology.

Earlier she also clerked for US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

At law school she studied alongside JD Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy, a challenger to Donald Trump in the presidential primaries of the Republican party who later dropped out of the race and supported Trump.

The Vance couple was married in 2014 in Kentucky and were blessed by a Hindu priest at a separate event.

The Vances are making home with their three children – sons Ewan and Vivek, and the youngest a daughter named Mirabel – in Cincinnati.

Prior to law school, Usha, then Usha Chilukuri, received a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale and a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

Before entering law school, she taught American history as a Yale-China Teaching Fellow at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.

Usha proved crucial to JD Vance’s ascent, especially while he was at Yale, and she helped him structure his ideas on the social demise of rural white America. These concepts served as the basis for JD Vance’s autobiography, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which Ron Howard made into a movie in 2020 and propelled him into limelight.

More About Tulsi Gabbard

Born in 1981 in the tiny village of Laloaloa on Tutuila island, American Samoa, the farthest location from US in the South Pacific, halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, Tulsi Gabbard is the daughter of a Catholic and a Hindu convert. Her father Mike Gabbard has both Samoan and European Ancestry and her mother Carol Porter Gabbard was born in Indiana and spent her childhood in Michigan.

Tulsi’s mother Carol was raised in a multi-cultural household and got interested in Hinduism. She converted to Hinduism before Tusli was born. All her five children have Hindu names – Bhakti, Jai, Aryan, Tulsi and Vrindavan.

The Gabbard family

The family moved to Hawaii when Tulsi was just two years old.

From early age Tulsi was introduced to deep spiritual teachings, especially from the ancient Indian epic Bhagavad Gita which shaped her understanding of the principles of ‘karma’ and duty.

She fully embraced Hinduism as her faith when she was in her teens.

Tulsi, and the Gabbard family have long been connected to the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), a spiritual organisation rooted in the Vaishnav Hindu tradition. When the family moved to Hawaii, they became members of a community of disciples surrounding the SIF founder who further had ties to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

In her early years Tulsi viewed SIF founder Chris Butler, also known as Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa, as her mentor describing him as a spiritual guide akin to a Vaishnav Hindu priest.

Tulsi Gabbard describes herself as a “Vaishnav Hindu” and is a devotee of Lord Krishna.

An Army National Guard veteran, Gabbard was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2012. She is the first Hindu ever elected to Congress; and one of the first two female combat veterans ever to serve in Congress.

In 2013, she was the first Congresswoman to swear in by placing her hand on her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, explaining that its teachings have inspired her to strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating her life in the service of others and to her country.

“My Gita has been a tremendous source of inner peace and strength through many tough challenges in life, including being in the midst of death and turmoil while serving our country in the Middle East,” she had said.

Tusli Gabbard has been an integral part of the Hindu community in the US and is a prominent participant in all festivals and religious ceremonies.

Airtel, Jio’s Pack With ‘Rival’ SpaceX’s Starlink For Satellite Internet Services Has A Modi Link

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Till recently these Indian telecom biggies were opposing the entry into the country of this giant satellite internet services provider, citing level playing field concerns. However, in a dramatic turn of events, the two biggest telecom players Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have separately announced inking agreements with world’s richest man Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer Starlink’s satellite internet services and better connectivity to their customers in India.

Though the deal marks a significant step towards expanding high-speed broadband coverage in the country, particularly in remote and underserved areas, it will be subject to Starlink getting regulatory approvals from the Government of India before entering the Indian telecom market.

If that happens, Jio and Airtel will offer Starlink services and equipment through their stores and online platforms.

The development comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US after the inauguration of Donald Trump as President and his meeting with Elon Musk on the sidelines.

Bharti Airtel managing director and vice chairman Gopal Vittal described the collaboration with SpaceX as a major milestone in Airtel’s efforts to provide next-generation satellite connectivity in India.

Mathew Oommen, Group CEO of Reliance Jio, emphasised the importance of high-speed broadband reaching every Indian, stating that integrating Starlink into Jio’s broadband ecosystem would enhance connectivity nationwide.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and COO, while appreciating both Airtel and Jio for their focus on digital expansion, reaffirmed SpaceX’s commitment to bringing Starlink’s high-speed internet to India once regulatory approvals are granted.

On World Kidney Day, Park Hospital Mohali Announces New Transplant Initiatives

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Renal transplant surgeon Dr Sunil Kumar from Park Hospital Mohali (2nd from right) addressing a press conference to commemorate World Kidney Day in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Others in the frame are Ashish Chadha, Group CEO (North), Park Group of Hospitals (to his left), Dr Manav Goyal, Consultant, Urology, and Dr Mukesh Goyal, Consultant, Nephrology (to his right). PHOTO by LifeInChandigarh.com
Park Grecian Hospital Mohali is already performing living donor transplants, including high-risk transplants; paediatric transplants swap cases; ABO incompatible blood group transplants; and Redo Transplant
Soon, the hospital will start cadaveric kidney transplant (kidney extracted from brain dead persons), pancreas transplant and all kinds of robotic kidney transplants
Fresh successful kidney transplant case involving incompatible blood group couple (husband patient and wife donor) presented to spread public awareness that kidney donation from a person with blood group different from the patient is also possible although the surgery gets more complex

The lives of more than 3,00,000 patients in the country are hanging in the balance for want of an organ donation but less than 10 % of them can expect to get it on time given the fact that only 0.01% of the 140 crore Indians are donating their organs after death. On an average one person gets added to the organ transplant waiting list every minute and 20 people die every day for want of a donated organ. Kidneys are the most in demand as 85% of all people awaiting organ donation need a kidney.

Sharing this information at a press conference organised to commemorate World Kidney Day, which falls on March 13, a multi-disciplinary team of senior doctors from Park Grecian Hospital Mohali underscored the urgent need for more and more families to pledge their organs after death or even after their near and dear ones are declared brain dead.

According to Dr Sunil Kumar, Director, Renal Transplant Surgery at the hospital, “2.2 lakh new patients develop chronic kidney failure in our country every year, but only 10,000 of them get donors for transplant. It is currently the 6th fastest growing cause of death and is anticipated to become the 5th leading cause by 2040.

High blood pressure, diabetes, glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the tiny filters in the kidneys called glomeruli), untreated kidney stones and congenital diseases are the main reasons of kidney failure in India, he added.

Explaining how chronic kidney failure leads to irreversible damage to the kidneys, Dr Mukesh Goyal, Consultant, Nephrology, said, “Chronic Kidney Failure (CRF) is progressive in nature and can cause irreversible damage to the kidneys. The main factors contributing to this condition are diabetes, hypertension, infection, urinary obstruction, stone disease and some inherited abnormalities, he added.

Dr Mukesh Goyal further informed that advanced stage of Chronic Renal Failure (or End Stage Renal Disease — ESRD) requires some form of Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT) like Haemodialysis (filtering the blood off toxins & waste products) or Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD).

The prevalence of this disease has almost doubled over the past decade and is expected to increase further due to rise in risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, stress, and unhealthy eating habits, he shared.

Dr Sunil Kumar with incompatible blood group transplant patient-donor couple Vinod Kumar and Raj Bala from Fatehabad in Haryana. PHOTO by LifeInChandigarh.com

Dr Sunil Kumar informed that Park Grecian Hospital Mohali is performing all types of Living Donor Transplants, including High Risk Transplants, Paediatric Transplants Swap cases, ABO incompatible Transplants (Non-Blood group specific) & Redo Transplants. Soon, the hospital will start cadaveric kidney transplant (kidney extracted from brain dead persons), pancreas transplant and all kinds of robotic kidney transplants.

He claimed that patients from as far of places as Dehradun, Jammu, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bihar, and Jharkhand are getting their kidney transplants done at the hospital.

Listing out the facilities available at the hospital, Dr Vimal Vibhakar, Medical Director, said it has a state-of-the-art 12-bedded dialysis centre providing 24×7 dialysis services, including Intervention Nephrology services like Permacath, AV Fistula, Renal Biopsies and Centrelines.

Park Hospital Mohali is now empanelled with ECHS, CGHS, ESI CAPF, Ayushman and all major TPAs & corporates, he added.

Among others present at the press conference were Dr Manav Goyal, Consultant, Urology; Dr Malvika Tendullkar, Consultant, Anaesthesia; and Dr Swati Gupta, Consultant, Anaesthesia.

About Park Group of Hospitals

According to Ashish Chadha, Group CEO (North), Park Group of Hospitals is now North India’s biggest super speciality network, with 14 hospitals, 3000 beds, 800 ICU beds, 14 cath labs and 1000 plus doctors.

10 tips to prevent kidney disease (recommended by Park Hospital Mohali)
• Manage diabetes, high blood pressure
• Reduce intake of salt
• Drink 8-10 glass of water every day*
• Don’t resist urge to urinate
• Eat a balanced diet and include lots of fruits
• Drink healthy beverages
• Avoid alcohol and smoking
• Exercise daily
• Avoid self-medication, especially painkillers
• Consult your doctor before taking protein supplements and herbal medicines

Holiday & Skiwear Showcase In Snowy Gulmarg Amid Ramadan Stirs Political Storm

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Designer duo Shivan & Narresh (left) and one of the international models participating in the showcase at Gulmarg in Jammu & Kashmir

It was a perfect setting for a fashion show with the backdrop of snowy slopes of the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. However, tittle did the apparently unsuspecting organisers, award-winning designer label Shivan & Narresh, showcasing their new holiday and skiwear to mark the 15th anniversary of the label, realise that it will stir a political storm amid Ramadan, one of the holiest months of the year for the Muslims.

The fashion show, held last Friday (March 7), rocked the Jammu & Kashmir assembly on Monday after its videos went viral on social media, embarrassing the Omar Abdullah led National Conference (NC) government.

Facing widespread backlash from political, religious and social outfits, including his own party, for the ‘obscene’ outfits showcased at the event, in utter disregard of the sanctity of Ramadan, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah strongly condemned the event and promised appropriate action.

Under fire: Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah

“The shock and anger are totally understandable. The images I have seen show a complete disregard for local sensitivities & that too during this holy month,” he said on X.

“My office has been in touch with the local authorities, and I’ve asked for a report to be submitted within the next 24 hours. Further action, as appropriate, will follow from this report.”

In a statement posted on X, Shivan & Narresh have issued a public apology.

“We deeply regret any hurt caused by our recent presentation in Gulmarg during the holy month of Ramadan. Our sole intention was to celebrate creativity and the ski & après-ski lifestyle, without any desire to offend anyone or any religious sentiments,” it said.

“Respect for all cultures and traditions is at our heart, and we acknowledge the concerns raised. We sincerely apologize for any unintended discomfort and appreciate the feedback from our community.”

About Ramadan (ongoing from March 1 to 31)

Ramadan is considered one of the holiest months of the year for Muslims. In Ramadan, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an, and fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a means of drawing closer to God and cultivating self-control, gratitude, and compassion for those less fortunate. Ramadan is a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation with a heightened focus on devotion, during which Muslims spend extra time reading the Quran and performing special prayers. Those unable to fast, such as pregnant or nursing women, the sick, or elderly people & children, are exempt from fasting.

About the label (on its LinkedIn account)

SHIVAN & NARRESH
Retail Luxury Goods and Jewelry

SHIVAN & NARRESH is India’s first luxury holiday brand that was launched in Cannes. Based out of New Delhi, SHIVAN & NARRESH is the first Indian brand to showcase at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Swim 2012 in Miami and also to participate in the Swimwear Association of Florida’s Swim Show 2012. The brand has been worn by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Dita Von Teese, Nicki Minaj, Padma Lakshmi, Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Sonam Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty and a host of other celebrities. The Lycra Sari and the Bikini Sari are two landmark creations of the brand that epitomize the brand’s visions for swimsuits in India.

The brand has its flagship store in DLF Emporio, New Delhi & retails out of select multi-designer boutiques including Aza (Delhi), Aza and Le Mill (Mumbai), Evoluzione (Bangalore), Ogaan (Hyderabad), 85 Lansdowne (Kolkata), Amethyst Cafe and Evoluzione (Chennai), Ajiliyaa (Surat).

India Is ‘Rising’! But Is The Nation Losing Its Pride!

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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TV grab of US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick remotely participating in a live interaction in the India Today Conclave 2025 from Washington DC
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick schools, mocks and tries to bully us, and we laugh and applaud
US wants India’s total commitment, effectively forcing complete dependency
Some of Lutnik’s clearly objectionable and mocking messaging while participating remotely in India Today Conclave 2025 from Washington DC on Friday (words to the effect):
On India’s defence partnership with Russia: India has historically bought a significant amount of military equipment from Russia, “that has to end”
India’s bitter experience with US on defence cooperation, in comparison with Russia, France and United Kingdom: Don’t tell me you will feel safe and secure with Russian, French and British military equipment; American military and industrial complex has no comparison, it’s the greatest
Let’s have an “incredible” bilateral relationship, just India and United States of America, you cut tariffs on American goods and cut out the “noise” of the rest of the world
The ‘I’ in BRICS (grouping with its original members as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is not acceptable especially in the context of the grouping’s efforts to create a separate currency challenging the supremacy of US dollar as the economic currency of the world
India’s farm sector has to open up, it cannot remain closed; it needs to act “smartly”

What expectedly should have shocked the influential Indian audience gathered for the India Today Conclave 2025 at the Taj Palace Delhi to hear US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick speak on India-US relations on Friday, was surprisingly absorbed as humour and applauded.

In his live and exclusive interaction with India Today’s News Director Rahul Kanwal, while joining remotely from Washington DC, Lutnick, in typical Trump style plain-speak, apparently usurped the role of big brother in schooling, mocking and trying to bully India on a wide range of issues spanning trade, defence and overall bilateral relations. And yet we treated him like an honoured guest, occasionally laughing off his remarks and even applauding him.

Commenting on ongoing discussions between the two largest democracies, the US Secretary of Commerce did not mince words in driving home the point that the United States did not care what tariffs India imposed on goods from other countries. He was more concerned that India cut tariffs on American goods, emphasising that India stood to gain tremendously from an exclusive bilateral trade relationship with the world’s biggest and most consuming economy.

“But if you include the whole world in it, and you’re always worried about each and every country of the whole world and how that pieces together, it would be almost impossible (to strike a trade deal). So, we would like to focus on bilateral conversation just between India and the United States, bring down the tariff levels that India has that protects some of its areas,” he added.

“India has some of the highest tariffs in the world, and that will require a rethinking of the relationship, the special relationship, between India and the United States,” Lutnick said.

“The United States is interested in doing a macro, large-scale, broad-based trade agreement with India that takes everything into account, and that I think can be done. It will require a different kind of thinking, big thinking, things that your Prime Minister can do because your Prime Minister has a great relationship with President Trump,” the top Trump administration official stressed.

“It’s time to do something big, something grand, something that connects India and the United States together, but does it on a broad scale, not product by product, but rather the whole thing. Let’s bring India’s tariff policy towards America down, and America will invite India in and have really an extraordinary opportunity and relationship with us,” Lutnick said.

Lutnick also emphasised that the Indian agriculture sector “has to open up. It can’t just stay closed.”

“You have to act smarter when your most important trading partner (India-US bilateral trade touched a record $118.2 billion in the last financial year) is on the other side of the table. You can’t just say, oh its off the table. The right way to do business is to put everything on the table, but do it smartly, thoughtfully.

“Maybe certain products have quotas, maybe certain products have limits, maybe certain products you do in certain ways, and then we do the same thing on the other side, and we craft an agreement that is sensible between the two of us,” he said.

“Your government truly understands your market, and we understand ours. And the key is to try to find that place. So, yes, the Indian market for agriculture, it has to open up. It can’t just stay closed,” he asserted.

Apart from the issue of a trade agreement, Lutnick also touched upon India’s age-old defence ties with Soviet Union/Russia. He was emphatic in remarking that “India has historically bought significant amounts of its military equipment from Russia, and we think that is something that needs to end.”

He also stressed that US sees India’s involvement in the BRICS as an irritant. “India is the ‘I’ in BRICS, trying to create a currency to replace the dollar as the global economic currency. These kinds of things do not create the love and affection that we really, deeply feel towards India. We would like that to end, and we would like the trade to be fair,” he stated.

“We would like to create an incredible, and strong, and powerful relationship with India going forward, but those particular things for example are on the table for discussion and your tariffs which are among the highest in the world are on the table for discussion.

“But I think if we do it bilaterally between India and United States of America, and leave the noise of all the other countries, I think what you will see is we will come up with a great trade relationship with India that I think will help both India and America grow and prosper.”

He mocked at the suggestion that given India’s past experience with the US, how it could be relied upon for defence supplies, while Russia, France and United Kingdom have been more reliable, commenting “So, should you rely on France and Britain for your defence and for things that happened to you in the world! Oh, Come on! America is the greatest military and industrial complex, supplier, creator and builder in the world by so so far you would never ever suggest.

“France or the UK to be your supplier, and image choosing Russia, and yeah that would be a way to really create India’s comfort and independence! No no no! America is extraordinary. Its combat military gear is the greatest in the world, its technology is the greatest in the world.

“It is vital for India to stop listening to those silly people and come back and talk to the United States of America, which your Prime Minister did, and he did a great job when he was here. The key is, let’s form the best relationship between India and the United States, that is the key, that is important. And, that other stuff, of relying on others, is just noise,” he asserted.

Supported By GoI, Tata Motors Begins Road Trials Of India’s First Hydrogen Trucks

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi along with Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh flagging off the country’s first ever Hydrogen Truck Trials. PHOTO Credit: Tata Motors

Battery electric technology is working well in cars, smaller vehicles and buses but deploying it on heavy duty long-haul routes has not been easy. Hence, supported by the Government of India under its Green Hydrogen Mission, Tata Motors in partnership with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has begun India’s first ever trials of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks.

The historic trails by the country’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, in line with India’s vision of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and a significant step towards sustainable long distance cargo transportation, were flagged off earlier this week by Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi.

Under the trials, which will span up to 24 months, 16 trucks and buses powered by two different technologies – Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle technology and Hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) technology – will be deployed. The initial six trucks flagged off will drive across key freight corridors, including around Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Surat, Vadodara, Jamshedpur and Kalinganagar.

According to Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh, the trials will unravel how the hydrogen technology will work in real life conditions and what tweaking and improvements would be required. The infrastructure and policy requirements to support hydrogen as a viable transportation fuel would also be known through these trials, he added.

Heavy duty trucks account for an estimated one-third of India’s road transport emissions. The 40 lakh-plus trucks ferry most of the country’s road freight. Hence, to support decarbonisation in this sector, the Union government is exploring hydrogen, and green hydrogen as a viable fuel alternative.

Wagh justified the trials of two different technologies – hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle and hydrogen IC engine – saying which way the hydrogen technology will move in the future is not clear.

Tata Motors was awarded the tender for the trials funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

The trial phase of up to 24 months involves deployment of 16 advanced hydrogen-powered vehicles with varying configurations and payload capacities.

The vehicles have an operational range of 300-500 kms and are engineered for sustainable, cost-efficient, and high-performance transportation.

Experts To Dwell On Advancements At ENT Surgical Conclave 2025 At Fortis Mohali: Dr Ashok Gupta

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Dr Ashok Gupta, Director & Head, ENT, Fortis Hospital Mohali, along with his team members addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Thursday.

Good news for hearing loss patients! Fully implantable cochlear implants being developed are expected to become commercially available in the not-so-distant future.

Sharing this information exclusively with your own news portal LifeInChandigarh.com on the sidelines of a news conference to announce the national level ‘ENT Surgical Conclave 2025’ to be held at Fortis Hospital Mohali on March 8 and 9, Dr Ashok Gupta, Director & Head, ENT, Fortis Hospital Mohali, said studies are showing promise for eventually eliminating the need for an external charging device.

Padma Shri awardee Prof (Dr) JM Hans, a pioneer in the field of cochlear implant surgery who has performed nearly 5000 cochlear implants in SAARC countries, will be among several operating faculty members who will give live demonstrations on latest otorhinolaryngology advancements and robot-aided surgeries employed in the treatment of ENT disorders and head and neck cancers to 200-odd delegates, largely comprising junior and senior residents from medical colleges across the country.

The two-day conclave is being organised by the Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Fortis Hospital Mohali in collaboration with the All-India Rhinology Society and the Punjab Medical Council.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), sound levels at or below 70 decibels (dB) are generally considered safe and unlikely to cause hearing loss, even with prolonged exposure; however, repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dB can lead to hearing damage.

Addressing the issue of neonatal or early age hearing disabilities attributed to various hereditary and non-hereditary factors, Dr Gupta said the government has made it mandatory to conduct hearing tests of babies at birth for early detection and treatment.

At a later age along with other factors, including ageing, exposure to prolonged uninterrupted high decibel noise has been widely documented to play a major role in hearing loss. While sounds at or below 70 dB (decibel) are considered safe, exposure to sounds at or above 85 dB for extended periods (for more than 8 hours at a time) can cause hearing loss, he further said.

The thumb rule is that louder the sound, shorter is the safe exposure time. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) explains it thus: Sounds over 85 dB can damage your hearing faster. The safe listening time is cut by half for every 3-dB rise in noise levels over 85 dB.

Replying to a specific query regarding ill effects of high-decibel music played at social functions, concerts, etc, Dr Gupta gave the example of children often complaining of hearing loss after returning from such events but returning to normalcy as soon as the damage to inner ear self-heals.

Dr Gupta, with expertise spanning treatment of head and neck cancer, robotic surgery and cochlear implantation, strictly advised against use or earphones as they lead to faster hearing loss “without any ifs and buts.”

He also talked about a campaign launched to make Punjab and entire North India ‘deafness free’ under which awareness and testing camps are being organised across the region.

Karnataka DGP’s Stepdaughter & Actress Ranya Rao Arrested For Smuggling Gold Bars

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Kannada actress Ranya Rao. PHOTO Credit: X/@RanyaRao
DRI and other agencies investing whether she was using her DGP stepfather’s influence to evade detection and is she part of a larger international smuggling syndicate

Was a Kannada actress Ranya Rao, caught by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) in Bengaluru on Monday evening while attempting to smuggle more than 14 kg of gold into the country from Dubai, using her DGP stepfather’s influence to evade detection and is she part of a larger international smuggling syndicate?

These are among various angles being investigated by various agencies as they interrogate the actress after securing her judicial remand till March 18.

The actress, who has starred in a few Kannada and Tamil films opposite popular male stars, was detained following a prior tipoff and later arrested after gold bars weighing more than 12 kg were found concealed on her clothing. She was also wearing heavy gold ornaments.

Subsequently, the DRI officials also reportedly raided her Bengaluru home in the posh locality of Lavelle Road and are understood to have recovered more gold and cash in crores.

Ranya had raised suspicions and was on DRI’s radar due to her frequent international travel. According to news reports quoting unidentified officials she had flown to Dubai over 30 times in the past year, four times in the past 15 days alone.

Her DGP rank stepfather Ramachandra Rao, who is currently heading the Karnataka State Housing Corporation, distanced himself from his stepdaughter saying that he was as shocked as anyone else to hear about her arrest. He claimed that she was living with her husband ever since she got married a few months ago, and he was not aware of their dealings.

Media reports quoting sources also revealed that Ranya allegedly misused protocol privileges typically reserved for bureaucrats by leveraging her stepfather’s name and evaded customs scrutiny. A protocol officer would escort her out of the airport, ensuring she avoided physical frisking, while a government vehicle picked her up, preventing any road checks, the reports added.

Meanwhile The Times of India reported that DGP Rao was himself embroiled in a past scandal. In 2014, when he was IGP (Southern Range), a Kerala-based jeweller had accused Mysuru police of misappropriating Rs 2 crore seized from a private bus. The CID had later investigated the case and arrested Rao’s gunman on the charge of dacoity.

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