Naseeruddin Shah has once again nailed it with his performance in the fresh released trailer of Waiting in which he is seen with Kalki Koechlin. The two, who have come together for Waiting, are drawn close by same fate and what happens later is a pleasure to watch. The trailer begins with Naseeruddin walking into the hospital and greeting his wife who lies on a bed unresponsive as she had […]

In a bid to prevent our soldiers from falling prey to the freezing temperatures of Siachen, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram has manufactured the world’s lightest material called silica aerogel or ‘blue air’.  Having utility both on Earth as well as in outer space, the material has an outstanding thermal resistance that can be used in soldier uniforms to help them stay warm. And it probably would have […]

Of the 256 districts that have been declared drought-hit for 2015-2016, over 10% are located in Karnataka. On the ground, this translates to roughly half of Karnataka’s six crore people are reeling under the effects of the worst drought the state has seen in four decades. Twenty-seven out of 30 districts in Karnataka, which is the second most arid state after Rajasthan, were declared drought-hit after August, following a poor […]

Scholarship applications are open for the Charpak Exchange Programme 2016 (autumn session). This programme, organised by Campus France, is designed for exchange students for a period of one to four months (duration of an academic semester) at the bachelor’s or master’s degree level. The benefits include student visa fee waiver, monthly stipend of 615 euros for up to four months, medical insurance coverage (around 300 euros/year) and affordable student housing […]

Describing BR Ambedkar as a global “icon” for marginalised people, a top UN official has voiced the world body’s commitment to working closely with India to help realise the noted Indian social reformer’s vision of empowerment and social and economic equality.   “On behalf of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), I commend India on celebrating this important anniversary at the UN,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said in her keynote address […]

Indian scientists have developed an eco-friendly nanotechnology for water-softening applications that could be used in civic water treatment plants for generating potable water, said the official of a technical institute. The team from Institute of Advance Study in Science & Technology (IASST) in Assam’s Guwahati, crafted a biopolymer using a naturally occurring substance, called chitosan (obtained from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish, including crab, lobster, and shrimp) as a […]

Today, the historic river bed of Kali Bein, a tributary of the Beas River which flows through Punjab, is teeming with life and is a delight to watch. But it wasn’t always like this. The river was once filled with filth and garbage. Till one man, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, took it upon himself to clean up the river. Not only did they clean it up and rejuvenate some parts […]

Debunking 400-year-old tradition that prohibited women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple, Bhumata Brigade chief Trupti Desai, along with other women, on Friday entered the inner sanctum here in Maharashtra and offered prayer. The development comes hours after two women, for the first time, offered their prayers at the inner sanctum of the temple, saying it was a historic day and would create an atmosphere of gender […]

Srikanth Bolla, CEO of Bollant Industries, has set his sights on changing lives Get rid of him. That was the first thing that neighbours told Srikanth Bolla’s parents when they came to see him soon after his birth in a remote village in the east coast of Andhra Pradesh 24 years ago. Bolla was born sightless. That’s what, he says, scores of parents ordinarily did and still do – abandon […]

Swati Bhondia, founder and chief decorating officer of Bangalore-based social venture Om Shanti Trader supports 1,000 poor and underprivileged individuals to improve their livesThree years ago, Swati Bhondia was on her way to a Bangalore college to seek admission to BBM course. A ragamuffin girl accosted the teenager and asked for alms. not wish to give her alms; I wanted to help her. I took her along with me. This […]