Category: India

DEHRADUN: Nearly two dozen villages in Uttarakhand’s Chakrata region have collectively banned fast food, lavish gifts and high-cost customs at weddings to curb rising social pressure and restore traditional practices. The rules, agreed upon unanimously by village representatives in the Jaunsar Bawar area, aim to return wedding celebrations to their cultural roots and reduce financial…

Weavers work on handlooms in Assam’s Sualkuchi village; (bottom) Buyers with mekhela chador — traditional two-piece garment worn in the state — made of Pat and Muga silk Sualkuchi operates 12,000 handlooms, producing around 3 lakh sq m of silk fabric a year, and remains untouched by the clatter of machinesIn 1946, when Mahatma Gandhi…

MUMBAI: Fraud and waste continue to drag India’s health-insurance system, with Rs 8,000–10,000 crore leaking from claim payouts each year, says a Boston Consulting Group–Medi Assist report. Fraud and unnecessary claims inflate premiums, strain insurer finances and drain public funds. Weak data systems and loose checks also push patients into higher out-of-pocket spends.The analysis shows…

BENGALURU: If you think kissing is only about human romance, you’re already missing the story. The first kiss happened long before humans walked the Earth—somewhere in the misty forests of prehistoric Africa, between two ape ancestors, 16.9-21.5 million years ago.As per a new evolutionary study, a kiss is better understood as an ancient, risky mouth-to-mouth…

New Delhi: National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested gangster Lawrence Bishnoi‘s brother, Anmol, upon his deportation from US. He arrived here on a special flight around 2pm, was produced in court and taken on a remand of 11 days. The agency arrested him in a case registered in 2022 to investigate an alleged nexus…