Great Economist Ex-Prime Minister DR Manmohan Singh passed away..

Great Economist Ex-Prime Minister 

DR Manmohan Singh passed away..

Birth -26 September 1932 – Death 26 December 2024

was an economist Indian politician, bureaucrat, academic. who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi. A member of the Indian National Congress, Singh was the first Sikh prime minister of India. He was also the first prime minister since Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

Born in Gah in what is today Pakistan, Singh's family migrated to India during its partition in 1947. After obtaining his doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford, Singh worked for the United Nations during 1966–1969. He subsequently began his bureaucratic career when Lalit Narayan Mishra hired him as an advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. During the 1970s and 1980s, Singh held several key posts in the Government of India, such as Chief Economic Advisor, governor of the Reserve Bank and head of the Planning Commission.

In 1991, as India faced a severe economic crisis, the newly elected prime minister, P. V. Narasimha Rao, inducted the apolitical Singh into his cabinet as finance minister. Over the next few years, despite strong opposition, he carried out several structural reforms that liberalised India's economy. Although these measures proved successful in averting the crisis, and enhanced Singh's reputation globally as a leading reform-minded economist, the incumbent Congress Party fared poorly in the 1996 general election. Subsequently, Singh was leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha. During the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government of 1998–2004.

Dr Manmohan Singh, who retired from public life after the Congress' defeat at the hands of the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, made his last public appearance in the Rajya Sabha, of which he was a member, in August 2023.

Dr Manmohan Singh passed away at 92 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday night. Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to the Medical Emergency at AIIMS, New Delhi at 8:06 PM. Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 PM,” the hospital said in a statement, confirming the Congress veteran’s passing away.

Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain passes away

 Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain passes away

Renowned tabla maestro Padma vibhushan Zakir Hussain died in the US. He was 73. Hussain suffered from heart-related problems and was admitted to the ICU of a San Francisco hospital earlier. The musician was the son of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan. Hussain had started playing tabla at age seven. He had received the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.

The musician was hospitalised in the US due to serious health concerns.

Zakir Hussain, the peerless North Indian tabla player, favors an impish strain of virtuosity. He's a fearsome technician and devoted to exuberant play. 

The Bombay-born eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, Zakir Hussain followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a marquee name in India and across the world.

Once narrating the story of his first booking, the percussionist said a letter came to their house offering a concert date to his father. Zakir wrote back saying that his father would not be able to accept the engagement but that his son was available. However, he didn't mention in the letter that he was only 13. It worked, and his musical career was under way.

 

How India’s Gukeh became chess king

Gukesh, a teenager from Chennai, is the youngest chess world champion. 

Indian chess prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju has become the youngest world chess champion ever after defeating defending champion Ding Liren of China.

Gukesh’s win on Thursday came in the last game of the 14-game World Chess Championship in Singapore. The otherwise cricket-crazed India is jubilant at the 18-year-old’s victory.

Gukesh comes from Chennai, the capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He attended Chennai’s Velammal Nexus School.

He started playing chess at the age of seven, Gukesh said in an interview uploaded in 2019 by the Gibraltar International Chess Festival.“Chess is so complex, so I just love it,” Gukesh said- “I want to become a world champion.”

PM Modi meets Kapoor family to mark centenary celebrations of late Raj Kapoo

PM Modi meets Kapoor family to mark centenary celebrations of late Raj Kapoor

PM Modi said that the centenary celebrations of Raj Kapoor “symbolised the saga of the golden journey of Indian film Industry”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met the members of Kapoor family and held a candid conversation on the upcoming centenary celebrations of legendary filmmaker and actor Raj Kapoor.

PM Modi joins Kareena Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan, Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt for photo, pens a note for Taimur and Jeh.

Kapoor family members, including Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt and Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite him to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor on December 14.

kapoors with modiKareena Kapoor Khan, Neetu Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Armaan Jain, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, and Bharat Sahni shared many photos from the memorable meet with PM Modi.

Ahead of the 100th birth anniversary of legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor on December 14, the Kapoor family members travelled to New Delhi to extend an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Bharat Sahni, Rima Jain, Manoj Jain, Aadar Jain, Aarman Jain and his wife Anissa Malhotra were seen making their way to meet PM Modi. 

The first group photo features the men standing at the back and the Kapoor ladies posing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amitabh Bachchan’s son-in-law Nikhil Nanda, who happens to be daughter of Raj Kapoor Ritu Nanda’s son, was also a part this meet. His sister Nitasha Nanda was also seen there.

Ranbir, Kareena, Alia and Saif travel to Delhi to invite PM Modi for Raj Kapoor Film Festival.

Kareena and Saif were seen posing with PM Modi in the next click while he was also seen accepting the invitation in the next photo. PM Modi was also captured in an interaction the Kapoor Khandan. Neetu Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Armaan Jain, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, and Bharat Sahni shared more photos from this memorable meet.

Sharing the photo, Kareena Kapoor wrote, “We are deeply humbled and honored to have been invited by the Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, to commemorate the extraordinary life and legacy of our grandfather, the legendary Raj Kapoor. Thank you Shri Modi ji for such a special afternoon. Your warmth, attention, and support in celebrating this milestone meant the world to us. As we celebrate 100 glorious years of Dadaji’s artistry, vision, and contribution to Indian cinema, we honour the timeless impact of his legacy, which continues to inspire us and generations to come. 

BIG update for central govt employees about 8th Pay Commission:

BIG update for central govt employees about 8th Pay Commission: 

The Centre's reply comes as a major disappointment for over 48 lakh central government employees and around 65 lakh pensioners, who were eagerly awaiting a salary hike in the 8th Pay Commission.

In a major update for central government the Narendra Modi-led Union government on Thursday said that it does not have any proposal for consideration to set up the 8th Pay Commission. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on when the government plans to form the 8th Pay Commission, Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary said currently there are no proposals under consideration.

The parliamentarians asked whether the government is considering the formation of the 8th CPC and, if so, the timeline for its announcement.

opposition MPs Jai Prakash, Anand Bhadoria and V. Vaithilingam had questioned the government about its plans to form the 8th Central Pay Commission. The Lok Sabha MPs raised questions about the reasons for the delay in constituting the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) and also highlighted “resentment among central government employees” due to rising prices and stagnant pay structures.

In reply to the query, Union Minister Pankaj Chaudhary said the 7th Pay Commission was constituted on 28 February 2014 and presently, the government does not have any proposal pending for the formation of the 8th Central Pay Commission. “No such proposal is under consideration with the government for constitution of 8th Central Pay Commission for central government employees, at present,” the minister said, adding that the question of a timeline does not arise as there is no proposal yet.