Innholdsfortegnelse for 10 March 2025 i India Today

Six months after Vadodara witnessed one of its worst floods in recent history, the Rs 1,200 crore Vishwamitri River Rejuvenation Project—announced by the Gujarat government to restore the river’s carrying capacity and mitigate future flooding—is finally inching forward, but on a somewhat contentious course. Once the city’s lifeline, the Vishwamitri has now become a symbol of its struggle to balance development and ecological preservation. Last August, 9.4 inches of rain over 24 hours left 40 per cent of the city submerged in up to 11 feet of water for three days. As the Ajwa and Pratapgarh reservoirs overflowed, water poured into the Vishwamitri, which once had floodplains, wetlands and lakes connected by natural waterways—now largely replaced by concrete structures. With the river breaching its banks, marsh crocodiles wandered into kitchens…

It’s a battle for the better halves in Assam. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, whose wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma has been targeted in the past, fired the first shot, lau nching a social media blitz against Congressman Gaurav Gogoi and his British wife Elizabeth Colburn. The charge? Antinational! Sarma not only roasted Elizabeth for not having an Indian passport even after 12 years of marriage, but also alleged that she had links to alleged ISI spy Ali Tauqeer Sheikh. He also offered some unsolicited marital advice: if Gaurav was a patriot, he would divorce his wife. The latter hit back with the old corruption allegations against Riniki, accusing her of landgrab and disproportionate assets. But by then, Sarma had moved on to his next target—old college rival and now MLA Akhil…

WHAT IS THE LIVER? ↘ A crucial part of our digestive system, this one gland performs more than 500 biological functions. All the blood leaving our stomach and intestines passes through it to be purified and detoxified; it holds about 13% of our blood supply at any given time. With an amazing ability to repair and regenerate itself, the liver can regrow anywhere up to its normal size even after up to 90% of it has been removed or damaged WHAT DOES IT DO? ↘ Helps produce bile, which breaks down fats in the small intestine during digestion. Bile byproducts exit the body in the form of faeces ↘ Aids production of cholesterol and special proteins to carry fats through our body ↘ Converts excess glucose into glycogen for storage…

HUBS OF CYBER SLAVERY Compounds where trafficked workers are forced into online fraud have mushroomed in Southeast Asia WHAT INDIA IS DOING TO SAVE ITS CITIZENS Rescue Operations Indian embassies have helped rescue over 2,300 trafficked citizens from scam compounds in last three years. But the government does not know how many are still trapped Nationwide Crackdown Since May 2024, the NIA has carried out over 40 raids across multiple states, arresting 11 key operatives and filing at least four chargesheets against individuals suspected of luring victims with fraudulent overseas job offers Visa Screening Stricter verification of job-related visa applications to high-risk countries Public Awareness Government campaigns to educate job seekers about such global frauds, warnings issued on social media platforms MODUS OPERANDI How victims are tricked Fake Job Offers Ads…

Your portrayal of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Freedom at Midnight has received critical acclaim. How was it getting under the skin of the character? The preparation was laborious, exciting and gratifying. We were given scripts in advance, so the preparation was structured around readings and getting the tone and physicality right. The director, Nikkhil Advani, was crystal clear about what the characters should embody and enact. Q. What is your character arc in Neeraj Pandey’s upcoming Special Ops 2.0? With a great run in the first season, there is much anticipation for Special Ops 2.0. The special task force on behalf of the government undertakes a rescue mission, with my character at the centre of it! It’s a high-octane show with its trademark twists and turns. Q. What was it…

Love it or hate it, but you can’t ignore it. That’s tech in 2025 in a nutshell. Picture living holograms, AI-driven personal assistants, and learning quantum physics from an app while sipping your morning coffee. The future is closer than it appears—so let’s take a quick peek at the top five technology trends predicted to reshape this year. AI Takes Centre Stage AI continues to thrive, revolutionising everything from smartphones to personalised shopping experiences. As AI algorithms learn more swiftly and intelligently, expect smarter chatbots, automated decision-making, and realtime help analysis that feels almost magical. Smarter Robotics and Automation By robotics we do not mean a ‘Terminator’ around the house; rather smart yet simple automated small devices such as vacuum cleaners that can climb steps to smart meal makers. Machine…

Entering a new year is always a good time for reflection, whether it is by looking back at the last 12 months or predicting and planning what is to come. For watches, it is perhaps a little easier than in other industries, such as the fashion world, as watches can take years to produce. Most of the major brands are already planning what we will be seeing in 2030. Having said that, tastes still shift and change, some of which we can see coming, and others that take us completely by surprise. A Return to Gold Over the last two years, the steel sports watch has been the main character on the watch scene with the vast majority of brands making sure they have at least one steel watch in…

When it comes to a Maybach, the eternal question that plagues my mind is: Am I driving or am I being driven? For all practical purposes, a Maybach is a car that is best enjoyed as a passenger. And I do agree, as much as I enjoy being behind the wheel. For that, let’s begin with the backseat of the Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, which I am testing today. For context, this is Mercedes-Maybach’s first all-electric, full-size luxury SUV and it is a looker, but more on that later. For me, the two rear seats are fashioned like a first class airplane seat, with plush quilted upholstery, in vegetable-tanned Nappa leather. At the touch of the button the rear seats take on a considerable recline, with the left seat getting extended…

The moment when you realise that you haven’t charged the OnePlus 13 in two days and it still has battery, changes everything. While my coffee supply (and my patience for long USB cables) ran dry, this phone kept chugging along, politely declining any pity charge. If that’s not enough to make you raise an eyebrow, maybe the luxurious back panel will. This phone is basically the Elon Musk of batteries—unpredictable, seemingly untiring, and impossible to ignore. And that’s just day one; or day two, if you forgot where we started. Design Drama High on luxe appeal, with a soft-touch back panel, the OnePlus 13 is designed to stand out. While it’s undeniably big at 6.82-inches, the flat aluminium frame helps you hold on tight—no wrestling matches required please. On Display…

Awarning shot has been fired. Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde’s comment about people who “took him lightly” suffe ring after the fact was no less than that. The reference was clear enough: the 2022 palace coup in the state, where he pulled the rug from under then-united Shiv Sena chief and CM Uddhav Thackeray. No one missed its dire resonance in the present context. Shinde’s disgruntlement at being denied another shot at the CM’s chair has been evident. He has skipped meetings chaired by the new man in the hot seat, the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, and has also been holding parallel meetings to review the functioning of various departments. Fadnavis, meanwhile, has rolled back many decisions taken during Shinde’s chief ministerial tenure, and even ordered investigations into some of…

As West Bengal politics warms up for the upcoming assembly elections in 2026, the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party finds itself in a precarious position. Racked by factionalism and a floundering organisational structure, it is struggling to maintain its hard-won foothold in the state. To extricate itself from this mess, the BJP has doubled down on its Hindutva narrative to consolidate its core base and counter the formidable Trinamool Congress. The BJP’s bid to emphasise religious issues was witnessed during the controversy surrounding Saraswati Puja at Kolkata’s Jogesh Chandra Law College in early February. What started as an internal feud over control of puja arrangements within the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP)—the TMC student’s wing—soon turned into a full-blown political crisis. Students alleged that TMC-Paffiliated ‘outsiders’ led by…

It was a rib scan that 39-year-old Abhirup Bhalla, a banking executive in Gurugram, had gone for following a small car accident. But it threw up a surprise that had nothing to do with Bhalla’s ribs. Rather, it revealed an enlarged liver. Enough for his doctor to recommend further tests and conclude that Bhalla had stage 1 fatty liver disease. The diagnosis left Bhalla shocked. He did not have a weight issue, thanks to his regular jogs at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park. “I don’t drink or smoke either,” he says. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) does come as a rude shock to lean people like Bhalla. He may not have been an alcoholic but Bhalla’s diet was loaded with added sugar and junk food. So while the jogging kept his overall…

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan is going through a tumultuous time. But even before the January 16 knife attack on him by an intruder at his Mumbai home, a Madhya Pradesh High Court order reignited a dispute over property pertaining to the erstwhile royal family of Bhopal, of which Saif is a prominent member. While no official estimate of the value of the royal properties that Saif and his relatives have laid claim to as inheritor has been declared, it is estimated to be over Rs 10,000 crore. Other than land in various areas, the properties under the scanner include prominent Bhopal landmarks like the Flag Staff House, the luxury hotel Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, the Dar-Us-Salam residential property, bungalow of Habibi and the Ahmedabad Palace. So how did the case of…

The stories pounce at you suddenly, from the edges of our dense forests of news. But with such regularity that we have ceased to care, and accept it as a fact of life, like pollution. Still, most of these are rather odd happenings, come to think of it. Tiger sightings—not on safaris but by the roadside. Like the ‘urban tigers of Bhopal’, who have claimed their piece of real estate around the open forests near Kaliasot Dam, creating panic on the highways just 10 km out of town. With big cats in such proximity to humankind, the inevitable happens. And the rare ones drawn to human flesh get pride of place. ‘Maneater’ is a misnomer—the latest victim, consigned to the headlines on January 24 in Kerala’s Wayanad, was a 47-year-old tribal…

Cinema for husband-wife director duo Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi is a therapeutic exercise. Their debut feature Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox), which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival recently, came as a “ladder” for both of them as well as its leading lady, Tillotama Shome. For Das, developing the story was a means to cope with postpartum depression and the loss of her father; for Sahi, also a renowned cinematographer, it gave him the opportunity to be by his wife’s side during her lows and help give shape to her dreams and stories by writing the script. As for Shome, reading emailed drafts of the script “helped her emotionally” during the pandemic as she cared for her ailing mother. “I met these two wonderful people [Das and Sahi] and I wanted…

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) is set to make history, bringing The Phantom of the Opera, to India for the first time (March 5-30). This follows the success of The Sound of Music, Mamma Mia!, and Matilda the Musical, reinforcing NMACC’s mission to present world-class productions to Indian audiences. Founder and chairperson Nita Ambani describes Phantom… as a story that “unveils the beauty in vulnerability and the power of love that transcends barriers”. She emphasises that NMACC’s vision has always been to bring the finest performances to India, and as the centre approaches its second anniversary, this production is another extraordinary milestone. Since its premiere in 1986, The Phantom of the Opera has captivated over 160 million people in 195 cities worldwide. Now, Indian audiences will experience the…

Striking the perfect balance between ever-changing trends and retaining a signature style is at the heart of good design. India’s leading interior designers and architects give you an insight into the latest global trends and materials as well as colour palettes that will shape decor in 2025. Personalised Eclecticism Personalised eclecticism is a trend that is all about creating a space that is both aesthetically pleasing and unique. This trend is ideal for those who want to express their individuality through interior design. “In 2025, personalised eclecticism is ruling the design world—and it’s not for the faint of heart. Forget ‘matchy-matchy’ or following the herd. Be heard or rather be seen by unapologetically mixing the old with the new; the luxe with the laid-back, and the quirky with the classic,…

Spiffily dressed in an indigo blue, waist length Nehru jacket, Jean Touboul, CEO, Pernod Ricard India (PRI) is in high spirits. Justifiably so, since PRI has comfortably secured its position as the country’s largest alcohol firm by revenue. Sartorial choices notwithstanding, Touboul seems to have his finger on the pulse when it comes to his brands as well as the evolving domestic market. Chatting amiably about what goes into raising the bar for PRI with each new launch and expression, Spice caught up with the dynamic Chief Executive. India has had a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with PRI; what is the strategic importance of India for Pernod? India is a market of immense significance for us. It is already our second-largest market globally in net sales and has long been…

Is Madhya Pradesh planning to hand out its forests to private investors? A draft document, ‘Policy for Forest Restoration Using CSR, CER and Non-Governmental Funds’, suggests precisely that. Placed for comments in the public domain by the state forest department ahead of the February 24-25 investor summit in Bhopal, it proposes to allow private investment for ‘restoration of forest lands’—offering the investor the right to sell minor forest produce and earn carbon credits. Madhya Pradesh has some 9.5 million hectares of land classified as forests, the biggest for any state. Of this, some 3.7 million ha has been classified as ‘degraded’. The MP forest department estimates the cost of restoring these degraded forests at around Rs 5-8 lakh a hectare; the state pleads a paucity of funds to commit to…

The December 2004 tsunami took the lives of 171 people in Kerala, with one panchayat, Alappad in Kollam district, taking the brunt of it—132 lives lost in a single day. Situated on a narrow 16 km-long strip of land, and sandwiched between the Arabian Sea and the Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur water canal built in 1880, the coastal village has been protesting against the scourge of offshore black sand mining for over five decades now. But to no avail. In 1955, Alappad covered an area of 89.5 sq. km, today it is a whittled down 8.9 sq. km, the rest of the land taken by the tides. Now another deadly threat looms on the horizon. As per a new amendment, the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, the Centre now…

WHAT IS NAFLD? It is the accumulation of fat in the liver in people who do not drink alcohol. Like its counterpart, alcoholic liver disease, NAFLD is diagnosed when the liver has more than 5 per cent fat SYMPTOMS OF NAFLD In the early stages, there are very few symptoms; nor does its traces show up initially in blood work. Later, these symptoms may present themselves: ↘ Fatigue ↘ Pain in the upper right abdomen area ↘ Weakness ↘ Sudden weight loss DIAGNOSTICS FOR NAFLD These are the tests used to diagnose NAFLD at different stages: ↘ Abdominal ultrasound, MRI or CT scan: These help visualise the appearance of the liver. It is usually the ultrasound that is first recommended ↘ Transient elastography: This helps measure the amount of fat…

In a modest home at Fatehpur village in Bihar’s Gopalganj district, 52-year-old Raushan Ali sits distraught. His 23-year-old son, Wahid, and nephew, Saud, 28, are trapped in Myanmar’s lawless Myawaddy region. Lured by the promise of data entry jobs in Thailand that they were told would pay Rs 1 lakh a month, they were instead trafficked across the border and forced into cybercrime at a fraudulent call centre. In a shaky video sent home, Wahid pans the camera across their grim reality—clothes strung up to dry, a makeshift curtain shielding the room, and dense forest beyond the compound walls. His voice trembles: “We’re forced to work in a scam call centre. Armed guards watch us. If we refuse, they threaten to shoot. Seventeen-hour shifts, no rest, no holidays. And to leave, they…

The third edition of the Mahindra Percussion Festival will once again put the drumroll in the spotlight, while paying tribute to the one who did it best. “The goal of the festival is to put percussion centrestage, which is what Zakir Hussain did his entire life. Zakir bhai expanded the legacy of his father Ustad Alla Rakha and spent a lifetime enthralling audiences. So, naturally, we dedicated this edition of the festival to him,” says Jay Shah, vice-president, Cultural Outreach, at Mahindra Group. Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Chary is one of the artistes performing at the festival this year. Incidentally, the name of his band, Ravi Chary Crossing, was given by Zakir Hussain, inspired by his vision of blending western jazz with Indian classical music. “Zakirji’s influence remains a constant…

The bar is set, and high for the Indian spirits market, which is all set to make its mark—both in scale and growth potential—and is positioned among the most promising global spirits markets. The evolving trends shaping the global markets in 2025 and beyond focus on heritage, authenticity, and innovation. This year is all set to be a pivotal one for Indian whisky, which prides itself on a blend of innovation and tradition. The country’s expansive market, coupled with increasing disposable incomes and changing social attitudes, is driving demand for both affordable and premium spirits, making India an attractive market for both domestic and international brands. While global trends such as sustainability, the shift towards premium products, and innovation are influencing the future of whisky, they are also underscoring India’s…

Call it historical happenstance and geographical largesse, but it’s not always that one spins through miles of chaste white salt marsh speckled with the pink of flamingos; trudges through the cenotaphs and reservoirs in 5,000-year-old ruins of the Indus Valley Civilisation, and then drives into Evoke Dholavira Resort where an alluring dancing girl waits in the lush garden—a naked woman with large eyes, curly hair, wearing a necklace with three large pendants, her right arm bent at the elbow, her hand on her hip. She is enchanting. I know her, she’s a taller version of the iconic Dancing Girl discovered in Mohenjo-daro. WHERE Survey No.264, 1, Dholavira (Gujarat); About a kilometre from the Indus Valley Civilisation excavation site; Closest airport Bhuj (127 Km) CONTACT www.evokedholavira.com; enquiry.dholavira@evokeexperiences.in TARIFF Includes all meals,…

Delhi’s inhospitable climes, for a sizable chunk of the year, often make it a poor choice for al fresco dining. However, come February and the weather gods relent; blistering cold offers the right of way to balmy days and crisp nights that are perfectly becoming for outdoor dining. So while the recently relaunched, and transformed, Sevilla retains the cocooned elegance of its romantic standalone pavillions, it promises a raft of new features as well. The sprawling restaurant, which stands apart from the main hotel building, offers cosy indoor and outdoor seating. Whether you’re meeting old friends or forging a new dalliance, Sevilla is idyllic for both raucous occasions and restrained rendezvous. While the vibe and location is a winning combination, the remastered menu by Chef Alex Rodriguez—Master Chef at this…