This time, Delhi saw a sharp improvement in air quality just ahead of Diwali which can be attributed to intermittent rainfall on Friday and wind speed favourable for the dispersion of pollutants.
Continuing with his annual tradition of celebrating Diwali with soldiers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Kargil.
The ministry of external affairs and the embassy of India in Berlin have been persistently advocating for the return of Ariha Shah to India.
Namrata Thakker looks at the B-town divas who gave us major fashion goals this festive season.
Zelda Pande recounts the specialness with which Diwali was celebrated in her home in Ranchi.
United States President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr Jill Biden on Monday hosted a Diwali reception at the White House in what they called the largest since the People's House started celebrating the festival during the George Bush administration.
"As we light diyas here today our nation is strengthened by the sacred traditions that binds people together across our land. May this light bring hope to all and may everyone have a wonderful Diwali," Trump said in video he tweeted on Twitter.
Here are a few glimpses of people doing their Diwali shopping across the nation.
Dhanatrayodashi is called Dhanteras and its twinkling lights set the mood of India's greatest and most popular festival -- Diwali, the festival of lights.
'The greatness of India can be experienced by meeting Indians on the frontiers of India.' 'Every citizen on the border is a soldier'
The ISI strategy has been to use its proxies to target Hindus in India. They want an outrage and counter-targeting of India's minorities. Further, even the whiff of it restores the Pakistan army's popularity, especially when it's in the dumps, like now, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The subscriber count made JioHotstar one of the largest OTT platforms in the world.
'This epic adaptation brings to life one of India's most cherished tales with unmatched scale and visionary storytelling.'
Designer Anita Dongre presented festive styles for women who are not big fans of lehengas, saris and anarkalis.
Nearly 28 per cent of urban Indians are planning to spend on gold in the next three months, signalling a renewed appetite for the yellow metal amid the waning effects of second wave of COVID-19, as per a survey. The gems and jewellery industry, which was impacted by the COVID-induced disruptions in 2020, had shown signs of recovery in January-March this year. However, the second wave of the pandemic put a halt to it. Businesses are beginning to look up as state governments are slowly easing restrictions on movements, and organised retailers are hoping consumer demand to show positive sentiment during the festive season this year.
The ruling Congress posted a video along with a statement on social media platform X, criticising the Janata Dal-Secular leader and son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
According to CAIT, the estimated loss to Chinese manufacturers this Diwali could be as high as Rs 40,000 crore.
In his Diwali greetings on Thursday, Trump strongly "condemned the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh", which he said remains in a "total state of chaos."
'Some risks to this market rally include inflation, erratic weather conditions, rising crude prices, slowing global growth and the resultant impact on domestic exports, escalation in geopolitical tensions.'
'Consumers are willing to increase travel spends by 20-30 per cent versus pre-pandemic.'
Colourful lights illuminated buildings and earthen lamps dotted houses as people across the country celebrated Diwali with pomp on Monday after two years of muted festivities due to the pandemic.
Modi alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka gave reservations in tenders based on religion, "snatching the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs." But Ambedkar had said there would not be reservation based on religion and there is a bar on giving reservation on the basis of religion in the Constitution, he stressed.
Production, storage and sale of firecrackers in the capital will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act, the minister told a press conference in New Delhi.
Was this Chennai? Or Singapore? There's an area in Singapore that looked like a suburb of Chennai.
It was an emotional evening for many film folk, as they won the top awards at the 25th IIFA ceremony in Jaipur.
Trump said he was deeply honoured to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community in celebrating Diwali -- the festival of lights.
Virat Kohli wished India on Diwali and urged Indians not to burst crackers to celebrate the Festival of Lights.
Navendu Mishra (Stockport) and Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) were among the other Labour MPs re-elected with convincing majorities.
According to forecasting agencies, the city is set to record its best air quality for the day after Diwali since 2015 on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel celebrated Diwali at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London.
'There are supporters of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's government in Canada, but they do not represent all Hindu Canadians'
Continuing his tradition of spending Diwali with soldiers who protect the Motherland, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi on Thursday wished troops posted in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir a Happy, Healthy and Safe Diwali.
Led by Congresswoman Carolyn B Maloney from New York, lawmakers on Wednesday announced that a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to declare Diwali, festival of lights, a federal holiday.
Sources had earlier said that the areas and patrolling status were expected to be moved back to pre-April 2020 level.
Keeping pace with the changing times, star players of English Premier League giants Manchester United, Arsenal FC and Manchester City wished their vast Indian fan base on the occasion of Diwali.
It sustained fatal bullet injuries on Monday while attempting to protect the troops from the terrorist assault.
In a joint statement, Biden and Harris wished a happy Diwali to everyone celebrating the festival of lights across the US, India and the world.
Modi invoked the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata to assert that it is in Indian tradition to avoid war be it in Lanka or Kurukshetra and the country stands for world peace.
A young Indian man was arrested in Pakistan after illegally crossing the border to meet a Facebook friend he wanted to marry. However, the woman told police she was not interested in marrying him. The man, Badal Babu, was arrested in the Mandi Bahauddin district of Pakistan's Punjab province on December 28. He had crossed the border to meet his Facebook friend, Sana Rani. Rani, in her statement to police, said she had been friends with Babu for the past two-and-a-half years but was not interested in marrying him. Babu's family has appealed to the Indian government to intervene for his release.
After their colleagues had departed following breezy fifties on a good M Chinnaswamy Stadium track, Iyer (128 not out) struck his fourth ODI ton before Rahul (102) exploded as the duo lit up the stage on the Hindu festival of Diwali to get India to 410-4.
