Pankhuri Gidwani took a year's break to focus on the pageant, but scored brilliantly in her CBSE Class 12 exams this year.
Psychiatrist Dr Kersi B Chavda interacted with our readers on April 3, 2020 and answered their queries on mental stress due to coronavirus outbreak and lockdown. Here is the complete chat transcript of what he told readers.
'If questioning and dethroning hierarchies is your primary motive, why not put an end to the practice of announcing your shining star, your box office draw, in big flaming letters and mentioning everyone else's name in small font at the bottom of the screen?' asks Sreehari Nair.
'Though the RSS honours Sardar Patel, who actually banned it, the real hero in the story of its rise is Jayaprakash Narayan,' says Vir Sanghvi.
Indians all over the US are going beyond being human and are learning to be humanitarian and expand their philanthropy activities finds Ajailiu Niumai.
Nikita Puri introduces the Indian teenager who has joined the league of innovators with celestial bodies named after them.
'Unlike in other states, minorities form a significant number in Kerala. They have money and political power. In such a society, the emergence of a new communal power is not a healthy thing.'
As many as nine crore people would be out from the state of abject poverty in next 5 years if India could stop inequality from rising and levy a nominal tax on the super riches to narrow the rich and poor divide, a report said.
'Ensuring through diplomatic means and in conjunction with strategic partners that India will not be required to fight a simultaneous two-front war with China and Pakistan.' Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) lists what India must have in its national security strategy.
In a unique move, Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday released the first 28 of its 70 constituency-level manifestos, which it claimed will act as a ready reference for party representatives to focus on problem areas.
Overseas education consultant NNS Chandra offers advice on how to pick the right international career for you.
The hounding of former AMU students by some alumni over their 'wining and dining' during Ramzan is deeply disturbing, says AMU Professor Mohammad Sajjad. 'Intolerance, irrationality, bigotry, religious/sectarian hatred, and all such pernicious tendencies must be fought and resisted, more particularly by university campuses, in order to build a better society.' 'Have we, as academics, failed, and that too, quite miserably?' he asks. 'I feel like confessing and saying yes, we have indeed failed.'
The Bharatiya Shiksha Niti Aayog will study the present education system and suggest corrective steps to make it Bharat-centric. G Sreedathan reports
Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has expressed concern about India being the world's largest beef exporter and claimed that the money from illegal animal slaughter was used for perpetrating acts of terrorism.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday stepped into the raging debate on intolerance by condemning the murders of dissenters and some on the basis of what they eat and said the nation is deeply concerned at the "blatant violation" of the right to freedom of thought, belief and speech by some violent extremist groups.
The move that comes in the backdrop of the massive controversy over alleged anti-India protests in the JNU.
Amid a raging debate over intolerance, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday deplored "blatant violation" of the right to freedom of thought by "some violent extremist groups" and shared the view that it was an "assault on the nation".
'I always say I am a teacher by choice and an entrepreneur by chance.'
Modi, who arrived on the first leg of his three-nation tour, said his brief visit will further strengthen relations between India and Portugal.
We don't know what percentage of new fathers in the Indian corporate sector take their parental responsibilities seriously enough to use the leave, says Kanika Datta.
India has suffered the brunt of terrorism, including that of the cross-border variety, he said.
The purpose of an interview is not to tell the employer who you are in and out but to convince him/her that you're the perfect fit for the position.
It was widely expected that this time around, the government would be less likely to initiate fresh reforms and rather loosen its belt a little to give various segments of the economy, especially the multitudes that truly constitute India, something to smile about, says Sudip Bandyopadhyay.
Have India's tigers increased by 30 per cent in the last four years?
It is important to track what is happening in the rest of the world to be able to develop in India the best possible protection for citizens' fundamental right to privacy -- becoming for a country which prides itself on being the largest functioning democracy in the world.
Cracks in the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar is frittering away the ground gained in social justice and contributing to increasing polarisation in the state, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Ajit Balakrishnan envisions a flag to capture the spirit of the impending conflicts of the Information Age.
Be receptive towards new ideas and thoughts. Unlearning and re-learning are inevitable in your quest for success, says Achin Bhattacharyya.
Women's share of work in these industries is over 50 per cent, yet they are paid much less than their male counterparts.
In the crazily complex cauldron that is India, where caste, community, class and cash are just the primary ingredients, no one has yet come up with a fool-proof method to ascertain how voters make up their minds, on which button to press, in the privacy of their 'confessional' booths, notes Krishna Prasad.
'Was he afraid that his answers during cross-examination would land him in trouble under the new ruling dispensation?'
'As they come in contact with more people in their professional life, they will need to uncover even more opportunities for growth.'
'Essentially there are three things the government should be doing: Identify who you are going to get your vaccine from, figure out how you are going to pay for it, and figure out how you're going to deliver it and to whom.'
A round up of all the health news from around the world.
Over two dozen Muslims have been elected to the Lok Sabha. This shows that all is not lost for India's Muslims, suggests Mohammad Sajjad.
Jyoti 'Jay' Chaudhuri, general counsel and senior adviser to the state treasurer of the US state of North Carolina, was elected chairman of the board of the Council of Institutional Investors, last month.
Switzerland has been named the happiest country in the world.
Raghav tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier how he and his cousin Mukund co-founded Renew IT, which refurbishes discarded computers and makes them affordable for the poor in rural India.
Streaming a diverse range of moods and moments, these films are a fairly commendable effort if not always riveting, feels Sukanya Verma.
The US wants its trade with India to grow multi-fold, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal told lawmakers.
