The country's first woman defence minister sat in the rear seat behind the pilot and was wearing the pilot's G-suit.
'I could imagine that, for me it would be like getting to the top of Mount Everest. I mean, what do you do next?' 'At the moment it just feels like another weekend'
The 144-women contingent is believed to have been drawn up in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's thrust on showcasing 'Nari Shakti' as the theme for the Republic Day.
'To get a 100 per cent consensus document without any reservation, any bracket, any chair summary is unprecedented in the history of multilateral forums.'
Here's this week's collection of the world's craziest and funniest stories from around the world.
So what's all this talk about the Yeti? Does it really exist?
Three mountaineers escape the avalanche at Everest Base Camp, come back to Nepal and decide to get involved in the earthquake relief work, serving puris and vegetables to the affected families, reports Anusha Subramanian for Rediff.com.
Who will make it to this year's Padma awards list?
The Siang is a dramatic river that flows through a beautiful land. Rafting on it is a rare pleasure the state offers tourists, says Ajai Shukla.
'When democracy first came to Bhutan people had no idea and they were like 'What is that?' Oh it's that thing they have in India where the leaders are always fighting and arguing.' When I screened the film to Bhutan's film committee, they thought my film was good but they were concerned about that line. They wanted me to change that line. They said, 'We don't want to offend India.' I tried to tell them that Indians have a great ability to laugh at themselves but they insisted I change it.'
Says UP misunderstood and underplayed
'All my life, I have made expensive films. This time, I want to make the least expensive film ever made in Bollywood.' 'It's an honest attempt to climb Mount Everest without knowing if I will reach the peak.'
World number one Novak Djokovic said his win over Rafa Nadal in Friday's epic French Open semi-final was one of the top three matches he had played and he would remember it forever.
PM Oli said that "there has been good friendship between Nepal and India".
'Though I am not able to make saas-bahu shows, I like the dynamics between the men and women living under one roof with their insecurities, jealous and rivalries.' Ashutosh Gowariker gets ready for television.
Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru wants to be the youngest person to scale the seven summits of the world.
Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari reveal that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's name is now doing the rounds as President Kovind's likely successor.
The latest updates from Bollywood!
With a month to go for the Tokyo Olympics Vijender Singh takes a trip down memory lane to relive one of the most iconic moments in Indian sport... India's first Olympic medal in boxing.
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives us the weekly verdict.
Cricket's global showpiece has confirmed the Scots are a way from being able to compete with the top Test playing nations.
The threat of landslides and mudslides remains high in the earthquake-hit Nepal in the coming weeks, and the risk is likely to increase when the monsoon rains arrive this summer, scientists have warned.
Speaking at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Dussehra rally in Nagpur, Bhagwat said community-based population imbalance is an important subject and should not be ignored.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said scare-mongering was being done by some that there was a danger to minorities, but asserted that this is neither the nature of the Sangh nor of Hindus.
The Bogibeel Bridge, which was a part of the Assam Accord and sanctioned in 1997-98, is likely to play a crucial role in defence movement along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.
Basanta Singha Roy and Debabrata Biswas, two members of the first civilian expedition from West Bengal by 'Mountaineers Association of Krishnanagar', reached the top of Mount Everest on Monday morning.
Colonel Ajay Kothiyal, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra, is one of the most decorated soldiers to join politics. He still has two bullets lodged inside his body sustained in a gun battle with terrorists in J&K.
The winners for the year 2019 are from fields as diverse as agriculture, sports, handicrafts, afforestation and wildlife conservation, armed forces and education.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf tries to escape the Mumbai heat in the hills of Uttarakhand and discovers the aftermath of climate change and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Over a dozen aftershocks jolted Nepal on Wednesday, keeping people on edge a day after a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake killed 76 people in the Himalayan nation that had just begun to rebuild itself following the devastation from the temblor less than three weeks ago.
The world's 10 most scenic skydiving spots, including Lido Lakes in Indonesia, Swakopmund in Namibia and even Mount Everest.
The 7.9 Richter Scale temblor that struck Nepal on Saturday also affected parts of Tibet. The two border ports to Nepal were seriously affected.
'What we are going to see is a large number of white collar jobs getting lost.' 'Job loss can drive people to depression, drugs, alcoholism and even suicide as there is no one to turn to when they are down.' 'There is no in-between now -- things go from a luxurious lifestyle to no lifestyle.'
Jairam Jagadeesh Hathwar, 13, and Nihar Saireddy Janga, 11, were declared co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Sebi to fix promoters' side deals with PE investors
Mumbai recorded over 250 mm of rain in just three hours (between midnight and 3 am), touching 305 mm by 7 am on Sunday, a meteorologist said.
Contending that the definition of secularism has been distorted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday invoked Jan Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay to say that Muslims should be treated as "your own" rather than seeing them as "items of vote market".
Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir, actor Manoj Bajpayee, mountaineer Bachendri Pal, ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and Odisha tea seller D Prakash Rao were among the recipients of the honour.
Nepalese authorities initiated post-quake renovation works on Wednesday, including inspection of homes to evaluate safety.
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