Mid-budget Bollywood films (costing ₹30–50 crore) like Saiyaara have become box office hits in 2025, signaling a shift where content-driven, smaller-scale movies help sustain theatre attendance as big star-led blockbusters struggle; Saiyaara grossed over ₹400 crore globally, outperforming costlier films.
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The century-old Pocharam Dam, built between 1916 and 1922 by the Nizam government on the Alair River (a tributary of the Manjeera River) on the border of Medak and Kamareddy districts in Telangana, has a designed flood discharge capacity of 70,000 cusecs but recently withstood an unprecedented inflow of 1.82 lakh cusecs, demonstrating its superior construction quality and resilience over more than 100 years. It supplies irrigation and drinking water to Nagireddypet and surrounding areas via a network of 58 km canals and 73 distributaries.
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The Trump administration aggressively pursued environmental deregulation, rolling back nearly 100 rules related to clean air, water, wildlife, and toxic chemicals. The EPA budget was cut drastically, enforcement actions were reduced, and scientific offices were dismantled, severely undermining the agency’s ability to regulate pollution and combat climate change.
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Telangana’s Sports Hub passed a resolution to host major events including Khelo India, Commonwealth Games, and the Olympics, alongside forming sub-committees to maintain stadiums, improve facilities, and train coaches. The state budget for sports has been increased 16 times, with initiatives like the Young India Sports University aiming to nurture talent and position Hyderabad as a top sports destination.
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The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025 proposes mandatory removal of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, and Union or State Ministers if they are arrested and held in custody for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges punishable with imprisonment of five years or more. The Bill amends Articles 75, 164, and 239AA of the Constitution and aims to promote political morality, though it has faced strong opposition fears of misuse and political destabilization.
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According to Knight Frank, the top Indian cities by commercial office supply in million square feet (MSF) are:
Bengaluru leads with 229 MSF,
Followed by Delhi-NCR with 199 MSF,
Mumbai MMR with 169 MSF,
Hyderabad ranks 4th with 123 MSF,
Pune is 5th at 106 MSF.
Cities like Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and the combined Kochi & Thiruvananthapuram (TVM) feature lower commercial office space supply [source: Knight Frank].
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According to the Reserve Bank of India, net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India drastically dropped from $44 billion in FY21 to just $0.4 billion in FY25, reflecting a significant decline in foreign investment inflows over the period.
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In August 2025, the Delhi government released a draft Startup Policy (valid for 10 years) to position the city as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, with proposals including a ₹200 crore venture capital fund, rental reimbursements, patent filing support, operational grants, and a single-window portal to ease regulations.
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According to the Global Tech Markets Top Talent Locations 2025 report by Colliers, Bengaluru has been ranked among the world’s top 10 tech hubs, placing alongside global centers like San Francisco, London, and Beijing. Hyderabad and Pune also feature in the top global list.
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Naomi Osaka strongly condemned Jelena Ostapenko’s comments to Taylor Townsend after their US Open match, stating that calling a Black tennis player “uneducated” and lacking “class” is one of the worst things that can be said in a majority White sport. Osaka remarked that the timing was especially poor, that Taylor Townsend is highly intelligent and dedicated, and suggested Ostapenko may not understand the historical significance of such language in America. The incident arose after Townsend defeated Ostapenko, who then criticized Townsend’s etiquette related to a net-cord point, but denied any racist intent afterward. Townsend received broad support from other tennis players, with many noting that Ostapenko’s own reputation for poor sportsmanship makes her accusations hypocritical.
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In 2023, to mark its 150th anniversary, Germany’s Beck’s brewery created “Beck’s Autonomous” lager using an AI (ChatGPT) as brewmaster, starting a trend where breweries worldwide—like Atwater in the US and St. Austell in the UK—used AI to develop new beer recipes that have been well-received for their unique flavors.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent emphasis on ‘swadeshi’ (self-reliance) redefines it pragmatically—not as economic isolation but as promoting Indian-made goods with global value addition, welcoming foreign investment while encouraging local job creation and integration into global supply chains.
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The bullet train project connecting Hyderabad, Amaravati, Chennai, and Bengaluru has received approval, with a detailed project report (DPR) to be prepared soon and construction expected to begin around 2026. This high-speed rail corridor will significantly cut travel time, connecting these major South Indian economic hubs in about 2 to 2.5 hours, boosting regional connectivity and economic growth.
This project is part of India's expanding bullet train network, designed to operate at speeds up to 320 km/h on elevated tracks, following the Mumbai-Ahmedabad model.
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The Hindu goddess Saraswati is worshipped in Japan as Benzaiten, or Benten. Her veneration arrived in Japan between the 6th and 8th centuries through Buddhism.
Benzaiten, who is one of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods, shares many of Saraswati's traits, as she is the goddess of music, arts, and wisdom. Over time, her role expanded to include prosperity and protection, and she became uniquely associated with water in Japanese culture.
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Bodhidharma, a 6th-century Buddhist monk from India, is traditionally credited with founding Zen Buddhism in China. He introduced meditation as the direct path to enlightenment, emphasizing personal experience over written texts. Regarded as the first patriarch of Zen, his teachings established a lineage that later spread to Japan.
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For the first time, India has crossed the milestone of 1 crore teachers in school education (2024-25), resulting in significantly improved pupil-teacher ratios (PTR) well below NEP recommendations—10 at foundational, 13 at preparatory, 17 at middle, and 21 at secondary levels—which has contributed to better classroom engagement, reduced dropout rates, and higher student retention across the country.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan and China in August-September 2025 highlights the growing importance of India’s relations with East Asia, focusing on strengthening the Special Global and Strategic Partnership with Japan through enhanced cooperation in defense, technology, trade, infrastructure, and people-to-people ties, while also participating in the SCO Summit in China amid complex geopolitical dynamics.
This visit marks the 15th India-Japan PM-level summit and aims to launch new initiatives in areas including defense technology, economic security, semiconductors, and critical minerals supply chains, underscoring the deepening bilateral ties critical for Indo-Pacific stability and economic growth.
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The over 300-year-old wooden Siddhivinayak temple at Anjur village in Bhiwandi taluka, Thane district, is a remarkable example of traditional craftsmanship, built entirely from wood without cement or concrete, and has survived centuries with minimal restoration, preserving its original structure and intricate carvings. It is gaining attention as a heritage site reflecting India’s architectural legacy and cultural devotion to Lord Ganesha.
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In Odisha's Angul district, extensive coal mining has displaced thousands of families. Despite monetary compensation, villagers have lost their ancestral lands and community identity, facing inadequate resettlement, a lack of promised jobs, and health issues from pollution. This ongoing situation highlights the conflict between rapid industrial development and community welfare in India's top coal-producing state.
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India's education system is outdated and misaligned with the job market, creating a significant skills gap. As AI and automation transform industries, a majority of Indian graduates are considered unemployable because their curriculum does not meet new demands. Despite government initiatives, the country struggles to re-skill its massive youth population. This failure to adapt could turn India's demographic dividend into a demographic challenge.
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While the Ayushman Bharat scheme has extended cashless treatment to nearly 500 million people, India's healthcare system still struggles to provide affordable access, with only 15-18% of the population having insurance. The challenge is particularly acute in rural areas. To transform healthcare into a universal right, the focus must now be on expanding insurance, prioritizing preventive care, and accelerating the use of digital health technologies.
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India's GDP grew robustly at 7.8% in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2025-26, compared to 6.5% growth during the same quarter last year (Q1 FY 2024-25). This growth is higher than most economists' estimates and marks a five-quarter high for the Indian economy.
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The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.K. Stalin, highlighted that the U.S. decision to hike tariffs on Indian goods to 50% has severely impacted Tamil Nadu’s exports, particularly in the textile hub of Tiruppur, causing an estimated trade loss of about ₹3,000 crore and threatening over two lakh jobs in the region. He has demanded immediate relief and structural reforms from the Union government to protect the state’s industries and workers. Tamil Nadu's garment exports, worth ₹73,000 crore annually, face risks as U.S. traders shift to cheaper imports from other Asian countries with lower tariffs.
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India is the road accident capital of the world, with 20 deaths reported every hour in 2023, most of whom are young adults aged 18 to 45, accounting for 66.4% of fatalities. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reported 4,80,583 road accidents that year, causing 1,72,890 deaths and 4,62,825 injuries. Over-speeding was the leading traffic violation, responsible for 68.1% of deaths, followed by driving on the wrong side at 5.5%. About 31.2% of accidents occurred on National Highways, 22% on State Highways, and 46.8% on other roads.
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Arun Gawli, a gangster-turned-politician from Mumbai, was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2025 after serving over 17 years of life imprisonment for the 2007 murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar. Gawli is the founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena and was an MLA from 2004 to 2009 from the Chinchpokli constituency.
Arun Gawli’s life and criminal-political journey inspired the Marathi film "Dagdi Chawl" (2015), which portrays the underworld and his rise from the Dagdi Chawl area of Mumbai.
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