MindOn Mindful Education Awards offered a platform to celebrate the diligent efforts by schools and educators to implement the concept of mindfulness in students. On September 4 2021, MindOn took the initiative to appreciate and recognise schools and educators by conducting a virtual awards ceremony.

MindOn offers school programs based on mindfulness, social-emotional learning and positive psychology. This organisation is passionate about working with schools to focus on the happiness and well-being of children. MindOn believes that the power to cultivate awareness, resilience and compassion, which leads to individual growth and success, lies within empowered educators.

MindOn is one of the first programs in India working towards building a strong mental health foundation for students and the school community.

The mission of these awards was to recognise and facilitate the efforts of schools and school leaders in creating mentally and physically sound environments for children to grow and thrive.

In this time of global crisis, where the mental health of every age group is of prime importance, it is time to recognise and honour schools and educators who ensure that a focus on wellbeing for their students is part of their educational offer. MindOn’s Mindful Education awards was the opportunity to do this.

This year’s awards attracted more than 2000 nominations from all over India. All nominations were evaluated by an independent panel of experts including a team of psychologists and psychiatrists.

This event was led by Dr. Kunal Kala (Founder and Director of MindOn) who emphasised the need to manifest the concept of mindfulness in schools.

Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister and education minister of NCT of Delhi, Shri. Manish Sisodia was the chief guest at the event. Throwing light on the Happiness Curriculum, for which MindOn helped develop the mindfulness component, he shared his views on the importance of mindfulness and the significant impact it can have on the lives of children. He encouraged cultivating the practice of mindfulness as a life skill from an early age at school level.

There were various prominent speakers from the field of school education including Dr. Arundhati Hoskeri (Cambridge International Schools), Dr. C.B Mishra (Prudence Group of Schools), and many more.

Award categories covered individual educators, schools, and higher education, selected by the panel. The event was wrapped up with the presentation of two special mega prizes including cash prizes and free MindOn app access by Dr. Kunal Kala and Mrs. Soamya Arora. The award for “Most Mindful Educator of the year” was given to Pooja Rani and “Most Mindful School of the year” went to The Plenum International School, Manipal International School, and Purushottam Bhagchandka Academic School.

This initiative by MindOn has created history in the field of school education in India through the hosting of this innovative awards event for mindfulness. MindOn is proud to celebrate and acknowledge the educators and schools who have focused on and made a positive difference to the wellbeing of children in their care.

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Nowadays calling yourself an Artist and influencer is pretty easy as most people think that it is not a career choice to be taken seriously or one that is sufficiently profitable. Divyam Agarwal stands as a clear example of negating search believe. Divyam is first Artist who has made a prominent name for himself in the world of multimedia. He is the founder of three companies, namely SWAGGER DEEVS, The Real Preneur, and Deevs Mp3.

SWAGGER DEEVS is quickly growing as one of the best digital marketing companies even on a global scale. Their services, which include the likes of website development, app creation, and branding to name just a few- are indispensable for any brand that wishes to accelerate its growth and reach a greater audience. The Real Preneur, on the other hand, is a leading news portal that offers top daily news content on politics entertainment sports, and much more from only the best research and most accurate sources.

However, Deevs Mp3 is indisputably the most well-known venture of Divyam. Deevs Mp3 is an artist management and marketing agency that has helped many singers and actors realize their dreams. Because of his involvement in the entertainment industry, Divyam himself has been one of the successful clients of Deevs Mp3.

He has collaborated with several artists and has released quite a number of hits during his musical career. You must already be knowing some of his past songs but stay tuned because Deevs Mp3 is soon to release their second collaboration with Ashrul Hussain in the song Ye Jaan Tere Naam.

Born and brought up in Bareilly Divyam comes from a small town but his intentions and dreams were never small. He celebrates his birthday on the 9th of August and was born in the year 2001. This implies is that at an age of just twenty Divyam has already got a hold of the stars both figuratively and literally. Even though there are many naysayers Divyam has proved that age is of no concern when you have talent and passion. Possessing both these qualities, Divyam has put in his 100% effort so as to make his dreams into reality.

Divyam’s journey to the top is really quite inspirational. He is looked up to by many people as one of the best Artists that our country has today. His ever-progressing goals and motivation to follow through with them inspires the youth of the nation to also start out on their success stories. Presently Divyam is working to released several songs and collaboration with some of the top influencers on Philips of the entertainment industry.

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Chandigarh, September 12 2021: Two young entrepreneurs of City Beautiful – the brother duo of Akshay Grover(40) and Karan Grover (36)– are all set give a new identity to Chandigarh – the grandeur of Novotel, an international brand of hotels known for its high-end hospitality and providing unforgettable experiences.

With finishing touches being given to Novotel, this 5-star will be formally unveiled on October 1, 2021 & will make it the chain’s 21st Novotel in India. Novotel is one of the hospitality brands of Accor Group.

Akshay and Karan are well known young entrepreneurs of the region with interests in hospitality. They own the famous Hotel KLG Starlite. What is more, the dynamic duo are pioneers in the auto sector too as they have the dealerships of renowned luxury german brands like Audi and Porsche. The two have other business interests too. It is this varied and rich experience in dealing with foreign brands that came in handy during the journey to get Novotel to Chandigarh.

Akshay says, “We have rich experience in the hospitality industry. The new venture of Novotel is aimed at scaling up and strengthening our presence in the hospitality sector of not just Chandigarh but the entire North region. The idea is to bring into Chandigarh a global & versatile hotel brand.”

Akshay and Karan have a keen sense of conducting business in Chandigarh and are both hands-on entrepreneurs. They are known in business circles for taking care of minute details and getting things done to a perfection by overseeing and at times even doing things themselves to set an example for employees.

It is this trait which can be seen at the hotel too. Akshay is personally taking care of the brand and operations while Karan is the brain behind the unique architecture and interior concepts of Novotel. The magnificently styled hotel is spread over an area of one acre, at an enviable location on the signature Chandigarh-Delhi highway at the corner of famous Tribune Chowk.

“Our hotel has already started attracting eyeballs of highway travellers thanks to the awe-inspiring design of Novotel,” says Akshay enthusiastically.

Akshay, an astute entrepreneur having vast experience in hospitality industry says, “It makes business sense, as Novotel has millions of members across the world. Once word of the presence of Novotel in Chandigarh trickles down within this target group, we will automatically get good business from travellers visiting tricity and the region.”

According to Karan, “Apart from ‘business potential’ another reason behind our decision to tie up with Novotel certainly was the fact that Novotel is a French hotel chain and Chandigarh too has a historical connection with France — the city’s main architect Le Corbusier was also from France.”

Both mentioned “We have worked hard in creating a very different kind of ambience in the hotel. There are elements adopted from Chandigarh architecture and themes. These will be seen across the hotel and even in guest rooms.”

Covid-19 pandemic did prove to be a challenge but both Akshay & Karan showed persistence and a sincerity of purpose and finally succeeded in their endeavours.

Come October 1 and the passionate brother duo will be formally bringing their ‘labour of love’ to Chandigarh thereby putting Chandigarh on the global hospitality map and of course providing tricity residents something to be proud of. The city certainly will now have a new and stunning landmark – Novotel Chandigarh.

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Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath fired salvos against Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party by alleging that they just used to do politics of appeasement. He also called Congress- mother of terrorism. 

Yogi Adityanath, on Sunday, stirred a fresh controversy as he targeted the previous regimes that governed the state of Uttar Pradesh by saying that they used to practise ‘politics of appeasement.’ The Chief Minister even went ahead and said, “People who used to say ‘Abbajaan’ only used to get rations until the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took over in 2017.”

CM was in the Kushinagar district to launch a ton of developmental projects where he targeted the opposition. He said “As long as appeasement existed, the country faced serious problems like terror, riots, corruption, anarchy and injustice. But today development exists and sabka sath sabka vikas is ensured. Today, the caste of the poor beneficiary is not asked.”

The CM is said to have set the tone for the upcoming assembly election by talking about national security and the regressiveness over the Taliban, highlighting Muslim appeasement and consolidating the Hindu vote bank. He asked his supporters who gathered at the event that “Would people who support the Taliban had ever allowed for a law against the Triple Talaq to come?” This was a dig at the Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq who recently equated the Taliban coming to power in Afghanistan to India’s freedom struggle. The MP was later booked by police for sedition. 

While laying foundation stones for projects worth Rs 400 crore in the district, Yogi also fired salvos at the grand old Congress party. He dubbed the Congress as ‘mother of terrorism’ and the Samajwadi Party a ‘bicchu’ without naming them. The Chief Minister, taking a dig at Akhilesh Yadav’s party said “Those who fired bullets at devotees of Lord Ram and support the Taliban with their casteism and dynastic mindset will never be tolerated by the people of the state. Remember, a ‘bicchu’ (scorpion) will sting, wherever it is.”

These remarks by the sitting Chief Minister drew a lot of criticism as well. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah termed it ‘blatant communalism.’ The leader took to his Twitter and wrote “I’ve always maintained that BJP has no intention of fighting an election with an agenda other than blatant communalism and hatred with all the venom directed towards Muslims. Here is a CM seeking re-election claiming that Muslims ate up all the rations meant for Hindus.”

Slamming the statement made by Yogi, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said “Dozens of corruption scandals have happened during his regime. PDS scam, 69000 teachers recruitment scam, corona kit scam, and many more. He must come clean before pointing fingers at others. He is playing divisive politics.”

Elections to the 403-member assembly seats in UP is due next year but Yogi Adityanath, with his remarks, has set the tone for the elections. 

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NASA has selected Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to award the contract regarding launch services for the GOES-U Mission. The Geostationary Operational Environmental satellite-U mission of NASA will provide advanced imagery, atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment, along with real-time mapping of total lightning activity and proper monitoring of solar activity and space weather.  

The total cost of the NASA GOES-U Mission is estimated at about $152.5 million. Launch service or other mission-related costs will be included in the GOES-U Mission. The mission is directed to launch in April 2024 on Falcon Heavy Rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

GOES-U will be the fourth and final spacecraft in the GOES-R Series of geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R Series is a joint effort of the US National Oceanic and atmospheric administration which further also includes GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T, and GOES-U. These highly capable weather satellites are 22,336 miles above the planet’s surface. In other words, eye earth from geostationary orbits (35,785 kilometers).

In July NASA picked SpaceX to launch a spacecraft to Jupiter moon Europa. The data also showed that SpaceX has secured a contract from rocket company Astrobotic to send a new water-hunting rover to the moon unexplored Southpole. 

GOES-T Satellite, the third and penultimate satellite in the series is expected to launch in January 2022. If the following launch and orbit checkout becomes successful GOES-T would become NOAA’s Operational GOES west satellite.
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On the recent independence day, celebrations were done with zeal and vigour in the capital of Tajikistan with loud patriotic music. This turns out to be a sign of little solace for Abdulbashir Yasufi who is under constant threat of Taliban invading and taking over his country just like the neighboring country Afghanistan.

Yusufi escaped to the mountainous Central Asian country on Afghanistan’s doorstep last month, securing last-minute visas and flights for his family, just as the Taliban arrived at the gates of Kabul.

As the high-tempo music played in a central square of Dushanbe, the 43-year-old explained that his friends and relatives faced death at the hands of the Taliban in Panjshir, the last province to fall to the group.

“I’m so worried for them,” Yusufi, a former resident of the northern city Mazar-e-Sharif, told AFP. A doctor who worked with the German army and a British pharmaceutical firm before that, Yusufi says he cannot contemplate a return home with his family.

“If we go back to Afghanistan there is a threat to our lives,” he explained. Rather than remain in Tajikistan, Yusufi is hoping to be granted refuge in the West.

The Taliban’s rapid sweep of Afghanistan as foreign troops drew down after 20 years sparked a frenzied exodus particularly among Afghans who worked alongside foreign militaries that centred on the airport in Kabul.

Tajikistan, a secretive and authoritarian ex-Soviet state close to Russia and China, has not provided figures for the number of Afghans who have arrived there since the Taliban began its takeover in May.

But Interior Minister Ramazon Hamro Rahimzoda said earlier this month that the country could not admit around 80 Afghan families camping out on its border with Afghanistan, saying it lacked the infrastructure to house them.

Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon then criticized international institutions for their “indifference” to the fate of Afghans, but he made no commitments to housing refugees in his own country.

For Afghans who have made it to Tajikistan, the government’s notable anti-Taliban positioning might be a good sign.

While other neighboring countries, like Uzbekistan, began developing ties with the Taliban long ago, Tajik authorities have repeatedly criticized the group and are not ready to get subjugated under its power.
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At 21 years of age, this young talent owns a production house and a digital marketing firm and a mammoth of clients for his businesses.

The world of entertainment and media, especially the digital space, is booming as if it will immerse all the possible industries into it and rightfully so, for the kind of massive growth it has shown over the years and the momentum and success it has given to professionals in the industry. The same can be said about the entertainment industry, which has been flourishing the careers of artists and others through films, series, shows, music videos, etc., and providing the best entertainment even amidst such trying times. We often wonder what could be the reasons behind their exponential rise. However, one cannot deny that the consistent efforts of young professionals and entrepreneurs in the industry are making those significant advances in the media and the digital space. We came across one such young Indian talent named Ashmit Kanwer, who has been making waves in these industries and is already the owner of businesses in these industries.

Who is Ashmit Kanwer, you ask? Well, this passionate man was born in 1999 in Shimla, HP, India, and has been living in Chandigarh for the last 8-9 years. He studied till 5th grade in HP and then continued his schooling in Chandigarh from Kendriya Vidyalaya Sec 31. Since the very beginning, if anything attracted Ashmit Kanwer the most; it was all things creative. In his 6th grade while in Chandigarh, he debuted in the Bollywood film “Joker” starring Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, and others and began his career as a child artist in the entertainment industry.

Ashmit Kanwer then continued working in the Punjabi music industry and, in 2018, became a video director for their songs. So far, this youngster, who is all of 21 years of age, has already worked with Punjabi stars like Guru Randhawa, Neha Kakkar, Badshah, Parmish Verma, Shehnaaz Gill, Mahira Sharma, Himanshi Khurana, Gippy, Hardy Sandhu, Jassie Gill and many other singers as well.

Working rigorously in the industry as a video director upped his confidence to take a step ahead and do something more as a creative professional. Hence, he started his production house named “Downtown Media Films” under which he has launched various projects with T-Series, Sony, Zee Music, White Hill Music, Speed Records, Jass Records, among others.

Ashmit Kanwer, who is right now pursuing BCA, also runs a robust digital marketing company named “Town Digitals” that provides a host of services, including digital marketing, services for Instagram and YouTube, audio distribution, artist management, and so much more.

The 21-year-old has proved his mettle as a video creator and entrepreneur with his companies in the entertainment and the digital space and still feels he has just begun. To know more, follow him on Instagram @ashmitkanwer.

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Leaders of the five country, during the 13th BRICS summit held virtually on Thursday, talked about establishing peace in the war-torn country of Afghanistan.

Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 13th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit, on Thursday emphasized countering terrorism. Taking into accounts, the recent developments in Afghanistan, the leaders of the five countries adopted a ‘New Delhi Declaration’ on the war-torn country, pledging to not indulge in any sort of violence and bringing peace to the nation.

The summit was virtually chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had Vladimir Putin of Russia, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Jair Bolsanaro from Brazil, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as the participants.  “Afghan territory should not be used to carry out attacks against other countries as well as for drug trade. We emphasize the need to address the humanitarian situation and to uphold human rights, including those of minorities,” a BRICS declaration said.

The “New Delhi Declaration” adopted at the end of the summit also emphasized the need to address the humanitarian situation and to uphold human rights, including those of women, children and minorities. The declaration said they were “committed to combating terrorism… including cross-border movement of terrorists, and terrorism financing networks and safe havens”.

The summit of these 5 nations comes at the backdrop of the US’s decision to withdraw its troop from Afghanistan which led to a complete collapse of the government and a takeover by the terror outfit, Taliban. The BRICS brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing 41 % of the global population, 24 % of the global GDP, and 16 % of the global trade.

All the leaders were given an opportunity to talk on the issue however the strongest word came from Russian President, Vladimir Putin. He said, “The withdrawal of the US forces and its allies from Afghanistan has led to a new crisis in Afghanistan, it is still unclear how this will affect global and regional security.” He further added, “It is for good reason that our countries have paid special attention to this issue.”

Meanwhile, PM Modi in his opening remarks said the BRICS platform has been useful for focussing attention on the priorities of the developing countries. “Today we are an influential voice for emerging economies of the world. This platform has also been useful for focussing attention on the priories of the developing nations as well,” he said.

This is the second time Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired the BRICS Summit. Earlier he had chaired the Goa Summit in 2016.

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First international passenger flight, alone jetliner lifted off from Kabul’s airport on Thursday, since American forces ended their 20-year presence in Afghanistan. The event took place ten days after the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan came to an end. 

After The departure of the chartered Qatar Airways Boeing 777, with citizens of many countries like Americans, Canadians, and Britons on board. According to some experts, this is a sign that Taliban-ruled Afghanistan might be poised to re-engage with the world, even as reports emerged that the group was intensifying its crackdown on dissent.

Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani, a special envoy from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a statement in a news conference on the tarmac that, ”Kabul Airport is now operational”. Qatari and Turkish personnel have been recently working with the Taliban to repair the damaged areas and make the airport functional again. But just more than a week ago, the facility was a scene of frantic desperation as people jockeyed to find seats on the last commercial and military planes out.

When the last evacuation flight left Kabul just before midnight Aug. 30, it left behind a ghost town of an airport, strewn with damaged equipment and the abandoned possessions of evacuees. Also left behind were an unknown number of foreigners and Afghans desperate to leave — but with no way out.

Mr. Al-Qahtani appeared at pains Thursday to point out the difference between then and now. This, he said, was not an evacuation. “We are speaking about free passage,” he said. “We want people to feel that this is normal.”

But for all the diplomat’s talk of a new era, by day’s end, only a single planeload of passengers had left the country, and “normal” seemed far away for a country just taken over by militants who are feared by many Afghans and who are shunned by much of the world.

More flights were promised in the days ahead. But an untold number of people remained in limbo, including at the airport in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where dozens of Americans and hundreds of Afghans were waiting for the Taliban to let them leave on charter flights.

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The Kerala based lender South Indian Bank, in association with OneCard, has launched the SIB – OneCard Credit Card. A premium metal card, the SIB – OneCard has a unique app-based onboarding process, which is in line with the Bank’s vision of digital transformation. The internationally valid credit card on the Visa Signature platform can be fully controlled through the powerful OneCard App.

The SIB – OneCard comes with many exciting features like lifetime validity with zero joining and annual fees, 100% digital customer onboarding process, instant virtual card issuance, instant issuance of reward points and easy redemption within the app, etc. The premium metal-based card on the Visa Signature platform having NFC facility offers contactless easy management of EMIs from the EMI dashboard in the app. It has the lowest forex fee in the market at just 1%.

South Indian Bank is one of the pioneers in technology-based banking. With a bouquet of digital offerings, the Bank caters to all generations of customers. The SIB – OneCard with a host of futuristic features takes the credit card experience to the next level. Customers can bank on the intuitive mobile app to control their credit card and manage their spending. The Bank will use tools like Video KYC and digital KYC modes to onboard premium customers.

“Digital Banking being one of the focus areas for South Indian Bank, this next generation credit card is the best product to offer to India’s young population. More tie-ups with fintech companies are in the anvil and we are happy to associate with OneCard to launch a truly next generation credit card”, said Sri. Murali Ramakrishnan, MD & CEO of South Indian Bank.

OneCard has been launched by FPL Technologies – a fintech start-up which aims to digitally revolutionise credit and payments in India. The company had earlier launched the OneScore app in 2019, to empower people to monitor and manage their credit health in a simple, secure manner; without any spam. The scoring platform is widely popular and has acquired more than 7 million users within just two years of its launch.

India’s consumer credit market offers a huge opportunity. A burgeoning affluent middle class and growing consumption across India are expected to fuel the growth at a rate higher than most major global economies.

On the occasion of the launch Sri. Anurag Sinha, Co-founder & CEO, OneCard said “Our partnership with South Indian Bank fits perfectly with our vision to drive ‘smart banking’ through a mobile-first approach among the tech-savvy Indians. At OneCard, besides offering flexibility and visibility on spends, we offer the customer full control of every aspect involved in credit and payments.”