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Monday, August 11, 2025
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Ground Reports

Lab-diamond boom divides Surat. ‘If everyone had Kohinoor, would it still have value?’

India exported lab diamonds worth $216.07 million in financial year 2017-18. The latest numbers – between April 2022 & February 2023 – stand at $1568.55 million.

Son of Dalit labourer clears UPSC, is now ‘IRS Sahab’. ‘Dreaming is a big thing for us’

Muktendra Kumar from Bijnor district secured 819th rank in the UPSC exam, making him eligible for an IRS posting. His next goal is IAS.

India’s new tourism boom is in the sky. Uttarakhand to Andamans, stargazing on the rise

Amateur astronomers are banding together to organise stargazing trips, teach people to make telescopes, and introduce the curious public to this niche hobby.

World’s oldest carbon-dated banyan tree in UP has a structural problem. But faith guards it

Priest Ashokanand wakes up every day at 4:30 am to clean and water the tree. This is followed by the morning prayers in a small temple placed right under the grove.

Assam has an old love for quizzing, but this year’s Guwahati Quiz Fest was special

The fest spanned 3 days drew at least 300 participants, and featured an array of six quizzes, marking its long overdue return as the biggest quizzing event of Northeast.

Meet the protesters standing for their wrestling heroes—barefoot, jobless, homeless in Delhi

From ensuring there were enough mattresses, to making sure no rabble rousers entered the temporary den of wrestlers, these people are key to the protest ecosystem.

Radio love gurus still rule in the time of Tinder, Bumble. But questions are changing

RJ Rochie Rana is a non-judgemental friend in Mirchi Insta Pyaar. Radio City’s Love Guru speaks to you like an elder brother. They’ve been doling out advice since the early 2000s.

Wrestler protest morphs into farmers’, Jat anger against Modi govt. Women not at forefront

The raucous and angry crowd in Muzaffarnagar was a sea of turbaned men who came to emergency mahapanchayat. They are new custodians of sporting honour.

GreNo is Greater Noida’s new upmarket tag. It’s no more a step-sister to Noida

For residents tired of its addendum to Noida or being repeatedly reminded that they can never keep up with South Delhi, GreNo has a chic, cool and cosmopolitan ring to it.

Agra’s centuries-old footwear industry has a new challenge—quality control

In Agra, shoemakers fear the change and disruption in the old ways of doing things. Industry associations fear fallouts, while workers are worried that they’ll be laid off.

On Camera

How mining, manufacturing & power sectors weighed on India’s industrial output since January 2024

India’s industrial output growth saw a 10-month low in June, with Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by mere 1.5% as against 1.9% in May 2025.

‘Next war may come sooner than expected, will require whole-of-nation approach’—Army chief

Gen Dwivedi framed Op Sindoor not just as retaliation to Pahalgam, but as demonstration of India’s capability to fight multi-domain conflicts with integration between services & agencies.

Modi’s ready to risk it all for farmers. Farm reform can answer Trump with new Green Revolution

Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.