Latest news with #Giri
Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Hans Niemann slams table after losing to Anish Giri; no signs of going viral
Nostalgics will lament that table-slams after losing a chess match, are not what they used to be once. For Hans Niemann has done the predictable – gently slammed the playing table at the Esports World Cup of chess, to no visible after effect. The video of the last chance qualifier was put out by garnered 54.6K views, but didn't exactly go viral. Niemann was winning the qualifier against Anish Giri, when with 8 seconds to go he seemed to have frozen like mint icecream, the colour of his shirt. Niemann went KingB7 down at six seconds and sacrificed on the pre-game moves as last resort. Giri however was refusing to go Dutch for a draw, and ended up flagging Niemann with a rook check to give Team Secret a quality boost. Niemann who had been 15 seconds up on the clock with less than a minute to go, imploded and hit a Magnus-Lite table small, more a fist with his left, thereafter. Hans SLAMS The Table 🤜💥 — (@chesscom) July 26, 2025 The Slam though didn't quite fetch much aura, like Magnus Carlsen's against Gukesh, though it recreated the pressure and exhalation after losing from a winning position. 'The chess has spoken once again' ran the refrain riffing off Niemann's diss of Carlsen losses. This format in e chess does not allow time increments. Giri though dawdling through the match, had the recent upperhand over Niemann in blitz before punching his ticket for the World Cup of eSports, and had set up the shootoff after beating Pragg. The table slam was a restrained fist thump on the computer table, minus the 'oh my god' ST. He would remove his earphones, look around at his surroundings where nothing much stirred and walk off with no controversy fallowing in his wake. 27 reposts and 569 likes of the clip on made it distinctly unviral. Niemann had once destroyed and entire hotel room, so this was viewed as a sign of flailing tempest and maturity outcomes. While tables are a routine, common enemy of several chess players, a literal punching bag, Carlsen had elevated slamming tables to level of pro-max frustrate emote, after D Gukesh defeated him. Given the propensity to thump tables, there were calls to add a slam button to the app. His exit meant no tables turned at Qiddiya.
Hans India
5 days ago
- General
- Hans India
Shiva's holy mace taken to Shankaracharya temple
Srinagar: Chhari Mubarak -- the saffron-robed holy mace of Lord Shiva --' was taken to the historic Shankaracharya temple here on Thursday for special prayers on the occasion of 'Haryali-Amavasya' (Shravan Amavasya) as per age-old customs. The Chhari Mubarak Swami Amarnath Ji led by Mahant Deependra Giri was taken to the temple located at Gopadri hills for prayers as part of the ongoing annual Amarnath Yatra. Giri, the custodian of the mace, said the Chhari Mubarak was taken from its abode at Dashnami Akhara near Lal Chowk here to the temple where a 'pujan' was held. The sound of conch shells charged the atmosphere and 'pujan' was performed chanting vedic hymns, he said. The sadhus, who accompanied the holy mace, participated in the pooja as collective prayers were also offered for peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir, Giri added. He informed that Chhari Mubarak will also be taken to 'Sharika-Bhawani' temple, Hari Parbat here to pay obeisance to the goddess on Friday. The rituals would be performed for Chhari-Sthapana at Shri Amareshwar temple Dashnami Akhara here on Sunday after which Chhari-Pujan will be performed at the akhara on the occasion of 'Nag-Panchami' on Tuesday, he said. The Mahant will carry the holy mace to the holy cave shrine to perform pujan and have 'darshan' on the morning of 'Shravan-Purnima' on August 9 after night halts at Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag, and Panchtarani. The puja at the cave shrine will be followed by 'visarjan' in Lidder river at Pahalgam the next day.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
How Much Cheaper Will Whiskey Be After India-UK Free Trade Deal: 10 Points
New Delhi: The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will lead to a reduction in prices of scotch whiskey, but not to such an extent that it would reshape the market. The price cuts are highly dependent on the pricing mechanism of every state. Here's your 10-point cheat sheet on whiskey prices States may tweak ex-distellery prices and excise duty rates to maintain excise collections as they form a major part of states' revenue. Multinational companies may reduce billing prices by mid-high single digits for 6-12 months, then bring them back up. In the premium segment in which the prices start from Rs 3,500 per bottle, brands like Johnie Walker, Black Label, and Chivas REgal 12 Years may cost less by Rs 200-300 per bottle. In the standard segment, which is between Rs 1,700 and Rs 2,000 per bottle, brands like Red Label and Ballantine's may cost less by Rs 100-150. The tariff cuts will not be able to change market dynamics since the price difference with the next lower segment, i.e. bottled-in-India is not much. The brands in the bottled-in-India segment, which costs around Rs 1,500 per bottle, include Teachers, Black Dog, and Black and White. This is a category of whiskey that was created in India owing to high custom duties. The brands bottled locally use scotch imported in bulk in concentrated form and diluted and packaged in India using local material. Since tariffs have been slashed, production and bottling of these brands could move to the UK. In the UK, whiskey has better scale efficiency, automation in production, thereby offsetting production costs. "Most Indian whisky producers import Scotch whiskey to use for blending with domestic whiskies. Reduction in customs duty will help bottomlines of these Indian producers," said Vinod Giri, liquor trade expert and director general of Brewers Association of India. "Since these whiskies are mostly sub Rs 1,000 per bottle, their competitive price position will not be affected by any reduction in consumer prices of imported scotch," he said. Since the UK itself is not a major whiskey market, the gains to Indian manufacturers, whatever be the terms, is going to be very limited. Hence, stripped of all noise, all the UK-India FTA will do for the whiskey industry is to help the bottomlines of companies. Consumers should not expect to see much change. FTA will not dramatically reshape the Indian whiskey market, but will open new big business vistas for Indian producers, Mr Giri said.
NDTV
22-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Between The Lines: What Dhankar's Exit Means for BJP And Parliament
The resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar has the potential of turning into a storm, especially as the Monsoon Session of Parliament is on. Dhakar has cited deteriorating health as the reason. However, the abruptness of his action, announced through a post on 'X' at 9.25 pm at the end of a day during which he had been active in his role as chairman of Rajya Sabha, has set Lutyen's Delhi's grapevine abuzz. The outgoing Vice-President's visit to Jaipur on Wednesday July 23 was notified by his secretariat earlier in the day. This, too, added to the grist. During the day, he had perhaps gone contrary to the government's announcement that the impeachment proceedings against Justice Yashwant Verma would be initiated through the Lok Sabha. He admitted a parallel motion in Rajya Sabha and also outlined the intricacies of the setting up of a three-member panel to look into the charges. With Rajya Sabha in the picture, the Vice-President of India and the Speaker of Lok Sabha are to jointly appoint the panel. Had Rajya Sabha not admitted the motion, the prerogative would have rested on the Lok Sabha Speaker alone. The first Vice-President to resign from his post, V.V. Giri, had done so on July 20, 1969. Giri was sworn in as acting President on May 3 after the death of President Zakir Hussain. He decided to contest for President of India as an Independent (with overt support of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was opposed to the choice of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy as official candidate of Congress) and thus quit to make the process fair, though there was no bar on his contesting while in office. Moments before resigning as Acting President, Giri appended his signature to the Bank Nationalisation Ordinance, which was a signature slab of Indira Gandhi's 'Garibi Hatao' plank. His resignation set in motion a train of events that altered the history of India's politics. Onus on Consensus Dhankar's resignation will add some heat to the political cauldron. Speculation has been rife over the choice of the next President of the BJP, with incumbent J.P. Nadda having overshot his tenure by a few years. The ruling dispensation's complexities will enhance. The new incumbent has to be someone acceptable to the party organisation as well as its mentor body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The new Vice President of India will have to be someone acceptable to National Democratic Alliance partners (NDA). Thus, consensus-building will hit its zenith. The NDA has adequate numbers in the electoral college for the election of Vice President. Notably, when Dhankar was elected in 2022, the BJP had a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. Post-2024, it now needs NDA allies. Choosing Dhankar's successor isn't a time-bound task. Article 63 of the Constitution of India, which deals with the office of the Vice-President, the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha, says the vacancy should be filled 'as soon as possible'. The Election Commission has to determine the date. The words 'as soon as possible' also appear in Article 93, which deals with Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. It says the House shall elect two of its members 'as soon as possible' to these two posts. No election has taken place for Deputy Speaker after M. Thambidurai demitted office in June 2019 on the expiry of the term of 16th Lok Sabha. The 17th Lok Sabha (June 2019 -24) had no Deputy Speaker and the current House is yet to elect one. Harivansh to Hold Fort There is no proviso for an 'Acting Vice President'. However, since Parliament is in session, the duties of the presiding office of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) will fall upon Harivansh Narain Singh, who has been the Deputy Chairman since August 2018. A distinguished editor before being elected to Rajya Sabha on Janata Dal (United) ticket from Bihar, he will hold charge, just as his predecessor Violet Alva had done when Giri quit in 1969. Harivansh is the 13th Deputy Chairman in the history of Rajya Sabha. All his predecessors retired as Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, with the sole exception of Pratibha Patil, a former Speaker of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha, who went on to become Rajasthan's Governor and in 2007 was elected the President of India. The NDA's coalition politics in the run-up to Bihar elections also create a possibility of Harivansh's elevation. However, seeing recent appointments, which have given primacy not only to BJP insiders but also emphasised on their RSS credentials, this seems an unlikely option. Dhankar began his political career as a Janata Dal leader and was made a deputy minister by Prime Minister Chandrashekhar. He joined the BJP a few years back and was soon appointed the Governor of West Bengal. His tenure in Kolkata was marked by his run-ins with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Dhankar was the second new entrant to the BJP after Satyapal Malik to have gained prominence in the Narendra Modi-era, chagrining the Sangh's old guard. The fallout of his resignation may cause a lively organisational debate in the BJP. Vice President's Function Apart from presiding over Rajya Sabha, the Vice President of India has no other defined duties. Article 65 says the Vice President shall discharge the functions of the President during the temporary absence of the President, illness or any other cause by reason of which he is unable to discharge his functions. The First President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, in June 1960 had asked Vice President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to act as President for a fortnight when he went on an official visit to the USSR. In May 1961, Dr Prasad took seriously ill and underwent surgery, and then as well Dr Radhakrishnan discharged the duties of the President. He was elected as President in May 1962 after Dr Prasad retired. When President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (who signed the proclamation of Emergency) passed away in February 1977 (while the Lok Sabha election process was on), Vice President B.D. Jatti became acting President. He accepted the resignation of Indira Gandhi and swore in Janata Party Prime Minister Morarji Desai in March. Jatti served as Vice President for just over a month under President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who was elected in July 1977 and retired on completion of his five-year term on August 31, 1977. Line of President's Succession In May 1969, anticipating a constitutional crisis in case Acting President V.V. Giri would not be able to discharge his duties, the Second Schedule of the Constitution was amended and The President (Discharge of Functions) Act 1969 ( Act 16 of 1969) was enacted, which laid down that in the event of the occurrence of vacancies in the offices of both President and Vice President, the Chief Justice of India, or, in his absence, the seniormost judge of Supreme Court available, shall discharge the functions of the President of India. Thus, a vacancy in the post of Vice President does not leave the Presidency in limbo. Either the Chief Justice of India, or, in his absence, the seniormost Supreme Court Judge may act as President. Chief Justice M. Hidayatullah thus became Acting President in July 1969. He received US President Richard Nixon on July 31, 1969, when the latter was in India on a state visit. Hidayatullah, after retiring from the Supreme Court, was elected as Vice-President in 1979 and served till 1984.
The Star
20-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Bali to ban production of plastic sachets in 2026
A fisherman pulls his boat out to sea on March 20, 2024, across waste that covers much of Kedonganan Beach in Badung, Bali. Kedonganan is one of Bali's beaches most polluted with plastic materials. - Photo: Antara file BALI, (Indonesia): The Bali provincial administration plans to ban the production of small plastic packaging, or sachets, starting in 2026 as a response to suggestions from environmentalists after banning the production of under-1-liter bottled water. 'I support it fully. This has been through studies on the small-size sachets, whether it [the ban] will be decided this year or next year [in 2026],' Bali Vice Governor I Nyoman Giri Prasta said in Denpasar on Tuesday, as quoted by Giri said the provincial administration was still focusing on the ban of bottled water first. He added there was a possibility that a ban on other plastic packaging would come in 2026. 'We have discussed this, there will be a decision later,' he said. The former Badung regency head said that Bali Governor Wayan Koster was very wise in banning plastic packaging. The decision would still allow French company Danone to use up the bottled water production that has already been distributed. 'It means being visionary, [so that] our descendants [can] see Bali clean and green,' the politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said. Previously, the Nusantara River Research Agency (BRUIN) suggested that Koster also target other plastic packaging, not only banning bottled water. BRUIN coordinator for waste census, Muhammad Kholif Basyaiban, said the Bali provincial administration had to refer to Law No. 18/2008 on Waste Management, which stipulates the responsibility of producers in waste processing. There are also other regulations such as Environmental and Forestry Ministerial Decree No. 75/2019. 'The reference for circulars, government regulation, provincial bylaws and gubernatorial regulations is the Waste Management Law and the ministerial decree, which do not discriminate certain [kinds of] plastic waste but all kinds of plastics,' Kholif said in a written statement on Monday. In 2024, Bali produced 1.2 million tonnes of plastic waste, according to the National Waste Management Information System. Plastic fairness Separately, two bottled water producers in Bali expressed objections to the ban on producing and distributing bottled water in containers less than 1 liter as stipulated by Bali Gubernatorial Circular No. 9/2025 on Clean Bali Movement. 'Environmental conservation policy in Bali is indeed important [and] urgent but cannot be applied unilaterally without a dialogue mechanism and legal protection for local businesses,' CV Tirta Taman Bali president director I Gde Wiradhitya Samuhata said on Monday. Wiradhitya said the objection was accompanied by the company's official stance and legal analysis on the gubernatorial circular. 'We have compiled a juridical analysis and will send the official stance to the Aspadin [Indonesian Bottled Water Association] central executive board in Jakarta as a constructive contribution to manage the relations between businesses, customary society and regional policy,' he said, as quoted by Antara news agency. He revealed that Balinese bottled water companies considered customary villages not only as partners but the soul of their businesses. He also agreed with environmental conservation efforts but said the solution should focus on waste management instead of banning plastic packaging production. He said the Bali administration should shift from symbolic banning to reform the waste management system based on recycling incentives, public education and producers' responsibilities. Meanwhile, president director of PT Tirta Mumbul Jaya Abadi, Nyoman Arta Widyana, said that instead of only banning bottled water under 1 liter, the provincial administration should also ban all plastic packaging to be fair. 'For example, when we want to buy cooking oil, sugar, coffee and candy, all these items use plastic. But it seems that only we [bottled water producers] are blamed for causing plastic waste,' he said. Arta said it was not fair if the problem of plastic waste was only blamed on bottled water producers when they already used PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and PP (polypropylene) cups which could be easily recycled. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
