Author: M Pansare

Dubai: Aster DM Healthcare plans to step up investments and expansion in India and may consider strategic fundraising after the completion of its merger with Quality Care India (QCIL), as the hospital chain sharpens focus on its fastest-growing market after separating its GCC business two years ago.”India is now our largest growth market, and we plan to invest aggressively over the next three years,” founder-chairman Azad Moopen said. The demerger of India and the GCC businesses has enabled sharper capital allocation, faster decision-making, and clearer strategic direction, he said. “Better allocation of resources for growth post demerger allows us to…

Nagpur: President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the National Arogya Fair 2026 in Shegaon in Buldhana during her one-day visit to Maharashtra on February 25, an official said on Monday.The fair is being organised by the Union ministry of Ayush in collaboration with All India Ayurvedic Congress between February 25 and 28, a PIB release said.The fair aims to promote Ayush systems of medicine among the general public, provide comprehensive health services and create new livelihood opportunities for farmers through medicinal plant cultivation and agroforestry, it added.The inauguration ceremony will take place at Visava Maidan of Sant Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan in…

Mumbai: Torrent Group on Monday said it has entered into the diagnostics market with the launch of Torrent Diagnostics and the opening of India’s largest National Reference Laboratory in Navi Mumbai, the company claimed.The 100,000‑sq‑ft lab which marks the Group’s expansion into diagnostic services supports 15 diagnostic disciplines and more than 3,500 test modalities, covering preventive, routine and specialised testing. The testing services include molecular diagnostics, genomics, digital pathology, microbiology, immunology, transplant-related testing and infectious disease workflows, it said. “Diagnostics is a discipline where trust is built through process integrity, scientific depth and consistency over time. As Torrent enters the…

New Delhi: In a bid to tighten the noose on regulatory compliance in medical education, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed making a dedicated corpus fund mandatory for new and recently operational medical colleges, while warning that incomplete applications will be rejected outright.Under draft amendments issued this week to the 2023 regulations governing establishment and expansion of medical institutions, any entity seeking to open a new medical college will have to submit an undertaking confirming that it will maintain a dedicated corpus fund exclusively for the functioning of the institution. The amount will be determined later by the Medical…

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would examine whether the sharp reduction in the qualifying marks for NEET-PG 2025-26 affects the standard of postgraduate medical education.A bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe made the remarks while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the reduction in the percentile cut-off for the current academic year.”Adversely affecting the quality of education is what we are concerned about more than anything. It is about the quality. You will have to satisfy us that the reduction of the cutoff so drastically…will have little impact on the quality of education.…

Toho Akira Kurosawa was one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the world when, in the mid-1960s, he decided to leave his native Japan for Hollywood. The master responsible for such classics as “Seven Samurai,” “Ikiru,” and “Yojimbo” had resisted the allure of working on a big-budget studio movie for years, but with the Japanese film industry experiencing financial difficulties, he finally gave in. The experience wrecked him, and played a large role in driving him to attempt suicide in 1971. Kurosawa originally intended to make the action film “Runaway…

Reading Time: 3 minutes Taylor Frankie Paul isn’t afraid to get candid. About a month before she makes her national debut as the lead on The Bachelorette, the veteran reality star got honest about her recent mental health struggles, stressing the importance of checking in on others… even when they’re the ones reaching out. Everyone needs some help sometimes. Taylor Paul attends the 2026 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at The Kia Forum on February 13, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images) “I guess an upside of struggling mentally is you start to sense and see the signs…

Winona Ryder, fresh out of the success of ‘Stranger Things’, has now joined the cast of ‘Wednesday’ for the upcoming Season 3. The makers dropped a trailer announcement, giving fans a glimpse of the cast reel for the new season. Ryder will reportedly have a guest star role that is currently under wraps. She will be among the new stars joining the franchise, including Eva Green, who was previously announced as portraying Morticia Addams’ sister, Ophelia, one of the most mysterious figures in the Wednesday universe.’Wednesday’ Season 3 star cast announcedWith this, Ryder also reunites with her ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ co-star…

contributed by Vivian Ivey, Principal, Aloma High School, Orlando, FL It’s no surprise that teachers are facing growing pressures. They engage with diverse students, each bringing their own unique backgrounds, life experiences and personalities. In these potentially challenging circumstances, teachers often need support to prevent burnout, especially when facing personal hardships outside the classroom or navigating classroom conflicts. With 26 years of experience in education, I’ve seen firsthand how education leaders can best support teachers and reduce burnout, allowing them to focus on what truly matters: making a lasting impact on students. Throughout the years, I’ve learned a great deal…

By Simon Lewis and Humeyra PamukTrump administration steps up efforts to scrutinize foreign funding of universitiesWASHINGTON, – The Trump administration is stepping up work to uncover what it sees as malign foreign influence at U.S. colleges and universities, officials said on Monday as they announced that the State Department would assist the Department of Education in that effort.President Donald Trump has threatened to cut federal funding to universities over issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s war in Gaza, transgender policies, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, raising free speech and academic freedom concerns.Trump in April…