The New Cost Calculus for Indian Students For Indian families, studying abroad is becoming a more careful financial decision—not simply a route to an overseas job or permanent residency. A ₹20-lakh budget can work for some programmes, but the country, course length, tuition rules, city…

From Jaipur to Dubai: How Indian Weddings Became a Global Celebration Industry There is a useful way to explain the modern Indian wedding to someone who has never attended one. It is not simply a wedding. It is a wedding, fashion show, concert, food festival, family reunion, hospitality operation and destination holiday—sometimes all before the actual wedding ceremony has started. And increasingly, this distinctly Indian way of celebrating is travelling around the world. From Muscat and Abu Dhabi to Mauritius, Thailand, Italy, Bali and Türkiye, Indian couples are taking familiar rituals—mehendi, haldi, sangeet, pheras and elaborate receptions—and placing them against international landscapes. The result is an unusual form of cultural globalization: India is exporting not merely clothes or cuisine, but an entire celebration format. That is the fascinating part. The Indian wedding has become a global business without becoming culturally anonymous. First, let’s talk about the money The frequently quoted $100 billion figure needs some caution. India’s wedding economy is estimated at around that level, with WeddingWire India’s 2024–25 survey describing the Indian wedding industry as a $100 billion market and reporting an average wedding expenditure of ₹29.6 lakh among its surveyed couples. India House Foundation similarly describes India’s wedding

How Indian Shipyards Are Changing the Navy’s Future There was a time when an Indian Navy warship usually came with an interesting footnote: “Built with foreign assistance.” Today, an increasingly common description is rather different: Designed in India. Built in India. Armed increasingly with Indian systems. That change is one of the most consequential developments in India’s defence-industrial story. India’s naval modernisation is no longer just about buying more ships. It is increasingly about creating the industrial capacity to design, build, maintain and eventually export sophisticated warships. And the shipyards are getting very busy. Project 17A: the frigate programme becoming a manufacturing lesson The clearest example is Project 17A, India’s Nilgiri-class stealth frigate programme. The programme comprises seven advanced multi-mission frigates, being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata. By 2026, the programme had moved substantially from construction into induction. INS Nilgiri, INS Himgiri, INS Udaygiri and INS Taragiri had already entered service, followed by INS Dunagiri in June 2026 and INS Mahendragiri in July 2026. INS Vindhyagiri remains the final ship of the seven and is still under construction. These are not merely larger floating pieces of steel.

Novak Djokovic Retirement: The Decision Belongs to the Champion, Not the Crowd Editor, Doonited News There is a particular cruelty in watching a sporting legend struggle with the one opponent nobody can defeat forever: time. Novak Djokovic’s first-round exit from the 2026 US Open has reopened an increasingly familiar question — should the 39-year-old Serbian champion retire? The question is legitimate. But the decision is not ours to make. Djokovic’s defeat to Argentina’s Mariano Navone was extraordinary by the standards of a career built on extraordinary consistency. Navone won 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 after four hours and 36 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was Djokovic’s first opening-round defeat at a Grand Slam since 2006. More concerning than the result was what happened physically. Djokovic struggled with nausea and vomiting and battled cramping and pain involving his back and shoulder. He eventually lost control of the match after taking a two-sets-to-one lead. In his own account after the match, he indicated that physical problems had been following him through much of the season. That makes the retirement debate understandable. But understandable does not mean decisive. The body is asking a difficult question At his peak, Djokovic’s greatest weapon was

India at Asian Games 2026: A Record-Sized Team Carries the Momentum of Hangzhou to Japan The next chapter of India’s Asian sporting story begins in Japan. The 20th Asian Games, Aichi-Nagoya 2026, officially open on September 19 and run through October 4, bringing together athletes from across the continent in one of the biggest multi-sport competitions before the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. For India, there is an additional layer of significance. The country is arriving after its greatest Asian Games performance ever. At Hangzhou, India won 107 medals — 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze — and finished fourth in the overall standings. Now comes the difficult part of sport: Doing it again. India sends 503 athletes to Japan India’s final delegation has grown to 503 athletes — 269 men and 234 women — according to the Olympic Council of Asia’s September update. More than 300 members of the athlete contingent are making their Asian Games debut, according to India’s Sports Ministry’s send-off information. That is more than just a number. It indicates both experience and renewal. There are established Olympic and Asian Games medallists heading to Japan, but alongside them is a substantial group entering the continental

How an Old Hindi Song Became a New Diplomatic Moment Diplomacy normally has a familiar soundtrack: formal statements, handshakes, carefully negotiated phrases and microphones that seem to multiply whenever a leader enters a room. But in New Delhi this week, diplomacy briefly found a different rhythm. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim picked up a microphone and sang Kishore Kumar’s “Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat,” the evergreen Hindi song from the 1965 film Teen Devian. The moment, captured on video, quickly travelled far beyond the room where it happened. The accompanying pianist was Indian musician M. Rehman, and the performance took place during a gala dinner associated with the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi. Within days, the clip had become one of those rare diplomatic moments that ordinary social-media users could enjoy without needing a briefing note to understand it. There was no complicated communiqué to decode. Someone was simply singing a beloved Hindi song. Anwar and Kishore Kumar — not exactly a new acquaintance The viral performance may have surprised viewers who knew Anwar primarily as Malaysia’s prime minister, but his connection with Indian music is not new. During an earlier India visit, Anwar had already performed

The Festive Journey Home: The Real Cost of Travelling Between Two Homes For Indians living and working in the UAE, Dussehra and Diwali are more than dates on the calendar. They are a chance to reunite with family—but the cost of getting home can change…

How Young Diaspora Organisers Are Keeping Gujarati Traditions Alive in Europe From community Garba nights in Switzerland to Navratri gatherings in Germany and the Netherlands, Gujarati dance is bringing generations together across Europe. With UNESCO recognition giving the tradition greater international visibility, a new generation…

Bollywood remains a powerful cultural ambassador, but it no longer tells the whole story of India’s cultural presence abroad. From Punjabi arena concerts and Indian classical music at major arts venues to regional cinema and digital creators, the routes to international audiences are multiplying. The…

IMF–World Bank Meetings in Bangkok: Why the Global Economic Agenda Matters to Overseas Indians The IMF and World Bank Group will hold their 2026 Annual Meetings in Bangkok from 12 to 18 October, with jobs, investment, artificial intelligence and global development on the agenda. For…

Sir Shankar Balasubramanian: The Indian-Born Scientist Behind a DNA Sequencing Revolution Born in Chennai and based at the University of Cambridge, Sir Shankar Balasubramanian has helped reshape modern genomics. His 2026 Wolf Prize in Chemistry recognises a scientific breakthrough that made large-scale DNA sequencing faster,…

Swapna Reddy: The Indian-American Lawyer Using Technology to Change How Asylum Seekers Navigate U.S. Immigration A daughter of Indian immigrants, Harvard-trained technologist and Yale-trained lawyer, Swapna Reddy has helped build the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project into a technology-enabled national network serving more than a million…