The US Postal Service marked the Hindu festival of Diwali by dedicating the "Diwali Forever" stamp at a ceremony at the Consulate General of India in New York last month. The stamp - shared on social media with the hashtag #DiwaliStamp - features a traditional diya oil lamp beautifully lit and sitting on a sparkling gold background.
Managing documents is about to get easier in India with the government's new DigiLocker app.
A new feature allows citizens to store their important legal documents within the app, including driver's licenses, voter identification cards, university and education certificates and other records. To ensure documents are secure, users must access their documents using a Unique Identification Authority of India Aadhar card, while law enforcement will use a separate app to verify users' records with the Ministry of Road and Transport. DigiLocker supports the government's Digital India initiative, an effort to eliminate administrative costs within the government.
India's top women bankers, State Bank of India Chair-Managing Director Arundhati Bhattacharya, ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank CEO and Managing Director Shikha Sharma, are among the 50 most powerful women based outside the US, according to a list by Fortune magazine. The 2016 '50 Most Powerful Women International' list ranks Ms. Bhattacharya second, Ms. Kochhar, fifth and Ms. Sharma, nineteenth. The list spans 19 countries and names Ana Botin of Banco Santander as number one. Meanwhile, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi was ranked second in Fortune's list of the 50 most powerful women in the US.
The Embassy celebrated the 147th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2. Charge d'Affaires Amb. Taranjit Singh Sandhu paid floral tributes and addressed the gathering, which was followed by singing of patriotic songs.
President Barack Obama celebrated Diwali by lighting the first-ever diya in the White House's Oval Office, encouraging future US Presidents to carry on the tradition.
Call it India's financial epicenter, glamour hub or culinary capital. More than 20 million call the dynamic city of Mumbai home, and it feels as if there's a piece of it for everyone - from the families gathering around the cotton candy vendors on Chowpatty Beach to the fashionistas browsing exclusive boutiques in renovated heritage buildings in Kala Ghoda. Sample the sights, glitter and art of Mumbai - or, Bombay - in one weekend by strolling through history, cruising the coast, shopping for a steal, stopping for a leisurely lunch and more.
