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Quick commerce platforms had a field day on the occasion of Rakshabandhan as the nation ditched exhaustive post-office shopping for quick hassle-free deliveries. Blinkit, which holds about 40 per cent share of the quick commerce market, sold about 700 rakhis every minute. "We'll cross all-time high orders in a day on blinkit in a couple of minutes. We also hit highest ever OPM (orders per minute), GMV, chocolate sales and most other metrics today! And at its peak - we hit 693 RPM (Rakhis per minute)," Blinkit CEO and co-founder Albinder Dhindsa wrote on X. Zomato-owned Blinkit on Saturday announced it will take international orders on Blinkit till August 19. "Folks living abroad can now place orders on Blinkit to send Rakhis and gifts to their siblings in India and we'll deliver in 10 minutes! Countries from where you can order -- USA, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, France and Japan," Dhindsa announced. Zepto, which raised USD 665 million (about Rs 5,560 crore) in its latest fundin
Raksha Bandhan festival on Monday saw the celebration of the brother-sister bond with the tying of the sacred thread and vivid messaging on issues like environment conservation and social equity with an emphasis on women's safety. Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated the festival at his residence with schoolchildren tying 'rakhis' on his wrist as he wished people prosperity and good fortune on the "auspicious" occasion. Kolkata, the epicentre of a nationwide stir against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor at a state-run medical college and hospital in the city, saw protesters tying rakhis bearing the message of "We want justice". Kolkata Police personnel were also seen tying rakhis to protesting junior doctors. West Bengal Governor CV Ananda attended a Raksha Bandhan programme at Raj Bhavan, where several women doctors, representatives from the LGBTQ community, and others tied rakhis around his wrists. He pledged to support their efforts until the goal of a saf
Child rights body NCPCR has asked schools to not punish students if they wear rakhi, tilak, or mehendi in schools during Raksha Bandhan. In a letter issued to Principal Secretaries of School Education Department of all states and UTs, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said that over the years, it has been observed by the Commission through various news reports that children are subject to harassment and discrimination by the school teachers and other staff on account of celebration of festivals. "It has been noticed that schools do not allow children to wear rakhi or tilak or mehandi in schools during the festival of Raksha Bandhan and subject them to harassment, both physical and mental. It may be noted that corporal punishment is prohibited in schools under Section 17 of the RTE Act, 2009," the NCPCR said. Therefore, it is requested to issue necessary directions to the concerned authorities and ensure that schools do not observe any such practice that may expo