Page 2 - Festivals

Karwa Chauth 2025 date: Will the festival be celebrated on October 9 or 10?

As India gears up for Karwa Chauth 2025, here's everything you need to know about the festival's date, its cultural importance and other things

Navratri sales hit decade-high as GST reforms boost festive spending

In the first eight days of the festival, Maruti Suzuki delivered 165,000 vehicles, including 30,000 units on Day 1, making it the company's best single-day sales in 35 years

President Murmu extends greetings to citizens on eve of Vijayadashami

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday greeted citizens on the eve of Vijayadashami and wished that the festival inspires us to build a society where all people move ahead together, inspired by the ideas of justice, equality and harmony. The festival of Vijayadashami, symbolising the victory of "dharma over adharma", inspires us to follow the path of truth and justice, she said in a message. Celebrated in various parts of the country as "Ravana Dahan" and Durga Puja, this festival reflects our national values, Murmu said. This festival also teaches us to renounce negative tendencies like anger and ego, and embrace positive ones like courage and determination, the president said. "May this festival inspire us to build a society and country where all people move ahead together, inspired by the ideas of justice, equality and harmony," she said. The president extended warm greetings and best wishes to all fellow citizens on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami, to be celebrated on

Gift Your New Vehicle the Ultimate Protection this Festive Season

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Coal India announces ₹1.03 lakh festivals reward for non-executive staff

Ahead of the festival season, coal PSUs like state-owned CIL on Friday announced a reward of Rs 1.03 lakh for its non-executive workers, a move that will have a financial implication of Rs 2,153.82 crore. A performance-linked reward (PLR) is a payment or benefit given to an individual for achieving specific, measurable goals. The PLR aims to recognise the contribution and hard work of non-executive workers across all Coal India Ltd (CIL) subsidiaries and state-owned coal mining firm Singareni Collieries Co Ltd (SCCL) and ensure they are fairly rewarded for their efforts. The payment of PLR provides a timely boost to workers and their families during the festive season. The PLR will benefit around 2.1 lakh non-executive cadre employees of CIL, its subsidiaries and around 38,000 non-executive cadre employees of SCCL. Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output. "The incentive was announced after the 6th meeting of the standardisation committee of Joint Bipartit

Why do analysts expect Voltas' demand to recover in second half of FY26?

Analysts highlighted elevated channel inventory, delayed consumer purchases, and a weak summer season as key challenges for the quarter for Voltas.

Amazon India expands infra in Punjab to meet festive season demand

Amazon India on Monday said it is gearing up to meet rising customer demand across high-growth categories, such as home, electronics, fashion and grocery, among others, ahead of Amazon Great Indian Festival (AGIF). The company has also expanded its operations network with a new fulfilment centre in Rajpura, Punjab, creating new job opportunities in the region, it said. According to the company, Punjab has over 46,000 sellers across categories, such as sports, apparel, beauty, and kitchen, selling their products on the online marketplace. This festive season, customers in Chandigarh are showing a marked preference for premium products across all categories. The home, kitchen and outdoors categories have emerged as a key growth driver for Amazon across Chandigarh and Punjab, the company said. These categories witnessed a double-digit growth in both regions, along with a 20 per cent rise in new customers across the state. Chandigarh saw a demand growth for dehumidifiers (105 per cent

150 Puja special trains from Sept 21 to Nov 30 to handle passenger rush

The Railway Board has issued notifications regarding the operation of 150 Puja special trains from September 21 to November 30, which will make a total of 2,024 trips to handle the extra rush of passengers. Railway officials said that under the Puja special train series, South Central Railway will run the maximum number of 48 trains, completing 684 trips. "These trains will be operated mainly from major stations like Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Vijayawada," a press note from the Railways said. "East Central Railway has notified 14 trains which will pass through major stations of Bihar like Patna, Gaya, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur and will make a total of 588 trips." Officials said that Eastern Railway zone, which is among the busiest routes, will run 24 special trains from crowded stations like Kolkata, Sealdah and Howrah, managing 198 trips. "While Western Railway has announced 24 special trains from cities like Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara to operate 204 trips, Southern Railway has als

Front seat view: Luxury cars and bikes rev up for the festival season

Luxury carmakers are shifting into high gear with a mix of product launches, personalised experiences & lifestyle-led engagement

Celebration getaways: Diwali under the stars or Pujo in a Rajbari

For those looking to celebrate India's biggest festivals away from home, boutique hotels, heritage properties are curating immersive experiences steeped in tradition, with all the comforts of luxury

Spirit of the festival season: Hosting an unforgettable gathering at home

Unsurprisingly, global brands are once again turning up to be part of the festival season, right through Onam, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Dussehra, and Diwali

Silver linings: Why silver remains a symbol of prosperity and permanence

Known for blending contemporary aesthetics with vintage charm, Singh says that silver is finding new life in homes - not just in traditional ways, but in repurposed, innovative formats

Looms of luxury: Textiles to celebrate with this festival season

From jacquard cashmere to artisanal alpaca blends, textiles as heirlooms or work of art are all the rage this celebration season

Festive code: Leading designers share notes on the look of the season

"Our bestseller is sculpted womenswear and tailored kurta sets with tonal embroidery for men," says Rahul Khanna

Time to sparkle: A festival style guide from jewellery designers

Jewellery designers offer a style guide on mixing Meenakari with metallics, and brooches with blazers

Heritage watches to rare books: A curated bouquet of exquisite gifts

The collection includes: Jaipur Watch Company's limited-edition watch, Baccarat's Rouge 540 and more

Drone diyas to moving rangolis: Tradition meets theatrics at festivals

Whether it's Diwali in Delhi, Dussehra in Pune, Durga Puja in Kolkata, or Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, event planners agree on one thing: the soul must remain Indian, even if the stage feels global

Amazon boosts festive delivery with 12 fulfilment, 6 new sort centres

E-commerce giant Amazon on Thursday announced the launch of 12 new fulfilment centres (smart warehouses) and half a dozen new sort centres -- its network expansion aimed at bolstering delivery capabilities in the festive season. The expansion adds a combined 8.6 million cubic feet of incremental storage capacity, it said citing an analogy of it being equivalent of 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools. "Ahead of the upcoming festive season, Amazon today announced a major expansion of its operations network with the launch of 12 new fulfillment centers (FCs) and expansion of 6 FCs," Amazon said in a release. The expansion brings the first Amazon fulfillment center to five cities including Hooghly, Tiruvallur, Krishnagiri, Visakhapatnam and Hubballi. The company also announced the launch of six new sort centres (SCs) in Hubli, Trivandrum, Rajpura, Gorakhpur, Moradabad and Prayagraj with a combined area of 500000 sq. feet, it informed. Explaining the rationale, Amazon said the expansion wi

Meat sale banned in Indore ahead of upcoming festive days of Hindus, Jains

The authorities in Madhya Pradesh's financial capital Indore have banned the sale of meat completely on certain days of the upcoming festivals celebrated by Hindus and Jains, the city Mayor has said. In a statement on Tuesday, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said the sale of meat will be completely banned in the city on Ganesh Chaturthi (August 27), Dol Gyaras (September 3), Anant Chaturdashi (September 6) celebrated by Hindus, and Paryushan festival of Jains. He said, I have instructed the municipal corporation officials to ensure strict compliance of this ban. Appropriate action will be taken against those who violate the ban. Officials said many people from the Hindu and Jain communities had sought a ban on the sale of meat during the festive period to safeguard their religious sentiments.

PM Modi greets everyone on Janmashtami; calls its festival of faith

Earlier, President Droupadi Murmu extended warm greetings to all Indians in the country and abroad on the eve of Shri Krishna Janmashtami