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Direct employment by recognised Indian startups surges over 36 pc to 23.64 lakh jobs

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Direct employment generated by recognised Indian startups has reached 23.36 lakh, reflecting a 36.1 per cent year-on-year surge in job creation, according to an official statement.

Nearly 48 per cent of all recognised startups feature at least one woman director or partner, underscoring the inclusive character of India’s innovation growth.

With over 2 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups (as of December 2025), India stands firmly as one of the world’s largest startup ecosystems.

The innovation ecosystem has recorded its strongest year yet. Over 55,200 entities were certified by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in FY 2025-26 alone, the highest single-year addition since the programme’s inception, according to the statement.

As Digital India completes 11 years, the programme is operating at the intersection of scale and frontier, continuing to deliver services to hundreds of millions of citizens while building the AI infrastructure, semiconductor capacity and advanced electronics ecosystem of tomorrow.

“With India’s Global Innovation Index ranking having improved from 81 in 2015 to 38 in 2025, and with 2,23,000 recognised startups driving innovation-led growth, Digital India’s eleventh anniversary is not merely a milestone to reflect upon; it is the foundation from which India’s next decade of global technological leadership will be built,” the official statement noted.

In April 2026, the unified payments interface (UPI) completed ten years of transforming India’s financial landscape. In FY 2025-26, the platform recorded 24,162 crore transactions.

UPI now powers 81 per cent of India’s digital payments and accounts for nearly 49 per cent of all global real-time digital transactions, cementing India’s position as the undisputed global leader in real-time payments. UPI is operational in multiple countries, and India’s Digital Public Infrastructure has been formally engaged by 23 nations through cooperation agreements.

Moreover, India’s digital backbone has continued to strengthen over the past year.

Broadband subscribers have reached 106.58 crore (as of March 2026).

BharatNet has connected 2.18 lakh Gram Panchayats with high-speed broadband, taking digital access to the last mile of rural India.

India’s 5G network now covers 99.9 per cent of districts, with 4.74 lakh towers established. In February 2026, the National Data Centre for the North East Region was launched at Guwahati, strengthening digital infrastructure and data sovereignty for the region.

—IANS

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Zakir Hussain’s family confirms the Tabla maestro’s demise through their PR, Jon Bleicher (Ld)

Mumbai, Dec 16 (IANS) Legendary Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain’s death has been finally confirmed by Jon Bleicher, the PR who represents his family.

The statement released by Jon reads “Zakir Hussain, one of the world’s most transcendent musicians, passed away from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in San Francisco at the age of 73.

He is survived by his wife, Antonia Minnecola; his daughters, Anisa Qureshi (her husband, Taylor Phillips, and their daughter, Zara) and Isabella Qureshi; his brothers, Taufiq Qureshi and Fazal Qureshi; and his sister, Khurshid Aulia. He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the globe, with an influence that will resonate for generations to come.

The son of legendary tabla master Ustad Allah Rakha (Ravi Shankar’s longtime accompanist), Zakir Hussain was widely regarded as the greatest tabla player of his generation.

A child prodigy, he collaborated with virtually all of India’s iconic performers, including Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Shivkumar Sharma.

His groundbreaking work with Western musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Charles Lloyd, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Mickey Hart, George Harrison and John McLaughlin brought Indian classical music to an international audience, cementing his status as a global cultural ambassador.

Moreover, his work raised his instrument to virtuoso status. Widely considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, Zakir Hussain’s contributions were uniquely transformative.

His unique mastery of rhythm allowed him to cross borders freely and create authentic connections between different genres of music.

He participated in many historic collaborations, including Shakti (which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar), Remember Shakti, Making Music, The Diga Rhythm Band, Planet Drum and Global Drum Project with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, and Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland.

His performances and recordings include collaborations with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Yo-Yo Ma, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Airto Moreira, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Alonzo King, Mark Morris, Rennie Harris and the Kodo drummers.

His extraordinary contributions to the music world were honoured in April 2009 with four widely heralded, sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall’s Artist Perspective series.

Zakir Hussain was a prolific composer, creating concertos, scoring for films and collaborating with dance companies such as Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet and The Mark Morris Dance Group.

Over his illustrious career, he earned numerous accolades, including two Grammy Awards with Mickey Hart for Planet Drum, and three more this past March: one with John McLaughlin and the band Shakti, and two for his collaborations with Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia.

Zakir Hussain is the first Indian to receive three Grammy Awards in one night.

Zakir Hussain’s extraordinary global impact was recognised with the highest honours that can be given in the world of music.

His contributions “to the cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind,” were acknowledged in 2022 with his awarding of the Kyoto Prize.

In India, he received the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri.

He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, India’s most prestigious honour for performing artists, and later the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, a lifetime honour awarded to only 40 artists at a time.

In the US, Zakir Hussain was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship in 1999 by the National Endowment for the Arts, the nation’s highest lifetime honour for traditional artists.

In 2017, he was honoured with SFJazz’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his “unparalleled contribution to the world of music”.

In 2022, he was awarded the Aga Khan Award for his “enduring contributions to the musical heritage of humanity, peerless musical mastery and sustained social impact”.

His prolific work as a teacher, mentor and educator has left an indelible mark on countless musicians.

He inspired the next generation to go further and leave behind an unparalleled legacy as a cultural ambassador and one of the greatest musicians of all time.

Concluding the statement he wrote: “The family requests privacy at this time.”

–IANS

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Asian Games gold medal-winning athlete Barman joins Trinamool Congress

Kolkata, Feb 27 (IANS) 2018 Asian Games Heptathlon gold medal winner Swapna Barman joined the Trinamool Congress on Friday

She is also likely to be a Trinamool candidate from any of the assembly constituencies in her native district of Jalpaiguri in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Barman arrived at the Trinamool Bhavan, the state headquarters of Trinamool, on Friday afternoon and was welcomed into the party by state Education Minister Bratya Basu and Minister of State for Finance (Independent Charge), Chandrima Bhattacharya.

She was officially inducted into the party by Bhattacharya, who handed over to her the Trinamool Congress flag.

“I am always inspired by the life of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. That inspiration prompted me to join Trinamool Congress. I want to work for the welfare of the common people, and I think that Trinamool Congress is the best platform for that,” Barman told media persons after joining the ruling party.

Also present on the occasion was senior Trinamool leader and Siliguri Municipal Corporation Mayor, Gautam Deb, who was all praise about Barman. “She had made the Indians proud in the international sports arena. Now, after joining politics, she would be able to dedicate herself to the development of sports in the state,” he said.

In his remarks on the occasion, Basu referred to the protests by wrestlers at New Delhi and said that the manner in which they were treated by the Delhi Police then proved the attitude of Bharatiya Janata Party towards sport personalities.

Barman won gold at the 2018 Asian Games. But later she announced her retirement from her sports life due to injuries. She is currently employed with the Indian Railways.

In January, Chief Minister Banerjee felicitated her at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Mahakal Temple in Siliguri. Both of them had a brief interaction at that point in time . Speculations surfaced then only about the possibilities of Barman joining the Trinamool.

–IANS

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