No Giving Up, Only Leveling Up : Diksha Makkar’s AIR 1 Story

Most success stories celebrate the final result Few speak about the sleepless nights the self-doubt and the courage it takes to try again after failure Diksha Makkar s story is not just about securing All India Rank in UGC-NET with a perfect percentile in Public Administration it is about resilience A PhD research scholar in the Department of Public Administration at Panjab University Chandigarh Diksha achieved this remarkable milestone in her fifth attempt after three years of continuous preparation What makes her achievement extraordinary is not just the rank but the journey behind it The Academic Foundation of ExcellenceDiksha s academic journey has always been rooted in dedication She completed her BA Honours from PG Government College for Girls followed by a Master s degree from Panjab University Today she is pursuing her PhD in Public Administration Her subject choice reflects a deep understanding of governance policy and public systems

12 Feb 2026

Star Citizens

You’ll Look Twice: This 23-Year-Old Woman Is Behind the Truck Wheel!

Can you imagine driving your car on a highway and suddenly noticing that the driver of a roaring -tonne truck beside you is a young woman For a moment you might be surprised even shocked questioning what you just saw In a country where truck driving is still seen as a man s world such a sight disrupts long-held assumptions And if you ever do come across a woman confidently steering a heavy truck through Himachal Pradesh s steep curves and misty roads chances are it is Neha Thakur At just Neha has become a powerful symbol of grit aspiration and quiet rebellion against gender stereotypes that have ruled India s logistics sector for decades From Childhood Roads to a Defining TurnNeha Thakur hails from Khudla village in Sarkaghat Mandi district a place surrounded by hills and highways that shaped her childhood Her dream did not emerge from ambition alone

12 Feb 2026

Star Citizens

India-Born Climate Pioneer Wins Crafoord Prize for Science That Changed the Planet

In deep inside NASA s research corridors a young Indian-origin scientist made a discovery that would alter humanity s understanding of climate change long before global warming became a household phrase Veerabhadran Ramanathan found that chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs commonly used in aerosols and refrigerators could trap heat in the atmosphere up to times more effectively than carbon dioxide Five decades later that moment has come full circle nbsp Ramanathan now has been awarded the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences an honour often described as the Nobel of Geosciences The award recognises a lifetime of scientific breakthroughs that reshaped climate science and influenced global policy A Prize Reserved for World-Changing ScienceThe Crafoord Prize is among the world s most prestigious scientific honours awarded in disciplines not covered by the Nobel Prizes It carries a cash award of million Swedish kronor about and a gold medal

7 Feb 2026

Star Citizens

India’s Proud Moment: Rouble Nagi Wins the ‘Nobel of Teaching’ for Educating the Forgotten

Teaching is the quiet profession behind every loud success Doctors engineers artists scientists and leaders none exist without a teacher standing somewhere in the background shaping minds with patience and belief It is often called the most respected job in the world not because of awards or applause but because it plants seeds that grow long after the lesson ends The world paused to honour that truth nbsp At the World Governments Summit in Dubai Indian educator and social reformer Rouble Nagi was awarded the prestigious million Global Teacher Prize often described as the Nobel of Teaching Presented by Dubai s Crown Prince Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum the award recognised a woman who turned walls into classrooms and forgotten children into learners A Historic Moment for India on a Global StageMumbai-based Rouble Nagi became India s latest global education icon as she received the GEMS Education

6 Feb 2026

Star Citizens

A Nation's Gratitude: The Man Who Turned Remembrance into a Lifetime of Service

The Republic Day parade unfolded in New Delhi in it carried its usual grandeur marching contingents gleaming medals and patriotic pride But among the special invitees sat a man whose service never required a uniform a rank or a battlefield Jitendra Singh Rathore a security guard from Surat watched the parade not as a spectator but as a living reminder that devotion to the nation can take many forms sometimes quiet unseen and deeply human nbsp For years Rathore has carried the weight of India s sacrifices in notebooks photographs letters and memory His invitation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Republic Day parade was not just an honour it was the nation finally acknowledging a man who chose remembrance as his lifelong duty A Life Changed by One SentenceRathore s journey did not begin with ambition or recognition It began with a sentence that stayed with him

5 Feb 2026

Star Citizens

Nine Budgets, Two Historic Firsts: What Sustains Nirmala Sitharaman at the Top?

It is very rare that India has witnessed women holding the nation s most powerful government posts with sustained authority and uncompromising resolve Fewer still have done so while navigating skepticism scrutiny and the sheer weight of history Nirmala Sitharaman belongs to that exceptional league As India s first full-time woman Defence Minister and Finance Minister she has not only occupied positions once considered unreachable for women but has also reshaped what leadership looks like at the very top of Indian governance Her rise is not marked by flamboyance or theatrics It is defined instead by discipline clarity of thought and an unyielding sense of responsibility Roots That Traveled Across IndiaBorn on August in Madurai to a Tamil Iyengar family Nirmala Sitharaman s childhood was shaped by movement Her father worked with the Indian Railways and every few years the family relocated to a new city New schools unfamiliar classrooms

3 Feb 2026

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Running Where Breathing Fails: Sufiya Sufi’s Guinness-Making Himalayan Run

There are roads in India that humble even the toughest travellers The Manali Leh highway is one such stretch where oxygen thins winds bite and every step feels heavier than the last In this unforgiving landscape Indian ultra-distance runner Sufiya Sufi didn t just travel the route she ran it In doing so she created history by entering the Guinness World Records for completing the Manali to Leh high-altitude run in hours and minutes well within the daunting -hour target This was not merely a race against time It was a confrontation with altitude exhaustion and the limits of the human body A Run Where Breathing Becomes the Biggest BattleThe Manali Leh route stretches across kilometers winding through the heart of the Himalayas and crossing five high mountain passes With an elevation gain of more than metres the challenge is considered one of the most punishing endurance runs in the

3 Feb 2026

Star Citizens

Her Office Has Four Wheels: Meet the Madhubani Lawyer Who Refused to Quit

At an age when many are still figuring out careers and identities Anita Jha was already preparing to fight two battles one in the courtroom and another just outside it Today in her late s she stands as one of Madhubani s most respected criminal lawyers But her office is not a chamber with walls and nameplates It is the backseat of a white hatchback parked daily inside the Madhubani District Court complex For the last years while judges change cases pile up and seasons pass Anita Jha has practiced law from her car Not by choice By compulsion And by courage A Morning Ritual That Never ChangedEvery court working day at around am a white hatchback enters the Madhubani District Court parking area stopping near the jail van Even before the engine switches off people gather around Clients wait with folded files anxious faces and quiet hope Inside the

2 Feb 2026

Star Citizens

Where Music Is Sacred: Why a 92-Year-Old Tribal Musician Is Making India Listen

In the remote tribal hamlets of Walvanda village in Jawhar taluka Palghar district Maharashtra lives a man whose life has been inseparable from the deep resonant hum of an ancient wind instrument - the Tarpa At years old Bhiklya Ladakya Dhinda stands among India s most revered cultural custodians recently honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri for his lifetime dedication to preserving this mesmerizing art form Born into the Vanvasi Adivasi community Bhiklya s childhood was shaped by the rhythm of the forests and the pulse of tribal festivals From as early as years old he learned the Tarpa a sacred wind instrument made from a dried bottle gourd bamboo pipes leaves and beeswax and began his lifelong journey as a musician teacher and guardian of tradition The Tarpa More Than an Instrument nbsp The Tarpa is not merely a musical instrument It is a ritualistic wind instrument deeply revered

2 Feb 2026

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