Professor Anju Seth became the first woman director of the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) in the five decades of its existence. Professor Seth is an alumni of IIM-C and has most recently held the position of Pamplin Professor of Management at Virginia Tech, USA, the institute said in a statement Friday. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, she was professor of business administration at the University of Illinois. She has received numerous awards for her teaching and research.

IIM-C board chairperson Shrikrishna Kulkarni said, “We are indeed delighted that Anju will be the first woman director of the IIM-C. She was the unanimous choice of the Search-cum-Selection Committee and the Board of Governors.” She completed her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and has a distinguished academic career spanning over 25 years. She is on the editorial board of many scholarly journals.

Professor Anju Seth said, “It is an honour and privilege to be appointed to serve IIM-Calcutta in the position of Director. I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students, Governors and all other stakeholders to build on the Institutes strong foundations and accomplish new heights of eminence.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to the Maldives Saturday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Maldivian president. The step indicates an attempt to mend bilateral ties, which nosedived under the outgoing Abdulla Yameen government. This will be Modi’s first visit to the country as Prime Minister.

PM Modi Friday took to Twitter to inform that he will be attending the inauguration ceremony of Maldives President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. “I will be in Malé tomorrow to attend the historic Inauguration Ceremony of the President-elect H.E. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. I warmly congratulate him on his victory in the recent elections and wish him the very best for his tenure,” he said.

Expressing his desire to see a stable and democratic government in Male, the Prime Minister said, “Recent elections in The Maldives represent the collective aspirations of the people for democracy, rule of law and a prosperous future. We in India strongly desire to see a stable, democratic, prosperous and peaceful Republic of Maldives.”

Midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum scored just before halftime and Memphis Depay converted an audacious extra-time penalty as the Netherlands team that did not qualify for the World Cup beat world champion France 2-0 on Friday in the UEFA Nations League.

The margin of victory flattered Didier Deschamps’ injury-hit team, with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris making a string of good saves in the second half to deny Denzel Dumfries, Depay, and Frenkie de Jong.

France looked outclassed for much of the match. The team tried to play a patient, waiting game, sitting back and hoping to launch speedy 19-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe. But led by midfielder Frenkie de Jong, the Dutch not only dominated possession, but also shut down the World Cup star.

A business trip by Donald J Trump Jr, the son of the US president, this year to India cost the American tax payers about $100,000 in fees related to the Secret Service agents guarding him and other costs, according to a media report.

In February this year, Donald J Trump Jr, 40, had travelled to four Indian cities, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkatta, to promote the high-rise luxurious condos being built by the Trump Organization, of which US president Donald Trump is the sole owner. Trump Jr is the vice president of his family owned company.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that it calculated this figure from the documents it obtained from the Department of Homeland through the Freedom of Information Act, which is similar to India’s Right to Information Act.

The documents showed that “Trump Jr’s February trip cost more than USD 97,805 for hotel rooms, airfare, car rental and overtime for Secret Service agents,” the daily reported.

The White House and Donald J Trump Jr did not immediately respond to the news report, which their political opponents on the social media alleged the Secret Service expenses for his trip to promote condos in India was misuse of tax payers money.

The government will refund the employers for the first seven of the 26 weeks of maternity leaves for women earning more than Rs 15,000-a-month, the Women and Child (WCD) ministry said on Thursday. The decision covers both the government and private employers. The ministry’s decision came after it came to light that employers were vary of hiring pregnant women after maternity leave was extended from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

WCD secretary Rakesh Srivastava ministry told PTI that the funds for the same will be utilised from labour welfare cess.   “The utilisation of the labour welfare cess lying with the state governments has been very less. After talks with the Labour Ministry it has been decided that the seven of the 26 weeks of maternity leave for all women employees in the private and government sector getting more than Rs 15,000 a month would be paid from that fund,” he told mediapersons.

Mithali Raj has allayed suggestions of a drop in form and question marks over her place in the batting lineup with back-to-back fifties at the ICC Women’s World T20 in the West Indies. In so doing, she has become the highest scorer for India in T20 internationals going ahead of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli respectively. Other Indian cricketers part of this illustrious list are women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni.

Mithali Raj has enjoyed a fantastic run at the ongoing Women’s World T20, scoring 56 runs against Pakistan in India’s second Group B clash, and followed it up with a 51-run knock against Ireland which ensured India’s passage into the semi-finals of the tournament with a comfortable 52-run win.

Indian spinners produced yet another controlled performance to clinch a semi-final berth with a comfortable 52-run victory against Ireland in a group league encounter of the ICC Women’s World T20 on Thursday.

After managing 145 for 6 on a slow track, Indian spinners maintained a tight leash on Irish women restricting them to 93 for 8 in 20 overs.

With their third win, India with six points were assured of a last-four spot along with Australia (6 points from 3 games) with New Zealand, Pakistan and Ireland already even before their campaign could officially end.

While India’s batting performance leaving a lot to be desired, the spinners Radha Yadav (3/25 in 4 overs), Deepti Sharma (2/15 in 3 overs), Poonam Yadav (1/14 in 4 overs) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (1/10 in 4 overs) were economical as well picked wickets at regular intervals.

India’s strategy of packing the off-side cordon and bowling wide of stumps, paid off as Ireland were never in the chase conceding as many as 65 dot balls (nearly 11 overs).

Hospitality company OYO, India's newest unicorn, today announced that it has appointed former IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh as its chief executive officer for India and South Asia, with effect from December 1. In a statement the company said that the appointment comes in wake of its focus to drive accelerated growth in its home markets, India and China.

Ghosh joins OYO Hotels & Homes following a stint as an advisor to Tata Trusts, Mint reported. In July, he had stepped down from his position as IndiGo's president and wholetime director. He will be reporting to OYO Hotels & Homes Founder & Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal.

Teenage sprint sensation Hima Das, who won three medals, including gold in 4x400m women's relay at the Asian Games and a historic gold medal at the U-20 World Championship in Finland, has been appointed India's first ever Youth Ambassador by UNICEF.

"My role model was Sachin Tendulkar as a kid. I feel very proud that I have been able to follow his footsteps and become a UNICEF ambassador like him. I want for every child, regardless of their background, gender, caste etc. to be able to access schools that are safe and supportive so that they can learn and thrive," Hima said.

"It's still sinking in," says Ms Arora, who only began cooking at the age of 21 when she decided to move to Paris from her hometown Mumbai, to study at the world-famous Cordon Bleu culinary school.

"It was nothing like I expected it to be. It was a lot of donkey-work," Ms Arora, now 30, says. "But I just wanted to be there so much and I learnt to cope up and made my way through."

Even though her journey as a chef officially started when she was 21 (she was working as a journalist before that), she says her Punjabi family and their insane love for food meant it was always on the cards.

Punjabi cuisine is among the most celebrated in India, and staples like butter chicken and parantha are popular in many other countries. Punjabi people themselves are known for their love of eating and their generosity with food.

She says it is this sentiment that also inspires her cooking.

"It's like that feeling of eating at someone's home. We're trying to elevate that experience and make our guests happy."