Many Tollywood celebrities were seen queueing up at polling booths in Hyderabad to cast their votes for the Telangana state elections. Allu Arjun, Jr NTR and megastar Chiranjeevi reaching the election booth early in the morning and cast their votes.

Allu Arjun was seen wearing a crisp white shirt with black pants as he stood in the line waiting for his turn to cast at the BSNL centre polling booth no 153 in the posh Jubilee Hills area of Hyderabad. After casting his votes he was seen encouraging others to do it as well.

Megastar Chiranjeevi cast his in the jubilee hills club polling station along with his wife Surekha and daughter Sreeja. He was surrounded by the media and his fans as soon as soon as they came to know their favourite superstar had come out to vote. Jr NTR was seen waiting in line for his turn to cast his vote. He kept was seen wearing a white t-shirt and jeans as he cast his vote and made a quick exit from the area.

Oscar winning music composer MM Keeravani cast his vote and urged everyone to cast their vote. He said this is not a holiday. He said voting is their responsibility and it is important to exercise this right. He said he came first and voted to inspire everyone and he felt happy to vote. Keeravani was accompanied by his son, famous singer Kala Bhairava to cast his vote. Actor Sumanth cast his vote at Jubilee Hills Club.

Polling started in all the 119 assembly constituencies in Telangana on Thursday morning at 7am. The voting will continue through the day and will conclude at 6pm. Over 3 crore people in the state are eligible to cast their votes.  

With Brazil prepared to take over the presidency from December 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that India achieved the extraordinary during its G20 presidency as it revitalised multilateralism, amplified the voice of the Global South, championed development, and fought for the empowerment of women everywhere.

The Prime Minister underlined that the elite group’s journey under India and expressed confidence that his country hands over the charge with the conviction that our collective steps for people, planet, peace, and prosperity, will resonate for years to come.

In his opinion piece that appeared in multiple newspapers, PM Modi said that India’s approach was defined by being inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive and the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration (NDLD), unanimously adopted by all G20 members, is testimony to India’s commitment to deliver on these principles.

PM Modi stated that assuming the G20 chair, India sought to offer the world an alternative to the status quo, a shift from a GDP-centric to human-centric progress. He added that India aimed to remind the world of what unites them, rather than what divides them. He also noted that the global conversation had to evolve and the interests of the few had to give way to the aspirations of the many. This required a fundamental reform of multilateralism, he remarked.

He underscored that the first-of-its-kind Voice of the Global South Summit, convened by India in two editions, heralded a new dawn for multilateralism, asserting that India mainstreamed the Global South’s concerns in the international discourse and has ushered in an era where developing countries take their rightful place in shaping the global narrative.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi added that at the critical midpoint of the 2030 agenda, India delivered the G20 2023 Action Plan to Accelerate Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), taking a cross-cutting, action-oriented approach to interconnected issues, including health, education, gender equality and environmental sustainability. He continued that a key area driving this progress is the robust Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

He said that the leaders’ declaration underscores India’s commitment to climate justice and equity, urging substantial financial and technological support from the Global North. Narendra Modi noted that for the first time there was a recognition of the quantum jump needed in the magnitude of development financing, moving from billions to trillions of dollars. Furthermore, he mentioned that the G20 acknowledged that developing countries required USD 5.9 trillion to fulfil their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2030.

He also underlined that the G20 stressed on the importance of better, larger, and more effective Multilateral Development Banks. The Prime Minister said that concurrently, India is taking a leading role in UN reforms, particularly in the restructuring of principal organs like the UN Security Council, that will ensure a more equitable global order.

He noted that gender equality took centre stage, culminating in the formation of a dedicated Working Group on the Empowerment of Women next year. He continued that during its G20 presidency, India led deliberations on geopolitical issues and their impact on economic growth and development. 

In addition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also asserted that terrorism and the senseless killing of civilians are unacceptable, and they must address it with a policy of zero tolerance, embody humanitarianism over hostility and reiterate that this is not an era of war.

In a major step for the transgender community, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi is planning to set up a health care centre for providing holistic care to transgender individuals. Reports said that the centre is expected to come up within the next 4-5 months at the burns and plastic surgery block of the institute.

Dedicated to the transgender community, the centre is being established keeping in view the difficulties faced by these communities in accessing healthcare services with the general public and their hesitation in seeking help due to stigma and societal biases. Reportedly, the centre will have a setup where surgeries can be conducted according to the needs and endocrinology and psychiatry of the transgender under one roof.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is in consultation with a health ministry division for setting up the dedicated centre to facilitate a comprehensive and holistic care to the transgenders. 

Head of the department of Burns and Plastic Surgery Maneesh Singhal told news agency PTI that AIIMS is in consultation with the National Aids Control Organization (NACO) and the Health Ministry to establish a Centre of Excellence for Transgender Healthcare.

Reports stated that the decision was announced by HOD Burns and Plastic Surgery Maneesh Singhal on the sidelines of a three-day workshop which was conducted to equip doctors, nurses, and paramedics with advanced skills in order to cater to the unique needs of transgender and gender-diverse individuals. 

Speaking about the decision, Maneesh Singhal said that the thought of establishing a dedicated centre for the transgender community comes with understanding the difficulties encountered by the transgenders in accessing healthcare services along with the general public and their hesitation in seeking help due to stigma and societal biases.

The Advanced Gender Affirmative Care Workshop is being conducted in collaboration with the Association for Transgender Health in India (ATHI) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) under the theme of Addressing felt-need for training and capacity building of care providers.