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The CEO claimed that while the middle class is struggling, artificial intelligence (AI) is quietly threatening white-collar jobs, and the ultra-rich have gained seven times in a decade.

A Bengaluru CEO’s LinkedIn post on “middle-class salaries” has sparked a discussion online. In his post, Ashish Singhal, co-founder and Group CEO of PeepalCo, said that with soaring expenses and stagnant salaries, the middle-class is quietly absorbing the economic shock, with no bailouts, no headlines and barely any conversation. “The biggest scam no one talks about? Middle-class salaries,” he wrote, explaining the crisis this group faces. 

“Over the past 10 years: – The group earning under Rs 5L saw a 4% CAGR – Rs 5L- Rs 1Cr income group has seen just 0.4% CAGR – Food prices? Up nearly 80% – Purchasing power? Cut almost in half – But spending? Up, funded by credit,” Mr Singhal wrote. “This isn’t a collapse. It’s a well-dressed decline. You’re still flying once a year. Still buying a phone. Still paying EMIs,” he continued. 

Further, the CEO claimed that while the middle class is struggling, artificial intelligence (AI) is quietly threatening white-collar jobs, and the ultra-rich have gained seven times in a decade.

“The poor are being supported. The rich are scaling. The middle class is just expected to absorb the shock, in silence. No complaints. No bailouts. Just inflation, EMIs, and quiet pressure,” he wrote. 

“It’s time we start talking about this group. Not as a vote bank or a spending class, but as a segment that’s powering the economy, yet getting squeezed out of it,” Mr Singhal expressed. 

Concluding his post, the CEO asked his followers if they think “it’s just an income issue, or even a money management issue?” 

Since being shared, Mr Singhal’s post has accumulated more than several comments and reports. It has sparked a debate on the silent crisis facing India’s middle class. 

Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “I am picking this signal consistently from a wide variety of sources. The middle class is quietly getting squeezed from both sides. But it’s also its own fault for choosing to stay quiet and naively hoping that just staying the course of 9 to 9 jobs, home loans and car loans will improve the situation. The middle class’s guilt is that it’s taken too much on its own self and asks too little from the government. As they say, excess of nothing is good – being excessively conforming and hard working – has led to being stuck between the devil and the deep sea.” 

“Well said! Middle class themself don’t allow to think but gets driven by Agenda’s set by others and keep draging thereby lost thier Willpower /Courage to Question,” commented another. 

“This is quite interesting to read and yes thanks for putting this up. Because there are multiple bread earners in middle class segment who think that no matter how much they work hard the savings pot still remains empty. Maybe that’s the reason middle class category stays in the same stage while the rich grow their wealth. I suppose there should be a system to help middle-class in upward mobility or atleast efforts should be made to balance the inflation,” said a third user. 

However, one user said, “Crying on any platform won’t make any difference. India was moving on like this and will continue like this. Nothing’s gonna change here. Even after so much tax, there is nothing in return. Whoever can and gets the opportunity, just leaves the country, that’s it. But again, salary alone can’t make anyone wealthy anywhere in the world.”

“Good one. But, as CEO, what was the pay rise you gave to your employees vis-a-vis yours? That should be interesting to know,” commented another. 

Naveen Chichkar (35) is wanted in multiple cases registered by the NCB, and would be brought to Mumbai on Thursday afternoon, an official said here.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a Navi Mumbai resident, alleged to be the kingpin of a “transnational drug syndicate”, after securing his deportation from Malaysia, officials said on Wednesday.

Naveen Chichkar (35) is wanted in multiple cases registered by the NCB, and would be brought to Mumbai on Thursday afternoon, an official said here.

The cartel operated by Chichkar sold drugs worth Rs 1,128 crore in India, including cocaine and hybrid strain hydroponic weed that were sourced from the USA via cargo shipments, he said.

Chichkar was located and arrested in Malaysia following a red-corner notice issued by the NCB, he said.

A team led by NCB zonal director Amit Ghawate succeeded in securing his custody from Malaysia, the official added.

The involvement of the international drug syndicate came to light after the seizure of 200 grams of cocaine hidden in a projector from a parcel being sent from Mumbai to Australia through a courier firm on January 21 this year, he said.

In a follow-up operation of the case, the NCB seized 11.540 kilograms of cocaine, 4.9 kilograms of cannabis and 5.5 kilograms of cannabis gummies from the house of one of the members of the syndicate in Navi Mumbai, he said.

During the investigation, it came to light that a well-oiled international syndicate was involved in trafficking cocaine from the USA to India, and also in its distribution in India and outside, the official added.

The involvement of Clearing House Agents (CHA) and hawala operators also came to the surface during the probe.

“A total of eight accused persons were arrested in connection with the case, and Naveen Chichkar, the kingpin of the syndicate, was tracked in Thailand in 2021 after absconding in a previous case being probed by the NCB regarding trafficking of LSD,” he said.

The NCB had issued a red-corner notice against Chichkar, he said, adding he was subsequently located in Malaysia.

“Accordingly, a correspondence was made with the Malaysian authorities by the Indian government, and Chichkar was detained. A team of NCB officials led by Ghawate secured his custody with the assistance of other national and international agencies from Malaysia,” he said.

Chichkar has been brought to India, and will be taken to Mumbai on Thursday afternoon, where he will be produced before a court, he said.

During the investigation, it came to light that the syndicate was operating for at least one year, and multiple consignments of cocaine to air cargo were received in Mumbai during this period, he said.

“Interrogation of the kingpin brought from Malaysia is likely to reveal more details of his operations, including the source of drugs in the USA,” he said.

Financial investigation in the case has already led to identification of assets, including properties and bank accounts in Thailand, he said, adding efforts are on for attachment of these properties.

Last month, Gurunath Chichkar ended his life by shooting himself in the head with a pistol at his office.

He left a suicide note mentioning that he could not bear the mental stress caused by repeated summons by the NCB officials and the Navi Mumbai Police, as his two sons Naveen and Dhiraj were found to be involved in a drug syndicate.

During the investigation of his suicide, the role of two personnel of the Navi Mumbai police came to light, following which they were placed under arrest.

Besides the two constables, the Navi Mumbai police arrested a total of 10 accused persons, including a Customs superintendent and a former national hockey player, he said.

According to the official, Chichkar has studied criminal psychology in London besides completing a course in film and television.

Madhavi Latha, who has been involved with the Chenab Bridge for 17 years, spoke about the headlines that described her as the “woman behind the mission”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, the world’s highest railway arch bridge, last Friday. As the nation celebrated the feat, Professor G Madhavi Latha, a long-time contributor, credited thousands of “unsung heroes” and urged people not to make her “unnecessarily famous.”

“I salute the millions of unsung heroes,” said Dr Latha, who was a geotechnical consultant to Afcons, the engineering firm that constructed the bridge. “My role was to help in developing slope stabilisation schemes and design of foundations on slope,” she added in a message on LinkedIn shared after the inauguration.

Dr Latha, who has been involved with the Chenab Bridge for 17 years, spoke about the headlines that described her as the “woman behind the mission” and one who performed “miracles to build the bridge”. She called them “baseless.”

“Please don’t make me unnecessarily famous,” she said. “I am one of the thousands who deserve appreciation for Chenab Bridge.”

Currently attending a conference in Spain, the professor from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, thanked those who sent congratulatory messages. “Many fathers have written to me saying that they want their daughters to become like me. Many young kids have written to me that they now want to take up Civil Engineering as their career choice,” she said.

“All glory belongs to Indian Railways,” she said and appreciated the Indian Railways and Afcons for their execution of what many called an impossible task.

A leading geotechnical engineer, Dr G Madhavi Latha is a Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) professor at the IISc, Bengaluru. 

Construction of the Chenab Bridge, part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL), faced significant challenges due to difficult terrain, seismic risks, and unpredictable geology. Dr Latha and her team helped the project navigate these complexities with a “design-as-you-go” approach.

This meant adapting to real-time findings like fractured rocks and hidden cavities, factors that earlier surveys had missed. Dr Latha provided guidance on rock anchor design and slope stability, elements crucial for a structure of this scale.

She also detailed her technical journey in a paper titled ‘Design as You Go: The Case Study of Chenab Railway Bridge’, published in the Indian Geotechnical Journal’s special women’s issue.

Standing 359 metres above the Chenab River, the bridge rises 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. Indian Railways built it at a cost of Rs 1,486 crore, making it the tallest railway arch bridge in the world. The government calls it the biggest civil-engineering challenge Indian Railways has ever tackled. Engineers expect the bridge to significantly boost connectivity in the Kashmir Valley, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime project.

The family — seven children born between 2007 and 2021, a father and a mother (pregnant at the time) — disappeared on May 15.

Finnish police said on Tuesday they have received more than 100 tips after appealing for information about a family of 10 missing for over a year, amid suspicions the parents absconded with their children who were in the care of child welfare services.

The family — seven children born between 2007 and 2021, a father and a mother who was pregnant at the time — disappeared on May 15, 2024 from the Ostrobothnia region in western Finland where they lived. 

Last week, local police notified the public about the unusual case, asking for information. 

The case has made headlines nationwide.

Police suspect the parents took their children, who at the time of their disappearance were in the care of local child welfare services, and left in a van.  

Police believe the family may have left the country and have issued an international warrant for them.

They are also cooperating with authorities in other Nordic countries, police said last week. 

On Tuesday, almost a week after the case was made public, police had received more than 100 tips. 

“Searches have been carried out in a few places, but so far they have not yielded any results,” the chief investigator, Tony Rauma, said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The family has not left any physical or digital trace, prompting police to suspect that someone with a relation to the family may be hiding them.

“It takes resources to support a family of 10, and the police suspect that a support network of some kind has formed around the family,” police said.

Yu-Kun, now aged 16, is not happy seeing his childhood pictures plastered all over the city. “I do not like it. I really do not,” he said.

A Japanese father is making headlines for spending 100 million yen (approximately Rs 5.8 crore) to get his young son’s photos plastered all over Tokyo. According to the South China Morning Post, the boy, known as Yu-kun, is well-known in the Adachi area of Tokyo and has been lovingly dubbed “the Landmark Kid” by residents. His smiling pictures are plastered everywhere, from footbridge banners to city buses to parking signs. His image even appears in convenience store windows. Yu-Kun’s father, a real estate company owner, puts the ads up because, according to him, his son is “absolutely adorable,” and the entire city deserves to see that.

“My son was just too adorable when he was little. I thought, all of Tokyo should know,” his father said, as per SCMP. 

The ad campaign features Yu-Kon’s funniest childhood pictures. One hilarious ad shows him bawling his eyes out after a street performer startled him. This embarrassing photo is now a two-meter-tall advertisement, displayed at the entrance of an underground station.

The father keeps updating the campaign with new pictures of his son. He asks photographers to take new “cute” shots of his son and even plans to feature recent pictures to promote new real estate projects. 

However, Yu-Kun, now aged 16, is not happy seeing his childhood pictures plastered all over the city. “I do not like it. I really do not,” he said, adding, “If you really think I am that cute, why not just transfer that 100 million yen into my bank account?” 

“People might not recognise my baby photos, but now that I am older, it is just embarrassing,” he said.

The story has gone viral on social media, especially in China. Reacting to it, one user wrote, “As the old Chinese proverb goes, ‘A father’s love is like a mountain,’ but this Japanese dad’s love is a bit too heavy, on billboards!”

“Parental love is often free, yet it can come at a high cost. Chinese parents are known for hiding their love, but it seems some Japanese parents go as far as plastering their child’s face all over the city,” commented anothe

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