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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani are slated to get married on Friday in Mumbai.</li><li>Four Indian event planners shared what it's like to plan a big celebrity wedding.</li></ul>The wedding of the year is upon us.After rounds of opulent pre-wedding festivities, <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/anant-ambani-and-radhika-merchant-to-wed-at-the-jio-world-convention-centre-in-mumbai-on-july-12/articleshow/110562426.cms">Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani</a>, the youngest son of <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/indian-billionaire-ambani-targets-african-telecom-market-with-new-venture/vwmsmgn">Asia's richest man</a>, are slated to get married on Friday in Mumbai.Their guests, who have so far included <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ambani-pre-wedding-celebration-with-justin-bieber-performance-2024-7">Bollywood actors, Indian cricketers,</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-mark-zuckerberg-among-expected-attendees-at-indian-wedding-2024-2">international business leaders</a>, will also attend events on Saturday and a reception on Sunday.During a pre-wedding event in March, Ambani said his mom worked 18 hours a day for the four months leading up to the parties."All this is created by my mother and no one else, and my mother has gone all out for the last four months," Ambani said, per a <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmMh8KtrGaY&amp;ab_channel=BusinessToday">video</a> of the speech uploaded in March.Planning such an event takes a village, according to four wedding planners who spoke to Business Insider about what goes into organizing a multi-day Indian celebrity wedding.<h2 id="d3a9cac7-58b4-42c9-888b-817200ed450e">The biggest cost is the venue</h2>The planners BI spoke to said a typical multi-day wedding that they plan costs between five to 10 crore Indian Rupees, or about $1.2 million.Crore is an Indian term for 10 million; 1 crore rupees is around $120,000.Whether it's a big-ticket <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ambani-richest-family-in-asia-india-lifestyle-home-wedding-photos-2018-12">wedding like the Ambani's</a> or the wedding of an upper-middle-class family, the breakdown of major costs in an Indian wedding look about the same, one event planner told BI.About 40% to 50% of the budget goes to the venue, which includes catering and rooms for the guests, said Nishita Aggarwal, the founder of The Event Designer, a Delhi-based wedding planning company.Next, 25% to 30% of costs go toward decorations, which include elaborate backdrops, tents, and floor-to-ceiling floral arrangements.<div type="image" title="pink backdrop at Indian wedding" height="3508" width="5262" msid="111674066" hostid="261"></div>About 10% is spent on entertainment. The Ambanis have hired Rihanna, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ambani-pre-wedding-celebration-with-justin-bieber-performance-2024-7">Justin Bieber, </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anant-ambani-katy-perry-backstreet-boys-pre-wedding-party-2024-6">Katy Perry, The Backstreet Boys</a>, and Pitbull for pre-wedding functions in recent months.Other families spend a lot on artists including singers and celebrity DJs, said Purvi Modgil, a destination wedding planner based in Mumbai."If you plan to call three or four of them in different core functions, that can also add up to a good cost," she said.The remaining 10% usually goes into wedding gifts and logistics for the family and guests."Now, when it comes to a high-net-worth wedding or a celebrity wedding, everything becomes 10 times or hundred times" of that cost, Aggarwal said. "There is no bar on the budget."Planners' cost estimates of the Ambani wedding varied widely, from tens of millions of dollars to hundreds of millions of dollars.Anant's older sister <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ambani-richest-family-in-asia-india-lifestyle-home-wedding-photos-2018-12">Isha Ambani</a> got married in 2018 in a similarly lavish wedding, including a Beyoncé performance. While media outlets speculated about a $100 million price tag, a spokesperson for the Ambani-owned company, Reliance, said that it cost less than $15 million, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/naazneenkarmali/2018/12/11/the-big-fat-ambani-wedding-celebrates-a-match-among-indias-billionaire-elite/#7cb474465992">per a Forbes article</a> at the time.A spokesperson for the family did not respond to a request for comment about the costs for Anant Ambani's wedding.The pre-wedding events have grabbed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ambanis-throwing-another-pre-wedding-party-cruise-ship-2024-5">headlines</a> for months. With so many celebrities and business leaders angling for an invitation, the nuptials are also a business networking event, Aggarwal said.<h2 id="7190f45a-3ee9-4e5a-bf2a-0fef8f5de89f">Each main family member is assigned a 'shadow'</h2>Many couples don't want to host their weddings at venues where other high-profile families have already held nuptials, Aggarwal said."They want everything to be exclusive," she said. "The decor has to be something else that no one else has ever thought of. It is almost like a big movie set."For a big celebrity wedding, planners divide their staff into teams and hire hundreds of additional people leading up to and on the day of the ceremony.With chefs, waiters, light and audio teams, and decorators, about 500 people often work the event, Modgil said.The planners also assign butlers to each main family member. These staffers, called "shadows," hold their phones and gifts and ensure they stay hydrated and have everything they need."There are over 70 suppliers and vendors who we work with for each wedding," said Darshan Shroff, a Mumbai-based wedding planner. "I like to describe wedding planners in India as circus masters."<h2 id="07e84198-c3b3-4ae5-b860-565eaa82e3bd">Privacy and security are top concerns</h2>Many celebrity or influencer couples are particular about how their wedding is portrayed on the news and on social media.Planners have strict instructions that restrict posts from vendors about outfits, decor, or flowers before a set date. Most big weddings also collect the phones of their guests for privacy, and couples have teams that work with the media."You can't have too many people hanging out taking their pictures. It makes them very uncomfortable," Modgil said about celebrity guests and couples.Top security firms and even local authorities may sketch out safety plans."The minute there are some kind of celebrities, whether it's politicians or Bollywood, security becomes very important," Modgil said. "We've had separate people escorting them and even taking them back because sometimes they even get mobbed."The families and their guests are not always easy to please.Aggarwal said she has planned weddings where celebrity attendees call to confirm what type of hotel suite they will be staying in and what kind of car is coming to pick them up. Everything must match their lifestyle standard.<h2 id="f2b6f12d-16c9-4226-9b64-e59a5aa60374">Setting a blueprint for other weddings</h2>The Ambani wedding is already influencing how other Indians are envisioning and planning their own nuptials.The planners told BI that brides are asking them for the same designers that Radhika Merchant wore in her pre-wedding events, like the custom lehengas designed by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla and Tarun Tahiliani.<div type="image" title="Radhika Merchant wore a Swarovski crystal lehenga designed by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla" height="691" width="1024" msid="111674067" hostid="261"></div>Planners expect the main wedding to leave an even bigger mark."Given the immense influence celebrities have, their weddings often become blueprints for future celebrations worldwide," said Bharat Jagasia, a Delhi-based wedding planner."For the Ambani wedding, I am particularly excited to see how they differentiate the main event from their pre-wedding functions," he said.The festivities are slated to kick off Friday at the Jio World Convention Centre, which is owned by the Ambani family. It can accommodate over 16,000 guests.July 12, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated Nishita Aggarwal's location. She is based in Delhi, not in Mumbai.

Behind the scenes of billionaire Indian weddings: Hired 'shadows,' phone bans, and a circus master to lead the chaos

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An Indian politician was sickened after drinking from a sacred river to show it was safe.</li><li>Officials said there was no link between the water and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's hospital visit.</li></ul>An Indian leader was taken to the hospital after drinking water from a sacred river in an attempt to show it was clean and safe, according to local reports. Bhagwant Mann, chief minister of the Punjab region, was filmed drinking a whole glass of water from the Kali Bein, a rivulet that is considered holy to Sikhs, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjab-news-bhagwant-mann-hospital-admitted-stomach-ache-delhi-apollo-hospital-8042452/">according to The Indian Express</a>.According to the Express, Mann was trying to demonstrate the effectiveness of a 22-year project to clean up the river. While there he announced a wider project to clean up rivers and drains statewide, <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/punjab-cm-bhagwant-mann-admitted-to-delhi-hospital-1978060-2022-07-21">India Today reported</a>. Mann's Aam Admi Party tweeted the footage on Sunday, writing in Punjabi about the cleaning project and the rivulet's holy associations. Two days later, Mann went to a Delhi hospital, the Express reported. Officials denied any connection between the hospital visit and the water, saying it was a routine checkup, <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bhagwant-mann-in-delhi-hospital-days-after-drinking-polluted-water-3179396">according to Indian TV network NDTV</a>. But, citing unnamed sources, the Express reported that the illness was caused by the water. Mann developed a severe stomachache and had to be airlifted for tests at the hospital, the outlet reported. Mann was discharged late on Wednesday and, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/Gagan4344/status/1549990723948122113">a tweet by journalist Gagandeep Singh</a>, was scheduled for a meeting with officals on Thursday. The Kali Bein is considered holy because it is believed that the founder of <keyword id="13691213" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sikhism" source="Orion">Sikhism</keyword>, Guru Nanak, bathed in its water and achieved englightenment there.In 2000, the environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal led a campaign to see the highly-polluted waterway cleaned up, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-kali-bein-significance-sikhs-8044257/">The Indian Express reported</a>.The project saw significant early success, which has since slowed, it said.

An Indian politician ended up in the hospital after drinking water from a polluted holy river to show it was safe

New Delhi, In a strong rebuttal to Congress charges, Finance Minister <keyword id="19916618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="keywords">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> on Tuesday said <keyword id="20233623" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="atal-pension-yojana" source="keywords">Atal Pension Yojana</keyword> (APY) is designed based on the best practice choice architecture and guarantees a minimum of 8 per cent return. "Atal Pension Yojana is designed based on best practice choice architecture to automatically continue the premium payment unless the subscriber opts out. This is a deliberate and beneficial feature which is in the best interest of the subscribers," <keyword id="19916494" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sitharaman" source="keywords">Sitharaman</keyword> said in post on X. Instead of requiring people to decide each year to continue, they have to take a decision to discontinue, she said, adding, this makes many of them take the right decision and save for their retirement. Earlier in the day, the Congress attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over the Atal Pension Yojana, alleging it is a "very poorly-designed scheme" and a "paper tiger" that needs officials to hoodwink and coerce people into participating in it. Congress general secretary <keyword id="20035989" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jairam-ramesh" source="keywords">Jairam Ramesh</keyword> said the scheme is a "fitting representation of the Modi government's policy making: headline management, with few benefits actually reaching the people". His attack came after a media report claimed that at least one of three subscribers who dropped out of the central government's pension scheme for the unorganised sector, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), did so because their accounts were opened without their "explicit" permission. The report cited a recent sample study by the <keyword id="20608253" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-council-of-social-science-research" source="keywords">Indian Council of Social Science Research</keyword> (ICSSR). Attacking Ramesh, Sitharaman said he did not bothered to check facts on the guaranteed pension scheme. "The minimum return under the APY is guaranteed by the GoI to be at least 8 per cent, regardless of prevailing interest rates and returns. This is an attractive guaranteed minimum return. GoI pays a subsidy to PFRDA to make up for any shortfall in actual returns," she said. If higher investment returns are received on the contributions of subscribers of APY, higher pension would be paid to the subscribers: In fact, currently the returns are more than 8 per cent, she said. "@Jairam_Ramesh says that people are being 'hoodwinked and coerced' into participating! Hoodwinking is what @INCIndia does always - in the name of vote bank politics or minority appeasement. Coercion is what was used to make former Chairman of @TheOfficialSBI Shri RK Talwar resign because he refused to give loans to favourites of the dynasty," she said. As regards the majority of pension accounts being in the lower slabs, for a subsidised scheme intended for the poor and lower middle class, this is obvious, she said. In fact, it shows the proper targeting of the scheme, she said, adding, if the offtake was at the higher end, that would be surprising! The elitist mindset of the dynasty and its minions who are constantly thinking of people in the higher echelons of society, perhaps, blinds them to this obvious truth. The @INCIndia prefers that poor should not have pensions so that they are forced to rely on government hand-outs which keeps them dependant on dynasty politicians, the minister said.

Atal Pension Yojana guarantees minimum 8% return: Sitharaman rebuts Cong charges

<keyword id="6359298" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indore" source="Orion">Indore</keyword>, Amid a row over his comments on Indore's top rank in the Centre's cleanliness survey, BharatPe's co-founder <keyword id="2988161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashneer-Grover" source="Orion">Ashneer Grover</keyword> has said while he will say sorry to the city, he will not apologise to the politicians. A non-cognisable offence information report (NCR) was registered on Monday against Grover after a video showed him commenting on Indore's top rank in the Centre's cleanliness survey and purportedly claiming it had been "bought". Following the development, Grover shared the video of his controversial statement in a post on his X. "Sorry to Indore. You've got great people and a city. But politicians everywhere have got no chill! Unnecessary politics being made out of a statement made in jest in a playful conversation on Bhopal vs Indore. Where the audience had fun - no offence was meant. None taken by anyone. No one getting offended now was even present in the room," he said in the post late on Monday night. He further said, "Not sorry to any politician. Ever. No one. Any party. FIR kar lo (register an FIR). Case kar lo (register a case). Koi farak nahi padta (it doesn't make any difference) - I am not a pushover - won't be bullied. Don't make an issue where there is none. It might be an election year - but people are smart. Indori people - super smart. I'll come to Indore when I wish, as many times I wish - and am confident of Indori mehmaan nawazi (good hospitality)." On Bhopal vs Indore, his favourite remains Bhopal, Grover wrote, adding that it would be dishonest of him to put Bhopal lower when he feels it is not only Madhya Pradesh's best city but also India's. Indore city of Madhya Pradesh has remained on top in the Centre's Swachh Sarvekshan for six consecutive years. Addressing an event here on Sunday, Grover is heard in the video saying, "See, there is a concept - playing to the gallery, that is, wherever you go, praise it saying I have never seen such a nice city. Now the problem with me is that for three-four years I have heard that Indore is the cleanest city...you have bought the survey. It's a simple thing." Grover, however, immediately clarified that he was not saying there was filth in Indore, and that he meant several construction works are going on in the city. An NCR was registered against Grover under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 (defamation) and section 500 (punishment for defamation) on the complaint received from the Indore Municipal Corporation, Lasudia police station in-charge Taresh Kumar Soni had said on Monday. After an NCR is registered, if the complainant wishes, he can file a case in court at his personal level, he explained. Indore's Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said, "I have seen Grover's video. His statement is an insult to the hard work of the city's people and sanitation workers for cleanliness. We will take appropriate legal action against this insult and also serve him a notice for defamation." State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who is in-charge of Indore district, also criticised Grover's statement and said, "Those who have garbage in their mind will only see filth." Indore Municipal Corporation chief sanitary inspector Sanjay Ghavri, on whose complaint the NCR was lodged, told PTI that Grover's controversial statement had insulted the people of the city. "This statement has hurt thousands of sanitation workers of the city who are engaged in cleanliness work from early morning till late night," Ghavri said.

Sorry to Indore, won't apologise to politicians, says BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover on row over his comment on cleanliness tag

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former MP Atiq Ahmed, 60, and his brother were shot dead on live TV in Prayagraj, India. </li><li>Ahmed has charges of murder, kidnapping, and assault. </li></ul>A former Indian member of parliament, and his brother, have been shot dead live on TV in a shocking attack, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-65290042" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the BBC reports. </a>Atiq Ahmed, 60, was speaking to reporters in Prayagraj, northern India, when an assailant reached over his police guards and shot Ahmed in the head. His brother, Ashraf Ahmed, was shot seconds later. Video of the assassination circulating on social media shows the men walking slowly with several media microphones held in front of the brothers. Suddenly, a gun is held to his temple and fired. Moments later, two men with handguns can be seen shooting into the bodies as they lie on the road. The shooting happened when Ahmed was briefly released from prison — in handcuffs — for a medical checkup. A police officer Ramit Sharma said the three attackers came on motorcycles posing as journalists."They managed to reach close to Atiq and his brother on the pretext of recording a byte and fired at them from close range. Both sustained bullet injuries on the head. It all happened in seconds," he said, per <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/16/atiq-ahmed-former-mp-brother-shot-dead-live-tv-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian.</a>Three men suspected of the shooting were quickly arrested. One chanted Hindu nationalist slogans, according to The Guardian.The Ahmed brothers were sentenced to life in prison in March in a kidnapping case, just one of several cases levelled against Ahmed, including murder and assault.<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/former-indian-lawmaker-slain-live-tv-while-police-custody-state-restricts-2023-04-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Reuters</a>, an anonymous senior police official for the Utter Pradesh state described the brothers as "members of a large mafia involved in land grabbing and murder cases."Atiq Ahmed's death comes just days after one of his 19-year-old sons, Asad Ahmed was shot dead by police, <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/atiq-ahmad-s-son-asad-wanted-in-umesh-pal-case-killed-in-encounter-101681371436932.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian media reports. </a>

Former politician and his brother shot dead on live TV by gunmen posing as journalists, reports say

List of 165 politicians, journalists, military officials and other prominent personalities that China Revival was tracking

<ul><li>The number of members of Parliament under the age of 40 has risen for the first time.</li><li>The number of women members has steadily increased since 2004.</li><li>Politics remains dominated by career politicians, agriculturists, and businessmen.</li></ul>India is the world's fastest growing economy. However, there are varied opinions on whether it is a fast evolving society. Some digging into the profile of the recently elected representatives for the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament, would suggest that India is moving forward although at a slow pace. The seventeenth Lok Sabha is a lot younger, it has more women but not enough, and it is more educated than any time in the past. Age is not a number 12% of the members are below the age 40 years compared to 8% in the last five years, according to data analysed by research organisation PRS Legislative. This is the first time since independence that the number of Parliamentarians under 40 has increased compared to the year earlier. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 "The proportion of MPs below 40 years of age had steadily declined from 26% in the first Lok Sabha," the PRS note said. While the representation has slightly increased this time, it is nowhere close to reflecting India's demography where 65% of the population is under the age of 35. By 2020, India is poised to become <a href="https://yourstory.com/2019/05/elections-2019-young-india-voters" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">the youngest country in the world</a> with an average age of 29 years. Education matters 394 of the 543 members of Parliament this time have are graduates, that's a good 72%. Nearly 30% either have a post graduate degree or a Ph.D. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 A sliver of hope for women Women continue to under represented in the Lok Sabha. The number of women members has increased from 11.6% in 2014 to 14.6% in 2019. In absolute terms, the number has increased from 63 to 79. But the 85% males continue to dominate India's law making exercise. The silver lining is that the proportion of women lawmakers has consistently increased in the last 15 years, although very slowly, according to data from PRS. 
 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
 
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 Rwanda (61%), South Africa (43%), UK (32%), USA (24%), and Bangladesh (21%) have more women representing the electorate than India. Professionals in politics In India, politics is not for everyone. The break-up of the professions declared by the elected members shows that nearly 40% of them are dedicated to politics or social service. Over 60% are into either agriculture or business. A measly 13% come from other professions like law, teaching, 0r the arts. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/pm-narendra-modi-second-oath-taking-ceremony-updates/articleshow/69574162.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Narendra Modi and his ministers will take oath at 7 pm-- hogging all the prime time attention</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/pm-narendra-modi-second-oath-taking-ceremony-updates/articleshow/69574162.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=cppst" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Modi's swearing in ceremony is set to be the biggest event ever with 8,000 guests</a>

You Searched For "indian politicians" and got 7 results

Behind the scenes of billionaire Indian weddings: Hired 'shadows,' phone bans, and a circus master to lead the chaos

Shubhangi Goel,Lian Kit Wee

An Indian politician ended up in the hospital after drinking water from a polluted holy river to show it was safe

Mia Jankowicz

Atal Pension Yojana guarantees minimum 8% return: Sitharaman rebuts Cong charges

PTI

Sorry to Indore, won't apologise to politicians, says BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover on row over his comment on cleanliness tag

PTI

Former politician and his brother shot dead on live TV by gunmen posing as journalists, reports say

Bethany Dawson

List of 165 politicians, journalists, military officials and other prominent personalities that China Revival was tracking

Prabhjote Gill

Age, profile, and professions of India's Parliamentarians tell the story of a slowly evolving nation

Sriram Iyer

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