Tejasswi Prakash wins 'Bigg Boss' season 15
Mumbai (PTI): TV star Tejasswi Prakash on Saturday beat actor-model Pratik Sehajpal to emerge as the winner of reality show "Bigg Boss" season 15.
Prakash, known for starring on "Swaragini - Jodein Rishton Ke Sur", took home the Bigg Boss trophy along with Rs 40 Lakh cash prize. The winner was announced by the show's host, superstar Salman Khan.
Sehajpal was the first runner up, while Prakash's actor-boyfriend Karan Kundra finished third.
Actor Shamita Shetty finished fourth while choreographer Nishant Bhat opted out of the finale race and took home Rs 10 Lakh, finishing on the fifth spot.
Prakash entered the show as a title favourite, courtesy her popularity as a TV star.
The 28-year-old actor was known for displaying her competitive and fierce side. During the course of the show, Prakash fell in love with Kundra and the couple became a fan favourite.
Sehajpal, who was one of the finalists on "Bigg Boss OTT" last year, also remained popular throughout the show.
The grand finale saw Bollywood star Deepika Padukone promote her upcoming film "Gehraiyaan" along with co-stars Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Dhairya Karwa.
The finale was also attended by former Bigg Boss winners including Gauahar Khan, Urvashi Dholakia, Gautam Gulati, Rubina Dilaik and Shweta Tiwari.
Among the highlights of the finale was "Bigg Boss" 13 finalist Shehnaaz Gill paying a tribute to her late partner Sidharth Shukla, who was the winner of the said season. Shukla passed away last year.
Both Gill and Khan got visibly emotional and shared a hug, remembering Shukla. At one point, Khan asked the "Bigg Boss" crew for tissues as he and Gill couldn't hold back their tears.
Khan, who was always fond of Gill, said it had been an extremely difficult time for her and Shukla's mother.
"I keep talking to Sidharth's mom. It's time to move on. You have a bright, beautiful future ahead. Do lots of good work and be happy," he told Gill.
Aren't her black swan feathers matching the trophy wings! ❤ #TejasswiIsTheBoss #TejasswiPrakash #TejaTroops #TCrew #BiggBoss15 #BB15 #TrophyFeels 💕💕 pic.twitter.com/jjsl5wP08w
— Tejasswi Prakash (@itsmetejasswi) January 30, 2022
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
