Priyanka Chopra scores 25 mn Instagram followers; ahead of Modi, Big B
Mumbai, July 5: Here's a new feather on Priyanka Chopra's decorated hat. The actress has scored a fan base of 25 million on Instagram, leaving behind Indian icons like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and megastar Amitabh Bachchan's followers on the photo-sharing platform.
Modi has 13.5 million followers, while Big B has a score of 9.5 million. Priyanka, 35, is also ahead of Virat Kohli (22.7 million), Shah Rukh Khan (13.3 million), Salman Khan (17.3 million), Aamir Khan (1.2 million) and Deepika Padukone (24.9 million).
Fondly called as the "Desi girl", Priyanka thanked her fans for showering her with so much of love.
"25 million strong... Thank you for the love... Love you right back," she wrote on her Instagram Stories on Thursday.
A former Miss World, Priyanka carved her niche in the Hindi cinema world before making inroads into Hollywood, beginning by launching a singing career and then landing the lead role in American television show "Quantico".
The show gave her global popularity, which also led her to bag the villain's role in "Baywatch" and also a part in "A Kid Like Jake".
Now she is keeping the paparazzi busy as she is rumoured to be in a relationship with pop singer Nick Jonas, who has a following of 15.5 million on Instagram.
Priyanka is an ardent user of digital platforms and uses social media to stay connected with her fans and followers.
On the acting front, Priyanka will soon be seen sharing screen space with Salman in the upcoming film "Bharat", directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.
Priyanka will be teaming up with Salman on the big screen after a gap of 11 years, after their last appearance in "God Tussi Great Ho" in 2008. "Bharat" is an official adaptation of a 2014 South Korean film "Ode To My Father".
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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.
