Education
Best Ways to Renovate your Homes on a Fixed Budget
Thinking to change the look of your home but stuck on a fixed budget? No worries. There are plenty of ways that you can change the look of your home without spending too much. It’s all about looking from a different perspective.
Change the flooring
Yes, the flooring is something that is often ignored by homeowners but this can absolutely change the vibe of your home. The colour and material of the flooring can make a big difference in the overall vibe of the space. For example- hardwood floors can give you a warm and comforting feeling with their brown shade and earthy tones. On the other hand, marble flooring gives a more elegant and luxurious feel.
Flooring is a relatively budget-friendly way to change the look of your home rather than spending on an entire renovation. You can install new tiles or even get your old tiles painted and polished. For a specifically rich and earthy feel, you can try terracotta flooring to give a sense of serenity and keep floors cool all the time.
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Get some art on your ceiling
Another way to look at your home! The ceilings are again underestimated as decor elements. However, they are always there playing their role subtly to enhance the charm of the space. You can use false ceilings to get a rich and modern look. Wooden and metallic textures are highly appreciated in contemporary times. They add structure and elegance to the space.
Apart from that, you can also get crown moulding that runs from your walls to the ceilings or just the ceilings. This is a small detailing that gives a finished look to your space. Install new lights in your ceilings to get a new vibe. Even a new hanging lamp can completely change the aura of the space.
Use wallpapers
Wallpapers are the most trending options for a budget-friendly makeover. Whether you can opt to add wallpapers on all the walls or just use them for an accent wall, beautiful wallpapers are perfect to give a rich and creative look to your space.
Wallpapers come in a large variety of colours and patterns. Whether you want a rich, tropical effect or a simple, abstract effect- you get a good number of options. You can also try ethnic wall prints and beautiful floral patterns. This wall renovation can easily fit your budget and give you walls to gaze at all day.
Modern stencil wall arts
Stencil wall arts are another excellent way to enhance the look of your walls in less time and less budget. Again you get a lot of options in colours and designs. They are just like wallpapers but much more versatile and less risky as well. You can use stencils on just a portion of the wall to highlight a little corner or you can use them to give an excellent wallpaper effect as well.
The best thing about stencil art is the ease of application. It can be done easily by professionals but a light task can also be a fun, family activity.
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Best practices to avoid over-expenses
While you go for new walls or ceiling treatments, you must also be careful of some simple practices to avoid over-expenses as follows-
1. Waterproofing your walls before and after the painting is very important. Without waterproofing, the structure and beauty of your walls will be prone to risk due to cracks and seepage.
2. Get a proper roof treatment to avoid seepage due to rain. Proper waterproofing techniques can ensure that your roof remains strong to face the harsh sun as well as heavy rains.
3. While painting and any renovation task, make sure that you inspect and clean your space well. Cleaning ensures that any bacteria and fungal growths are removed. Also, you can check and repair any wall and floor damages on time.
4. Get colour consultation to get the right choice of colours. This step is often underestimated but colours play the most important role in home decor and without expert advice, there is always a risk of making a blunder that you will regret later on.
Education
Abhishek Singh appointed director general of National Testing Agency
Technocrat with deep roots in India’s digital infrastructure push takes charge of the exam body that has faced intense scrutiny
NEW DELHI: India’s beleaguered examination authority has a new boss. Abhishek Singh, currently director general of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), has been appointed director general of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which sits under the Ministry of Education. In a signal of just how seriously the government is treating the role, the post has been temporarily upgraded to the rank and pay of secretary to the government of India.
Singh is not your typical bureaucrat shuffled sideways into a troubled institution. At the NIC, he also held additional charge as additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), overseeing artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and the Digital India Bhashini division, while simultaneously serving as chief executive of the India AI Mission. That is a formidable technology portfolio by any measure.
His CV reads like a guided tour of India’s digital public infrastructure. He served as president and chief executive of the National e-Governance Division, managing director and chief executive of Digital India Corporation, chief executive of Karmayogi Bharat, and chief executive of MyGov between 2019 and 2024. Before that, from 2014 to 2017, he was executive director at the Food Corporation of India, where he handled information technology, engineering, storage and, additionally, the North Zone operations and the role of chief vigilance officer.
His field credentials are equally robust. Singh has served in both Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh across multiple tenures, navigating law and order, floods, droughts and communal tensions with equal measure. As principal secretary to the chief minister of Nagaland between 2017 and 2019, he also held charge of urban development, personnel and administrative reforms, and, in 2018, home commissioner. At the grassroots, he built roads, irrigation systems, schools and hospitals, and drove welfare programmes focused on poverty alleviation, education and healthcare.
Singh has also worked alongside international agencies including DFID, UNICEF and WHO, contributing to the Child’s Environment Project in Budaun and the Pulse Polio Eradication Programme in Uttar Pradesh. He has conducted elections at the parliamentary, state assembly and local body levels.
Academically, he is no slouch either. Singh holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a Mason Fellow, and completed his B.Tech and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur.
Meanwhile, the broader bureaucratic reshuffle sees Bihar cadre IAS officer Chanchal Kumar named the new secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Rohit Kansal of the UT cadre moves to the Rural Development Ministry as special secretary, while IAS officer Vikram Yadav has been appointed director general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The outgoing I&B secretary has been reassigned as secretary in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
The NTA needed someone who could rewire both its credibility and its systems. Singh has spent a career doing exactly that.
