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If you are consuming the right kind of content, social media has a lot of good things for you. From turning someone who can’t make an omelet to a passionate cook to making a painter out of someone who thought she couldn’t hold a brush, it’s a treasure trove of skill-based learning opportunities and finding inspiration to do the things you always wished you could do. Instagram, especially, has a vast range of bite-sized content that you can pursue at leisure to pick up a skill, learn something interesting, get book recommendations or recipes and be inspired to live your best life. Here are some of our favorites to get you started.

Food by Maria

Maria Koutsogiannis is a Greek food blogger who has over 2.4 followers on Instagram. She creates delicious recipes inspired by her Greek heritage and Mediterranean roots. She initially started the blog Food by Maria as a way to create a healthy relationship with food as she was battling an eating disorder back in 2014. It was a hobby and she was shooting and editing on her phone. Soon, people took notice and it became an award-winning idea filled with recipes for delicious, comforting meals. Follow her on Instagram to get your daily dose of food inspiration. The recipes are easy to follow and the end result looks like gourmet cuisine.

Nona Uppal

Nona Uppal is 20-something-year-old who is the author of the book ‘Fool Me Twice’ published by Penguin Random House India in 2024. We, at ApEx, haven’t read her book but we are quite inclined to get a copy, as on Instagram she comes across as fun, smart, and honest. If she writes as well as she speaks, then we might be in for a treat. She has over 1000 posts on Instagram and most of them are book recommendations or reviews of books she has read. What we especially like and appreciate about her is the fact that in most of her posts she speaks into her headphone’s microphone, showing an unpretentious side of her. Her voice is also soothing and she speaks with such enthusiasm and a sparkle in her eyes that you can’t help but take her seriously.

Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju

She is an actor, doctor, and trans rights activist whose page on Instagram will inspire you to embrace yourself and be true to who you are. She came into the limelight with her role in the Amazon Prime Original Series ‘Made in Heaven’ and has since then has been a part of various other series and documentaries as well. She’s unapologetically herself and to find someone who speaks their mind and calls out problematic things in life with reckless abandon is absolutely wonderful and uplifting. Apart from documenting her transition journey (she’s a trans woman), her page is filled with aesthetic decor posts, notes where she writes down lessons she’s learnt, conversations on skincare, and many other things that will have you scrolling for hours on end.

Her Happy Face

A positive person through and through, Ridhi Arora is the face behind the page Her Happy Face on Instagram and a YouTube channel by the same name. She documents her exercise journey on Instagram and there are also a day in my life blogs. As a plus sized person, she’s honest about her struggles with weight loss. But Ridhi is someone who celebrates life and that shines through in her posts. But she keeps track of her food habits by consistently posting ‘what I eat in a day’ videos. They are fun to watch and give you some idea about what to eat if you want to lose weight or incorporate more protein in your diet. The posts give a glimpse of life with all its ups and down. Ridhi has also been brave enough to share stories of her pregnancy losses, giving voice to women who choose to suffer in silence.

Fries to Fit

Deepsikha Jain has a MSc in Global Public Health Nutrition and uses her Instagram account to educate people about food and the right way to eat. She has over 900 posts on Instagram and they all deal with nutrition and healthy eating. She doesn’t tell you to make difficult lifestyle changes but rather motivates you to make simple sustainable swaps. By following her posts, you will understand your body better, know when is a good time to workout, learn how to drink water, what foods you must have daily to improve your health, and how to store food properly among many other things. There are many nutritionists and food experts on Instagram but Jain makes complicated information accessible. 

The progress of national pride projects envisaged and initiated by the government for effective public service delivery and to boost economic growth has not been so satisfactory owing to several reasons.

One of them is dismal capital expenditure of those projects despite all possible means and resources and facilitation on the part of the government.

Of the total Rs 66 billion allocated for the 19 of the total 27 national pride projects for the current fiscal year 2024/25, only Rs 17 billion has been spent as of the six months of the current fiscal year, 2024/25, according to the Ministry of Finance.

This is 25.70 percent of the total budget, the Ministry said.

The number of national pride projects rose from 17 to 27 since its inception in the fiscal year 2012/2013 based on the need of the nation and projects' relevance.

Out of 27 projects, some of them have been completed while some have achieved a breakthrough and 19 of them are currently in the process of implementation.

Last fiscal year, over 60 billion was allocated for those 19 projects. Their financial progress was 89.82 percent and physical progress was at 57.50 per cent, the Ministry said. 

A person died and five others were injured in a car accident at Golanjor Municipality-5 in Sindhuli district along the BP Highway this morning. The car was heading to Kathmandu from Jhapa.

According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Govinda Raj Kafle of Sindhuli District Police Office, the deceased has been identified as 27-year-old Sushant Nepali, the driver of the car, of Gaurishankar Rural Municipality in Dolakha district.

The condition of 34-year-old Devi Limbu of Letang Municipality–2 in Morang district is critical. She is currently receiving treatment at Sindhuli Hospital.

Others injured in the accident include San Bahadur Tamang (53) of Deumai Municipality–8, Ilam, Shweta Giri (28) and Sanjaya Rokka from Kageshwori Manohara Municipality–5, Kathmandu and Kiskhu Mandal (27) of Bahraghadi Rural Municipality–1 in Jhapa district, according to SP Kafle.

The impacts of lengthy grounding of aircraft due to management incompetence have been reflected in the balance sheet of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC). The revenue of the national flag carrier fell by 23.58 percent to Rs 6.09bn in the first six months of fiscal year 2024/25. According to the NAC, revenue fell by Rs 1.87bn from Rs 7.97bn in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. International passenger numbers also fell by over 49,000 during the period.

NAC’s sole source of revenue is from international flight passengers and cargo services. Its operation in domestic sectors was negligible in the review period. The NAC last month halted its domestic operations after its sole Twin Otter had to be grounded due to technical reasons. Its other Twin Otter has been grounded for years due to the inability of the management to repair it.

Over the first six months of 2024/25, NAC flew 253,000 international passengers. The international passenger number was down compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year when the NAC handled 302,000 passengers. A monthly breakdown of revenue shows, the national flag carrier earned Rs 940m in mid-July to mid-August, Rs 680m in mid-August to mid-September, Rs 1.42bn in (mid-September to mid-October, Rs 1.45bn in mid-October to mid-November, Rs 1.73bn in mid-November to mid-December and Rs 1.3bn in mid-December to mid-January.

Average monthly revenue of the NAC has dropped to around Rs 1bn in the current fiscal year, compared to around Rs 1.5bn in the previous fiscal year, according to NAC officials. NAC’s flights were affected in the review quarter as its aircraft had to be grounded for a long time for scheduled C-checks or other repairs. Out of four aircraft for international operation, one double-aisle and one single-aisle aircraft had to go to Italy for scheduled C-checks during the review period, while the third aircraft remained grounded for nearly three months.

The grounding of aircraft during peak tourist and festive seasons led to decline in both revenue and passengers, according to NAC.