- Maharashtra government sets up task force on agriculture development
- The Maharashtra government has set up a task force on agriculture development and poverty alleviation to address the issues.
- The 12-member task force for agriculture development will be headed by the additional chief secretary (Agriculture).
- Nasim Zaidi takes over as new chief election commissioner
- Holding free and fair elections “at all cost” will be the aim of the Election Commission, Nasim Zaidi said.
- He is 20th Chief Election Commissioner.
- Zaidi said inclusiveness of all sections of the society and voter centric programmes like easy registration will be his focus areas.
- He took over from Hari Shankar Brahma who demitted office yesterday.
- Lewis Hamilton wins again in Bahrain Grand Prix
- Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the second year in a row.
- Pranjala wins Asian junior championship
- India’s Y Pranjala clinched the Asian Junior Tennis championship title after a come-from-behind victory over top seed Chinese Zheng Wushuang.
- The second seeded Indian won with a 5-7 6-2 7-5 scoreline in the final against her formidable rival, who happened to be her doubles partner in the event.
- It was double delight for the 16-year-old Pranjala as she had won the doubles trophy yesterday.
- Three Indian race walkers qualify for Rio Olympics
- Three Indian race walkers, Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar on Sunday qualified for next year’s Rio Olympics after creditable performances in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge at Rio Maior in Portugal.
- National women’s 20km walk record holder Khushbir Kaur clocked 1:33:58, better than Rio 2016 qualification time of 1:35, though she finished 13th in the race.
- In the men’s 20km race walk, Manish Rawat logged a personal best performance to finish in top 10 with a timing of 1:22:50, well above Rio Games qualification time of 1:24.
- National 50km race walk record holder Sandeep Kumar also qualified for Rio Games with a 14th-place finish in 1:23:32 though he received one warning.
- President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurates centenary function of Patna High Court
- Inaugurating the centenary celebration of the Patna High Court in Patna, the President said there would be cases of “stress and strain,” but independence of the judiciary should be preserved in any case.
- The President also released a postal stamp on the occasion.
- The Patna High Court will turn 100 early next year as it had commenced work on March 1, 1916.
- On December 1, 1913, the then Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge had laid the foundation stone of the Patna High Court building and inaugurated it on February 3, 1916.
- Kerala government launches campaign ‘Subodham’ to help people overcome alcohol, drug abuse
- The Kerala government on Sunday launched a major campaign “Subodham” to help people in the state overcome alcohol, drug and other substance abuse.
- The project was launched by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Art of Living Foundation founder Sri Sri Ravishankar in the presence of religious leaders, representatives of student organisations and NGOs working against drug abuse.
- The “Subodham” project, envisaged by the excise department, will be implemented by a high-level committee comprising experts from various fields.
- Excise Minister K. Babu, who is also the chairman of “Subodham”, said: “The campaign aims to free one lakh people from drug and alcohol addiction each year. “‘Subodham’ heralds the first step towards ‘Punarjani 2030 Project’, a state government initiative to completely eradicate the menace of substance abuse in Kerala.”
- Shah Rukh Khan and Zayn Malik honoured at the 5th Asian Awards
- Two of the biggest stars on the planet shared the stage for the first time, as Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and teen idol Zayn Malik were honoured at the 5th Asian Awards.
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