- Kashmir based Saqib Majeed has bagged 2016 Wisden-MCC Cricket ‘Photograph of the Year’ Award
A Srinagar based freelance photographer has done Kashmir proud, pocketing the prestigious 2016 Wisden-MCC (Melbourne Cricket Council) Cricket Photograph of the Year for a stunning image, which captured boys playing cricket in the outskirts of the city, clicked by him.
Saqib Majeed, an engineer by profession clicked the award-winning picture at the Nishat garden in Srinagar. Majeed is the first Kashmiri and second Asian after Atul Kamble to receive the prestigious award.
- Pratap Bhanu Mehta appointed Vice Chancellor of Ashoka University
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president and chief executive of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a top policy think tank, has put in his papers. Mehta will formally leave on 30 June and join as vice-chancellor of Ashoka University on 1 July. Ranked among India’s finest scholars, Mehta is a political scientist who taught at Harvard University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the New York University School of Law.
- India’s First Private Sector Small Arms Manufacturing Plant Inaugurated
Punj Lloyd in collaboration with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) was inaugurated India’s first private sector small arms manufacturing plant at Malanpur in Madhya Pradesh.The joint venture (JV) Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems (PLR) was formally inaugurated by Chief Minister of MP Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the company’s existing premises. The JV will manufacture four products X95 carbine and assault rifle, Galil sniper rifle, Tavor assault rifle and Negev Light Machine Gun (LMG).
- Haryana govt to offer meals at subsidised rates for workers
Haryana government will offer food at subsidised rates to registered construction workers soon, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Nayab Singh said, while presiding over a review meeting. The state government will open canteens offering meals under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, at 23 locations in the state. Also, a large number of workers will be working at the new mobile food vans which would also be started at 23 convenient sites.
- Punjab govt makes Aadhar cards mandatory for all financial assistance schemes
Punjab government has made Aadhaar Cards mandatory in place of Ration Cards for all Financial Assistance scheme besides introducing new forms to get the benefit of old age pensions.
Giving this information at Chandigarh, a government spokesman said that the step has been taken by the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to ensure that only genuine people get the benefits of pension and other financial assistance schemes.
The Chief Minister has also directed the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development to undertake a survey of the existing beneficiaries of various schemes besides review of beneficiaries of Aata-Dal Scheme to weed out the ineligible beneficiaries.
- Assam declared as ‘Disturbed’ Area Under AFSPA for 3 More Months
The Centre has declared the entire Assam as a “disturbed” area under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act — the AFSPA — for three more months, citing various violent activities by insurgent groups ULFA, NDFB and others.
In a gazette notification, the Home Ministry said the entire Assam, besides bordering areas of Meghalaya, have been declared “disturbed” under the AFSPA for three months with effect from May 3.
- 3 Indian-origin scientists elected fellows of Royal Society
Three Indian-origin scientists have been elected fellows of the Royal Society, Britain’s independent fellowship of many of the world’s most eminent scientists, for their “outstanding contributions to science“.
Krishna Chatterjee from Cambridge University, Subhash Khot from New York University and Yadvinder Malhi from Oxford University are among 50 distinguished people from across the world elected as the 2017 cohort of fellows of the academy.
Royal Society’s first Indian-origin president, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Venki Ramakrishnan, welcomed the latest batch into the ranks of the society.
- Facebook launches Express WiFi in India
Social media giant Facebook has partnered with country’s largest telecom player Airtel to deploy 20,000 internet hotspots through Facebook’s Express Wi-Fi service in India. These hotspots will be installed by the company in the coming few months.
India has a population of about 1.3 billion people, but according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI’s) Performance Indicator Report, only 390 million people are connected to the internet. Express Wi-Fi is part of Facebook’s global initiative to spread internet connectivity.
- India’s Shiva Thapa wins silver at Asian Boxing Championships
Shiva Thapa (60kg) settled for a silver medal at the Asian Boxing Championships, becoming the first Indian to claim three back-to-back medals at the continental showpiece. The Assam-pugilist, a World Championships bronze- medallist in bantamweight (56kg), shifted to lightweight in December last year. He went on to win a gold medal at the National Championships before a couple of early losses in tournaments in Bulgaria and thailand.
- India thrash NZ to win bronze medal in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
The Indian men’s hockey team clinched the bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after a comfortable 4-0 win over New Zealand in the 3rd/4th classification match.
Rupinder Pal Singh scored a brace to give India a 2-0 lead in the first half, before goals from SV Sunil and Talwinder Singh wrapped up the victory.
India made a bright start to the match, creating a number of opportunities in the first quarter putting New Zealand on the backfoot.
- India’s first woman chief judge of a High Court passes away
Justice Leila Seth, the first woman judge of Delhi High Court, passed away after a brief illness at her home in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida. She was 86. Seth, who first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and also the first woman chief justice of a state high court (Himachal Pradesh).
Seth was also one of the three members of the Justice Verma Committee which was constituted in 2012 to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law so as to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women, post the gruesome December 16 gangrape in Delhi.
- USA’s oldest living Olympic champion dies aged 98
Swimming legend Adolph Kiefer, who had been the oldest living U.S. Olympic gold medalist in any sport, died. Kiefer won the 100-meter backstroke at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a 17 year old in an Olympic record time that stood for 20 years. Adolph Kiefer embodied swimming and lived it every day of his life. He was a pioneer for our sport in the truest sense of the word.
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