Senior IPS officer Anand Prakash Maheshwari was on Monday appointed as the Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The post of DG CRPF was lying vacant after R R Bhatnagar retired on December 31.
Maheshwari, a 1984 batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed to the post up to February 28, 2021, i.e. the date of his superannuation, the order stated.
Political newcomer Robert Abela set to become Malta’s new prime minister having been elected leader of the ruling Labour Party following a vote on Saturday.
The election result became known early on Sunday with Abela winning 58 per cent of the votes of some 17,500 members of the party. He was up against Chris Fearne (56) the deputy prime minister and minister of health, who had been the initial favourite to win.
Joseph Muscat is stepping down as leader and prime minister amid claims that he protected associates who had links to people allegedly involved in the 2017 murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
After successful completion of the Phase 1 execution of NIC e-office for 50,000 users in 58 units, Indian Railways has signed MoU with RailTel for the phase 2 of the project. In phase 2, RailTel will register 39,000 users over 34 Railway divisions in NIC e-office platform by 30th June 2020.
E-Office fosters a paper-less culture which will not only save operational cost but also reduce the carbon footprint which is one of the most urgent needs of the world and directly impacting every citizen of the country.
Peddapalli district administration has won the “Swachhatha Darpan award” for the second consecutive year from the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation at a programme organised in New Delhi. Bollywood actor and founder of Paani Foundation Aamir Khan presented the award to Collector A. Sri Devasena on the occasion. The district, under the leadership of Ms. Devasena, has bagged four national awards under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
The district achieved 100% coverage of all villages with community toilet blocks for men and women with running water overhead tank, tiled flooring, washbasins, paintings, signboards etc. It also recorded 100% coverage of soak pits to become the country’s first open-drain free district with salutary effect seen in 65% decline in dengue cases as compared to last year.
The district completely banned single-use plastic and promoted non-woven cloth bags provided by women SHGs and helped them secure employment. Peddapalli was acclaimed for the implementation of panchasutras (five-point programme) to achieve cent per cent sanitation in villages.
A cultural exchange programme will be organised in February in Gaya, Bihar under “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat” with youths of state, Tripura, as well as Mizoram. Different programmes organised under the aegis of Ek bharat shrestha Bharat are spreading fragrance of unity of India.
Anjani Kumar, District Co-ordinator of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangthan (NYKS) told AIR that in the upcoming event the youths of Tripura and Mizoram would show case their culinary expertise, perform different kind of folk dance with songs and their traditional musical instruments.
Fresh investment proposals worth Rs. 6608 crore have been approved in Tamil Nadu by high level committee, led by the state Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy. The panel met at Fort St. George in Chennai and considered several new investment proposals and those who were pending for clearance submitted through the single window system.
15 new investments were given the nod, with the potential of generating 6763 direct employment. Besides the traditional industrial hubs of Chennai’s adjoining districts of Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur, many of the industries are coming up in districts like Tuticorin, Trichy, Perambalur, Krishnagiri and Vellore.
Amid uncertainty over the future of Amaravati as Andhra Pradesh’s capital, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is planning to build four regional capitals. Rajya Sabha member T.G. Venkatesh claimed that YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government may prefer to develop capitals in four different regions to ensure the state’s all-round development.
The Chief Minister will be the ex-officio Vice-Chairman of the board, while at least one Member of Parliament, two members of the State legislature (elected), four other members from that zone (nominated by the state government) will be members of the Board. Each zone will have a full-time secretary, who will be nominated by the Government. A Principal Secretary rank officer will be considered for the post.
The four capitals are likely to be developed are Vizianagaram for the north-coastal Andhra zone; Kakinada for East and West Godavari districts; Guntur for the south coastal Andhra; and Kadapa for Rayalaseema. As Amaravati comes under Guntur district, whatever buildings constructed so far may be used for one of the capitals.
Kaziranga, home of the world’s most one-horned rhinos, has 96 species of wetland birds — one of the highest for wildlife preserves in India. Officials of the Kaziranga National Park and avian specialists conducted the second wetland bird count on January 9-10.
The teams counted a total of 19,225 birds belonging to 96 species under 80 families. The first waterfowl census in 2018 had yielded 10,412 birds covering 80 families from 21 families. Kaziranga, about 220 km east of Guwahati, has a total area (tiger reserve) of 1,030 sq km with a core area of 430 sq. km. It was established in 1908 and is a World Heritage Site since 1985.
The other species with sizeable numbers include gadwall, common coot, lesser whistling duck, Indian spot-billed duck, little cormorant, ferruginous duck, tufted duck, Eurasian wigeon, Asian openbill, northern lapwing, ruddy shelduck and spot-billed pelican.
The number of muggers, an endangered crocodile species, in Ghodahada irrigation reservoir and adjoining waterbodies in Odisha’s Ganjam district has increased, much to the delight of wildlife activists and officials. The number of the crocodile species in and around the reservoir was counted at 65 in the three-day-long census that ended on Saturday. The census was conducted with the participation of around 50 persons who were divided into 20 teams.
While 44 muggers were found in the 5 sq km reservoir, 21 were counted in the nearby waterbodies, said Amlan Nayak, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of BerhampurLast year, the population of muggers in the area was at 58, which included 43 in the Ghodahada reservoir. The population of the muggers had remained stagnant in 2017 and 2016, while their number was 49 in 2015, official sources said.
Improvement in their habitat was stated to be the cause of the increase in the population, said the officer. The Mugger is one of the three crocodile species found in Odisha. The other crocodile species are gharial and salt- water crocodile or estuarine crocodile. Forest officials said no mugger was found dead in the area in the last three years. Ghodahada reservoir is considered as one of the potential habitats for the muggers in the state after Satakosia and Similipal.
The festival of harvest, Lohri is being celebrated in North India especially in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Chandigarh. Lohri marks the end of the long nights of winter and welcomes the longer days of summer, as the Sun begins its journey to the Northern Hemisphere.
Lohri is celebrated with a bonfire. The festival is mostly associated with crop harvesting and happiness. It also encourages a sense of community and unity. Several young married couples also pray for a child during Lohri celebrations and those who get child also celebrate it with great fervour.
Another myth about the beginnings of the Lohri festival revolves around the story of Dulla Bhatti – a robber who reportedly saved girls from getting sold. Popcorns, peanuts, Rewari and Gajak are distributed to all neighbours, friends and relatives on the occasion.