CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS 27th AND 28TH January 2022

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS

 

 27th January 2022

National News

 

Karvy Group Chairman and CFO arrested by ED in ₹2,000 crore scam

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Karvy Group's Chairman and MD Comandur Parthasarathy and CFO G Hari Krishna in an ongoing ₹2,000 crore security and money laundering case. The accused were allegedly involved in fraud through illegal diversion of clients' securities worth ₹2,873.8 crore and pledging of these securities with banks and NBFCs to seek loans and subsequent loan defaults.

Tamil Nadu ends night curfew, Sunday lockdown; schools to reopen from Feb 1

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday lifted the night curfew from January 28 and there will be no Sunday lockdown from this weekend. It also announced the reopening of schools for classes 1 to 12 from February 1 while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. The state reported 29,976 new COVID-19 cases and 47 deaths on Wednesday.

Students' unions call for Bihar Bandh tomorrow over Railways' exam

Students' union AISA and other youth organizations have called for a Bihar Bandh on Friday over the alleged discrepancies in Railway Recruitment Board's examination. They termed the committee formed by the Ministry of Railways to look into the grievances of job aspirants as a "hoax". The protesters have claimed the government "hatched a conspiracy" to postpone the matter till elections.

FIR against YouTuber Khan Sir for inciting railway aspirants who set Bihar train on fire

YouTuber Khan Sir, who provides coaching for competitive examinations, has been booked for allegedly inciting railway job aspirants to indulge in violence and vandalism after they set a train in Bihar on fire. FIR has also been filed against some students and unidentified persons. Several railway job aspirants are protesting against the alleged discrepancies in Railway Recruitment Board's exam.

Kerala is experiencing an Omicron wave: Health Minister

Amid surge in daily COVID-19 infections, Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Thursday said the state is now experiencing an "Omicron wave". "It is now clear that the third wave in Kerala is the Omicron wave," George told media. She further said the variant has been found in 94% of samples of coronavirus patients. Kerala recorded 51,739 COVID-19 cases today.

Maha passes proposal to allow wine sale at supermarkets & walk-in stores

Maharashtra Cabinet passed a proposal to allow selling wine at supermarkets and walk-in stores. The stores' area should be over 1,000 square feet and should be registered under Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act. However, those near places of worship won't be allowed to sell wine. Condemning the move, former CM Devendra Fadnavis said, "We won't allow Maharashtra to become 'Madya'Rashtra."

 

 

Ramgarh Wildlife Sanctuary set to be notified as 4th tiger reserve of Rajasthan

Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary, which is among the proposed five sites in the country, is expected to be formally notified as tiger reserve (TR) soon before the Global Tiger Summit, which is to be held at Vladivostok, Russia.   The Centre also announced the development during the 4th Asia ministerial conference on tiger conservation. The Centre has already given its approval of granting tiger reserve status to Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary, along with MM Hills in Karnataka, Guru Ghasidas National Park in Chhattisgarh.  The Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary will be spread across 1,071 sq kms. A 302 Sq Km area in the proposed tiger sanctuary will be left as critical habitat for Tigers and the rest of the area will act as a buffer zone for the Ranthambore National Park.  Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1982. The core areas of the sanctuary have 8 villages and are home to large numbers of wild animals like sambhars, caracals, wild boars, nilgai, and striped Hyena
India Celebrating 73rd Republic Day on 26 January 2022

India is celebrating the 73rd Republic Day on 26 January 2022. The celebrations this year are special as India is in the 75th year of Independence - being celebrated as 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'.  Republic Day marks the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950. It replaced the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India.  After almost 3 years, the 308 members of the Assembly, after many consultations and a few modifications finally signed a constitution on 24th of January 1950, which came into effect on 26th of January 1950.  And, that day, is being celebrated as Republic Day in India ever since then. This day defines the importance of having a proper constitution that all the citizens must abide by.

India unveils 5-year roadmap to becoming $300-billion electronics powerhouse

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has released a 5-year roadmap and Vision Document 2.0 for the electronics sector.  The Vision Document 2.0 titled “$300 bn Sustainable Electronics Manufacturing & Exports by 2026” has been prepared by MeitY in association with the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA).  It is the second volume of a two-part Vision Document. Vision Document 2.0 provides a year-wise break-up and production projections for the various products. This will help India to transform into a US$300 billion electronics manufacturing powerhouse by 2026, from the current US$75 billion.  This roadmap is the second volume of a two-part Vision Document - the first of which was released in November last year. The first part of the document titled “Increasing India’s Electronics Exports and Share in GVCs” was released in November 2021.

International News

 

Germany records over 2 lakh COVID-19 cases in 1 day for first time

Germany reported over 2 lakh COVID-19 cases on Thursday for the first time since the pandemic began. As many as 2,03,136 new infections were recorded in the last 24 hours. The seven-day incidence rate rose to 1,017 cases per 1 lakh people. The total number of fatalities stood at 1,17,314.

Russia-China-Iran conducts joint naval exercise CHIRU-2Q22

The Russian, Chinese and Iranian navies undertook naval exercises CHIRU-2Q22 in the Gulf of Oman. The maritime drills conducted in the northern parts of the Indian Ocean aimed at deepening practical cooperation among the navies of the three countries.  The participants practised various tactics and operations, such as rescuing ablaze vessels, saving hijacked vessels, shooting at targets, nocturnal shooting at aerial targets, and other tactical manoeuvres as a part of the drill. At least 140 warships and over 60 aircraft with nearly 10,000 military personnel would be taking part in the military exercises.

Russia delivers all the contracted 70,000 AK-203 assault rifles to India

Russia delivered all the contracted 70,000 AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles to the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian Armed Forces had placed an order for 670,000 rifles, for which the contract was signed on December 06, 2021, between India and Kalashnikov (Russian defence manufacturing unit).  The total cost of the contract is around Rs 5,124 crore. The contract included procuring 70,000 rifles off the shelf. The remaining 600,000 rifles will be manufactured by an Indo-Russian joint venture company, Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), based at Amethi, Uttar Pradesh India under transfer of technology (ToT). [at Korwa Rifle Factory, Amethi]. The lightweight AK-203 Rifles will replace the military’s in-service INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) Rifle.

 

Banking , Business and Economy

 

Income tax refunds worth ₹1.62 lakh crore issued so far in FY22

short by Ashley Paul / 02:56 pm on 27 Jan 2022,Thursday

Income Tax department said on Thursday that it has issued refunds worth ₹1.62 lakh crore to 1.79 crore taxpayers so far in FY22. This includes 1.41 crore refunds for FY21. Personal Income Tax refunds of ₹57,754 crore have been issued to over 1.77 crore entities and corporate tax refunds of ₹1.04 lakh crore have been issued in 2.23 lakh cases.

Apple becomes China's top smartphone brand after 6 yrs: Report

Apple reportedly became China's top-selling smartphone brand in the fourth quarter of 2021, reclaiming the number one spot in the country for the first time in six years. It had 23% of the market and sales grew 32% year-on-year in the December quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. However, it saw a 9% decline in China's overall smartphone sales.

Air India will bloom under their wings: Aviation Minister as Tata Group takes over

After Air India was officially handed over to Tata Group, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, "Best wishes to the new owners. I am confident...the airline will bloom under their wings." Tata Group won the bid to buy the airline for ₹18,000 crore. "This proves the govt's ability and...resolve to carry out disinvestment effectively in non-strategic sectors," Scindia tweeted.

 

 

Tata gets loan commitment from SBI-led consortium for Air India: Reports

An SBI-led consortium of lenders has reportedly agreed to provide loans to Tata Group for the smooth operations of its newly acquired airline Air India. The consortium agreed to grant both term loans and working capital loans, Moneycontrol reported citing sources. Tata had offered to take over Air India's debt of ₹15,300 crore and pay ₹2,700 crore to the government.

No halwa ceremony before Budget, staff due for 'lock-in' at workplace get sweets

Sweets were provided to core staff due for 'lock-in' at their work workplace instead of the customary halwa ceremony ahead of the Union Budget 2022-23 amid COVID-19. To maintain the secrecy of the Budget, there's a 'lock-in' of officials involved in making the Budget. Budget Press in North Block houses officials in the period leading up to the Budget presentation.

 

Govt notifies amalgamation of PMC Bank with Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd

The Government of India has sanctioned and notified the Scheme for the amalgamation of the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Ltd with Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd. This means that from January 25, 2022 all the branches of the PMC Bank will function as branches of Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd.  Unity Small Finance Bank Limited is promoted by Centrum Financial Services Limited along with Resilient Innovation Private Limited. Both the promoters have infused capital of Rs 1105.10 crore in the bank.  After the amalgamation of PMC Bank with Unity SFB, Unity SFB will pay the customers of PMC Bank the amount it receives from DICGC (maximum up to amount insured by DICGC i.e Rs 5 Lakh) in instalments of 10 years.  Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 empowers the Reserve Bank of India to prepare a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation of banking companies (which include co-operative banks).

City Union Bank launches fitness watch debit card in tie-up with GOQii

City Union Bank in association with smart-tech-enabled preventive healthcare platform GOQii and powered by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has launched a wearable payment solution called CUB fitness watch debit card.  Customers need to hold this wristwatch in front of the PoS device during payment like tapping the card on PoS. For payments above Rs 5,000, customers need to tap and enter their PIN. The introductory price of a smartwatch debit card is Rs 3,499, as compared to an actual cost of Rs 6,499).

IMF down India’s FY22 growth forecast to 9% from 9.5%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut India’s economic growth forecast for the current fiscal 2021-22 (FY22) to 9 per cent, in its latest world economic outlook report. Earlier this was estimated at 9.5%. IMF has projected the growth forecast for India in 2022-23 (FY23) at 7.1% IMF has projected the global growth rate in 2022 to 4.4%, and in 2023 to 3.8%.  According to the IMF, India's prospects for 2023 are marked up on expected improvements to credit growth and, subsequently, investment and consumption, building on the better-than-anticipated performance of the financial sector.

Awards News

Assam government awarded ‘Asom Baibhav Award’ to Ratan Tata

The government of Assam has conferred its highest civilian award ‘Assam Baibhav’ on Industrialist Ratan Tata. Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi conferred the award to the former chairman of Tata Sons. The Assam government conferred ‘Asom Baibhav’ to Ratan Tata for his contribution to setting up cancer treatment facilities in the state.  Assam Saurav award was conferred on Professor Dipak Chand Jain, Lovlina Borgohain, Professor Kamalendu Deb Krori, Dr Lakshmanan S, and Neel Pawan Baruah.  Assam Gaurav award was conferred on Manoj Kumar Basumatary, Munindra Nath Ngatey, Dharanidhar Boro, Hemoprabha Chutia, Dr Basanta Hazarika, Kaushik Baruah, Khorsing Terang, Akash Jyoti Gogoi, Namita Kalita, Dr Asif Iqbal, Kalpana Boro, Boby Hazarika, and Bormita Momin.

Olympian Neeraj Chopra honoured with Param Vishisht Seva Medal

Olympian Neeraj Chopra will be honoured with Param Vishisht Seva Medal on the eve of Republic Day by President Ram Nath Kovind. He is the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for India at the Olympics.  Neeraj is a Subedar in the Indian Army. He had enrolled in 4 Rajputana Rifles as a direct entry to Naib Subedar in 2016. He was chosen for training at the Mission Olympics Wing and Army Sports Institute in Pune.  Chopra was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2018 and Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in 2020 for his excellence in sports.  The Haryana state will also showcase the life-size replica of Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra in the form of a tableau during the 2022 Republic Day parade.

Ministry of Home Affairs Padma Awards 2022 announced

The Union ministry of home affairs announced the Padma awards on the eve of the country’s 73rd Republic Day. The Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher-order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).  The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved. The list comprises 4 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri Awards. 34 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 Posthumous awardees. In Duo case, the Award is counted as one.

 

LIST OF ANNOUNCED RECIPIENT OF PADMA AWARDS ON 26 JANUARY 2022:-

 

The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian Awards in India.

 

They are conferred in three categories namely:-

Padma Vibhushan.

Padma Bhushan.

Padma Shri.

 

The awards are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day on January 26.

 

These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/April every year.

 

The 2022 Padma Award has been conferred upon 128 winners.

 

These includes 04 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan awardees, and 107 Padma Shri awardees.

 

34 out of 128 awardees are women, while ten persons are Indian origin and Non-Resident Indians.

 

♣️PADMA VIBHUSHAN :-

🔺First Award :- 1954

🔺Given by :- Government of India.

 

🏆Ms. Prabha Atre Art Maharashtra.

 

🏆Shri Radheyshyam Khemka (Posthumous)Literature & Education Uttar Pradesh.

 

🏆General Shri Bipin Rawat (Posthumous)Civil Service Uttarakhand.

 

🏆Shri Kalyan Singh (Posthumous)Public Affairs Uttar Pradesh.

 

♣️PADMA BHUSHAN AWARD 2022:-

 

🏆Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad (Public Affairs) Jammu and Kashmir.

 

🏆Shri Victor Banerjee (Art) West Bengal.

 

🏆Ms. Gurmeet Bawa (Posthumous) (Art) Punjab.

 

🏆Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (Public Affairs) West Bengal.

 

🏆Shri Natarajan Chandrasekaran (Trade and Industry) Maharashtra.

 

🏆Shri Krishna Ella and Smt. Suchitra Ella (Duo) (Trade and Industry) Telangana.

 

🏆Ms. Madhur Jaffery (Others-Culinary).

 

🏆Shri Devendra Jhajharia (Sports) Rajasthan.

 

🏆Shri Rashid Khan (Art) Uttar Pradesh.

 

🏆Shri Rajiv Mehrishi (Civil Service) Rajasthan.

 

🏆Shri Satya Narayana Nadella (Trade and Industry) USA.

 

🏆Shri Sundararajan Pichai (Trade and Industry) USA.

 

🏆Shri Cyrus Poonawalla (Trade and Industry) Maharashtra.

 

🏆Shri Sanjaya Rajaram (Posthumous) (Science and Engineering) Mexico.

 

🏆Ms. Pratibha Ray (Literature and Education) Odisha.

 

🏆Swami Sachidanand (Literature and Education) Gujarat.

 

🏆Shri Vashishth Tripathi (Literature and Education) Uttar Pradesh.

 

Sports News

Lucknow IPL team to be called Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow’s IPL franchise, which is owned by Sanjiv Goenka (RPSG Group), has been renamed Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction.  Lucknow team roped in KL Rahul as their captain and also roped in Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. The official IPL team of Lucknow crowdsourced its name from fans and a consumer engagement campaign was launched on social media on 3rd Jan 2022.  Last year, the franchise was purchased by the Sanjiv Goenka-owned of the RPSG group for an amount of Rs 7090 Crores. The other new team to enter the competition is from Ahmedabad who were bought by the Irelia Company Pte Ltd. (CVC Capital Partners) for Rs 5635 Crores.

Important Days

International Customs Day observed on January 26

The International Customs Day (ICD) is observed on 26 January every year. The day is celebrated to recognise the role of customs officials and agencies and focus on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs.  This year, the theme chosen by WCO for ICD is ‘Scaling up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem’.  The day was instituted by the World Customs Organization (WCO) to commemorate the day in 1953 when the inaugural session of the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) was held in Brussels, Belgium. In 1994 the CCC was renamed World Customs Organization (WCO).

International Holocaust Remembrance Day: 27 January

International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust (International Holocaust Remembrance Day) is observed on 27 January. In 2022, the theme guiding the United Nations Holocaust remembrance and education is “Memory, Dignity and Justice”.  The objective of the day is to commemorate the anniversary of the tragedy of the Holocaust that occurred during the Second World War. A genocide occurred during World War II in which Nazi Germany, aided by its collaborators, systematically murdered some six million European Jews, around two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe, between 1941 and 1945.  United Nations designated the day in 2005 to serve as a date for official commemoration of the victims of the Nazi regime and to promote Holocaust education throughout the world. 

 

OBITUARY

Marathi author Anil Awachat dies aged 78 after prolonged illness

Marathi author and activist Dr Anil Awachat died due to a prolonged illness at his home in Pune on Thursday at the age of 78 years. He was admitted to a hospital due to health issues but was discharged four days ago. He, along with his wife, had founded Muktangan Rehabilitation Center in Pune.

Charanjit Singh, captain of India's 1964 Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team, dies

Charanjit Singh, the captain of India's 1964 Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team, passed away aged 92 in Himachal Pradesh's Una owing to age-related complications. He was also a part of the men's hockey team that won the silver medal in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He is survived by his two sons and a daughter.

 

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28 January 2022

National News

 

BJP richest among top 7 parties with assets worth ₹4,848cr in 2019-20: ADR

BJP declared assets worth ₹4,847.78 crore in FY 2019-2020, the highest among seven national political parties in India, an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said. This was followed by BSP which declared assets worth ₹698.33 crore and the Indian National Congress with assets worth ₹588.16 crore. The seven parties declared assets worth ₹6,988.57 crore altogether.

 

 

India pays $29.9 million in UN regular budget assessments for 2022 

India has paid USD 29.9 million in UN regular budget assessments for the year 2022. As of January 21, 2022, 24 Member States have paid their regular budget assessments in full.  India is currently a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council and its two-year term will end on December 31, 2022.  “#India proud to pay again in full! India joins the 2022 Honour Roll of 24 Member States out of 193 that have paid their @UN Regular Budget Assessments in full,” India's Permanent Mission to the UN tweeted.

India’s first graphene innovation center to be established in Kerala

India’s first innovation centre for graphene will be set up in Kerala by the Digital University Kerala (DUK), along with the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) in Thrissur, for Rs 86.41 crore.  This will be the first graphene Research and Development (R&D) incubation centre in the country. Tata Steel Limited is set to be the industrial partner of the centre.  The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, has given approval for the project. The project, which will be implemented with the support of the Kerala government, is expected to accelerate the state’s growth in the knowledge industry sector.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
China announces plan to build space centre, satellites for Pak

China has announced plans to build a space centre and satellites for Pakistan as part of its efforts to boost space cooperation with its ally. Pakistan was mentioned many times in a white paper titled "China's Space Programme: A 2021 Perspective", released by China's State Council. In 2018, China had helped Pakistan to launch two satellites

 

 

 

 

BANKING, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Govt plans $40 bn for food, fertiliser subsidy in Budget: Report

The government is planning to set aside about ₹3 lakh crore ($40 billion) on food and fertiliser subsidies in its Budget for 2022-23, reported Reuters citing sources. About ₹1.1 lakh crore will be allocated to fertiliser subsidies and ₹2 lakh crore to food subsidies, the report said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is due to present the Budget on February 1.

Apple sees potential in metaverse, is investing accordingly: CEO

When asked about Apple's plans for metaverse, the company's CEO Tim Cook said, "We see a lot of potential in this space and are investing accordingly." He said that Apple's research and development efforts are focused on the intersection of hardware, software and services. "That's where the magic really happens and it brings out the best in Apple," Cook added.

 

Pencilton Launches Teen-Focused Debit and Travel Card

A teen-focused Fintech startup based in India, Pencilton has recently launched PencilCard, a debit card that is compliant with National Common Mobility Card standards. It has been launched in partnership with Transcorp.  The National Common Mobility Card was developed by India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in early 2019. It allows the user to pay for travel, toll duties, retail shopping and withdraw money.

Air India formally handed over to Tata Group

The government of India officially handed over India’s flag carrier, Air India to the Tata Group on January 27, 2022, almost 69 years after acquiring the conglomerate. The total value of the deal is Rs 18,000 crore (US$2.4 billion).  The strategic disinvestment transaction of Air India includes the transfer of a 100 per cent stake of GoI in Air India to Tata Sons, along with management control.  The transaction covers three entities namely, Air India, Air India Express and Air India SATS (AI SATS). Under the deal, the Tata group will also be handed over Air India Express and a 50 per cent stake in ground handling arm AI SATS.

Awards News

Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve bags TX2 award

Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Erode district, Tamil Nadu) has been given the prestigious TX2 award after its tiger numbers doubled to 80 since 2010. Apart from the STR, the Bardia National Park in Nepal has won this year’s TX2 award for doubling the population of wild tigers.  Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuary was declared a tiger reserve in 2013 and the reserve that spread across 1,411.60 sq km is an important link between the Nilgiris and Eastern Ghats landscape.  The Nilgiri biosphere landscape that this reserve is part of is currently the home to the largest tiger population in the world. It is connected to other well-established tiger habitats like Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Bandipur Tiger Reserve and BR Hills Tiger Reserve.  The award acknowledges the efforts by the State governments and the local communities which have played one of the most important roles to turn a relatively new tiger reserve into one of the source populations of tigers in India.

Books and Authors News

Meenakashi Lekhi launches pictorial comic book ‘India’s Women Unsung Heroes’

Union Minister of State for Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi has released a pictorial comic book titled ‘India’s Women Unsung Heroes’, as a tribute to the forgotten women freedom fighters of the country.  The book has been prepared by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with Amar Chitra Katha, an Indian publisher of Indian comics and graphic novels. India will be celebrating 75 years of independence this August 15.  And so, the book celebrates the lives of 75 unsung women freedom fighters of India, including Chakali Ilamma, Padmaja Naidu, Durgabhai Deshmukh, among others.  The book is a fitting tribute to the forgotten heroes of our freedom struggle as it celebrates the lives of women who led the charge and lit the flame of rebellion throughout the country. It contains stories of queens who battled imperialism and dedicated their lives for Maa Bharati.

Obituaries News

Veteran Marathi author and social activist Anil Awachat passes away

Renowned Marathi author and social activist Anil Awachat has passed away. Awachat was the founder of a de-addiction center called Muktangan Rehabilitation Center in Pune in 1986. He was known for his several Marathi books like “Manasa”, Swatahavishayi, “Gard”, “Karyarat”, “Karyamagna” and “Kutuhalapoti”.  In the early 1970s, he edited a popular Marathi journal called Sadhana which featured his trenchant writings on social issues, notably in his reportage of the 1972 drought that ravaged Maharashtra. His many books include ‘Kondmara’ (1985) on Dalit atrocities and ‘Dharmik’ (1989), a penetrating expose on the cult of false godmen in Maharashtra.

Noted Kathakali dancer and Padma Shri Recipient Milena Salvini Passes Away

Noted Kathakali dancer Milena Salvini of France has passed away. Italian-born Salvini was a regular visitor to India, especially Kerala where she learnt Kathakali, and ran ‘Centre Mandapa’, a school for Indian dance forms, in Paris.  The Government of India conferred the Padma Shri award on Salvini in 2019 for her contribution in the field of performing arts.

Former Indian Hockey Team Captain Charanjit Singh Passes Away

Former Hockey mid-fielder Charanjit Singh has passed away, after suffering a cardiac arrest and prolonged age-related illnesses. He was 90. He was the Captain of the Indian hockey team which won gold in the Tokyo Olympics of 1964.  He was also a member of the Indian team which won silver medals in the 1960 Games in Rome, and in the 1962 Asian Games at Jakarta.

Ex-K'taka CM's granddaughter had postpartum depression: State minister

Former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa's granddaughter, Dr Soundarya, was suffering from postpartum depression, Yediyurappa's office and the state's current Home Minister Araga Jnanendra have confirmed. She died by suicide earlier today at her apartment in Bengaluru. As per the CM's office, Dr Soundarya, who lived close to CM's residence, was also taking treatment for the depression.

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