Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday (6th January 2023) said that we must recognise and accept the importance of quality to make India a developed nation.

 

* He was addressing the gathering on the occasion of 76th Foundation Day of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in New Delhi.

* Portal for mapping of Industrial Units and Laboratories was launched on the occasion on Friday (6th January 2023).

* This is a centralised platform for information on industrial units and laboratories across the country. This will enable analysis of test facilities in the country and help entrepreneurs in accessing information about testing facilities.

 

* “If we look at the history of developed nations, we find that those countries who adopted ‘Quality’ in early stages of their development cycles progressed faster,” said Goyal..

Source : Business Standard

National Council of Science Museums in association with Nehru Memorial Museum and Library organised Astro Tourism - A Sky Gazing event at Delhi's India Gate Friday (6th January 2023).

The event was inaugurated by Minister of State for Culture, Arjun Ram Meghwal.

 

The programme will continue till saturday (7th January 2023) with various activities. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Meghwal said, the programme will help in developing scientific temper among the people.

 

The Astro Tourism event includes various activities like Astro Talks by expert Astronomers, an Exhibition on Astronomy, Storytelling related to celestial objects, an Experience of using the telescope to see the craters of the Moon, Astronomy Activities, a Photographic Panel Exhibition, and Astro-Photography.

 

This three-day programme will be a great learning experience for children of all age groups...

Source : AIR

Home Minister Amit Shah’s programme in Manipur on Friday (6th January 2023) was the inauguration of a 122-foot-tall statue of a polo player astride a Manipur Pony in Imphal, a project that has been in the works for several years now.

 

“It is believed that Sagol Kangjei, the modern-day Polo game originated in Manipur. Today, inaugurated a 122 feet Marjing Polo Complex in Imphal. This will surely take the legacy forward and inspire more youngsters toward the game,” Shah tweeted on Friday afternoon.

 

Modern polo is said to have originated from Sagol Kangjei, a sport indigenous to Manipur, in which players ride horses, specifically the Manipur Ponies, which are referenced in records dating back to the 14th century.

 

The Manipur Pony is one of five recognised equine breeds of India, and has a powerful cultural significance for Manipuri society. The Marjing Polo Complex has been developed as a way to conserve the Manipur Pony.

 

 

* Sagol Kangjei is the name of the game of polo played in Manipur.

* Sagol means pony/horse, Kang means a ball or round object, and jei is a stick used for hitting.

* In the state of Manipur, it has always been a game for the common man. It is played by seven players on each side and the players are mounted on ponies.

* Manipuri polo symbolises the immense cultural heritage of the state, and great efforts have been put made to raise the standard of this popular game.

* The prominent patrons of the game were King Kyamba and King Khagemba ( 1597-1672 A.D.), and King Chandra Kirti ( 1850 - 1886 A.D.). The latter, especially, is to be credited with popularising the sport in other parts of the world

* There are no goalposts in this game. Goal lines determine the end of the two boundaries of the rectangular field. The ball ( hang drum ) is white. To score a goal the ball must cross the line.

* The polo stick is made of cane or wood, and is called Kang – hu and has a head of hardwood and the ball is made of bamboo root.

* The traditional attire consists of a chin - strap ( khadangchet ) and a turban, for protecting the head. Leg - guards ( khongyom ) are worn below the knee. Since no shoes are worn, the players use khumit - Khang. A leash of thick leather is held by the index finger of the left hand.

* This is a seasonal game and is played in the Manipuri month of September / October and in   June / July..

Source : Indian Express

India has surpassed Japan in terms of auto sales 2022 to become the 3rd largest auto market globally for the first time.

 

India's sales of new vehicles came in at least 4.25 million units, based on preliminary results, topping the 4.2 million sold in Japan.

 

Between January and November 2022, 4.13 million new cars were delivered in India, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The number rises to almost 4.25 million units when the sales figure for December 2022, which Maruti Suzuki, the largest automaker in India, reported on 1st January 2023, is added.

 

Comparatively, in Japan, 4.20 million vehicles were sold last year (2022), down 5.6 percent from 2021, according to data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association..

Source : Money Control

Gianluca Vialli, the former Italy and Chelsea striker, has died friday (6th January 2023) aged 58 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Gianluca Vialli was an Italian football player and manager who played as a striker. Vialli started his club career at Cremonese in 1980 in his native Italy where he made 105 league appearances scoring 23 goals.

His performances impressed Sampdoria who signed him in 1984, and with whom he scored 85 league goals, won three Italian cups, Serie A and the European Cup Winners Cup.

 

* Vialli played for Cremonese, Sampdoria and Juventus in the 1980s and 1990s before joining Chelsea in 1996.

* In 1998 he became player-manager of the Blues following the departure of Ruud Gullit and that year led the club to glory in the League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

* Vialli finished his playing career at the end of the 1998-99 season to focus on management and Chelsea would win the FA Cup and Charity Shield in 2000 under the Italian, before he was sacked early in the 2000-01 season.

* Vialli played 59 times for Italy, scoring 16 goals, and had most recently been the national side’s head of delegation. As part of Italy’s back-room staff, the Azzurri won Euro 2020 with victory over England at Wembley in July 2021.

* The Italian Football Federation said all this weekend’s matches under its jurisdiction will be preceded by a minute’s silence to honour Vialli’s life..

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying "Parshottam Rupala" on Thursday (5th Jan 2023) inaugurated 29 Mobile Veterinary Units (MVU) and centralised call center in Thiruvananthpuram in a major step for the benefit of the livestock farmers in Kerala.

 

The Minister highlighted that this intervention will boost the confidence of dairy farmers to rear high productive dairy animals as most of the breeders are reluctant to take their livestock to Veterinary Hospital for treatment and usually end calling quacks for doorstep delivery of services.

Each MVU will be manned by a qualified Veterinarian and a Paravet for providing specialized services to livestock farmers, he added.

 

The Minister underlined that the scheme is  promising and will transform the dairy sector from a subsistence-based farm livelihood to a commercially viable enterprise by giving gainful employment to the youth of the Kerala.

 

These MVUs will be operated through a centralised call centre with a uniform Helpline No. 1962. It will receive calls from livestock rearers / animal owners and Veterinarians will prioritize all cases on the basis of emergency nature and will transmit them to the nearest MVU for attending  at farmer’s doorstep.

 

Kerala is deploying 50 MVUs in different districts. These vehicles are equipped with state of art diagnostic tools, animal treatment and breeding accessories, audio visual aids and necessary medications..

Source : AIR

India will take over the leadership of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) having its Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand from this month (January 2023).

* Following the successful elections held during the 13th APPU Congress held in Bangkok during August- September 2022, Dr. Vinaya Prakash Singh, erstwhile Member (Personnel), Postal Services Board will take over the charge of Secretary General of the Union for a tenure of 4 years.

 

* Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an intergovernmental organization of 32-member countries of the Asian-Pacific region.

* APPU is the only Restricted Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations.

* The goal of APPU is to extend, facilitate and improve postal relations between member countries and to promote cooperation in the field of postal services. As the regional center for various UPU projects, APPU also takes the lead in ensuring that all technical and operational projects of the UPU are fulfilled in the region so that the region is integrated into the global postal network in the best possible way.

* Secretary General leads the activities of the Union and is also the Director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region..

Source : PIB

* Registration Charges for Delegates are INR 1000.

* Group registrations for more than 10 delegates would be at the rate of INR 500 per delegate.

* Registration Charges for  Exhibitors are INR 2500.

* Registration for Goan delegates is Free.

* Registration for Students with Disablities is Free..

Source : goa.gov.in

The 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention is being organized in partnership with the Madhya Pradesh Government from 08-10 January 2023 in Indore.

Theme 2023 : The theme of this PBD Convention is "Diaspora: Reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal”. Over 3,500 diaspora members from nearly 70 different countries have registered for the PBD Convention.

 

PBD Convention will have three segments :

* On 08 January 2023, the inauguration of the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in partnership with Ministry of Youth affairs and Sports. H.E. Ms. Zaneta Mascarenhas, Member of Parliament of Australia, will be the Guest of Honour at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

 

* On 09 January 2023, the PBD Convention will be inaugurated by Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and will feature addresses by the Chief Guest, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the President of Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and the Special Guest of Honour, H.E. Mr. Chandrikapersad Santokhi, Hon’ble President of the Republic of Suriname.

* On 10 January 2023, Hon’ble Rashtrapati ji, Smt. Droupadi Murmu will confer Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2023 and preside over the Valedictory Session. Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards are conferred to select Indian diaspora members to recognize their achievements and honour their contributions to various fields, both in India and abroad..

Source : Narendramodi

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday (5th January 2023) inaugurated the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, the largest hockey stadium in the country, here.

 

Standing in the middle of the jampacked stadium, Patnaik announced the opening of the facility ahead of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 beginning from 13 January 2023.

Rourkela is the second venue for the international event after the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

 

Rourkela will host 20 of the 44 matches while the remaining 24 matches, including the final, will be played at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

 

India's first match against Spain is scheduled to be played at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium here on January 13. Two days later, India will be up against England at the same venue.

 

The stadium named after eminent tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, was built at a cost of Rs 146 crore.

The total capacity of the stadium is 21,000 and it is the largest hockey stadium in the country. The facility is spread over 15 acres of land on the campus of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT).

 

The stadium was built by the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO). The foundation stone of the stadium was laid by the Odisha chief minister in February 2021..

Source : Business Standard