1 National Shooting Championship: Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka pair win skeet mixed team title for Rajasthan
The pair of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka won the skeet mixed team title for their home state Rajasthan at the National Shooting Championship in New Delhi. The pair won 44-43 over Mairaj Ahmed Khan and Areeba Khan of Uttar Pradesh in the final played at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range . Punjab’s Ganemat Sekhon and Abhay Singh Sekhon won the bronze medal .
2 Governors of many states were changed, Arif Mohammad Khan was made the new Governor of Bihar
President Draupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Odisha Governor Raghuvar Das . Along with this, the President has also appointed governors in several states. All appointments will be effective from the date of assuming charge of the respective offices. According to the list released from the President’s Office on Tuesday evening, Mizoram Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati has been appointed Governor of Odisha . The President has appointed General Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh , PVSM, AVSM, YSM (Retd.) as Governor of Mizoram . Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has been appointed Governor of Bihar . Arif Mohammad Khan remains in the news a lot for his statements. In his place, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who was serving as the Governor of Bihar till now, has been appointed Governor of Kerala . The President has appointed former Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Governor of Manipur .
3 President Murmu will honor 17 children on ‘Veer Bal Diwas’
President Draupadi Murmu will honour 17 children with the National Bal Puraskar on 26 December on the occasion of Veer Bal Diwas . This will be the first time that the ‘National Bal Puraskar’ will be given on 26 December instead of Republic Day. All the winners will be given medals and citations. PM Modi will be present in this program of Veer Bal Diwas. This time 17 children from 14 states and union territories have been selected for this award. The 17 children include 7 boys and 10 girls . In this program, PM Modi will launch the ‘ Suposhit Panchayat Yojana ‘ and flag off the march past. Veer Bal Diwas is celebrated every year on 26 December. This day is dedicated to the martyrdom of Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh , both sons of the 10th Sikh Guru – Guru Gobind Singh Ji . On 9th January, 2022, on the occasion of Prakash Parv of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the Prime Minister had announced that ‘Veer Bal Diwas’ will be celebrated on 26th December to commemorate the martyrdom of Sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh, Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh.
4 PM laid the foundation stone of Ken-Betwa Link Project
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa Link Project in Khajuraho , Madhya Pradesh . This is the country’s first ‘ river linking project ‘. The aim of this scheme is to solve the drinking water problem of the people of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh . This will also increase the availability of water for irrigation. The PM also inaugurated the Omkareshwar Floating Solar Power Plant. A short film based on the life of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was screened. Under the Ken-Betwa Link Project, a dam with a height of 77 meters and a length of 2.13 kilometers will be built on the Ken River in the Panna Tiger Reserve . It will be called ‘ Daudhan Dam ‘. 2,853 million cubic meters of water will be stored in the dam by making two tunnels. Districts like Panna, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Niwari, Sagar, Raisen, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Datia of Madhya Pradesh will benefit from this project. At the same time, water will also be able to reach Mahoba, Jhansi, Lalitpur and Banda of Uttar Pradesh. Every year many parts of Bundelkhand face drought, while some parts face floods due to excess water. Efforts are being made to solve this problem under the ‘National Perspective Plan’. The suggestion to link rivers was first given by British general and irrigation engineer Sir Arthur Cotton in 1919. He was the Chief Engineer of Madras Presidency. On the occasion of the foundation stone laying of the project, Prime Minister Modi also released a postage stamp and a commemorative coin on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee . Let us tell you that 25 December was Atal ji’s 100th birth anniversary .
5 All India Acharya Ramchandra Shukla Criticism Award to Arun Bhagat
Sahitya Akademi , Madhya Pradesh Culture Council , Bhopal has announced to honour Dr Arun Kumar Bhagat with ‘ All India Acharya Ramchandra Shukla Alochana Samman ‘ for the calendar year 2022. Dr Bhagat has been awarded this All India Kriti Award for his book ‘ Journalista: Creative Writing and Creation Process ‘. It is worth noting that this honour of Rs one lakh has been given to Dr Bhagat jointly with Dr Karuna Shankar Upadhyay. This All India honour will be given to Dr Bhagat in a ceremony to be held in Bhopal. This book of Dr Bhagat was published by National Book Trust, Delhi in the year 2022, two editions of which have been published so far. This book is included in the syllabus of many universities including Delhi University.
6 Chinese company SHEIN returns to Indian market after 4 years
China ‘s famous fashion brand SHEIN is going to make a comeback in the Indian market after facing a ban of four years . It has got the support of businessman Mukesh Ambani ‘s Reliance Group . Shein has started testing and cataloging its collection on Reliance Retail’s online platform – Ajio . During the year 2020, the border dispute between India and China escalated. Due to this, the Indian government banned 50 Chinese apps including Shein in 2020. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had told in the Lok Sabha that Shein’s entire business will be on the indigenous retail platform, whose data it will not have access to. App-based e-commerce company Shein has a presence in more than 170 countries and has 5.3 crore users.
7 Punjab’s Ganimat wins second consecutive Skeet National title
In the 67th National Shooting Championship in Delhi , Ganemat Sekhon of Punjab has won for the second time in a row. Ganemat hit the target 50 times out of 60 and registered an easy win over her Chinese opponent. Olympic player Raiza Dhillon got bronze. On the other hand, in the men’s category, Bhavtegh Singh Gill won the senior national title for the first time. He shot 54 accurate shots in the final. Fatehbir Singh Shergill of Air India won silver and Mairaj Ahmed Khan of Uttar Pradesh won bronze. In the junior men’s category, Ishan Singh of Haryana won the title by defeating Bhavtesh Singh of Libra. In the junior women’s category, gold was won by Raiza Dhillon of Haryana and silver medal was won by Vanshika Tiwari of Madhya Pradesh. Yashasvi Rathore of Rajasthan won bronze.
8 Martina Devi won silver medal in women’s junior plus 87 kg category at the Asian Junior Weightlifting Championship
India’s Martina Devi won the silver medal in the women’s junior plus 87 kg category at the Asian Junior Weightlifting Championship in Doha . 18-year-old Martina from Manipur has secured second place by lifting a total of 225 kg . Martina has won silver in clean and jerk and bronze in snatch .
9 Jasprit Bumrah equals Ravichandran Ashwin’s highest rating record in ICC Test rankings
Fast bowler Jaspreet Bumrah has equaled Ravichandran Ashwin’s highest rating record in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings . Bumrah has a chance to break this record in the upcoming Melbourne Test. Bumrah achieved this feat after a brilliant performance of nine wickets in the Brisbane Test. After this, he has gained 14 rating points. Ashwin had received the same number of rating points in December 2016.
10 Birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born on 25 December 1924 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh . He was not only a politician but also a journalist and poet . Atal was the Prime Minister of the country thrice . For the first time in 1996, he became PM for 13 days. For the second time in 1998 , he held the post of PM for 13 months. On 13 October 1999, he took oath as Prime Minister for the third time and became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of the country to complete his term . When he became the Foreign Minister, he gave a speech in Hindi language in the United Nations and he was the first leader of the country to do so. It was India’s Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who made the world realize India’s nuclear power . Despite many international pressures, he conducted the Pokhran nuclear test and made India a nuclear power. He was awarded with awards like Padma Vibhushan in 1992 , Lokmanya Tilak Award in 1994 , Best MP Award and Govind Vallabh Pant Award . He was also awarded the country’s highest honor, Bharat Ratna, in December 2014 .
11 Famous Malayalam writer MT. Vasudevan Nair dies at the age of 91
Malayalam literature veteran and Jnanpith Award winner M.T. Vasudevan Nair passed away in Kozhikode, Kerala. He was 91 years old. The state government has announced two days of official mourning on December 26 and 27. He is considered one of the greatest writers of Malayalam and has also been the editor of Mathrubhumi weekly , a well-known magazine published from Kerala . Padma Bhushan awardee M.T. was an iconic figure in Malayalam literature and cinema. His contributions left an indelible mark in both fields earning him a reputation as one of the most celebrated writers of the Malayalam language. M.T. won four National Film Awards for screenwriting and directed seven films while scripting about 54 other films. In 2013 he was awarded the J.C. Daniel Award for lifetime achievement in Malayalam cinema. In 2022 he received the Kerala Jyothi Award, the highest civilian honour given by the Kerala government . MT was awarded the Jnanpith, India’s highest literary honour, in 1995 for his outstanding contribution to literature .
12 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pays tribute to martyred Brigadier Amitabh Jha on Syria-Israel border
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres paid tribute to India’s Brigadier General Amitabh Jha . Brigadier General Amit Jha was serving with UNDOF in the Golan Heights . Paying tribute, the UN Secretary-General said that he (Brigadier Amitabh Jha) will always be remembered for his leadership and unwavering commitment to UN peacekeeping. Brigadier Amitabh Jha was serving as the Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) since 2023. Recently, after the fall of the Assad government in Syria, he also served as the Acting Force Commander of UNDOF.