The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department has bagged e-Puraskar Award for the best performance in empowering panchayats by using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools, for 2016-17.
Kerala bagged the second prize, while West Bengal secured third prize in the category of ICT tools. The cash prize for the first position is Rs. 2 crore, Rs. 1 crore for second position and Rs. 50 lakh for third position.
RDPR Minister H.K. Patil and Department Principal Secretary Nagambikadevi received the award from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Monday.
The State bagged the award for its Ganshi Sakshi Kayak GPS-enabled ICT tool. Ministry of Panchayat Raj has been conferring e-Puraskar for bringing in transparency, efficiency and accountability in the functioning of panchayats through ICT tools.
The Kodagu Zilla Panchayat bagged the Deendayal Award for empowering panchayats.
In the taluk panchayat category, Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district and Puttur Taluk Panchayat of Dakshina Kannda district have bagged prizes.
In the gram panchayat category, the Malige Gram Panchayat of Theerthahalli taluk of Shivamogga; Siraguppi GP of Athani taluk in Belagavi district; Palibetta GP of Virajpet taluk in Kodagu; and Sampaje GP of Madikeri taluk, bagged the awards.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / April 25th, 2017
Following the many team’s of the T20 League celebrating their 10-year anniversary, Kolkata soon followed suit and threw a lavish bash for its players. Team’s co-owner Shah Rukh Khan was seen attending the event with his youngest son, AbRam.Robin Uthappa and Sheethal Gautham
While the party was attended by all the players of the Kolkata team, several took to attending the event with their better halves. Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa was seen alongside talented tennis star wife, Sheethal Gautham.
Sporting short hair, unlike her previous look, Sheethal was also spotted wearing the same attire that she wore on the day of the duos engagement in 2015. While Robin and Sheethal had a gala time at the event, cricket Umesh Yadav was also seen alongside his wife Tanya Wadhwa and SRK posing for the cameras.
Having finished in the top 4, Kolkata will be battling against the Hyderabad team on the 17th of May followed by a match with the first qualifier. Considering the team has proven its stand in the 10th season of the T20 league, their 10-year bash seemed well deserved.
source: http://www.daily.bhaskar.com / Daily Bhaskar / Home> News / by Jasmine Philip / May 17th, 2017
Regulating the indiscriminate use of chicory — used as an additive with coffee powder — is high on the agenda of the new chairman of the Coffee Board of India, M.S. Boje Gowda, a third-generation coffee planter from Chikkamagaluru district, who took charge on Wednesday.
“The farmer grows coffee in its pure form. But by the time it reaches the consumer, there is heavy addition of chicory deforming it. We don’t know how much chicory is added in the branded packaged coffee powder as well,” he said adding that he would discuss the issue with all stakeholders and even explore legal options to ban the addition of chicory to coffee powder.
“If the consumers want chicory let them buy it as chicory and add it. There will be choice for consumers as well,” he said.
When asked whether the Coffee Board of India had the teeth to enforce such a regulation, he said they would work with the Union government towards the end.
Mr. Gowda is the first coffee grower to become the Chairman of the Board after a gap of 70 years. In the past, the post was held by bureaucrats.
Coffee planters from across the State, who came to the city as he took charge on Wednesday, expressed immense hope of their problems being solved with a coffee planter as the chairman.
Apart from monitoring the use of chicory, Mr. Gowda said that his aim is also to increase domestic consumption of coffee while doubling the yield in the country.
“The per capita consumption of coffee is just around 200 grams and is mainly concentrated in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. We should work towards branding coffee and spread consumption to other parts of the country,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set a target to double the annual coffee production in the country from 3 lakh tonnes to 6 lakh tonnes.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – May 18th, 2017
Chendanda rode on a brace from Olympian Nikkin Thimmaiah to clinch their maiden title in Kodava family hockey tornament on Sunday. In the finals of Biddatanda Cup held at Gen K S Thimayya Stadium at Cheriyaparambu, Chendanda recorded a facile 4-1 win against Paradanda.
Chendanda took an early lead with team India forward Nikkin Thimmaiah sounding the board in the fifth minute. Nikkin doubled the lead with a fine field goal in the 10th minute. Paradanda pulled one back after Dheeraj Muthanna converted a penalty corner. But Chendanda produced a clinical performance and sealed the deal with a goal each from Chirag and Sonu Ponnamma.
Chendanda, who lost in the finals of the 2015 edition of the tournament (Kuppanda Cup) against Palanganda, played a percentage game from the word go and made sure to end the title drought in thye coveted tournament. The winners took home a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh and a trophy while Paradanda pocketed a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lkah and Runners-up trophy. As many as 306 teams had enrolled for the 21st edition of the tournament. Of which, 301 teams featured in the hockey festival of Kodavas held for over a month. Six other teams which had made it to last-eight round – Palanganda, Anjaparuvanda, Koothanda, Nellamakkada, Mandepanda and Karineravanda were given Rs 25,000 each.
Biddatanda family Pattedar Prof Biddatanda C Ponnappa presided over the presentation ceremony. Earlier in the day, the title clash was inaugurated by Lt Col B K Subramani. District-In-charge Minister M R Seetharam, Rajya Sabha member B K Hariprasad, MLCs Veena Acchaiah, Sunil Subramani, MLAs K G Bopaiah, Appacchu Ranjan, Deputy Commissioner Dr Vincent D’Souza and others were present.
Pandanda M Kuttappa handed over flag to Kulletira who will host the 2018 edition of Kodava family hockey tournament. English Band team of Mysuru and the students of Ninada enthralled the audience with a fine performance. The bike stunts by the Yuvaka Sangha of Bittangala was another attraction.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / Napoklu – DH News Service / May 15th, 2017
The world No 14 recently beat her compatriot and doubles partner Dipika Pallikal Karthik to become the first Indian to win the Asian Squash Championship.
IANS
“It was special.”
Joshna Chinappa is on a high. Last month, she beat her compatriot and doubles partner Dipika Pallikal 13-15, 12-10, 11-13, 11-4, 11-4 in Chennai to achieve a significant milestone: the first Indian to win the Asian Squash Championship.
It’s an achievement she has eyed for a long time. “It was something I have wanted to win in my career,” Chinappa told Scroll.in. “There is always added pressure playing at home.”
Taking the squash world by storm
It has been an enthralling past 12 months for the 30-year-old. Chinappa broke into the top-10 in July last year and reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship, becoming the second Indian to do so after Pallikal. She lost 6-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 3-11 to world No 3 Camille Serme of France in the quarter-final. “My run in the World Championship was fairly good and each match was harder than the first,” said Chinappa. “However, I am really grateful to be doing what I do.”
In November 2015, Chinappa beat the world No 2 Raneem el Welily. Currently ranked 14th in the world, her recent win has given her the desire to get better. However, she feels that to beat the top players in the world, a lot of work has to be done. “It is not easy just breaking into the top-five,” she said. “We [Indians] can definitely do it. But for that we need more support from the time we start our careers and continued support till we our done playing. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been that way, though it has improved over the past few months.”
A coach does help
For a major part of her career, Chinappa travelled to tournaments without a coach. However, with Achraf El Karagui now in her corner, Chinappa seems to have taken her a game a notch higher. “I have worked with some of the best coaches at different stages in my career who have all contributed to my game,” she said. “My dad [Anjan Chinappa] and Ritwik Bhattacharya have been the biggest influences. It’s great to have Achraf as part of our team. He is very committed towards helping us and he understands the game really well. He has been able to add more to my game in the past six months.”
But has the move come a little too late? “It has been tough to play without a coach in my corner for the most part of my squash career,” she added. “Though, if my teammates are around we help each other. But it is something I got use too. However, it is always nice to have your team be there for your matches.”
Beating and also playing with Pallikal
Coming into the Asian Championship, Pallikal had a 3-0 win record against Chinappa. So, for Chinappa to beat Pallikal was an extraordinary feat. “Dipika and I are the only ones on tour from India in the women’s circuit, so it is natural to know each other well,” Chinappa said. “We know each other’s game inside out. We also train together most of the time. I enjoy playing doubles with her and we both love playing for India as a team. It works both ways.”
However, the duo will team up once again to defend their doubles gold at the Commonwealth Games next year and are also playing together for the Asian Games. “I look forward to playing with Dipika at the CWG and defending our gold medals,” said Chinappa.
The road ahead
Following her Asian Championship win, Chinappa is back to the grind and slogging it out as she prepares for the World Doubles Championship in Manchester in August. She is back to training and hopes to stay injury-free for the next two years at least. “I train six days a week, twice a day,” she said. “It is usually a combination of squash, weights and on-court fitness. I have an early start and my day usually ends around 7.30 pm after all the training. I have the world doubles in Manchester in the first week of August. I hope to be injury-free and healthy during the next season.” However, she did not reveal her ultimate goal in the sport. “There are certain things I would like to achieve in my career, but for now it is still a secret,” she said.
Growth of squash
Talking about the growth of squash in India, Chinappa, who idolises former athlete PT Usha, said that things are slowly but steadily changing for the better. “Squash has definitely grown a lot more in the past few years,” she said. “The Sports Authority of India, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, and the Squash Rackets Federation of India have been a lot more supportive in the past two years. There are so many juniors coming up. Of course we can improve the game further, so we can really reach the grassroot level and kids from smaller towns. We need to give them facilities and support their career financially if we want to see more results.”
We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in
source: http://www.thefield.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> The Field / by Bibhash Chatterjee / May 17th, 2017
M.R. Poovamma clocked 52.66 seconds as she beat Jisna Mathew by one hundredth of a second for the women’s 400 metres gold in the second Indian Grand Prix athletics at the Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.
Arokia Rajiv won the men’s 400m, which was run in three different parts, with a time of 46.94. He was nowhere near the 45.50 mark to meet the qualification standard for the World Championships in August.
World junior champion and record holder Neeraj Kumar threw the javelin to 80.49m for the gold, comfortably ahead of Abhishek Singh (74.65). The first throw was his best as Neeraj followed up with 75.84, 77.81, 79.29, 79.93 and 79.01.
Devender Singh, who had clinched the World Championship berth at Patiala with 84.57m, did not compete.
Around 4,800 players will participate in Kodava community’s event
The Kodava community’s craze for hockey is as legendary as their participation in the Indian army.
This love for the sport is celebrated by the people of Kodagu with an annual hockey festival, where family teams from the community get together to test each other’s dribbling skills.
This year’s festival will have a special resonance as the organisers are making a bid to enter the Guinness World Records for the most number of participants at a hockey event.
The festival which started in 1996 with 60 teams will see the participation of 306 hockey family teams this year.
Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Ramesh, the organizer of the festival, said, “This year, we have more than 300 teams, which means that 4800 players will be articipating. Theirs is a Guinness Record for 4000 players taking part in a tournament. This event will break that record.”
Ramesh also said that they have already entered the Limca Book of Records in 2004 for participation of more than 281 teams in the festival.
Speaking about the significance of the event, Ramesh said that it has become a cultural festival for the Kodavas.
“We never call it a hockey tournament, but we call it a hockey festival. It is the 21st year of the celebrations and it has become a cultural milestone for the Kodavas,” he said.
About the festival
* The hockey festival in Kodagu was started by Pandanda Kuttappa and Kashi Brothers at Karada in 1996.
* Kuttappa and Kashi Brothers also founded the Kodava Hockey Academy in 1997 and continuing to be the founder president for the academy till now.
* The festival follows the international rules for hockey.
* It also encourages the participation of women and senior members in the hockey team.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> States / by Bangalore Mirror Bureau / May 12th, 2017
The Centre for Information Education Development Studies (CIEDS) Collective will soon organise a memorial event to pay tributes to Chalam Bennurkar, a pioneer of documentary film making in Karnataka, who passed away recently.
Film societies are also planning to hold a festival of documentaries made by him. The 62-year-old filmmaker was found dead at a pond in Bagur, Chitradurga district.
He had gone missing for a few days and his wife Kalpana had filed a missing person complaint.
Chalam’s Kutty Japanin Kuzhandaigal (Children of Mini Japan), a Tamil documentary on labour conditions in Sivakashi, had won Golden Dove award at International Leipzig Festival of Documentary and Animation Film (Germany) and Citizen’s Prize and Prize of Encouragement at Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival Japan in in 1991. “Through this documentary Chalam took images of land to different platforms across the world. He brought value to the serious documentary films in Karnataka,” says Kesari Harvoo, filmmaker.
Chalam had taken up various social issues, especially about women, through his films. He was instrumental in organising film festival on women’s issues in Bengaluru Film societies in 70s.
He was also known as the voice of trangenders because of his documentary All About Our Famila.
He also worked with Amitabh Chakraborty for Bishar Blues about Bengali Fakirs which undertakes a journey to understand Marfat, indigenous form of Islam in Sufi tradition.
He also made documentary on Kunde Habba, a unique festival of the tribal people in Kodagu and Naave Yeravara on the Yerava community.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – May 08th, 2017
The central government on Thursday appointed Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah as Chairman of Kolkata-based Tea Board and M.S. Boje Gowda as Chairman of Bengaluru-based Coffee Board.
Bezboruah has been serving as the Chairman of Tea Research Association and Gowda is a well-known coffee grower.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the proposal to appoint them, an order of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
Bezboruah is appointed for the period up to November 1, 2018, while Gowda will have a tenure up to December 14, 2018.
“Necessary communication in this regard has been sent to the Department of Commerce,” the DoPT said.
The Tea Board is entrusted with a supervisory role for tea industry, while the Coffee Board takes care of the interests of coffee growers.
–IANS
bdc/nir
source: http://www.canindia.com / CanIndia.com / Home> Business> Economy / IANS / by CanIndia New Wire Services / May 04th, 2017
It was a proud moment for OneIndia as our special correspondent Vicky Nanjappa bagged the award of ‘best journalist (digital)’ at the Eighth Edition of Newsmakers Achievers’ Awards. The event was held in Mumbai on May 1. Unlike any, the event this year was dedicated to the acid attack victims. Vicky Nanjappa was recognised for his contribution to the field of journalism in the last 18 years. Achievers from various fields like education, art, science, politics etc were also recognised and awarded on World Labour Day.
While celebrating achievers from various fields, the Newsmakers Achievers’ Awards did its little for those in need. The highlight of the event was the financial assistance provided to children of sex workers apart from contributions to acid attack survivors. “I have undergone eight surgeries and two more will follow. I hope the accused should be awarded stringent punishment. Life is full of obstacles but one should struggle hard to overcome all obstacles,” said Aarti Thakur, a 27-year-old acid attack survivor.
Daultabi Khan, a 34-year-old victim of acid attack said, “I have to undergo huge hardships after the acid attack. I have lost vision in my one eye both my ears are deformed. I will utilise this money for treatment purpose.” Achievers of 2017 During the event, several persons from the media, academic and political sector were honoured including OneIndia’s Vicky Nanjappa for journalism. Pandit Birju Maharaj and Pradeep Welankar were honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award while Diwakar Raote received the Best Politician Award.
Aasha Warriar was honoured with the Best Spiritual Leader award while Dr Mukesh Batra bagged the best doctor award. Dr Deepak Bhosale received the best Educationist award. Roxy Arora was honoured with the best Author award. Virag Gupta received the best lawyer award. Namrata Thakker was honoured with the Best Social Entrepreneur award.
Deep Haider received the Best Journalist (Editor) award. Rashid Hashmi was felicitated with the Best News Anchor award. Varun Singh received the Best Journalist (Print) award. Anil Nagpal received the Best Photographer award. Nandita Venkatesan was felicitated with Best Writer/Reporter award.
Asha Mamedi bagged the Best Social Worker jury award. Sushant Divgikar was felicitated with Best VJ award. Siddharth Nigan received the Best Child Artist award. Meghna Malik was felicitated with the Best Actress award. Darshan Kumaar received the Best Actor award. Lubna Adams bagged the Best Fashion Choreographer award and Ssumier S. Pasricha received the Best Comedian award. Dolly Parekh was felicitated with Best Fashion Designer award.
Samidha Guru was honoured with the Best Marathi Actress award while Kishor Kadam bagged the Best Marathi Actor award.
“This year award function is special for us as we have tried to make a small difference in the lives of acid attack victims and sex workers daughters’ lives. By lending a helping hand to them we will rebuild their lives,” said Vaidehi Taman, Group Editor of NBC. OneIndia News
source: http://www.oneindia.com / OneIndia / Home> News> India / by Anusha Ravi / Wednesday – May 03rd, 2017
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