Aiming to significantly broaden the accessibility of football within the school setting for students, the Ministry of Education has tied up with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to distribute 11 lakh footballs across the country in a phased manner. The exercise is slated to benefit more than 1.5 lakh schools. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan doled out 6,848 footballs to be distributed to 1,260 schools in 17 districts of Odisha under the Footballs for Schools (F4S) programme on February 9.

The distribution of balls was launched by Mr. Pradhan in December in JNV Cuttack, Odisha. Besides the districts of Angul, Dhenkanal and Deogarh in Odisha, the footballs were also distributed in Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu in a phased manner.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the year-long celebrations commemorating the 200th birth anniversary of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi today. He also released a logo for commemoration.

Upon arriving at the venue, the Prime Minister walked past the panorama and live representations of Arya Samaj and also offered Ahuti Arpan in the ongoing Yagya. Later on, he handed over the LED Mashal to youth representatives as a symbolic carry forward of the spark ignited in this programme reinforcing the messages of Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati to the rest of India and the world.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister called the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati historic, an occasion to create a future and inspiration for the entire world. Referring to Maharishi Dayanand’s ideal of making the world a better place, the Prime Minister said in this era of discord, violence and instability, the path shown by Maharishi Dayanand gives hope.

In a bid to catalyze innovation and research within the renewable energy domain, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Sunday. The agreement is poised to bolster collaborative endeavors in innovation and research, facilitate technology transfer, and cultivate a thriving start-up ecosystem.

The partnership between IREDA and IIT Bhubaneswar will facilitate joint research ventures and technology exchange, and offer comprehensive support to budding start-ups. Additionally, it will encompass capacity-building initiatives such as training programs, seminars, and workshops to enhance the skills of IREDA personnel.

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on Sunday said that during the last 10 years, the government has been dedicated to the upliftment, pride, and respect of the tribal society. Addressing the Tribal Mahakumbh organized in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, he said that every guarantee of empowerment and development of tribes has been fulfilled by the double-engine government of BJP.

He said that tribal society is not a vote bank for us but they are the pride of the country and the guarantee of the country's bright future.

Mr Modi said that the BJP government has made a record increase in MSP on forest produce and has also increased the number of forest produce items under the ambit of MSP from 10 to 90 forest produce, he added that Van Dhan Kendras have been opened to provide new markets to tribal products.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced a Rs 200 crore package for kendu leaf pluckers and other associated workers. The package will benefit around nine lakh people mostly in western Odisha districts.

With this, Naveen has fulfilled several promises made by him for the kendu leaf workers during the Padampur bypoll in 2022. While 80 per cent of these beneficiaries are women, 95 per cent belong to SC, ST and OBC.

The state government has also waived state portion of the GST on kendu leaf. While it had consistently demanded waiver of GST on kendu leaf, the chief minister had also taken up the issue with the Centre several times but the latter reportedly did not respond.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the IIT-Bhubaneswar Research and Entrepreneurship Park's initiative that aims at creating 100 startups with a valuation of Rs 100 crore each by 2036. The minister took to his official X (formally Twitter) account and tweeted,

"Today is a landmark day for Odisha! With the inauguration of Research & Entrepreneurship Park of @iitbbs and #100CubeOdisha, we have laid the foundation to catalyse the entrepreneurial spirit of eastern India. The Konark Temple in Odisha is a symbol of architectural excellence, @100CubeOdisha will also be a 21st century temple that will encourage and support youth to dream big, innovate and create value."

Times have changed but transgender people continue to face numerous hurdles in getting recognition and acceptance in jobs. However, Sindhu Ganapathy, Tamil Nadu’s first trans train ticket examiner (TTE) who took charge at Dindigul railway station on Thursday, is hopeful that education and perseverance will herald a brighter future for the transgender community.

Hailing from Nagercoil, Sindhu joined Southern Railway in 2003 and first worked at Ernakulam, under Trivandrum division in Kerala. She was transferred to Dindigul under Madurai division in 2009. “I was initially working in the electrical department. Being a transgender person, I was quite worried as to how people around me would see me. However, Southern Railway Mazdoor Union and its office bearers supported me and I was motivated to do my best in work,” she told TOI.

The Assam cabinet, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has approved the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, to address the issue of magical healing practices in the name of treatment.

Crackdown on ‘magical healing’ fraud

Announcing the decisions made during the cabinet meeting at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati, Assam Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah emphasized that the proposed bill aims to provide relief to victims of fraudulent magical treatments. In case of any individual found guilty of engaging in illegal practices under the guise of treatment or magic healing, the bill prescribes imprisonment and fines.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday inaugurated the MeghFarm Processing Hub and Tikrikilla PRIME Hub at Khamari, Tikrikilla, West Garo Hills.

Speaking on the occasion, the Meghalaya Chief Minister said that wastage of agricultural produce has resulted in huge losses to farmers across the Garo Hills region.

"The MeghFarm Processing Hub with a capacity of 80 to 100 tons will ensure that the agricultural produce is preserved to the highest standards, extending its shelf life and enhancing its market value," he said and informed the project has been established at the cost of Rs 14.5 crore.

The Odisha government on Saturday hiked pension amount by Rs 500 for beneficiaries under the state government’s social security scheme, Madhu Babu Pension Yojana.

The minimum monthly pension amount under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana will be Rs 1,000 instead of Rs 500.

The beneficiaries will avail of the enhanced amount from February onwards. The pension holders who used to get Rs 500 would now avail Rs 1,000. The ones who were getting Rs 700 and Rs 900 would avail pension of Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,400 respectively.