Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today unveils the second tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the world at Ahmedabad this morning.

50 feet tall bronze statue with the weight of 70 thousand kilograms has been unveiled at the Sardardham campus near Vaishnodevi circle in Ahmedabad. It has become the second highest statue of India’s first home home minister after the Statue of Unity of the legendary leader situated at Kevadiya in Narmada district of Central Gujarat.

AIR Ahmedabad correspondent reports that the 50 feet tall statue of Sardar Patel has also been designed by Padma Bhusan Ram V. Sutar, the same sculptor who had designed the Statue of Unity. After unveiling the statue Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that it was a matter of pride for Gujarat that both the highest and second highest statue of Sardar Patel, the architect of united India are situated in his home state.

Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will inaugurate the 28th edition of annual New Delhi World Book Fair on Saturday at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

The book fair organised by National Book Trust (NBT) will be held from January 4 to 12 in the national capital.

Eminent Gandhian scholar Girishwar Mishra  will be the chief guest on the occasion.

As part of Mahatma Gandhiji's 150 birth anniversary celebrations, the theme of this year is Gandhi:The Writers' Writer said Professor Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman , NBT.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been appointed the new chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland. Clinton, who has been a regular visitor to Northern Ireland going back to the first visit of President Bill Clinton in 1995, becomes the university's first female chancellor.

She will serve as chancellor for a five-year term, The Irish Times reported after quoting a statement issued by the varsity today. The position of chancellor has been vacant since the death in 2018 of Thomas J Moran, chairman, president, and chief executive of Mutual of America Life Insurance Company.

The Reserve Bank has launched a mobile application for aiding visually impaired persons to identify the denomination of Indian Banknotes.

In a press release issued from Mumbai, RBI said the “Mobile Aided Note Identifier - MANI” is capable of identifying the denominations of Mahatma Gandhi Series and Mahatma Gandhi (New) series banknote by checking front or reverse side of the notes, including half folded notes under broad range of light conditions.

Jeremy Lalrinnunga, who became the first Indian to win a gold at the Youth Olympic Games on 29th Dec, is now preparing for a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

The 17-year-old weightlifter from Mizoram has been making it to the headlines as he recently clinched a silver medal in men's 67 kg weightlifting category at the 6th International Qatar Cup with the total lift of 306 kg that broke 27 records in total.

Jeremy from Aizawl has been the recent talk among the public for his outstanding performance in sports, who won gold in the first and second edition of the Khelo India Games and the athlete competed in the 62kg and 67kg categories in both the editions respectively. 

The Indian Railways has integrated its helpline numbers into a single number -- 139 for quick grievance redressal and enquiries by passengers during their train journeys.

The new helpline number 139 will take over all the existing helpline numbers. It will be easy for passengers to remember this number and connect with Railways for all their needs during train travel.

The Helpline 139 will be available in twelve languages. It will be based on Interactive Voice Response System. A call can be made on this number from any mobile phone and not just smart phones, thus, providing easy access to all mobile users. 

The 5th Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) National Ice Hockey Championship -2020 has begun in Leh today. In the inaugural match in Under-20 Boys category between Chandigarh and Haryana, the contest ended in a draw with 4 goals each.

Similarly, the second match between Ladakh Scouts Regiment Centre and Delhi also ended in a draw with 2 goals each. 

Later in the afternoon Under-20 Girls match will be played between home team Ladakh and Maharashtra.

The tournament will continue till 7th January in Karzoo Ice Hockey Rink in Leh, where the Army, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and home team Ladakh are fighting for the championship in U-20 boys category.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and officials of the Khelo India Youth Games launched the torch relay of the competition in Guwahati on Sunday.

The tournament will be held between 10 January 2020 to 22 January 2020. Chief Minister Sonowal asked the people of Assam to create a fantastic environment for all the athletes who will be participating in the third Khelo India Youth Games.

“Athletes from all over the country will be coming to Guwahati for the Khelo India Youth Games. The competition is a great opportunity for our athletes. On behalf of the Assam people, I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju for all their support. I would like to ask the people of Assam to create an environment wherein all the athletes carry out their events in a fantastic manner,” said Sonowal.

NEW DELHI: ITBP Director General SS Deswal will now have “additional” charge of the country’s largest paramilitary force CRPF as the serving DG RR Bhatnagar retired on Tuesday. The Union Home Ministry issued an order for the same, stating Deswal, a 1984-batch Haryana cadre IPS officer, will hold the CRPF charge “till the appointment and joining of the successor or untill further orders, whichever is earlier.”

Bhatnagar, a 1983-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre Indian Police Service officer, is retiring after heading the Central Reserve Police Force for over 2.5 years. He was appointed CRPF Director General (DG) in April, 2017.

In Maharashtra, Udhdhav Thackeray-led Mahavikas Aghadi Government was expanded today.

NCP’s Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to the Ministers. Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Vijay Vadettivar, Varsha Gaikwad from Congress, Dilip Walse Patil, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Deshmukh, Hasan Mushrif, Dr. Rajendra Shingne from NCP were among those included today.

Under this first cabinet expansion, a total of 36 Ministers were administered oath today. Shivsena has ten Cabinet berths and 3 Ministers of State berths.