Category: Women / Girls

** ‘Crorepati fakir’ is a crusader for girls’ education

At 95, Mathematician Dr Ghasiram Verma is full of enthusiasm. The nonagenarian, originally hailing from Sidi village of Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, is called a ‘crorepati fakir’ because he spent almost everything on girl child education. 

Today, thousands of girls have access to good education with his help and many school buildings have come up with his donations. Dr Ghasiram Verma has settled in America, but visits India for three months every year and spends Rs 50 lakh — half of his pension funds—on educating girls. So far, he has spent over Rs 10 crore on educating girls in his area. 

Rajasthan / USA

** This Tamil Nadu daily wage labourer woman is learning from loads to lift life’s bars high

Biceps of S Sangeetha do not waver as she loads 50 kgs of skins, de-haired and processed, onto trucks lining Vainyambadi’s tanneries. The 35-year-old woman loader is off carrying 50-kg drums of various chemicals around the industry. She is also no stranger to uncharacteristically silent markets at midnight, her muscles don’t get a fraction of rest as she unloads vegetables at Vellore.

It is almost dawn when Sangeetha heads home with Rs 200 after a long day of lifting heavy goods. But this experience and hard work have come handy as she is now the first woman bodybuilding champion in her area.

** TNJFU celebrates Republic Day by presenting awards of excellence

Dr. M.G.R. Fisheries College adjudged the Best Performing Institute

Presentation of awards of excellence marked the 73rd Republic Day celebration at the Tamil Nadu Dr. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, on Wednesday.

Unfurling the tricolour Vice-Chancellor G. Sugumar presented the Best Teacher award to F. Parthiban, and Young Researcher Award to D. Kesavan and Mir Ishafaq Nazir.

The Best Extension Worker award was presented to V. Kannan of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sikkal and the Best Non-teaching Staff awards were given to M. Vasantha Kumari and P. Sumathi.

The Dr. M.G.R. Fisheries College and Research Institute was adjudged the Best Performing Institute for 2020-21.

** Full list of Padma Awards 2022

In 2022, the President has approved conferment of 128 Padma Awards including 2 duo case

The Padma Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year.

In 2022, the President has approved conferment of 128 Padma Awards including 2 duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises 4 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri Awards. 34 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 Posthumous awardees.

Padma Vibhushan (4)

NameFieldState/Country
Ms. Prabha AtreArtMaharashtra
Shri Radheyshyam Khemka (Posthumous)Literature and EducationU.P.
General Bipin Rawat (Posthumous)Civil ServiceUttarakhand
Shri Kalyan Singh (Posthumous)Public AffairsUttar Pradesh

Padma Bhushan (17)

NameFieldState/Country
Shri Ghulam Nabi AzadPublic AffairsJammu and Kashmir
Shri Victor BanerjeeArtWest Bengal
Ms. Gurmeet Bawa (Posthumous)ArtPunjab
Shri Buddhadeb BhattacharjeePublic AffairsWest Bengal
Shri Natarajan ChandrasekaranTrade and IndustryMaharashtra
Shri Krishna Ella andSmt. Suchitra Ella* (Duo)Trade and IndustryTelangana
Ms. Madhur JafferyOthers-CulinaryUSA
Shri Devendra JhajhariaSportsRajasthan
Shri Rashid KhanArtUttar Pradesh
Shri Rajiv MehrishiCivil ServiceRajasthan
Shri Satya Narayana NadellaTrade and IndustryUSA
Shri Sundararajan PichaiTrade and IndustryUSA
Shri Cyrus PoonawallaTrade and IndustryMaharashtra
Shri Sanjaya Rajaram (Posthumous)Sci and EnggMexico
Ms. Pratibha RayLiterature and EducationOdisha
Swami SachidanandLiterature and EducationGujarat
Shri Vashishth TripathiLiterature ane EducationUttar Pradesh

Padma Shri (107)

NameFieldState/Country
Shri Prahlad Rai AgarwalaTrade and IndustryWest Bengal
Prof. Najma AkhtarLiterature and EducationDelhi
Shri Sumit AntilSportsHaryana
Shri T Senka AoLiterature and EducationNagaland
Ms. Kamalini Asthana andMs. Nalini Asthana* (Duo)ArtUttar Pradesh
Shri Subbanna AyyappanScience and EngineeringKarnataka
Shri J K BajajLiterature and EducationDelhi
Shri Sirpi BalasubramaniamLiterature and EducationTamil Nadu
Srimad Baba BaliaSocial WorkOdisha
Ms. Sanghamitra BandyopadhyayScience and EngineeringWest Bengal
Ms. Madhuri BarthwalArtUttarakhand
Shri Akhone Asgar Ali BasharatLiterature and EducationLadakh
Dr. Himmatrao BawaskarMedicineMaharashtra
Shri Harmohinder Singh BediLiterature and EducationPunjab
Shri Pramod BhagatSportsOdisha
Shri S Ballesh BhajantriArtTamil Nadu
Shri Khandu Wangchuk BhutiaArtSikkim
Shri Maria Christopher ByrskiLiterature and EducationPoland
Acharya ChandanajiSocial WorkBihar
Ms. Sulochana ChavanArtMaharashtra
Shri Neeraj ChopraSportsHaryana
Ms. Shakuntala ChoudharySocial WorkAssam
Shri Sankaranarayana Menon ChundayilSportsKerala
Shri S DamodaranSocial WorkTamil Nadu
Shri Faisal Ali DarSportsJ&K
Shri Jagjit Singh DardiTrade and IndustryChandigarh
Dr. Prokar DasguptaMedicineU.K.
Shri Aditya Prasad DashScience and EngineeringOdisha
Dr. Lata DesaMedicineGujarat
Shri Malji bhai DesaiPublic AffairsGujarat
Ms. Basanti DeviSocial WorkUttarakhand
Ms. Lourembam Bino DeviArtManipur
Ms. Muktamani DeviTrade and IndustryManipur
Ms. Shyamamani DeviArtOdisha
Shri Khalil Dhantejvi (Posthumous)Lit. and EducationGujarat
Shri Savaji Bhai DholakiaSocial WorkGujarat
Shri Arjun Singh DhurveArtMadhya Pradesh
Dr. Vijaykumar Vinayak DongreMedicineMaharashtra
Shri Chandraprakash DwivediArtRajasthan
Shri Dhaneswar EngtiLit. and EducationAssam
Shri Om Prakash GandhiSocial WorkHaryana
Shri Narasimha Rao GarikapatiLit. and EducationAndhra Pradesh
Shri Girdhari Ram Ghonju (Posthumous)Lit. and EducationJharkhand
Shri Shaibal Gupta (Posthumous)Lit. and EducationBihar
Shri Narasingha Prasad GuruLit. and EducationOdisha
Shri Gosaveedu Shaik Hassan (Posthumous)ArtAndhra Pradesh
Shri Ryuko HiraTrade and IndustryJapan
Ms. Sosamma IypeAnimal HusbandryKerala
Shri Avadh Kishore JadiaLit. and EducationMadhya Pradesh
Ms. Sowcar JanakiArtTamil Nadu
Ms. Tara JauharLit and EducationDelhi
Ms. Vandana KatariaSportsUttarakhand
Shri H R KeshavamurthyArtKarnataka
Shri Rutger KortenhorstLit and EducationIreland
Shri P Narayana KurupLit and EducationKerala
Ms. Avani LekharaSportsRajasthan
Shri Moti Lal MadanSci and EngineeringHaryana
Shri Shivnath MishraArtUttar Pradesh
Dr. Narendra Prasad Misra (Posthumous)MedicineMadhya Pradesh
Shri Darshanam MogilaiahArtTelangana
Shri Guruprasad Mohapatra (Posthumous)Civil ServiceDelhi
Shri Thavil Kongampattu A V MurugaiyanArtPuducherry
Ms. R MuthukannammalArtTamil Nadu
Shri Abdul Khader NadakattinGrassroots InnovationKarnataka
Shri Amai Mahalinga NaikAgricultureKarnataka
Shri Tsering NamgyalArtLadakh
Shri A K C NatarajanArtTamil Nadu
Shri V L NghakaLit. and EducationMizoram
Shri Sonu NigamArtMaharashtra
Shri Ram Sahay PandayArtMadhya Pradesh
Shri Chirapat PrapandavidyaLit and EducationThailand
Ms. K V RabiyaSocial WorkKerala
Shri Anil Kumar RajvanshiSci and EngineeringMaharashtra
Shri Sheesh RamArtUttar Pradesh
Shri RamachandraiahArtTelangana
Dr. Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana RaoMedicineAndhra Pradesh
Ms. Gamit Ramilaben RaysingbhaiSocial WorkGujarat
Ms. Padmaja ReddyArtTelangana
Guru Tulku RinpocheSpiritualismArunachal Pradesh
Shri Brahmanand SankhwalkarSportsGoa
Shri Vidyanand SarekLit and EducationHimachal Pradesh
Shri Kali Pada SarenLit. and EducationWest Bengal
Dr. Veeraswamy SeshiahMedicineTamil Nadu
Ms. Prabhaben ShahSocial WorkDadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Shri Dilip ShahaniLit and EducationDelhi
Shri Ram Dayal SharmaArtRajasthan
Shri Vishwamurti ShastriLit. and EducationJ&K
Ms. Tatiana Lvovna ShaumyanLit. and EducationRussia
Shri Siddhalingaiah (Posthumous)Lit. and EducationKarnataka
Shri Kaajee SinghArtWest Bengal
Shri Konsam Ibomcha SinghArtManipur
Shri Prem SinghSocial WorkPunjab
Shri Seth Pal SinghAgricultureUttar Pradesh
Ms. Vidya Vindu SinghLit. and EducationUttar Pradesh
Baba Iqbal Singh JiSocial WorkPunjab
Dr. Bhimsen SinghalMedicineMaharashtra
Shri SivanandaYogaUttar Pradesh
Shri Ajay Kumar SonkarSci and EngineeringUttar Pradesh
Ms. Ajita SrivastavaArtUttar Pradesh
Sadguru Brahmeshanand Acharya SwamiSpiritualismGoa
Dr. Balaji Tambe (Posthumous)MedicineMaharashtra
Shri Raghuvendra TanwarLit and EducationHaryana
Dr. Kamlakar TripathiMedicineUttar Pradesh
Ms. Lalita VakilArtHimachal Pradesh
Ms. Durga Bai VyamArtMadhya Pradesh
Shri Jyantkumar Maganlal VyasSci and EngineeringGujarat
Ms. Badaplin WarLit and EducationMeghalaya

Note: * In Duo case, the Award is counted as one.

** Virudhunagar girl gets award from Modi for her invention

For her ‘floating house’ that can be used to save lives during flood

A Virudhunagar girl, N.C. Vishalini, received Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a function held through video conference mode, at the Collectorate here on Monday.

The award carries a citation and a purse of ₹ 1 lakh. The girl, daughter of M. Naresh Kumar and R. Chithrakala, has been selected for the award given to children aged under 18, for her invention – automatic functional life rescue flood house. She is a student of Delhi School of Excellence, Attapur, Hyderabad.

Her invention, a floating house contraption, can be used to save the lives of vulnerable section of people such as children, pregnant women, aged and the physically challenged, pets and important objects during flood.

TamilNadu

** Seven-year-old Jewel from Kerala, set for Guinness record in swimming

 When Jewel Mariam Basil embarked on her first swim outside a pool, little did the seven-year-old fully comprehend the scale of her potential achievement. By the end of it all, she is set to write her name into the book of Guinness World Records. Her parents, on the other hand, always believed their daughter’s love for swimming could be channelled into something special. 

** The reporters who cover the remotest parts of rural India have now reached the Oscars

As a documentary on news network Khabar Lahariya makes it to the Oscars, we look at a few news networks that report from the most neglected parts of rural India

Winter is setting in, and the pilgrimage centre on the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh border is yet to shake off its slumber when Sunita and I set out for Gadhchapa village in Uttar Pradesh. Sunita, a reporter with Khabar Lahariya, a multi-lingual news network run by rural women journalists, has traveled an hour by bus from her house in Kol Majra village to reach Karwi town.

Khabar Lahariya is one among a clutch of news outlets and organisations — including the Gaon Connection, People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), and Lantern Marathi — that are reporting from the most abjectly neglected parts of rural India where most journalists don’t tread.

** Samanvi bags The Hindu & SaReGaMa M.S. Subbulakshmi Award, 2021

Udupi student pips four finalists for Voice of the Year prize

Samanvi, a second year B. A. student from Udupi, was on Friday awarded The Hindu & SaReGaMa M.S. Subbulakshmi Award, 2021, Voice of the Year, presented by Parry’s Amrit Brown Sugar at the Grand Finale held at The Music Academy here.

“I plan to pursue music as a career,” said the youngster who has been undergoing training with Guru V. Aravinda Hebbar in Gurukulavasam and under Chitravina N. Ravikiran.

Ms. Samanvi, who has been learning and performing along with her long-time friend Archana, will get to record an album with SaReGaMa.

The award was presented by Aruna Sairam, renowned Carnatic vocalist and guru, and Navaneeth L.V., CEO, The Hindu Group.

** Google doodle honours educator Fatima Sheikh on her 191st birth anniversary

Fatima Sheikh played an instrumental role in co-founding one of India’s first school for girls, alongside Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule.

Google on January 9, 2022, honoured educator and social reformer Fatima Sheikh, on her 191st birth anniversary with a doodle on their homepage.

Sheikh who according to a statement by Google is regarded to be “India’s first Muslim woman teacher,” played an instrumental part in co-founding the Indigenous Library alongside Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule in 1848.

** Captain Harpreet Chandi becomes first Indian-Origin woman to reach South Pole solo in 40 days

Harpreet Chandi completed her solo journey to the South Pole on the 40th day after traveling 700 miles. Captain Harpreet Chandi started her preparations in French Alps where she underwent the crevasse training. She also trekked across Langjökull Glacier in Iceland and spent 27 days on the Icecap in Greenland.