Month: January 2022

** Six Army men honoured with Shaurya Chakra for gallantry

Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal

Olympic gold medallist Subedar Neeraj Chopra was named for the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) on the eve of Republic Day, while six Army personnel, five of them posthumously, have been selected for the Shaurya Chakra, the third highest peacetime gallantry award, by the President and Supreme Commander of the Indian armed forces, Ram Nath Kovind.

Full list of Padma Awards 2022

A Defence Ministry statement said: “The President has approved awards of 384 Gallantry and other defence decorations to armed forces personnel and others on the eve of 73rd Republic Day celebrations.”

These include 12 Shaurya Chakras, 29 PVSMs, four Uttam Yudh Seva Medals, 53 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 13 Yudh Seva Medals, 125 Vishisht Seva Medals, 84 Sena Medals (Gallantry), two Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry), 40 Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), eight Nao Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), and 14 Vayu Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty).

Subedar Neeraj Chopra won the Olympic gold in javelin at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He enrolled in the 4th battalion of the Rajputana Rifles as a direct entry Naib Subedar on May 15, 2016.

Awarded for distinguished service of exceptional order, the PVSM is mostly awarded to officers of the Lieutenant General rank and equivalent, and rarely to officers of lower ranks, and even less so to Junior Commissioned Officers.

Also read: Gen. Rawat, Kalyan Singh awarded Padma Vibhushan

The five personnel conferred Shaurya Chakra posthumously are Naib Subedar M. Sreejith and Sepoy Maruprolu Jaswanth Kumar Reddy from the 17 Madras Regiment; Havildar Anil Kumar Tomar from the Rajput Regiment; Havildar Kashiray Bammanalli from the Corps of Engineers and with the 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR); and Havildar Pinku Kumar from the Jat Regiment and with the 34 RR.

The sixth Shaurya Chakra awardee is Rifleman Rakesh Sharma, 5 Assam Rifles.

All the six personnel have been awarded the Shaurya Chakra for their role in counter-insurgency operations, of which all five personnel awarded posthumously were for operations in Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC).

The sixth Shaurya Chakra awardee, Rifleman Sharma, was part of an ambush that took place after receiving information on the movement of insurgents for extortion and killing of civilians in a village in Assam in May 2021.

In addition, the President has awarded one President’s Tatrakshak Medal (PTM), three Tatrakshak Medals (TM) and one TM for meritorious service to Coast

** Google to invest up to $1 billion in a partnership with Airtel

The amount will include equity investment as well as a corpus for potential commercial agreements

Bharti Airtel and Google on Friday, January 28, 2022, said that they will partner on a long-term, multi-year agreement to accelerate the growth of India’s digital ecosystem, under which Google intends to invest up to USD 1 billion.

The amount is part of the USD 10 billion ‘Google for India Digitization Fund’, which was announced by CEO of Google and Alphabet Sundar Pichai in 2020, and will include equity investment as well as a corpus for potential commercial agreements, to be identified and agreed on mutually agreeable terms over the course of the next five years, the companies said in a statement.

** Philippines inks deal worth $375 million for BrahMos missiles

This is the first export order for missile developed jointly by India, Russia

Philippines on Friday signed a $374.96-million deal with BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd. for the supply of shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. This is the first export order for the missile, a joint product of India and Russia.

The contract was signed by Delfin N. Lorenzana, Defence Secretary of Philippines, and Atul Dinkar Rane, Director General of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., in a virtual ceremony at 2 p.m. Manila time (11:30 a.m. IST).

** DCGI gives nod to Bharat Biotech for intranasal booster dose trials

Experts have noted that an intranasal vaccine as a booster will be easier to administer in mass vaccination drives.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech approval for conducting Phase-III clinical trials of an intranasal booster dose for those who have received both doses of Covaxin.

Only the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli, certified batches shall be used in the clinical trials, which will be conducted at nine sites, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and Bihar. The Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored COVID-19 Vaccine (BBV154) is to be administered through an intranasal route and each single dose is 0.5 ml.

The trials will evaluate BBV154 intranasal vaccine for both the 2-dose primary schedule and booster dose schedule.

** India to convert 150 villages into ‘Villages of Excellence’ with technical help from Israel: Tomar

The Israel government has established 29 Centre of Excellence (CoEs) in 12 States

The Centre on Friday said it has decided to convert as many as 150 villages into ‘Villages of Excellence’ in 12 States with technical assistance from the Israel government.

Already, the Israel government has established 29 Centre of Excellence (CoEs) in 12 States, which are producing more than 25 million vegetable plants, over 3,87,000 quality fruit plants and can train more than 1.2 lakh farmers per year.

The 150 villages that are located around CoEs will be converted into ‘Villages of Excellence.’ “Out of which, 75 villages are being taken up in the first year to commemorate the 75th year of India’s independence, where India and Israel will work together,” Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar conveyed in a meeting with new Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon on January 27 here.

The Minister expressed joy over the completion of 30 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel and said that the government is satisfied with the functioning of 29 CoEs, according to an official statement.

The Ambassador of Israel, Mr. Gilon, said these CoEs are a great example of cooperation between the two countries and proposed the certification of CoEs to further enhance the standards and quality of services being provided to the farmers.

** 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.

* Ahead of Budget, V Anantha Nageswaran joins as Chief Economic Advisor

The new CEA was a part-time member of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council

The Government has appointed V Anantha Nageswaran as the Chief Economic Advisor, three days before the onset of the Budget session of Parliament.

On Friday, Mr. Nageswaran assumed charge of the position, which had been vacant since early December 2021 after the previous CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian returned to academia at the end of his three year-stint. The CEA is usually responsible for drafting the Economic Survey presented a day before the Budget.

A part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister between 2019 and 2021, the new CEA holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and a doctoral degree in Finance from the University of Massachusetts for his work on the empirical behaviour of exchange rates.

“Prior to this appointment, Dr. Nageswaran has worked as a writer, author, teacher and consultant. He has taught at several business schools and institutes of management in India and in Singapore and has published extensively. He was the Dean of the IFMR Graduate School of Business and a distinguished Visiting Professor of Economics at Krea University,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

* BEL to supply IoT devices to US firm

Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hyperion Global Group, an infrastructure telecommunication distribution company, have entered into a contract to develop, manufacture and supply Internet of Things (IoT) devices for the US market.

As per the contract, BEL will manufacture and supply IoT devices worth US $73 million to Hyperion, based in the US, during the first year of commencement of supply, with a provision to negotiate and supply upgrades of the products, worth US $365 million, in the next five years, said a statement issued by BEL.

The contract was signed on January 21, by BEL’s New York Regional Office and Hyperion in the presence of M V Rajasekhar, Director R&D, BEL, Nick Studebaker, CEO,

** 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.

** With creation of 13 new districts, AP now has 26 districts

The Andhra Pradesh (AP) government issued a preliminary notification for creation of 13 new revenue districts in exercise of its powers underSection.3 (5) of AP Districts (Formation) Act of1974on Wednesday.It called for submission of objections and suggestions from persons residing in those districts in writing within 30 days of this notification.

Once the final notificationis published, the total number of districts will go up to 26.As per a G.O. issuedby Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, the formation of new districts is to facilitate better administration and development of the areas concerned by diminishing/altering the boundaries of the respectivedistricts/revenue divisions.The proposed districts and their headquarters given in brackets:

Manyam district (Parvatipuram)

Alluri Sitarama Raju district (Paderu)

Anakapalli (Anakapalli)

Kakinada (Kakinada)

Konaseema (Amalapuram)

Eluru (Eluru)

NTR district (Vijayawada)

Bapatla (Bapatla)

Palnadu (Narsaraopet)

Nandyal (Nandyal)

Sri Satyasai district (Puttaparthy)

Annamayya district (Rayachoty)

Sri Balaji district (Tirupati).Sri Balaji district will have Tirupati division from Chittoor district and Gudur and Naidupet divisions from Nellore district.Eluru district will have Eluru and Jangareddygudem divisions currently in West Godavari district, and Nuzvid division from Krishna district. NTR district will consist of Vijayawada, Nandigama, and Tiruvuru divisions, all from the existing Krishna district.Nandyal, Dhone, and Atmakur divisions will form the Nandyal district. Sri Satyasai district will have Puttaparthy, Penukonda, and Dharmavaram divisions from Anantapur.

Annamayya district will have Madanapalli division from Chittoor district and Rayachoti and Rajampet divisions from Kadapa district.Manyam district will have Palakonda and Parvatipuram revenue divisions carved out of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts respectively.Alluri Sitarama Raju district is going to have Paderu and Rampachodavaram divisions from Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts.Anakapalli and Narsipatnam divisions, both from Visakhapatnam district, will constitute Anakapalli district. Kakinada district will have Kakinada and Peddapuram divisions from East Godavari (E.G) Amalapuram and Ramachandrapuram divisions in E.G will make the new Konaseema district.Bapatla district will have Chirala and Bapatla divisions from Prakasam and Guntur districts respectively. Palnadu district will comprise Gurazala and Narsaraopet divisions both from Guntur district.