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Army Day is being conducted out of the national capital for the first time.

Eight marching contingents including a horse-mounted contingent from the Army Service Corps (ASC) and a military band comprising five regimental brass bands will be part of the 75th Army Day parade which is being held for the first time in Bengaluru on January 15.

The marching contingents are from Madras Engineering Group, Bombay Sappers, Regiment of Artillery, Mahar Regiment, Parachute Regiment and the Madras Regiment.

Unique traditions

The marching contingents are from Madras Engineering Group, Bombay Sappers, Regiment of Artillery, Mahar Regiment, Parachute Regiment and the Madras Regiment.

The parade will be supported by a fly-past of Army Aviation Dhruv and Rudra helicopters. | Photo Credit: PTI

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, General Officer Commanding, Karnataka and Kerala sub-area, Major General Ravi Murugan said each of these contingents represent regiments with glorious histories and unique traditions.

The parade will be supported by a fly-past of Army Aviation Dhruv and Rudra helicopters.

Besides, various weapon systems of the Indian Army like the K9 Vajra Self Propelled Guns, Pinaka Rockets, T-90 Tanks, BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, Tunguska Air Defence System, 155 mm Bofors Guns, Light Strike Vehicles, Swathi Radar and different assaults bridges will also be on static display.

Major General Murugan said the Army Day is being conducted out of the national capital for the first time as part of the Government of India’s initiative to take major events away from the National Capital Region to different parts of the country.

“This will lead to greater visibility for these events and larger involvement of the local citizens,” Major General Murugan said.

Increasing awareness

The army has reached out to the general public to increase awareness about the army and the significance of the Army Day.

The Army Day is being conducted out of the national capital for the first time as part of the Government of India’s initiative to take major events away from the National Capital Region to different parts of the country.

He added that towards fulfilling the aim of the event being conducted here in Bengaluru, the army has reached out to the general public to increase awareness about the army and the significance of the Army Day.

“We have invited people from all walks of life including students from schools (especially government schools), colleges, NCC candidates, children from orphanages to name a few. The response has been overwhelming. More than 11,000 local civilians have witnessed the parade during the pre-event displays thus far. We view this as a major achievement,” he said.

The Army Day parade will commence with a wreath laying ceremony at the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) war memorial by Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, to pay homage to all personnel who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

Gallantry awards

The Army Chief will then review the parade at the MEG & Centre parade ground and award gallantry awards for individual acts of bravery and sacrifice. In addition, Chief of the Army Staff Unit Citations will also be awarded to units for their exceptional performance under active operational circumstances.

A Military Tattoo is also organised on the evening of January 15, which will be attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Only on Saturday, she bagged gold at the National Weightlifting Championship at Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu in the 87 kg weight group in the snatch and clean and jerk categories.

Coming from a small village, Halaga, in Belagavi taluk, she faced near-insurmountable odds to take up weightlifting as a passion and reach new heights in the sport. But 22-year-old Akshata Baswant Kamati’s sheer willpower and her family’s support have helped her achieve some outstanding performances at national-level competitions.

Only on Saturday, she bagged gold at the National Weightlifting Championship at Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu in the 87 kg weight group in the snatch and clean and jerk categories. 

In fact, at Khelo India held in Pune, she set a record by lifting 176 kg in the 76 kg category and won gold at the junior national championship in the 81 kg category at the 32nd Women Junior National Weightlifting Championships at Bodh Gaya in Bihar.

Akash Kamati, her elder brother, said Akshata was in eighth standard at Sharada Girls High School in Halaga when the school started special coaching classes for weightlifting and she got fascinated by it. Initially, a few villagers told the family that weightlifting was not a sport for a girl. She would soon prove them wrong. When she was in tenth standard, she won gold at a national level competition, bringing laurels to the village and making villagers proud, he said.

Her father, Baswant, said his family owns 10 guntas of land which is divided among three brothers. Though the government looks after Akshata’s stay, coaching and food, her other expenses, including those needed for her special diet, proteins and incidentals, run up to over Rs 25,000 per month.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

Aiming to revolutionise prostate cancer detection and treatment, Apollo Hospital Seshadripuram has introduced a novel technology, MRI Fusion TRUS guided Trans-Perineal Targe­ted Biopsy, that enhances the accuracy of cancer detection by 95 to 97%.  Dr Manohar T, Chief of Urology at Apollo Hospital Seshadripuram, who has successfully conducted 42 procedures using MRI Fusion TRUS guided Trans-Perineal Targeted Biopsy, said, “In this procedure, one has to undergo multi-parametric MRI and contouring of the lesions which are suspected to be cance­rous, and prostate size is marked via a special software pack.

The image is then transferred to the special ultrasound done trans-rectally.” Explaining the benefits of this latest technology, Dr Manohar T said: “Early diagnosis is critical in improving the outc­o­mes. Conve­n­tional investigation methods miss the diagnosis by 35-45%.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

South Western Railway (SWR) has achieved the highest ever electrification of 712 route kilometre in a year and the highest ever originating gross revenue of ₹7,509 crore, General Manager of South Western Railway Sanjeev Kishore has said.

Addressing presspersons in Hubballi on Thursday, Mr. Sanjeev Kishore said that a major thrust has been given to high quality railway infrastructure and between January and December of 2022, new line has been laid for 22 km, while 210 km of line doubling has been completed.

In the present year (2023), doubling of the Londa-Miraj section and Hubballi-Chikjajur are targeted to be completed by February and March respectively, he said and added that this will mean that the entire railway section from Miraj to Bengaluru will be a double line.

He said that the railway zone has registered 94% punctuality and has also emerged as the best among the railway zones in terms of mobility improvement. The average speed of goods train has increased by 58% in the railway zone when compared to 2021, he said.

In terms of passenger revenue, the zone has registered the highest ever revenue of ₹2,534 crore. The highest ever automobile loading of 405 rakes, an increase of 70% over last year, has been achieved by the zone, he said.

Stands second

Mr. Sanjeev Kishore said that the railway zone stands second among all the railway zones in the country in key performance indices.

“Sangnal-Kushtagi (34 km) section of the Gadag-Wadi project, Karatagi-Sindhanur (18 km) section of Ginigera-Raichur new line project are targeted to be completed in 2023. Work is in progress in the Khajjidoni-Lokapur (9 km) section of the Bagalkot-Kudachi new line project. Further EPC tender has already being floated for the Lokapur-Yadavad section. The first phase (20 km) of the Tumakuru-Davangere project has already commenced,” he said.

Mr. Sanjeev Kishore said that for the convenience of people participating in the 86th Akhila Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelan in Haveri, special trains are being run between Benglauru and Hubballi with stoppage to Haveri. Seven long distance express trains have been given additional stoppages at Haveri, in addition to running DEMU special trains, he said.

Chief Public Relations Officer Aneesh Hegde and other officials were present.

source/content: thehindu.com

The chanting of Dhanvantari Mantra in group 108 times by 1,231 students and 63 employees of JSS Sri Manjunatheshwar English Medium School, Dharwad, has entered the India Book of Records.

The school organised the event to mark the 75th birthday of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Sri Veerendra Heggade last month.

On Tuesday, the certificate regarding an entry in the India Book of Records was formally handed over to JSS Secretary Ajit Prasad.

Addressing a gathering, Mr. Prasad said that events that imbibe cultural and moral values among children are the need of the hour as blind imitation of Western culture is adversely impacting the upbringing of the young in the country.

He said that it is important to note that an education system without culture and moral values will lead to creation of robot-like students. The record event like chanting of Dhanvantari Mantra will go a long way in inculcating values among children, he said.

Representative of India Book of Records Girish Banavi expressed happiness over the record attempt in which children chanted the Sanskrit shloka of Dhanvantari.

At a time when children are getting addicted to the use of mobile phones, such events are needed, he said.

School principal Usha Santosh, Mahaveer Upadhye, Nirmala Patil, Savitri Datade, Bharati Neeralakatti and others took part in the formal ceremony.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)