Government appoints Lt General Anil Chauhan as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

 The Government has decided to appoint Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who shall also function as Secretary to Government of India, Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders. In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan had held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir and North-East India.

In addition to these command appointments, the officer also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military Operations. Earlier, the officer had also served as a United Nations mission to Angola. The officer superannuated from the Indian Army on 31 May 2021. Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters. For his distinguished and illustrious service in the Army, Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.

36th National Games open in Ahmedabad

 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi declared the 36th National Games open at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. During the event, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the world-class “Swarnim Gujarat Sports University” in Desar. The Prime Minister also addressed the athletes from across the country who are taking part in the National Games.

National Games are being held in the state of Gujarat for the very first time. It will be organised from 29th September to 12th October 2022. Nearly 15,000 sportspersons, coaches, and officials from across the country will be participating in 36 sports disciplines, making it the biggest National Games ever. The sporting events will be organised in six cities of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar. Under the leadership of the then Chief Minister and the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat embarked on the journey to create a robust sports infrastructure of international standards, which helped the state to prepare for the games in a very short span of time.

Madhabi Puri Buch takes over as Sebi chief

 Madhabi Puri Buch took over as the Chairperson of capital markets regulator Sebi, succeeding Ajay Tyagi who completed his five-year term. Buch, the first woman to head the important financial regulator and also the first non-bureaucrat to lead it in many years, was appointed by the government for a three-year term.

Professor Neena Gupta receives Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians

The Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians was awarded to Professor Neena Gupta, a mathematician of the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata, in a virtual ceremony on 22nd February 2022. She received the award for the year 2021 for her outstanding work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra. The prize is awarded annually to a researcher from a developing country funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India in association with ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) and the International Mathematical Union (IMU). It is given to young mathematicians less than 45 years of age who have conducted outstanding research in a developing country. It is supported by DST in the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a genius in pure mathematics who was essentially self-taught and made spectacular contributions to elliptic functions, continued fractions, infinite series, and analytical theory of numbers. Professor Gupta's solution for solving the Zariski cancellation problem, a fundamental problem in Algebraic Geometry, earned her the 2014 Young Scientists Award of the Indian National Science Academy (NSA). The NSA described her solution as ‘one of the best works in algebraic geometry in recent years done anywhere’. The problem was posed by one of the most eminent founders of modern Algebraic Geometry, Oscar Zariski, in 1949.

National Sports Awards 2021

 Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2021. National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of the previous four years. Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games is given for good performance over a period of the previous four years and showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and a sense of discipline. Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games is given to coaches for doing outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and enabling sportspersons to excel in International events. Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games is given to honour sportspersons who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to the promotion of sports events after their retirement. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar is given to corporate entities (both in the private and public sector), sports control boards, NGOs including sports bodies at the state and national level who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development. Overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments is given Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.

Click here to see the Complete Winners List

AIR CHIEF MARSHAL VR CHAUDHARI TAKES OVER AS THE CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM ADC took over as The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) at a ceremony at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan) . An alumnus of NDA, the CAS was commissioned in Dec 82 in the fighter stream of the IAF. He has flown more than 3800 hours on multiple fighter and trainer aircraft. 

During his career spanning almost four decades, the CAS has tenanted many significant command and staff appointments. He has commanded a MiG-29 Squadron, two Air Force Stations and Western Air Command. His staff appointments include Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Eastern Air Command, Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Air Defence), Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Personnel Officers), Deputy Commandant of Air Force Academy and Air Assistant to Chief of the Air Staff. 

A Cat 'A' Qualified Flying Instructor, he has served as an instructor at Flying Training Establishments and has also been an Air Force Examiner. He was a pioneer member of the Suryakiran Aerobatic Display Team. An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he has served as a Directing Staff there. He has also served as Directing Staff at DSCSC in Zambia. Prior to assuming the present appointment, he was the Vice Chief of the Air Staff. 

CAS is a recipient of Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), Vayu Sena Medal (VM) and is honorary ADC to the President of India. 

Air Marshal Sandeep Singh AVSM VM assumes the Appointment of Vice Chief of the Air Staff

Air Marshal Sandeep Singh AVSM VM took over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) on 01 Oct 21.  An alumnus of National Defence Academy, the Air Marshal was commissioned in the flying branch of IAF in Dec 1983 as a Fighter pilot.  The Air Officer is an Experimental Test Pilot and a Qualified Flying Instructor.  He has rich and diverse experience in operational and experimental test flying on various types of fighter aircraft and has flown about 4400 hours.

During his nearly thirty eight years of service in the IAF, the Air Marshal has held numerous important command and staff appointments.  He has commanded Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment, a frontline air base and an operational fighter squadron.  He has held the appointments of Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans), Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Eastern Air Command and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff at Air Headquarters.  Prior to assuming the current appointment, he held the appointment of AOC-in-C South Western Air Command.

The Air Marshal is a recipient of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.