UP polls: BSP Chief Mayawati releases 4th list of cadidates

BSP Chief Mayawati today released fourth list containing 101 of her candidates for the constituencies going to poll mostly in the sixth and seventh phase of upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Mayawati has announced 401 of her candidates so far. A party release said, Candidates on the remaining two seats in Sonebhadra will be decided after a decision is made if they are general or reserved for ST.

Budget Session of Parliament to begin from January 31

The Budget session of Parliament will start from 31st of this month. In a press release, Lok Sabha secretariat said President will address a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in the Central Hall at 11 AM on the first day of the session.
Subject to exigencies of government business, the session is likely to conclude on the 12th of April. Rajya Sabha secretariat has also issued a similar notification saying President Pranab Mukherjee has summoned the Rajya Sabha to meet on 31st of January.
The two houses will have a month long recess from 10th February to 8th March to enable the Standing Committees to consider the Demands for Grants of Ministries and Departments and prepare their Reports.
The announcement comes even as opposition parties have raised objections to the presentation of the budget on 1st of February before Assembly polls in five states. They had filed a petition to the election commission and claimed that it will influence the voters in poll-bound states.
The Election Commission has also sought the Centre’s response on the objection of opposition and asked Cabinet Secretary to respond by 10th of this month.

67th Senior National Basketball Championship tips off in Puducherry


Puducherry, 7th January 2017: The prestigious 67th Senior National Basketball Championship tipped off today at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Puducherry. The championship is being organised by the Puducherry Basketball Association under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India.
Last year’s runners up, Kerala women opened with a comfortable 66-21 win over West Bengal. In lower Level 2 action, Karnataka and Odisha women too started off with confident victories.
In the two men’s matches so far, Gujarat in Level 1 and West Bengal from Level 2 beat Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand respectively.
The participation of defending champions Services men and Indian Railways women was officially confirmed.

Inauguration Ceremony

Indian men’s team star Amritpal Singh (representing Uttarakhand) lit the inaugural flame, officially declaring the Championship open. Shri Aadhav Arjuna, Chairman of the Puducherry Basketball Association was the chief guest. Other dignitaries included Prof P Dananjayan (Principal, Puducherry Engineering College), Rev. Fr. R. Pascal Raj (Principal, Petit Seminaire Hr. Sec. School), Shri S Chander Mukhi Sharma (Secretary General of Basketball Federation of India), Shri VVR Raj Satyen (President, Tamil Nadu Basketball Association) and Sendhil Thyagarajan (Senior Vice President, Tamil Nadu Basketball Association).
Senior members of the organizing Puducherry Basketball Association were also present to ensure the smooth conduct of the inauguration.

Results till 5 pm

Men:
Level 1
  1. Gujarat (Harpal Singh 23, Dhval Ulva 15, Kasi Rajan 11) bt Chhattisgarh (Rudraksu 25, P Rajesh 12) 57-51 (19-14, 15-11, 8-14, 15-12)
Level 2
  1. West Bengal (Manpreet 20, Amrit Singh 12) bt Jharkhand (Sukdeep Singh 11, Arshad Khan 7) 63-31 (22-11, 24-6, 16-7, 1-7)
Women:
Level 1
  1. Kerala (Jeena PS 16, Elizabeth 12) bt West Bengal (Paulami 5, Neha 5) 66-21 (18-5, 18-5, 14-5, 16-6)
Level 2
  1. Karnataka (Bhandavya HM 28, Priyanka 15) bt Gujarat (Aarti 15, Nidhi 7) 66-32 (16-14, 26-03, 14-8, 10-12)
  2. Odisha (J Bakshy 23, S Panda 18) bt Puducherry (Manjula 9) 61-24 (25-8, 21-5, 9-9, 6-2)

About the 67th Senior National Basketball Championship 2017

The championship is being held 7th to 14th January. 27 men’s teams and 25 women’s teams have confirmed their participation.
The championship is being organised by the Puducherry Basketball Association under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India.
Matches are being simultaneously held on four different courts: the indoor and outdoor courts of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium complex (Courts 1 & 2), and the two courts at the Petit Seminare School.
Defending champions Railways women will be the team to watch out for as it rekindles its rivalry with previous winners Chhattisgarh. In the men’s section, traditional powerhouses Services, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu will be vying for top honours.
29 international players from across the country will be adding their experience to the fray.