Nfa News

Students from several colleges in Mumbai have been donating used goods that can be sent to orphanages and various NGOs for the benefit of underprivileged people. A college in Bandra organised a blood donation drive on its campus last week. A Malad college has decided to spread awareness about healthy living and eating in a village it had adopted.

The Hyderabad prison department has provided employment to two graduates who were found begging on the city's streets. While the commerce graduate in computers was hired as a computer operator, the other beggar was hired as an assistant therapist in the prison department's Ayurvedic Hospital. Both the men are receiving training and will draw a monthly salary of ₹12,000.

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to set free 93 prisoners on Monday, on the occasion of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 93rd birthday. "These prisoners have completed their tenure but could not be released due to non-payment of fine imposed on them," Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said. The convicts have been picked in a random manner.

A 'Second Failure Conclave' was recently held in Uttarakhand's Dehradun, with an aim to encourage students by conveying that "failure in school is not the end of life". It featured poet Padma Shri Liladhar Jagudi and professors from various universities, who shared stories of failure. The initiative is the brainchild of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra Chairperson Avdhash Kaushal.

The World Bank has announced to provide a $318 million (₹2,036 crore) loan for modernisation of irrigation projects in Tamil Nadu, which would help small and marginal farmers improve water management. Under the project, over 1,60,000-hectare land of partially irrigated land would become fully irrigated, benefitting around five lakh farmers.

A Surat-based businessman on Sunday facilitated weddings of at least 251 women, who had lost their fathers and are financially unstable. The businessman has been organising mass weddings for the last five years, and has done 'kanyadaan' of around 1,000 girls over the years. Two HIV-positive women also got married during the event.

On their wedding day, a Pune-based doctor couple raised awareness about organ donation by pledging to donate their organs and encouraging the guests to fill out consent forms for the same. They held a presentation on organ donation and guided interested people on information. "We wanted to make a true difference to society amidst all the celebration," said the groom.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday said it will identify 500 upper-caste families in every district that will make socially backward, poverty-stricken families as their "friends". Adding that untouchability is against Hindu ideology and not granted in any religion, the Hindu body claimed it's been trying to make a well, graveyard, and temple available for all in every village.

On New Year's Eve, restaurants, pubs, and bars in Bengaluru will be open till 2 am, which is one hour beyond the permissible time for nightlife. A total of 15,000 policemen will be deployed across the city to ensure law and order, police said, adding they will keep a check on rash and drunk driving during the night.

Over 150 artists have contributed their creations to government hospitals treating the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. The Madhya Pradesh government's initiative is aimed at making the hospitals more positive to help patients suffering from depression for the last 33 years. Paintings of rising sun, blooming flowers will be put up among others, reports said.

Bengaluru Mayor Sampath Raj has announced that the first girl child born in 2018 at any civic hospital in the city will be given free education till under-graduation. This is aimed at promoting the message that girls should not be considered a burden. This would be applicable only to a girl child born through normal delivery.

All police stations in Telangana will maintain a Facebook account and a Twitter handle from next year to communicate with people on a daily basis, police officials said. "We are declaring 2018 as the year of technology and citizen-friendly initiatives," they added. The state would also establish cyber crime police stations in all districts, officials further said.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will celebrate the New Year's Day with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel at Uttarakhand's Nelong Border Outpost (BoP) along the China border. This comes days after the Chinese military asked India to "strictly control" its troops. This would be the minister's second visit to the area after his four-day tour in September.

An 18-year-old girl from Hyderabad has claimed to have created the world's largest painting using her feet. Jahnavi, a student of Britain's University of Warwick, has painted a surface of 140 square metres with her feet, reportedly breaking the current world record of 100 square metres. The trained classical singer can also paint while dancing.

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday created a record, completing all the issues and Special Mentions on the Zero Hour agenda for the first time in 15 years. Vice President and House Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said he hoped the members won't waste time and will follow the schedule in the future. Parliament's ongoing winter session has witnessed continuous adjournments several times.

Constable Sudarshan Shinde, who rescued several people during the Kamala Mills fire in Mumbai, has been felicitated by the Mumbai Police for his bravery. A photo showing Shinde carrying an unconscious woman out of the building on his shoulders had gone viral on social media. Shinde's efforts to evacuate victims and save lives deserves being commended, Mumbai Police said.

Micro sculpture artist Sachin Sanghe has recently gifted PM Narendra Modi sculptures carved on chalks. The artworks include chalk sculptures of Yoga poses, PM Modi taking his mother's blessings, and a sculpture of freedom fighters, among others. A thread work artist from Patiala, Arun Kumar, also presented PM Modi with his works like a thread portrait of the PM.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met farmer Roop Narayan Singh Chauhan from Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, who wrote a 151-foot-long handwritten congratulatory letter to him. Singh focussed on two points in the letter, first on the policies of the Prime Minister and their impact on the lives of the people, and second on how Fatehpur and adjoining districts feel about him.