Asiad 2018: Dutee storms into 200m final; heartbreak for Hima

Vartha Bharati | 28-08-2018 | 19:03:00 IST

Jakarta, Aug 28: Star Indian athlete Dutee Chand stormed into the women's 200 metres final after topping the semi-finals at the Asian Games here on Tuesday.

But there was disappointment for India in the other semi-final, as rising star Hima Das was disqualified following a false start.

Dutee emerged on top of the overall table after clocking 23 seconds, followed by Bahrain's Edidiong Odiong with a timing of 23.01. China's Lingwei Kong finished third after clocking her personal best of 23.32 seconds.

In the other semi-final that witnessed two false starts, teenaged Hima got a red card and was forced to leave her blocks before Hajar Alkhaldi of Bahrain also met similar fate.

Earlier, Hima clocked 23.47 to finish fourth in Heat 2, just 200th of a second short of a direct semis berth as Marie Knot of the Philippines took the third spot with 23.45.

But the sprinter from Assam earned a berth in the semi-finals as one of the fastest losers in the heats as she was seventh in the overall standings.

Dutee, on the other hand, won Heat 4 with a time of 23.37 seconds which earned her a direct spot in the semi-finals.

She was second in the overall standings at the end of the first round, behind Nigina Sharipova of Uzbekistan, who won Heat 3 with a personal best time of 23.31.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.

NCERT revamps curriculum committee after SC rap over Class 8 textbook

08-04-2026 ¦ 08-04-2026 IST

Image Credit: AI

New Delhi (PTI): The NCERT has reconstituted its curriculum committee after being rapped by the Supreme Court over a section on "Corruption in Judiciary" in the now-withdrawn Class 8 Social Science textbook, officials said on Wednesday.

The high-powered, 20-member National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) includes IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti; Indian Council of Historical Research Chairman Raghuvendra Tanwar; former Vice-Chancellor of the National Law School of India University R Venkata Rao; and Amarendra Prasad Behera, Joint Director-in-Charge, Central Institute of Educational Technology, NCERT.

Earlier, the panel had 22 members.

Following Supreme Court orders, three members have been removed from the NSTC. These are Michel Danino, former guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar; M D Srinivas, chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai; and the late Bibek Debroy, former chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council.

"Reconstitution of NSTC has been undertaken to strengthen it through necessary updates," a senior official said.

The committee is empowered to develop school syllabi and teaching-learning material, including textbooks for Grades 3 to 12, and if required, to appropriately revise the existing textbooks of Grades 1 and 2 to ensure a smooth transition from Grade 2 to 3.

In February, the Supreme Court had taken up suo motu cognisance of the Class 8 Social Science textbook, which discussed a section on "Corruption in Judiciary".

The court later imposed a "blanket ban" on the use of physical or online copies of the said textbook.