Ahead of LS Speaker nomination, Om Birla meets PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Kota MP Om Birla on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid indications that he will again be the ruling National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post.
Several NDA sources said Birla is likely to be their candidate for the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha.
The opposition, sources said, may not name its own candidate, letting the NDA nominee to get elected unopposed.
There is a view that the opposition may get the Deputy Speaker's position
By retaining the Kota seat in Rajasthan, Birla has become the first presiding officer to be re-elected to the Lower House in the last 20 years.
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Dhyan Chand lifetime award to be replaced by Arjuna lifetime
New Delhi, Oct 24: The sports ministry on Thursday announced the discontinuation of the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement from this year onwards and the introduction of the Arjuna Award Lifetime in its place in a bid to "rationalise" the various sporting honours of the country.
Instituted in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award, named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, is given to individuals in disciplines that are part of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, among others.
In 2023, the award was given to former shuttler Manjusha Kanwar, ex-hockey exponent Vineet Kumar and kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj.
"The various schemes for sports awards have been rationalised wherein Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced in place of Dhyan Chand Award. To recognise the efforts of coaches at grassroots/development level, they are now eligible for the Dronacharya Award," said a ministry statement.
"The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced and will be given for life time contribution to sports development.
"Further, to recognize the Khelo India scheme, the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy will be given to the University for Overall Top Performance in Khelo India University Games," it added.
The last date for applying for the national sports awards for 2024 is November 14.
