Haryana, Punjab announce cash awards for Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra
Chandigarh, Aug 7: Cash rewards to the tune of Rs 9 crores poured in for star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who on Saturday won India's first ever track-and-field Olympic medal with a gold-medal winning feat at Tokyo Games.
After Chopra secured India's second individual gold in Olympic history with a sensational performance, chief minister of Haryana and Punjab M L Khattar and Amarinder Singh announced cash rewards of Rs 6 crores and 2 crores respectively.
The BCCI also announced that Rs one crore has been reserved for Chopra, who produced a second round throw of 87.58m in the finals to stun the athletics world and end India's 100-year wait for a track and field medal in the Olympics.
Khattar also announced that Chopra will be made head of upcoming Centre for Excellence in Athletics in Panchkula.
"As per our sports policy, Neeraj Chopra will get a cash reward of Rs six crore, a Class-I job and a piece of plot of land at concessional rates, said Khattar.
Singh also recognised the stupendous achievement of Chopra and announced a special cash reward of Rs. 2 crore in an official statement.
On Saturday, Chopra, who hails from Khandra village in Panipat district, won the country's seventh medal, barely an hour after wrestler Bajrang Punia from Sonipat had won a bronze medal.
Earlier, wrestler Ravi Dahiya had also made the country and Haryana proud by winning an Olympic silver medal.
Congratulating Chopra and other medal winners, Khattar said: "Today is a golden day in the chapter of our sports history
"It is a big achievement for the country our athletes have made us proud. People of Haryana and the country are happy today at the feat of our sportspersons," Khattar said.
The Chief Minister said that a grand felicitation function will be held in Panchkula On August 13, in which the players from the state who took part in Tokyo Olympics will be honoured.
"Haryana's contribution in medal tally is significant. We have 30 players from Haryana in the country's Olympics contingent."
He spoke to the parents of Chopra and Punia on Saturday and congratulated them.
In Panchkula, Khattar said the state government is setting up a Centre for Excellence for Athletics and Chopra will be made its head.
"Panipat is his native place and Panchkula is the city where he honed his skills," he said.
Earlier, he had announced an indoor wrestling stadiums in native village of wrestlers Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia in Sonipat and Jhajjar districts, respectively.
"We have made several announcements to encourage other talented players. We want to make Haryana the biggest sports hub," said Khattar.
For his bronze medal winning effort, as per the state's sports policy, Punia will get a cash reward of Rs 2.5 crore, a piece of plot at concessional rates and a state government job.
Earlier, Khattar had praised Dahiya for his effort after he became only the second Indian wrestler to win a silver medal at the Olympics.
Dahiya will get Rs 4 crore prize money, Class-I job and a piece of land of Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran at concessional rates as per state government's policy for winning silver at the Olympics.
The Haryana government will also honour the nine history-making women's hockey players of the state with cash reward of Rs 50 lakh each, while an equal amount would be given to each sportsperson of the state who stood at the fourth position in any event in the Olympics.
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Sensex, Nifty extend gains for 3rd day on strong global cues, lower US inflation
Mumbai, Jan 16: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for the third session on the trot on Thursday, helped by a rally in global markets after lower-than-expected consumer inflation in the US ignited hopes of more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Intense buying in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank also boosted sentiments, traders said.
The 30-share BSE index climbed 318.74 points or 0.42 per cent to revisit 77,000 level at 77,042.82. During the day, it jumped 595.42 points or 0.77 per cent to 77,319.50.
On the similar lines, the NSE Nifty rallied 98.60 points or 0.42 per cent to 23,311.80.
As many as 2,778 stocks advanced, while 1,188 declined and 101 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Unabated foreign fund inflows, weakness in the rupee and elevated global crude prices continue to weigh on domestic equity markets, traders said.
"Benchmark indices continued to trade in the positive, albeit off highs, driven by positive investor sentiment following mild US inflation data, which raised hopes for a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
"Additionally, favourable developments in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and a reduced trade deficit further boosted the market's upward movement. However, weak economic growth data from the UK dampened some of this optimism," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Adani Ports, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Maruti, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank were the biggest gainers.
In contrast, HCL Tech, Nestle, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, ITC and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.
IT services major Infosys on Thursday reported an 11.46 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,806 crore in the October-December quarter of FY25.
Shares of Infosys slipped 1.21 per cent to settle at Rs 1,926.20 apiece on the BSE.
Meanwhile, Adani group stocks rallied on Thursday after Hindenburg Research founder Nate Anderson announced that he would disband the firm, which made international waves with campaigns targeting billionaire Gautam Adani that wiped billions from the market value of his group companies.
Shares of NDTV surged 9.15 per cent, Ambuja Cements jumped 3.88 per cent, Adani Green Energy rallied 3.35 per cent, Sanghi Industries climbed 3.34 per cent and Adani Power went up by 2.45 per cent on the BSE.
The stock of Adani Ports advanced 2.03 per cent, Adani Total Gas (1.78 per cent), Adani Enterprises (1.74 per cent), Adani Energy Solutions (1.54 per cent) and ACC (0.77 per cent).
Shares of Adani Wilmar, however, declined 1.19 per cent.
"Nifty has regained momentum, closing at 23,312, buoyed by demand and reclaiming the 23,300 mark, as Wall Street's strong performance helped bulls take charge. Risk-on sentiments were sparked by cooler-than-expected US CPI inflation data for December, easing concerns about rising inflation and boosting expectations that the Fed might continue its rate-cutting cycle throughout the year.
"This, coupled with a weaker US dollar (now at 109) and a drop in the 10-year US bond yield to 4.65 per cent, has further strengthened investor confidence," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.43 per cent while the midcap index climbed 0.92 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, services jumped 1.93 per cent, industrials (1.73 per cent), metal (1.63 per cent), telecommunication (1.61 per cent), capital goods (1.56 per cent) and commodities (1.51 per cent).
IT, Consumer durables, teck and BSE-focused IT were the laggards.
"The Nifty continued its upward momentum for the third straight session, closing 98 points higher (0.42 per cent) at 23,311, driven by positive global sentiment. Asian markets tracked Wall Street's gains, responding favourably to US core inflation data that reinforced expectations of potential Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025," Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory.
Equity markets in Europe were quoting higher. US markets rallied on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,533.49 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
The rupee depreciated 16 paise to close at 86.56 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.18 per cent to USD 81.88 a barrel.
In the previous session, the BSE benchmark rose 224.45 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 76,724.08 on Wednesday. The Nifty advanced 37.15 points or 0.16 per cent to 23,213.20.
