BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) greenfield data centre and enterprise computing and cyber security training institute at Info Valley-II near Jatni on October 25
This was announced after a meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Anu Garg, where preparations for the visit of the Prime Minister as well as President Droupadi Murmu’s two-day visit to Mayurbhanj on October 28 and 29 were reviewed.
Official sources said the spread over 18.55 acres, the new facility will serve as a secondary/backup data centre to the RBI’s primary facility in Navi Mumbai (Kharghar), enhancing national financial data security, currency management, payment and settlement systems, and business continuity.
Officials said that the data centre will fill the need for cutting edge facilities for research and capacity building in emerging areas of banking and cyber security for RBI.
Then RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had laid the foundation stone for the data centre on March 22, 2023. According to the tentative itinerary, the chief secretary’s office said that the prime minister is scheduled to arrive in Bhubaneswar at around 4 pm. His programme will be for one hour at the inauguration site. After that he will return to Bhubaneswar and leave for New Delhi.
According to President Murmu’s tentative itinerary, she will arrive in the state on October 28 and travel from the Dandabose Airstrip in Rairangpur to the Maa Kichakeshwari Temple at Bahalda.
She is also expected to visit the Laxmi Mandap at Mahuldiha and her residence in Rairangpur.
The President is also scheduled to attend the concluding ceremony of the Defence Mega Health Camp, announce a sports hostel at Rairangpur Sports Complex and inaugurate the newly constructed Amrit Bharat railway stations at Rairangpur and Badampahar.
Foundation stones will also be laid for a goshala and the construction and renovation of the Adivasi Socio-Educational and Cultural Association (ASECA) building in Rairangpur.
On October 29, President Murmu will visit the Rairangpur Sports Complex and the multi-skill development centre. The President will leave Rairangpur by road for Dandbose airport at 12.35 pm on October 29 and depart for Delhi via Kalaikunda later in the day.
Despite Odisha’s boycott call, 20 file papers for 5 MPTC seats in Kotia region
High friction broke out at Pattuchennuru, where BJD activists reportedly confronted YSRCP leaders of Andhra Pradesh during the latter’s election campaign.
Former Odisha Higher Education Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda led an aggressive door-to-door campaign in the disputed Kotia region, urging residents not to participate or cast their votes in Andhra Pradesh’s local body elections.
Former Odisha Higher Education Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda led an aggressive door-to-door campaign in the disputed Kotia region, urging residents not to participate or cast their votes in Andhra Pradesh’s local body elections.
At least 20 nominations were filed for five Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) seats in Salur mandal despite Odisha’s local poll boycott campaign in the disputed Kotia region.
The TDP filed 11 nominations for the five MPTC seats, the YSRCP nine and the CPI one. The disputed Kotia group of 21 villages have around 4,349 residents, and over 1,600 registered voters in the five MPTC segments, including Ganjaibhadra, Kurukuti, Sarika, Tonam and Kodama in Salur mandal.
Kumari Habi Rashid, Deputy Commissioner, Odisha, camped in Kotia, and conducted field visits to several villages, including Ganjaibhadra, Eguva Sembi and Neredivalasa on the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) to gauge public sentiment regarding the MPTC polls.
During her visit, she interacted with locals, and enquired about their franchise in the local body elections conducted by the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission.
Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik had written to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, urging decisive intervention to safeguard Odisha’s territorial integrity after the Government of AP released notification for the local body elections.
Former Odisha Higher Education Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda led an aggressive door-to-door campaign in the disputed Kotia region, urging residents not to participate or cast their votes in Andhra Pradesh’s local body elections. He said villagers should boycott the neighbouring State’s democratic exercise as they come under Odisha’s purview.
High friction broke out at Pattuchennuru, where BJD activists reportedly confronted YSRCP leaders of AP during the latter’s election campaign. They raised provocative “Go Back Andhra” slogans, allegedly stormed the campaign site and destroyed food prepared for workers and locals.
This led to friction between the two sides. The people of the disputed Kotia villages urged the AP government officials to take all the necessary steps for smooth conduct of the MPTC and Panchayat elections as they want to exercise their franchise in a free and fair manner without yielding to any pressure from Odisha.
President Droupadi Murmu interacted with traditional tribal community elders—the Manjhi and Chalki—at the Muriya Darbar in Bastar.
President Murmu celebrates a Maoist-free Chhattisgarh, eco-wisdom of tribal communities
President Droupadi Murmu along with Chhattisgarh Governor Ramen Deka and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.
President Murmu unveils special Rs 200 coin on Mata Hasi Devi’s Bicentenary in Chhattisgarh
President Droupadi Murmu appoints six governors: Who are they?
President Droupadi Murmu appoints six governors: Who are they?
Garima Joshi was once a runner with her sights set on the Olympics. A road accident on May 31, 2018, left her unable to use her legs, forcing her to give up the sport she had trained for years to pursue.
But the young athlete from Ranikhet in Uttarakhand’s Almora district refused to let the injury end her sporting journey.
She turned to para-athletics, took up the javelin throw, discus throw and shot put, and went on to win medals at national and international competitions.
Joshi’s interest in athletics began in childhood when watching her brother practise karate sparked her curiosity about sport. She eventually chose running and began training, hoping to build a career on the track.
In 2013, she took part in her first international running competition in Ahmedabad. Running remained central to her ambitions until the accident.
Standing by the roadside, she was struck by a vehicle, suffering a spinal cord injury. After her operation, doctors told her father that the chances of her walking again were “zero.”
“For a minute, I was silent. It felt as though my dream of competing at the Olympic level had been shattered,” she recalled.
The news was devastating, but Joshi soon began thinking about what she could still achieve. “I accepted the reality in a short time and started thinking about the future,” she said. “I did not want to give up. My family and friends gave me strength, and I began exploring the world of para-sports.”
The transition from running to para-athletics was difficult. Joshi had to adjust to a new physical reality, undergo rehabilitation and cope with the emotional impact of her injury. She also had to learn new techniques and build strength for throwing events, training from her wheelchair.
“The journey from being an athlete to becoming a para-athlete was not easy,” she said. “There were physical limitations, emotional challenges and rehabilitation".
There were moments when continuing seemed difficult, but I chose not to give up.” Her resolve was tested again when her mother, Asha Joshi, died on March 4, 2019, less than a year after the accident.
“I had not even come to terms with the pain of my accident when I lost my mother,” Joshi said. “She was a great source of inspiration for me.”
Despite her grief, Joshi continued rebuilding her life through sport. She established herself as a para-athlete in the F55 category, competing in the discus throw, javelin throw and shot put. Her experience also gave her a deeper understanding of the challenges athletes with disabilities face.
“Para-athletes have to struggle a great deal,” she said. Some, she added, receive little support at home because their families worry about injuries or accidents. “I was fortunate that my family stood by me.”
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