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By admin: Dec. 30, 2022

Gurung community in Sikkim celebrates its New Year festival Tamu Lhosar

Tags: Festivals State News

The Nepalese Gurung community of Sikkim celebrated their new year Tamu Lhosar on 30 December 2022 with joy and gaiety. The Tamu Lhosar marks the beginning of the Gurung New Year which falls on the 15th day of Pusa, according to Vikram Samvat and 30th December in the English Calendar. The festival is celebrated with the family and community as a whole.

In Nepal, Tamu Lhosar is celebrated grandly with cultural tableaux in Gurung dominated districts.

The Gurungs are a hill people living on the southern slopes of the Himalayan Mountains in central Nepal. Their origins are uncertain, although they are of Mongoloid stock and their ancestors may have migrated to their current location from Tibet around 2,000 years ago. They have a sizeable population in Sikkim.

Important festivals of Sikkim 

Losar

Losar is the Tibetan New Year which falls in the month of February and is likewise celebrated by inviting friends and relatives for family gatherings.

Sonam Lochar      

Sonam Lochar is an important festival of the Tamang community. The festival falls in the month January - February Spring season.

Ramnawami (Chaite Dasain)

‘Chaite Dashain’ makes for one of the most important religious festivals for the Nepali community inhabiting the Himalayan state of Sikkim in India. The festival, also known as ‘Small Dashain’ is commonly celebrated as ‘Ram Navami’ in other parts of the country, commemorating the birth of Lord Rama 

Saga Dawa

Saga Dawa or the Triple Blessed Festival is an auspicious month for the Sikkimese Buddhists with prayers held throughout the month in various monasteries. On the full moon of this 4th month of the Tibetan calendar [celebrated as Buddha Purnima in the rest of India] is the main celebration.

Tendong Lho Rum Faat

Tendong Lho Rum Faat is one of the oldest festivals of the Lepchas and is usually held in August. The 3 day celebrations begin with the offering of prayers to Mount Tendong in South Sikkim. Guru Rimpoche’s Thunkar Tshechu

The birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the patron saint of Sikkim is celebrated with great pomp in the state. It falls on the tenth day of the fifth Tibetan month.

Pang-Lhabsol

This festival is unique to Sikkim and commemorates the consecration of Mount Khangchendzonga as the guardian deity of Sikkim. To this day the mountain god is invoked and prayed upon at Pang Lhabsol to continue protecting Sikkim. The festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th month of the Tibetan calendar corresponding to late August/early September. 

Kagyed Dance

One of the most popular Buddhist festivals, Kagyed Chaam, is a celebration that is marked by masked monks and lamas performing some rigorous dance moves, symbolizing destruction of all the evil and negative forces.

Losoong/Namsoong

Losoong, also called Namsoong by the Lepchas and Bhutias, is usually the time when the farmers rejoice and celebrate their harvest. The festival of Losoong is mostly celebrated in the month of December every year. 

Ethnic Composition of Sikkim

There are three ethnic groups in Sikkim- Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalese. Due to a century-long population migration from Nepal, the majority of Sikkim's residents are of Nepali ethnic origin.

Lepchas are considered as the primitive inhabitants of Sikkim much before the settlement of Bhutias and Nepalese. The Lepchas are basically Buddhist and Christian. Bhutias are the people originally from Kham area in Eastern Tibet who follow Lamanism.  

Amongst the Nepalese population, except Sherpas and Tamangs who are Buddhists, other people are basically Hindu.

Koneru Humpy win’s Silver at the World Chess Blitz championship

Tags: place in news Sports Person in news

Former Indian World Rapid Chess champion Koneru Humpy won the silver medal in the women's section of the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship that concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 30 December 2022. 

She finished on 12.5 points, just half a point behind the winner Bibisara Balabayeva of Kazakhstan. Koneru Humpy has won the World Rapid Chess Championship 2019.

World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2022

The International Chess governing body FIDE organises World Rapid and Blitz chess championship at the end of the year. This year it was held in Kazakhstan's capital Almaty from 26-30 December 2022.

World Rapid Chess Championship 

It was held on 26 and 28 December at Almaty, Kazakhstan.

In the Rapid section the Men’s title was won by No.1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway. It was the 4th time that Carlsen has won the Rapid title.

The women's title was won by the Chinese Grand Master Tan Zhongyi.  

Savitha Shri of India won the Bronze medal in the world Rapid section.

World Blitz Chess Championship 

It was held on 29 and 30 December at Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The men’s section was won by Magnus Carlsen. He became the first player in chess history to hold the Classical chess world championship, Rapid world championship and the Blitz world Championship at the same time.

Women's Section

The women's section was won by Bibisara Balabayeva of Kazakhstan. 

Koneru Humpy came second and won the Silver medal. 

Indian medal winners in the Rapid and Blitz event

Only three Indian’s Viswanathan Anand, Koneru Humpy and Savitha Shri have won medals at the FIDE   World Rapid and Blitz chess championship.

Viswanathan Anand won the Gold medal in World Rapid and Bronze medal in World Blitz Championship 2017.

FIDE 

The International Chess Federation or French acronym FIDE Fédération Internationale des Échecs) is an international organization that was set up on 20 July 1924 in Paris, France.

It is the international body which governs world chess championships. 

President of FIDE:  Arkady Dvorkovich, 

Headquarters of FIDE: Lausanne, Switzerland 

Government hikes interest rates on Kisan Vikas Patra scheme by 0.20% for January-March 2023

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Union Ministry of Finance in an order released on 30 December 2022 has increased the interest rates on the Kisan Vikas Patra by 0.2% for the January -March 2023 quarter. It has also increased the interest rates of some small saving schemes 20 to 110 basis points for the January-March quarter.  100 basis points is equal to 1%.

The interest rates on the small savings scheme are revised after every quarter by the government.

Small Saving Schemes are deposit schemes of the government of India where the people are assured of safety and return and the government uses the money for development purposes. These schemes are operated through Post offices in India.

Unlike Banks where interest rates are decided by the banks, the interest rates in the small saving scheme are decided by the government of India.

New Interest rates on Small Saving Schemes 

No Change in Interest rates of the following Small Saving Scheme 

Ajit Kumar Saxena assume charge as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of MOIL

Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news

Ajit Kumar Saxena has assumed the charge of Chairman-Cum-Managing Director of the public sector enterprise MOIL Limited.

Prior to this assignment, Shri Saxena held the position of Director (Operations) at RINL-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. He has 36 years’ experience in the Steel Sector with wide experience in technical, operational and project management areas.

Ajit Kumar Saxena will remain in office till his retirement, 31st December 20225 or until further notice. 

MOIL 

MOIL is a Schedule “A” Miniratna Category-I Company under the Union Ministry of Steel. It was originally incorporated as Manganese Ore (India) Limited in 1962 and its name was changed to MOIL Limited during 2010-11.

The company operates 11 manganese ore mines in India. It has 7 mines located in the Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra and four in the Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh.

At present the Government of India owns 53.35% shares in the company, Government of Maharashtra (5.96%), Government of Madhya Pradesh (5.38%) and Public (35.31%).

Headquarters: Nagpur, Maharashtra  

India’s first underwater metro to become operation by December 2023

Tags: National Economy/Finance State News

According to the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, India's first underwater metro service, the East-West Metro Corridor project is expected to be completed by December 2023.

The metro line, which will connect Salt Lake to Howrah via Kolkata with a stretch below the Hooghly River, is currently operational between Sector V and Sealdah stations.

Of the total 16.55 km length of the project, 9.30 km length between Sector V and Sealdah is operational. The remaining 7.25 km length is likely to be operational by December 2023. 

The twin tunnel down the Hooghly River will be around half a kilometer which will be covered in less than a minute by the metro train.

The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation is a Government of India company which is implementing the East- West Metro Corridor project.

The first metro rail system in India was also started in Kolkata from Dum Dum to Tollygunge in 1984.

Metro Rail system   

• The first metro rail system in the world was started in London on 10 January 1863.
• First metro in India; Kolkata Metro which started its operation 24 October 1984 between Dum Dam to Tollygunge. It was started with the help of the Soviet Union. 
• Largest metro rail in operation in India: Delhi Metro (390.14 km: Source DMRC as on 7 March 2022). It started operation on 24 December 2002.
• Smallest Metro: Ahmedabad metro ,6 km
• The metro rail systems in operation in India are in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Kochi Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Noida, and Pune. (total 15 cities )

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Mega Dairy at Mandya, Karnataka

Tags: State News

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Mega Dairy at Mandya in Karnataka on 30th December.

Important facts

• The mega dairy, inaugurated at a cost of Rs 260 crore, will process 10 lakh litres of milk per day and will have the capacity to be scaled up to 14 lakh litres per day.

• Currently, there are 15,210 village level cooperative dairies in Karnataka, in which about 26.22 lakh farmers deliver their milk daily. 

• Through 16 district level dairies in the state, Rs 28 crore is deposited into the accounts of 26 lakh farmers every day.

• Around 66,000 kg milk used to be processed daily in Karnataka in 1975 while today over 82 lakh kg milk is processed daily and 80% of the total turnover goes to the farmer. 

• Amul and Nandini will work together towards establishing primary dairies in every village of Karnataka in next three years.

• The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) will get all technical support and cooperation from Amul.

• The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and the Ministry of Cooperation will establish a primary dairy in every panchayat of the country in the next three years.

Chief Minister of Karnataka - Basavaraj Bommai

Governor of Karnataka - Thawar Chand Gehlot

Capital of Karnataka - Bengaluru

G Kamala Vardhan Rao appointed the chief executive officer of FSSAI

Tags: National Person in news

G Kamala Vardhana Rao was appointed the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 29 December 2022.

G Kamala Vardhana Rao is a 1990 batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre. He was previously the managing director of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been set up under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
• It was set up on 5 September 2008.
• It comes under the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
• FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.

Headquarters: New Delhi 

‘Dhanu Yatra’ begins in Odisha’s Bargarh

Tags: Festivals State News

The ‘Dhanu Yatra’ festival, considered to be the world’s largest open-air theatre, began on 27th December in the Western Odisha town of Bargarh.

Important facts

• President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people of the eastern state as the 11-day festival began. The festival began after a gap of two years.

• In this festival, events related to Lord Shri Krishna will be presented through folk arts that touch the hearts of millions of people.

About  ‘Dhanu Yatra’

• The 'Dhanu Yatra', which symbolises the victory of good over evil, came into being in Bargarh as part of the country's independence celebrations in 1947–48 and is held annually.

• 'Dhanu Yatra' is associated with the culture of Odisha.

• It is an open-air theatre festival which is spread over more than 5 square kilometres and includes a village and a town.

• As per tradition, for the whole eleven days, the people of Bargarh obey the orders of Raja Kansa and not the district administration.

Background of the festival

• Dhanu Yatra was started after the harvest season of the year 1947-48, just after the independence of India as a reflection of the atmosphere of joy in the society for the end of British misrule.

• Since then it is performed every year at the end of the harvesting of paddy, the main crop of the area.

• It starts from the 5th day of ‘Pousasukla’ to end on ‘Pousapurnima’.

• During 11 days the entire area of Bargarh city and sub-urban areas around Bargarh block turns into 'Mathura Nagari', the kingdom of Kansa.

• The festival begins with a drama depicting the downfall of Ugrasena, the emperor of Mathura, by Kansa, enraged at the marriage of his sister Devaki with Vasudeva.

• The festival ends with the death of the demon king Kansa and the restoration of the throne to Ugrasena.

Asian Development Bank provides $100 million loans to Shriram Finance limited

Tags: Economy/Finance

India’s largest Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Shriram Finance Ltd has secured a $100 million loan from the Manila based Asian Development Bank on 30 December 2022.  The loan amount will be used by the Shriram Finance  to provide loans to customers  to buy new or used  BS VI compliant vehicles and electric vehicles", besides providing financial support to women entrepreneurs and under-developed states.

Shriram Finance Limited is the largest retail NBFC in India. It was formed after the merger of mainly Shriram City Union Finance and Shriram Transport Finance.

The headquarters of the company is in Chennai.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer: Y S Chakravarti 

Asian Development Bank was set up in 1966 as a regional development bank for Asia and Asia-Pacific region.  The total number of member countries of ADB is 68.

Its headquarters is at Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines 

President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa 

N Chandrasekaran appointed as the head of the Maharashtra government advisory council

Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news State News

The Maharashtra government has appointed Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran as the head of the new Economic Advisory Council of Maharashtra. This was announced by the deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the state Legislative Council in Nagpur on 29 December 2022.

He said that the government has set up the Economic Advisory Council, to make Maharashtra a trillion dollar economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of India becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. 

The Economic Advisory Council will function as a private research organization with focus on issues related to agriculture, banking, engineering and education.

The State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) of Maharashtra in 2021-22 was $430.62 billion. It is the biggest state economy in India and its contribution to the Indian Economy is 15%. (Source India Brand Equity Foundation, Government of India)

Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Eknath Shinde

All manufacturing activities of Marion Biotech’s Noida unit stopped after inspection

Tags: National News

All manufacturing activities at Marion Biotech's Noida unit have been halted by the Union health ministry as India launches a probe into deaths linked to cough syrup in Uzbekistan.

Important facts

•  Further investigations are underway into the deaths of 18 children in Uzbekistan allegedly linked to cough syrup.

• Samples of the cough syrup have been taken from the manufacturing premises in Noida and sent to the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory (RDTL) in Chandigarh for testing.

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is in regular touch with the national drug regulator of Uzbekistan regarding the matter which happened on 27 December.

• Marion Biotech does not sell Dok-1 Max in India and its only export has been to Uzbekistan. 

About Marion Biotech

• Marion Biotech is a licensed manufacturer and holds the licence for manufacturing Dok-1 Max syrup and tablets for export purposes granted by the Drugs Controller.

• So far, 18 out of 21 children with acute respiratory illness have died after taking Dok-1 Max Syrup.

• Ethylene glycol was found in the tested series of Doc-1 Max syrup.

• Prior to the incident in Uzbekistan, the death of 70 children in Gambia earlier this year was linked to cough syrup manufactured by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals.

PM Modi Flags off West Bengal’s first Vande Bharata Express on Howrah-New Jalpaiguri route

Tags: State News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30th December virtually flagged off Vande Bharat Express from Howrah Railway Station connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri. 

Important facts 

• Covering a distance of 564 km in 7.45 hours, this train will save three hours in travel time as compared to other trains on the route.

• This is the first Vande Bharata Express to operate in West Bengal and eastern parts of the country.

• Also, it is the seventh Vande Bharat train in the country operated by the Indian Railways.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined a series of programmes in West Bengal via video conferencing. 

• Apart from flagging off West Bengal’s first Vande Bharata Express train he also launched key connectivity-related projects and the meeting of the National Ganga Council.

• The flagging off of Vande Bharat is a step towards the goal of New India towards 475 such trains across India.

• He also inaugurated the Joka-Taratala Stretch of Joka-Esplanade Metro Project (Purple Line) of Kolkata Metro.

About Vande Bharat Express Train

• The first Vande Bharat Express was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 February 2019.

• These trains have a self-propelled engine that can save diesel and reduce electricity usage by up to 30%.

• The first Vande Bharat Express was manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.

• It was manufactured under the 'Make in India' program at a cost of around Rs 100 crore.

• These trains can attain a maximum speed of 160 kmph.

• In the Union Budget for 2022-2023, the government has proposed to develop and manufacture 400 new Vande Bharat trains over the next three years.

NHA release beta version of lightweight, robust, and ABDM-compliant HMIS

Tags: National National News

The National Health Authority (NHA) released a beta version of the lightweight, robust, and  Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission-compliant Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) on 29th December. 

Important facts

• It envisions to provide a digital platform for healthcare service providers, especially focusing on private clinics and small healthcare facilities.

• This beta version will allow doctors to create and receive Ayushman Bharat health accounts for patients as well as manage their calendar, appointments and patient details in a single window.

• It will also facilitate e-prescription services and view past health records and prescriptions for registered patients and offer video consultations.

• It will digitise small clinics and improve the searchability of healthcare providers in India.

Features of the beta version of HMIS 

1. ABDM Compliance: Allows doctors to create and obtain ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) for their patients.

2. Facility Management: Allows doctors to manage their calendars, appointments and patient details in a single window.

3. Digital Services: Allows doctors to view past health records and prescriptions of registered patients and conduct video consultations.

4. e-Prescription Services: Digitally standardised prescription sharing using multiple parameters with options to modify/customise prescription layout.

About National Health Authority (NHA)

• It is the apex body which is responsible for implementing Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

• It is entrusted with the role of strategy formulation, creation of technical infrastructure and implementation of "National Digital Health Mission" to create a national digital health ecosystem.

About Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

• Launched  - By PM Narendra modi on  27th September 2021

• It will connect the digital health solutions of hospitals across the country.

• This will not only simplify the procedures of hospitals but will also enhance the ease of living.

• The digital ecosystem will also enable many other features such as digital consultation, patient consent for physicians to access their records, etc.

• With the implementation of this scheme old medical records cannot be destroyed as every record will be stored digitally.

• The project has been implemented in pilot phase in six states and union territories.

Coal Minister inaugurates Rs 300 crore Angul-Balram rail line in Odisha

Tags: State News

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi inaugurated the Rs 300 crore Angul-Balram rail line connecting Odisha's Talcher Coalfield on 29 December.

About Angul-Balram rail line project

• The rail link is the first phase of the total 68 km long Inner Corridor - Angul-Balram-Putugadiya-Jarapada-Tentuloi - which will connect the coalfields of Talcher Coalfields in Odisha's Angul district.

• The project is likely to enable Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) to increase its daily dispatch of coal by around 40,000 tonnes.

• The project was constructed by Mahanadi Coal Railway Ltd, a joint venture entity of MCL, IRCON International Ltd and IDCO, an industrial infrastructure development agency of the Odisha government.

• The internal corridor is being implemented by Mahanadi Coal Railway Ltd (MCRL) in two phases.

• In phase two, the Balram-Putugadia-Jarapada-Tentuloi rail link would be completed.

Talcher coalfields

• Talcher Coalfields of Mahanadi Coalfield is the largest with about 52 BT coal resources, which is 15% of the total estimated coal resources in the country.

• More than 63% (33 BT) of the available resources in Talcher Coalfield lies within a depth of 300 metres, offering significant potential for open cast mining.

• It has produced over 95 million tonnes (MT) of coal during FY22 and around 200 MT of coal in FY 2024-25.

• In order to ensure efficient coal evacuation, construction of rail line has been started in Talcher Coalfields i.e. MCRL in a phased manner.

Election Commission proposes remote voting for inter-state migrants

Tags: National National News

The Election Commission of India has moved a proposal to all political parties to enable domestic migrants to vote for their home constituencies from their place of stay through a new remote EVM (RVM).

Important facts

• RVM has been developed with the help of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). It is based on the currently used EVM system.

• The Election Commission has sought written views of all recognized national and state-level parties by January 30, 2023, and has scheduled a demonstration of the RVM prototype to party representatives on January 16.

• The Election Commission has also sought views of political parties on legal, administrative and technical challenges in implementing it.

• According to the Election Commission, the Multi Constituency Remote EVM for Domestic Overseas Voters can handle 72 constituencies from a single remote polling booth.

• It is expected that this step will help in boosting voter turnout and strengthen the democratic process of India.

Why has the proposal of remote voting been brought by the Election Commission?

• There were 834 million registered voters in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections out of which only 66.44% voted.

• In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the number of registered voters increased to 912 million while the voter turnout was barely 67.40%.

• Registered voters are unable to vote for various reasons, the main reason being domestic migration.

• Voters who are absent from their home places on the day of poll, even if they want to vote but are unable to reach their constituencies to vote due to various reasons.

• That is, a large part of the population is disenfranchised due to the need for work or lack of resources to travel.

• This goes directly against the EC’s “No voter left behind” goal.

Brazil's legendary footballer Pele dies at the age of 82

Tags: Person in news

Brazilian football legend Pele, who won a record three World Cups has passed away at the age of 82 on 28th December. 

Important facts

• Pelé, who had a colon tumor removed by surgery in 2021, was admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo in November due to poor health.

• He died of multiple organ failure as a result of progression of colon cancer.

About Pele

• Pelé was born in 1940 in Tres Carcass – an inland town about 155 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro.

• He is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a career spanning 21 years, including 77 goals in 92 appearances for his country.

• He was the only player to win the World Cup three times, lifting the trophy in 1958, 1962 and 1970, Pele was named Fifa's Player of the Century in 2000.

• Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, became a global star when, at the age of 17, he helped Brazil win the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

• He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Wales in the quarter-finals, a hat-trick against France in the semi-finals and two goals in a 5–2 win in the final.

• Pelé made his football debut for club side Santos at the age of 15, in a 7–1 win over Corinthians de Santo André.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben passed away in Ahmedabad

Tags: Person in news

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben (100) passed away at a hospital in Ahmedabad on 30th December.

Important facts

• She was admitted to the U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Center in Ahmedabad earlier this week due to health problems.

• The Prime Minister regularly visited Raison and spent time with his mother during most of his visits to Gujarat.

• In an emotional tweet, the Prime Minister said that a glorious century has now fallen at the feet of God.

• Paying tributes to his mother, the Prime Minister said that he felt the presence of a trinity in his mother, who epitomizes the journey of a life devoted to ascetics, selfless karmayogis and values.

• Recalling his mother's meeting on her 100th birthday, the Prime Minister said she exhorted her to act wisely and live life with purity.

About Heeraben Modi 

• On 18 June 1923 Heeraben Modi was born in Visnagar, Mehsana, Gujarat. 

• She was married to a tea seller named Damodardas Mulchand Modi. She lived with the prime minister's younger brother Pankaj Modi in Raisan village, a neighbourhood of Gandhinagar.

• In November 2016, Hiraben Modi made headlines after photographs of her standing in line in front of an ATM in support of her son's decision to implement demonetisation went viral on social media.

• Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India in 2014, but Heeraben came to Delhi to meet him two years later.

• PM Modi's mother was recently seen voting in the Gujarat Assembly elections. She reached the polling booth in Raisan village near Gandhinagar on a wheelchair and was accompanied by Pankaj Modi.