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

India’s first underwater metro service, The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) said that the East-West Metro Corridor project, is expected to be completed by December 2023. With this, another feather is being added to the crown of Kolkata Metro, the first metro railway in the country. Kolkata Metro, which started its journey in 1984, is being expanded to cover the whole city and its outskirts. The underwater metro, which will be running through the Hoogly river will connect the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata.

Indian Overseas Bank: Ajay Kumar Srivastava appointed as MD and CEO

Ajay Kumar Srivastava has been elevated as Managing Director and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank with effect from January 1, 2023 from his current posting as executive director. He started his banking career as a probationary officer in 1991 with Allahabad Bank where he worked in various capacities in different parts of the country. He is an astute and hardcore banker with Vast field-level experience and has the distinction of having successfully led the largest and most critical areas of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Delhi while working at a senior level in Allahabad Bank.

PM Modi flagged off West Bengal’s first Vande Bharata Express train

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually flagged off Vande Bharat Express from Howrah Railway Station connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri. It is the first Vande Bharat Express to operate in West Bengal and on the Eastern parts of the country. Also, it is the seventh Vande Bharat train by Indian Railways in the country. 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.

Koustav Chatterjee becomes India’s 78th Grandmaster

Nineteen-year-old Kolkata-based chess player, Koustav Chatterjee became India’s 78th Grandmaster. He is also the tenth GM from West Bengal. Koustav earned his first GM norm in October 2021 at a Grandmasters’ chess tournament in Bangladesh. He got his second GM norm at the Asian championship in the first week of November 2022. He crossed FIDE rating 2500 in August. Koustav is in the joint-lead with GM Abhijeet Gupta at the National Senior Chess Championship with a score of 8/10 after 10 rounds.

Koneru Humpy won Silver at the World Chess Blitz Championship.

Former World rapid champion K. Humpy produced a superlative performance to claim India’s first-ever silver medal from the World blitz chess championship that concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Humpy defeated China’s Zhongyi Tan to win Silver in the 17th and final round. Fourth-seeded Humpy scored an impressive 12.5 points, just half a point behind the gold medal winner Bibisara Balabayeva of Kazakhstan. Humpy is the second Indian to win a medal at World Blitz, after Viswanathan Anand.

Inacio Lula da Silva Sworn in As the President of Brazil for the 3rd Time

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office for a third term as Brazil’s president, vowing to fight for the poor and the environment and “rebuild the country” after far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro’s divisive administration. The 77-year-old veteran leftist, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, took the oath of office before Congress, capping a remarkable political comeback for the metalworker-turned-president less than five years after he was jailed on controversial, since-quashed corruption charges.

High-Temperature Stars Revealed in the Globular Cluster Omega Centauri

A team of astronomers led by scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and their international collaborators decided to study the most massive globular cluster system in our galaxy, Omega Centauri. They have detected strange hot stars in the cluster using the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) image on AstroSat.

International Year of millets 2023

The Government of India sponsored the proposal for International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 which was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The declaration has been instrumental for the Government of India to be at the forefront in celebrating the IYM. PM Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘People’s Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets’.

Dhaka Literary Festival 10th edition to be on 5-8 January

The 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest (DLF), the largest international literary festival in Bangladesh, which was postponed three years in a row owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, is scheduled for January 5-8, 2023. The Bangla Academy in Dhaka’s historic grounds will serve as the venue for the event.

Haryana Women’s Hockey U-18 team won Khelo India Youth Games 2022

Hockey Haryana’s women’s team won the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 Women’s Under 18 Qualifiers after defeating Madhya Pradesh (2-0) in the final at Bhubaneswar. In the final match, Pooja and Gurmail Kaur scored a goal each for Haryana to end the contest in their favour. Odisha stepped up to claim third place after beating Hockey Jharkhand 2-1 in the 3rd and 4th place encounter.