Madhya Pradesh

• 14 Jun 2023

Completion of 66th National School Sports Competition

Why in News?

On June 13, 2023, the 66th National School Sports Competition held in Bhopal by the School Games Federation of India and the Department of School Education in collaboration with the Sports Department came to an end. Commissioner Public Instruction Anubha Srivastava awarded the winning participants with trophies and medals.

Key Points:

• In the table tennis (girls category) singles match, Maharashtra's Pratha Vatikar won the gold medal by defeating Delhi's Pritoki. Pritoki had to settle for a silver medal. Delhi's Diya Brahmachari and West Bengal's Sumitra Dutta got bronze medals.
• In the table tennis (boys) singles, Karnataka's Akash KJ won the gold medal by defeating his own state's Rohit 4-0 in straight sets. Rohit got the silver medal. Sarth Mishra of CBSE and Atharv Gupta of Delhi got bronze medals.
• In table tennis, Pratha Vatikar of Maharashtra has adjudged the best player in the girls' category and Akash KJ of Karnataka was adjudged the best player in the boys' category.
• Delhi won the table tennis girls' team championship, Maharashtra stood second and Haryana stood third. While Karnataka won the boys' team championship, Maharashtra stood second and CBSE stood third.
• Aditya in the boys' category and Aditi Sharma in the girls' category won the best player award in Judo.
• In the 70-plus weight category (girls category), Sneha Niyogi of Chhattisgarh won the gold medal by defeating Sanskriti of Maharashtra. Himachal's Nirjal and Rajasthan's Lavanya got bronze medals.
• In the 90 kg weight category (boys), Aditya of Maharashtra won the gold medal by defeating Kunal of Haryana. Kunal had to be content with a silver, the Delhi keeper bagged a bronze.
• The Judo team championship (boys category) was won by Haryana, second by Delhi and third by Punjab. Delhi won the girls' team championship, Maharashtra stood second and Haryana stood third.
• Gujarat was the winner in volleyball (boys category). Gujarat won the gold medal by defeating Kerala in a thrilling match. The volleyball teams of Kerala and Uttar Pradesh got second place and third place.
• In volleyball (girls category), West Bengal girls defeated Maharashtra girls to win the girls' championship title and Kerala stood third.

MoU between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to Promote Cultural Exchange & Culture Promotion

Why in News?

On June 13, 2023, an MoU was signed between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to promote cultural exchange & culture promotion in Lucknow in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel.

Key Points:

• Principal Secretary of Culture & Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Shiv Shekhar Shukla and Principal Secretary of Culture & Tourism, Uttar Pradesh Mukesh Kumar Meshram signed the MoU.
• Under the activities of the 'Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat' campaign, both states will promote each other's local culture.
• According to the MoU, a group of artists from Madhya Pradesh will give cultural performances on Uttar Pradesh Day-24 January and Republic Day-26 January in Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, on the foundation day of Madhya Pradesh, a group of artists from Uttar Pradesh will give cultural presentations in Madhya Pradesh.
• Art competitions, exhibitions, seminars, drama and theater activities will be organized jointly by both the states. In joint events, the host state will arrange for local hospitality, while the visiting state will bear the cost of travel.
• Both states will prepare a book based on their rich culture, customs, and traditions to display and distribute in educational institutions of each other's state. Both states will broadcast each other's local TV and radio channels in their respective states.
• The duration of the MoU is for 3 years, which can be extended for another 3 years with mutual consent.
• With the MoU, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments will be able to further strengthen each other's relationship. With such agreements, the citizens of the state will get an opportunity to understand, appreciate, and enrich India's diversity and know & understand Indian culture, customs and traditions.
• In another program, Madhya Pradesh's Culture, Tourism, Religious Trust and Religious Affairs Minister Usha Thakur inaugurated the marketing office of tourism at Hotel Gomti in Hazratganj, Lucknow to promote the tourist places of Madhya Pradesh rich in natural beauty in Uttar Pradesh.
• Kaushalendra Vikram Singh, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation said that there is a plan to open marketing offices in Varanasi and Ayodhya in the near future.
• Residents of Uttar Pradesh will be told about the information and services of tourist places of the state through coffee table books, brochures, leaflets, Madhya Pradesh maps etc. in the marketing office. Along with this, information about the achievements, innovations and activities of Tourism Corporation's hotels, resorts, and boat clubs will also be given. This will increase the number of tourists coming from Uttar Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh.