Passage 1
Aiming to significantly broaden the accessibility of football within the school setting for students, the Ministry of Education has tied up with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to distribute 11 lakh footballs across the country in a phased manner. The exercise is slated to benefit more than 1.5 lakh schools. Union Education Minister doled out 6,848 footballs to be distributed to 1,260 schools in 17 districts of Odisha under the Footballs for Schools (F4S) programme on February 9.
The distribution of balls was launched in December in JNV Cuttack, Odisha. Besides the districts of Angul, Dhenkanal and Deogarh in Odisha, the footballs were also distributed in Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu in a phased manner.
“Regardless of gender, the programme aims to seamlessly integrate football-related activities into the education system in collaboration with various stakeholders,” a spokesperson from the Ministry said.
Source – https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/
Passage 2
The police arrested 25 more people on Sunday for their alleged involvement in the violence that left five dead and many injured in Haldwani last week, after a ‘madrasa and masjid’ were demolished during an anti-encroachment drive. All those arrested were from the Muslim community. The State has requested the Union government to send additional forces to Haldwani to maintain law and order there.
The police said that they had recovered seven country-made pistols and 54 live bullets from the accused, apart from ammunition allegedly stolen from the police, including some that is suspected to have been taken from an attacked police station. Addressing a media briefing, Haldwani’s Senior Superintendent of Police Prahlad Narayan Meena said that at least one police weapon is missing from a police vehicle set on fire at the spot of the demolition.
Source- https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/