The Jerajani family originally hails from Jamkhambhalia, Gujarat, and later migrated to Mumbai’s Colaba area before establishing their first bookstore, ‘Happy Book Stores.’

‘Express Book Service,’ a renowned bookstore offering an extensive collection of Marathi, Hindi, and English books on history, literature, politics, art, biographies, and novels, has been recognized at the national level. The bookstore was honored with the prestigious ‘Best Bookstore 2025’ award at the ‘Indian Reading Olympiad’ festival, held in Hyderabad.

Established in the 1950s, ‘Express Book Service’ has played a vital role in nurturing Pune’s reading culture for over seven decades. The recognition has brought immense pride and joy to store owner Rohit Jerajani, who was visibly emotional upon receiving the award.

The bookstore was founded by Rohit’s grandfather, Jamnadas Jerajani, at a time when the Camp area had very few bookstores. Initially, readers from diverse linguistic backgrounds—English, Hindi, and Marathi—flocked to the shop out of curiosity. Over the years, ‘Express Book Service’ became a trusted name for book enthusiasts, known for its ability to source rare and hard-to-find books, even from international publishers.

The Jerajani family originally hails from Jamkhambhaliya, Gujarat, and later migrated to Mumbai’s Colaba area before establishing their first bookstore, ‘Happy Book Stores.’ The success of this venture led to the launch of ‘Express Book Service’ in Pune.

Beyond Books: A Cultural Hub

Over the years, the bookstore has grown into a cultural hub, hosting literary events, book launches, and interactive sessions with authors. Rohit’s father, Manubhai Jerajani, initiated several literary programs, including children’s workshops and author meet-and-greets, further expanding the bookstore’s influence. To date, more than 4,000 books have been published at the store, with signed copies by renowned authors being a unique attraction.

Despite the rise of online book retailers, ‘Express Book Service’ has sustained its success by building deep, lasting relationships with its customers. The store continues to be a beloved destination for book lovers who value personal interaction and the charm of a physical bookstore.

A Store Frequented by Legends

‘Express Book Service’ has been visited by several distinguished personalities, including Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Ratan Tata, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Narayana Murthy, Sudha Murthy, Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, and the Mangeshkar family. Over the years, the Jerajani family has also built close relationships with many literary and cultural icons.

Expressing his gratitude, Rohit Jerajani said, “My grandfather built ‘Express Book Service’ as a legacy, and it is my responsibility to carry it forward. Serving our customers gives us immense satisfaction, and I am committed to continuing this journey of literary enrichment.”

source/content: thebridgechronicle.com (headline edited)

The 10-meter-high replica was constructed using exactly 97,020 books. The achievement has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

A monumental achievement was celebrated at the Pune Book Festival on Saturday, as a replica of the Indian Constitution was created using over 97,000 books. This extraordinary feat was undertaken to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution, authored by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Rajesh Pandey, chief organizer of the Pune Book Festival, expressed gratitude to the dedicated team behind this effort, particularly the 80 volunteers who worked continuously for eight days. “This was a tribute to the Constitution, and we are grateful to everyone who contributed to making this record a reality,” Pandey said.

The event was attended by notable personalities , including National Book Trust Chairman Milind Marathe, Director Yuvraj Malik, and other organizing committee members. To mark the occasion, colorful balloons were released, adding a festive spirit to the historic moment.

The design of the sculpture was conceptualized by Pooja Munde and Swaroop Kulkarni, who played a key role in bringing the ambitious blueprint to life.

Final Opportunity to Witness the Record-Breaking Replica

Sunday, December 22, marks the last day to view this record-setting replica at the Pune Book Festival. Visitors can see the masterpiece from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Festival organizer Rajesh Pandey encouraged the public to visit the event, purchase books, and witness this unique tribute to the Constitution.

source/content: thebridgechronicle.com (headline edited)

India had planned to have 175 GW of renewable energy capacity, including 100 GW solar by 2022.

India has achieved the milestone of 100GW solar energy capacity, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Friday (February 7, 2025), underscoring the country’s target of having 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030.

“Under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, India has achieved the historic milestone of 100 GW solar capacity. This achievement is powered by our relentless commitment to a cleaner, greener future,” the New & Renewables Energy Minister said in a post on X.

Earlier, India had planned to have 175 GW of renewable energy capacity, including 100 GW solar by 2022. But it could not be achieved due to staggering impact of the pandemic which forced imposition of lockdown restrictions.

As per the post on X, India added 2.82 GW of solar capacity during 2004-14 under the UPA regime. This is compared with 100 GW during 2014-2025.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the IBCA in April 2023 to secure the future of tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, pumas, jaguars and cheetahs.

The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2023 for global conservation of seven big cats formally became a full-fledged treaty-based intergovernmental organisation on January 23, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and IBCA said Monday.

The IBCA is headquartered in India, and on Monday, the MEA confirmed that IBCA’s foundational framework agreement came into force on January 23, formalising its establishment. As per the framework agreement, the Indian government serves as the depository for instruments of ratification, approval, or accession from countries seeking to become parties to the agreement.

“The Ministry would like to inform that, under Article XVIII (1) of the framework agreement, five countries – Nicaragua, Eswatini, India, Somalia and Liberia – have submitted their ratifications/approvals on various dates. The ratification/approval of the agreement by the Government of Liberia on January 8, 2025, marks the 5th instrument of ratification/approval upon which the framework agreement shall take effect on January 23, 2025,” the MEA stated in its communication to Delhi-based IBCA.

Five signatory countries, including India, were required to ratify and formally deposit their instrument of ratification for the IBCA framework agreement to come into force. Liberia became a party to the framework agreement last month, the fifth to ratify the agreement along with India, Nicaragua, Eswatini and Somalia, the MEA stated.

The framework agreement entering into force marks the official start of the IBCA’s operations, activities and programmes as mandated. It can now establish its governing bodies, secretariat, and administrative structures. “It is a milestone for big cats conservation and leadership of global South,” said S P Yadav, interim head and director general of IBCA.

The IBCA was conceived by India and PM Modi launched it in April 2023 during the 50th-year celebrations of Project Tiger to secure the future of seven big cats – the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah.

India formally joined the IBCA last September. Prior to that, the Union Cabinet had approved the establishment of IBCA’s headquarters in February 2024 and cleared a one-time budgetary support of Rs 150 crore for it for the 2023-24 to 2027-28 period.

A government note said that as of now 27 countries, including India, have consented to join IBCA and several global and national organisations working on wildlife conservation have partnered with IBCA.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headlines edited)

The Defence Ministry made the announcement on X, stating that the missiles would significantly augment the combat capabilities of the Indian Navy’s submarine fleet.

India on Tuesday inked a contract with Russia for procurement of anti-ship cruise missiles, a move that will significantly augment the combat capabilities of the Indian Navy’s submarine fleet.

The Defence Ministry made the announcement in a post on X.

The contract was inked in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.

“Ministry of Defence today inked a contract with Russia for the procurement of Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles in the presence of Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi. These missiles will significantly augment the combat capabilities of the @indiannavy’s submarine fleet,” it wrote on the social media platform.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)