THE HEADLINES:-
- Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan says Prime Minister’s flagship platform PRAGATI has accelerated implementation of mega projects and key welfare schemes across the country.
- Centre approves 22 new projects across eight states under Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme; Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw advises Electronics industry to focus on local sourcing and high standards to compete in global market.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expresses concern over involvement of highly educated individuals and professionals in anti national activities.
- Health Minister J P Nadda releases 10th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia; Highlights introduction of Blood Component Monographs for Transfusion Medicine in it for the first time.
- India rejects Pakistan’s claims of striking Indian military facilities in Punjab during Operation Sindoor
- In National Shooting Championship, Ameerah Arshad wins women’s 10 meter Air Rifle gold while Zuhair Khan clinches men’s trap gold.
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Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan today said the Prime Minister’s flagship platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation-PRAGATI system has accelerated implementation of mega projects and key welfare schemes. Addressing media in New Delhi on the outcomes of PRAGATI, Mr Somanathan said that so far 50 meetings of PRAGATI have been held and under it, over three thousand three hundred projects worth 85 lakh crore rupees, including those which faced problems, were reviewed. He informed that 61 government schemes, including One Nation One Ration Card and PM Jan Arogya Yojana, were also reviewed other than the projects. He said that since the implementation of PRAGATI in 2015, 36 different classes of grievances including issues related to Corona, Banking and Insurance and Jan Dhan Yojana were reviewed.
The Cabinet Secretary said PRAGATI led system has helped resolve 7 thousand 156 issues out of the 7 thousand 735 issues related to projects. He also informed that PRAGATI has helped commissioning of critical projects like Jammu- Udhampur- Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link Project and Bogibeel Rail cum Road Bridge over river Brahmaputra.
Mr Somanathan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi conceptualised PRAGATI as comprehensive solution to the large time and cost overruns in country’s public projects and schemes across tiers of government. He said, this is a system which is in force for ten years. Our correspondent reports that the objective of PRAGATI is to improve Centre-Centre and Centre- State Coordination to fast track critical infrastructure projects facing issues and bottlenecks.
“PRAGATI mechanism deploys a technology-based platform for Project Monitoring, Citizen’s Grievance Redressal and Reviewing Scheme implementation through active collaboration of Central Ministries and State Governments. The Prime Minister chairs PRAGATI Review Meetings directly with Chief Secretaries of States and Secretaries of Central Ministries and Departments to address issues in specific Projects and Schemes.
Speaking about Railway projects reviewed under PRAGATI, CEO and Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar said there are 427 projects of which 38 percent have been completed.
Secretary, Road Transport and Highways V Umashankar said Road Transport and Highways Ministry is one of the biggest beneficiary of the PRAGATI initiative.
Secretary, Ministry of Power, Pankaj Agarwal said 416 projects of Ministry of Power were reviewed under PRAGATI in which 885 issues were come to notice out of which 803 were resolved.
PRAGATI continues to serve as an effective platform for driving accountability and accelerating project implementation through close monitoring and review at the highest level. With Anand Kumar, Akshit, Akashvani News, Delhi.”
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The Centre has approved 22 new proposals under the third tranche of the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme, involving a projected investment of 41 thousand 863 crore rupees. These approvals cover the manufacturing of 11 target-segment products, including mobile manufacturing, telecom, consumer electronics, strategic electronics, automotive, and IT hardware. These projects are expected to generate production worth two lakh 58 thousand crore rupees and create around 34 thousand direct jobs. Speaking on the occasion, Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the implementation of major reforms and the acceleration of execution are key hallmarks of the Modi government. He encouraged electronics component manufacturers to establish design teams, specifically highlighting the need for a common design ecosystem. Mr. Vaishnaw also advised the industry to focus on local sourcing and maintain high quality standards to ensure global competitiveness
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that it is extremely worrying to find highly educated individuals and those associated with prestigious professions involved in activities against the nation and society. He was addressing the foundation day celebration of a college in Udaipur today. Mr. Singh said that modern India draws strength and pride from recognising its ancient past and cultural traditions. He said, merely acquiring higher education is not sufficient if a person lacks human values and national commitment.
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Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda today informed that India now stands at the 8th position globally in WHO Pharmacovigilance Contributions, as compared to 123rd ten years ago. The Minister said this while releasing the 10th edition of India’s official book of drug standards, Indian Pharmacopoeia 2026 in New Delhi. The Minister said that the newly launched report has incorporated 121 monographs, increasing the total number of monographs to 3 thousand 340. Mr Nadda highlighted that the first-time inclusion of 20 blood component monographs will help to expand study and research in blood transfusion, thalassemia, hemophilia and anaemia. Mr Nadda further said that India is the first country to include blood component.
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The Centre has approved the appointment of Justice Mahesh Sharadchandra Sonak as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. As per a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, President Droupadi Murmu has approved Justice Sonak’s appointment. Justice Sonak, who is currently a judge of the Bombay High Court, will assume office upon retirement of incumbent Chief Justice on 8th of this month. The appointment follows the recommendation made by the Supreme Court Collegium at its recent meeting.
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Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav today reviewed the steps taken by the state government officials regarding the contaminated drinking water incident in Indore. The Chief Minister instructed to serve show-cause notices to the Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner and Additional Commissioner. He directed to transfer the Additional Commissioner from Indore with immediate effect, and to withdraw the charge of the water distribution works from the In-charge Superintending Engineer. The Chief Minister also emphasised that following the Indore contaminated drinking water incident, corrective measures were being taken for other parts of the state as well.
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Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that enhancing farmers’ income remains a key priority of the central government. Speaking in Nashik, the Minister said, several schemes have been implemented for the welfare of the farmers. He assured that all necessary efforts will continue to strengthen the agriculture sector.
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The process of issuing notices for hearings as part of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Kerala is progressing. Notices have been issued after the release of the draft voter list. More from our correspondent:
“The revision process has already seen a significant number of applications. Since the publication of the draft electoral rolls, over 1 lakh 21 thousand applications have been received, seeking various updates and corrections to the list. Among these, 96 thousand 785 applications have been submitted for the inclusion of first-time voters, who have turned 18, or for name transfers from one constituency to another. Additionally, a total of 24 thousand 772 applications have been received from Indian citizens living abroad, requesting the inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls. Another noteworthy figure is the 444 applications submitted for the removal of names from the voter list, indicating efforts to clean and update the records. Smithy M Palluruthy, Akashvani News, Thiruvananthapuram.”
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Grand International Exposition of Sacred Piprahwa Relics related to Bhagwan Buddha, the Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One at Rai Pithora Cultural Complex in Delhi tomorrow. In a social media post, Mr Modi said, this exposition is in line with his government’s commitment to further popularising the noble thoughts of Bhagwan Buddha.
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India has rejected Pakistan’s claims of striking Indian military facilities in Punjab during Operation Sindoor. Sources in the Indian Army said that Pakistan is circulating misleading and unverified satellite images, falsely claiming strikes on Indian military facilities. The Sources said, these claims are not supported by facts, as independent verification of the locations shown in the images confirms that no destruction is visible at the alleged targets. The sources said that Indian military facilities cited in the posts remain intact, with no signs of blast impact or structural damage.
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In shooting, Haryana’s Ameerah Arshad edged Railways’ Rajshree Anilkumar Sancheti to win the 10 meter Air Rifle Women final at the 68th National Shooting Championship (Rifle) in Bhopal. Chhattisgarh’s Pranju Shree Somani claimed bronze. At the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh’s Zuhair Khan won the men’s trap gold. Uttarakhand’s Shapath Bhardwaj took silver, and Olympian Kynan Chenai bronze. Uttar Pradesh also claimed the men’s trap team title, ahead of Punjab and Uttarakhand. In the junior events, Karnataka’s Tilottama Sen won two golds in 10 meter Air Rifle Junior and Youth Women’s finals.
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The India Meteorological Department, IMD has issued a red colour warning for dense to very dense fog conditions over Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh tomorrow. The weather agency has also predicted cold wave conditions at isolated places Himachal Pradesh and ground frost conditions over Uttarakhand. The IMD said that cold day conditions will prevail at isolated pockets over East Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar till Monday.
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The government has announced the extension of the deadline for submission of fresh applications under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles up to 31st March this year.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
- Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan says Prime Minister’s flagship platform PRAGATI has accelerated implementation of mega projects and key welfare schemes across the country.
- Centre approves 22 new projects across eight states under Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme; Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw advises Electronics industry to focus on local sourcing and high standards to compete in global market.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expresses concern over involvement of highly educated individuals and professionals in anti national activities.
- Health Minister J P Nadda releases 10th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia; Highlights introduction of Blood Component Monographs for Transfusion Medicine in it for the first time.
- India rejects Pakistan’s claims of striking Indian military facilities in Punjab during Operation Sindoor.
- And, in National Shooting Championship, Ameerah Arshad wins women’s 10 meter Air Rifle gold while Zuhair Khan clinches men’s trap gold.
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