THE HEADLINES:-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlights importance of Seychelles in India’s Vision MAHASAGAR; Announces 175-million-dollar special economic package to support development in the island nation.
- Prime Minister Modi advises students on stress-free exams, discipline, life skills and balanced use of technology during ninth edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha.
- Both Houses of Parliament hold discussions on Union Budget 2026-27; Lok Sabha faces multiple adjournments.
- Supreme Court directs SIR in West Bengal must continue without any hindrance; Extends the deadline for scrutiny of documents by one week.
- Apex Court asks Centre to draft Standard Operating Procedure to tackle digital fraud cases.
- Indian shooters win gold in women’s 25-metre pistol team event at Asian Rifle and Pistol Championship in New Delhi.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced a Special Economic Package of 175 million dollars for the Seychelles. Addressing the Joint Press Conference after meeting the President of the Seychelles, Dr Patrick Herminie in New Delhi, the Prime Minister said, this package will support Social Housing, E-Mobility, Vocational Training, Health, Defence, and Maritime Security.
India and Seychelles also signed 7 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) across various sectors including Health, Meteorology, Electronics and Information Technology and Good Governance. On the occasion, Mr Modi said that India and Seychelles are connected not just by geography but by history, trust and shared vision for the future.
Briefing media in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, Seychelles is a maritime neighbour and trusted partner and it holds a special place in India’s Vision MAHASAGAR.
President of the Seychelles, Dr Patrick Herminie said that his visit reflects long standing friendship, and mutual respect between both the countries.
“India and Seychelles have underlined the respective strengths of both nations and recognised the importance of the relationship. Both leaders announced a Joint Vision for Sustainability, Economic Growth and Security through Enhanced Linkages. Prime Minister Modi and President Herminie have agreed to deepen cooperation and intensify Parliamentary Exchanges between the two countries, including the sharing of best practices on parliamentary proceedings and capacity building. They have agreed to step up bilateral cooperation in the field of hydrography to support Seychelles’ efforts in accelerating its blue economy growth through the conduct of more joint hydrographic surveys. Recognising the deep historical ties between both countries, both leaders acknowledged the contribution of Indian professionals to the economy and infrastructure of Seychelles. Both leaders agreed to institutionalise cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism, education, and youth engagement. Aman Yadav, Akashvani News, Delhi.”
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with students during the 9th edition of popular interactive programme Pariksha Pe Charcha. In the 2nd video episode released today, the Prime Minister was seen addressing, how to overcome stress and anxiety during exams and also inspired students to look beyond exams, focus on life skills, sports, creativity, and self-growth. The Prime Minister encouraged students to begin their entrepreneurial journey with small start-ups, saying big ideas often grow from modest beginnings. The Prime Minister said, without discipline, inspiration alone is ineffective.
On maintaining the balance between studies and passion, the Prime Minister said, students should not view academics and creative pursuits as separate or as opposing paths.
The Prime Minister also stressed upon the importance of civic responsibility. Responding to a question on whether Artificial Intelligence and technology should be feared the Prime Minister said there is no need to fear technology.
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Financial Advisor (Defence Services) Raj Kumar Arora today said that increased budgetary allocation for defence sector will further enhance combat readiness of Armed Forces, reduce dependency on imports, increase strategic autonomy and improve supply chains. Talking exclusively to Akashvani News Mr Arora said 7 lakh 85 thousand crore rupees have been allocated for defence sector in Union Budget. He said, the allocation is more than 16 percent of last year’s allocation.
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Both the houses of Parliament held discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27. The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice before being adjourned for the day following opposition uproar. When the House assembled at 2 PM after the second adjournment, the Presiding Officer tried to take up discussion on the Budget and called the Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to speak. However, Mr Tharoor requested the Chair to allow Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi who wanted to speak on other issue before the discussion. Presiding Officer Sandhya Ray said, she has not received any notice from the LoP and if he wants to speak on the Budget he can be allowed. Mr Gandhi alleged that he was not allowed to speak before the Budget discussion despite the assurance by the Speaker. Amid the uproar, the Chair requested Congress Members to allow discussion. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju rejected Mr Gandhi’s allegation saying that the Speaker has not made such commitment.
Despite repeated appeal by the Chair, the discussion on Union Budget could not be taken up and the Presiding officer adjourned the House till tomorrow.
Earlier, concerned Ministers laid the paper of their Ministries in House. In the morning, when the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, Speaker Om Birla congratulated the Indian Under-19 Cricket team for winning the Under-19 World Cup 2026.
In the Rajya Sabha, Congress MP P Chidambaram initiated the debate. He raised questions over the growth rate of the Indian economy saying that the nominal growth rate in 2023-24 was 12 per cent while in 2024-25 it came down to 9.8 per cent.
Participating in the discussion, BJP MP Arun Singh said that the size of the budget has been tripled and reached 53 lakh crore rupees, while in UPA Rule it was only over 16 lakh crore rupees.
The discussion remained inconclusive. After completing the business the Upper House was adjourned till 11 AM tomorrow.
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The Supreme Court today directed that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal must continue without any hindrance, while extending the deadline for scrutiny of documents by one week. A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, emphasized that the Court would intervene only on procedural matters if necessary but stressed that no disruption of the SIR process would be tolerated.
The Court also ordered the state government to submit, by 5 p.m. tomorrow, the names of 8,505 Group-B officers to be appointed as micro-observers to assist in correcting discrepancies in the electoral database.
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The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to draft a standard operating procedure in consultation with stakeholders like the RBI, banks and the Department of Telecommunications to deal with digital frauds cases. The court, described the siphoning of over 54,000 crore rupees by digital frauds as absolute robbery or dacoity. The top court also expressed grave concern over the menace of digital arrest scams and said banks must play a proactive role in preventing cyber-enabled fraud.
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India and Greece have decided to expand the capacity of their defence industries under Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Hellenic defence reforms under Agenda 2030. During the bilateral meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Greek counterpart Nikolaos-Georgios Dendias a Joint Declaration of Intent was signed to strengthen defence industrial cooperation, laying the groundwork for a five-year roadmap. Both leaders discussed regional peace and security, deepening bilateral defence ties, and exchanged a Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan for 2026.
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In Shooting, the Indian trio of Esha Singh, Manu Bhaker, and Rhythm Sangwan clinched gold medal in women’s 25m pistol team event at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship in New Delhi today. The Indian team topped the standings with a combined score of 1,751 points. Meanwhile, in the women’s 25m pistol individual event, Manu Bhaker narrowly missed out on gold in a shoot-off tie-break against Vietnam’s Thuy Trang Nguyen. Esha Singh secured the bronze.
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In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, South Africa have set a target of 214 runs for Canada in the Group D clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Put into bat first, South Africa scored 213 for four in the stipulated 20 overs.
Earlier, Zimbabwe defeated Oman by eight wickets in a Group B clash at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Chasing a target of 104 runs, Zimbabwe comfortably reached the target in 13.3 overs. Put into bat, Oman were bowled out for 103 runs in 19.5 overs.
In another match, Scotland defeated Italy by 73 runs in a Group C clash at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
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In our bilingual live phone-in programme “Public Speak” tonight, we will bring discussion on Online Gaming Addiction: A Rising Threat to the Wellbeing of Youth with Pawan Duggal, Cyber Security Expert at 9.30 pm.
Listeners can ask questions related to threats related to online gaming, impact on mental health, ways of de-addiction and other issues related to it.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlights importance of Seychelles in India’s Vision MAHASAGAR; Announces 175-million-dollar special economic package to support development in the island nation.
- Prime Minister Modi advises students on stress-free exams, discipline, life skills and balanced use of technology during ninth edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha.
- Both Houses of Parliament hold discussions on Union Budget 2026-27; Lok Sabha faces multiple adjournments.
- Supreme Court directs SIR in West Bengal must continue without any hindrance; Extends the deadline for scrutiny of documents by one week.
- Apex Court asks Centre to draft Standard Operating Procedure to tackle digital fraud cases.
- Indian shooters win gold in women’s 25-metre pistol team event at Asian Rifle and Pistol Championship in New Delhi.
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