THE HEADLINES:
- Special debate underway in Lok Sabha marking 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram; Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, the National Song energised freedom movement and inspired generations.
- Parliament passes Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 to boost funding for public health and security.
- Government says, air safety is top priority; Promises strict action in recent flight cancellation crisis.
- New Delhi welcomes UK crackdown on Anti-India extremists; Calls on China to ensure Indian passengers are not harassed during transit.
- IMD forecasts cold wave conditions in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Maharashtra for next few days.
- And in Men’s Hockey, second match of India-South Africa series to be held in Cape Town tonight.
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A special discussion on the 150th anniversary of the National Song Vande Mataram is underway in the Lok Sabha. The song was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1875 and was adopted as the national song by the constituent assembly of India, on 24th January 1950.
Initiating the discussion in the Lok Sabha today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the mantra of Vande Mataram gave the strength and inspiration to the entire country and energised the freedom movement. He said, remembering the sacred Vande Mataram today is a great privilege for all members of this House and the countrymen. Mr Modi said that 150 years of Vande Mataram is an opportunity to re-establish that great chapter and the glory. The Prime Minister said, Vande Mataram is the force that drives the people to achieve the dreams that the freedom fighters had envisioned.
The Prime Minister said, when Vande Mataram celebrated its 100th anniversary, the country was shaken by the emergency. He added that when the national song should have been celebrated with great fervor, the Constitution of India was strangled and those who lived and died for patriotism were imprisoned behind bars.
Speaking during the debate Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, Vande Mataram is complete in itself, but attempts were made to make it incomplete.
Participating in the debate, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, several writers and poets from Bengal wrote songs that inspired many during the Independence movement.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Devesh Chandra Thakur of JD(U), Dr Byreddy Shabari of TDP, Shrirang Barne of Shiv Sena also spoke during discussion.
Earlier, announcing the initiation of the discussion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said, the national song offered light and hope during difficult times as India fought off colonial oppression.
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Parliament has passed the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 with the Rajya Sabha approving and returning the legislation to the Lok Sabha after discussion. The Bill proposes to levy a cess on production of goods such as pan masala and any other goods that may be notified by the central government. Proceeds from the cess will be used for expenditure towards public health and national security.
Replying to the debate on the Bill in the Upper House, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, the cess offers a feasible mechanism to strengthen citizens’ health and the country’s military preparedness.
Participating in the debate, Shaktisinh Gohil of Congress said harmful goods like gutkha and pan masala must be banned. He added that mere cess will not help address this health concern. TMC’s Saket Gokhale criticised the Bill as against federalism. Milind Murli Deora of Shiv Sena supported the Bill.
Kavita Patidar of BJP said that every year nearly 13.5 lakh people die due to tobacco related diseases and cancer and it put the financial burden on the government. Masthan Rao Yadav Beedha of TDP, Sulata Deo of BJD, Dr M Thambidurai of AIADMK, Dr John Brittas of CPI(M) among others participated in the debate. After the discussion, the House took up the Special Mention wherein the MPs raised the matter of public importance. Later the House was adjourned for the day.
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Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said in the Rajya Sabha today that there will be no compromise on air safety as it is the top most priority for the government. In reply to supplementaries, he informed the house that the government is conducting an enquiry in connection with the situation leading to cancellation of several flights due to which passengers had to face a lot of difficulties. He said, the government is not taking this situation lightly and very strict action will be taken in the matter.
Replying to another supplementary the Minister said, the government has capped the air fare across the country in view of the situation arisen due to the cancellation of certain flights leading to shortage of capacity.
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The Ministry of Civil Aviation has informed that over 5 lakh 86 thousand 7 hundred passenger name records-PNRs were cancelled and refunded between 1st and 7th December, amounting to more than 569 crore rupees in refunds. The Ministry also said that 4 thousand 500 bags were delivered to customers out of a total of 9 thousand bags, and the remaining bags will be delivered in the next 36 hours.
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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has received IndiGo’s response to the Show Cause Notice issued in connection with the recent large scale operational disruptions and flight Cancellations across the airline’s network. The airline has said, it is “profusely apologetic” and regrets the inconvenience and hardship caused to customers. The airline has attributed the disruption to the “compounding effect of multiple factors,” which operated in an “unfortunate and unforeseeable confluence”.
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India has welcomed the steps taken by the UK government to sanction anti-India extremist entities aimed towards strengthening the global fight against terrorism and extremism. Briefing media in New Delhi today, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said, such individuals and entities pose a threat not just to India and the UK, but to people across the world.
On Indian nationals travelling to China, Mr Jaiswal called for respecting the regulations governing international air travel by the Chinese side. He also said, Chinese authorities are also expected to provide assurances that Indian citizens transiting through Chinese airports will not be selectively targeted, arbitrarily detained or harassed.
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Seven hundred metric tonnes of emergency relief supplies arrived today at Trincomalee onboard INS Gharial, strengthening India’s humanitarian outreach to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu. The relief material is part of 1000 tonnes that has been sent by Tamil Nadu. Yesterday relief supplies of 300 tonnes on board three Indian Navy ships was handed over to Sri Lanka.
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In Chhattisgarh’s Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai district, twelve Maoists surrendered today. Those laying down arms include Ramdher Majji, a member of the Central Committee of the Maoists and a top Naxal leader. These Maoists were active in various districts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
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India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms and lightning are likely to prevail over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal till tomorrow. Cold wave conditions are predicted in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana and Vidarbha. Similar conditions will prevail over Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathawada and Delhi till the next three to four days.
“The weather agency has predicted dense fog conditions in East Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha for the next two days. Similar conditions are expected in isolated pockets of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during the next two days. Minimum temperature is expected to drop by 2 to 3 degree celsius over Northwest India during the next 2 days and over Maharashtra during the next 4 days. Meanwhile, the air quality in Delhi-NCR has been registered in the Poor category this evening. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) of the region was recorded at 300 as of 7 PM today. With Ishani Yadav, Nitika Gupta, Akashvani News, Delhi. “
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In Men’s hockey, India will take on hosts South Africa in the second of the three-match series at Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town tonight. The match will begin at 10:30 PM Indian Time. India won the first match of the series by 5-2 yesterday.
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In shooting, India concluded its ISSF World Cup Final campaign today with six medals, including two golds in Lusail, Qatar.
Simranpreet Kaur Brar won gold in the women’s 25 merte pistol, and Suruchi Phogat took gold in the women’s 10 meter air pistol.
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In our bilingual live phone-in programme “Public Speak” tonight, we will bring discussion on ‘Understanding Tools and Techniques to Identify Fake News’ with New Media Consultant Shali Ittaman.
Listeners can ask questions by dialling the telephone numbers 011 – 23310481, 011-23717117, 011- 23717106 and 011 – 23314444, from 9:30 PM onwards.
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In a major clean energy milestone, India has reached its Panchamrit target of installing 50 per cent of its total power capacity from non-fossil sources, five years ahead of the 2030 deadline.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
- Special debate underway in Lok Sabha marking 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram; Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, the National Song energised freedom movement and inspired generations.
- Parliament passes Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025 to boost funding for public health and security.
- Government says, air safety is top priority; Promises strict action in recent flight cancellation crisis.
- New Delhi welcomes UK crackdown on Anti-India extremists; Calls on China to ensure Indian passengers are not harassed during transit.
- IMD forecasts cold wave conditions in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Maharashtra for next few days.
- And in Men’s Hockey, second match of India-South Africa series to be held in Cape Town tonight.
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