THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in New Delhi; Says, Yoga has shown the whole world path to health, balance and harmony.
- Winter session of Parliament concludes, after passing eight bills including Viksit Bharat G RAM G Bill.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin criticises European Union’s attempts to seize Russian assets, calling the move a robbery.
- Met Department issues warning for dense to very dense fog conditions over Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh tomorrow.
- In Men’s Cricket, India set a target of 232 runs before South Africa in fifth and final T20 match in Ahmedabad.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that Yoga has shown the whole world the path to health, balance and harmony. Addressing the gathering at WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in New Delhi, Mr Modi said, over the years, everyone have seen yoga reaching every corner of the world.
The Prime Minister highlighted that restoring balance is not just a global cause but a global urgency. Mr Modi said, the growing ease of resources and facilities without physical exertion is giving rise to unexpected challenges for human health. He said, traditional healthcare must look beyond immediate needs and it is everyone’s collective responsibility to prepare for the future as well.
On the occasion, Prime Minister along with DG WHO Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus inaugurated the new WHO-South East Asia Regional Office complex in Delhi, which will also house the WHO India Country Office, marking a significant milestone in India’s partnership with the World Health Organization. The Prime Minister also released the WHO technical report on training in Yoga and the Book From Roots to Global Reach: 11 Years of Transformation in Ayush.
Director General of World Health Organization Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, India has shown that tradition, innovation and science can advance together.
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said, India is committed to take traditional medicine to new heights.
Union Minister for AYUSH Prataprao Jadhav said, AYUSH system of medicine is not just therapy but a way of life.
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Both the Houses of Parliament have been adjourned sine die. With this the 19 day winter session concluded today. The Lok Sabha was first adjourned sine die and after that the Rajya Sabha was also adjourned. In his Valedictory address, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that the productivity of the house was around 111 per cent. He said a total of 15 sittings of the House took place.
In his Valedictory address Rajya Sabha Chairman, CP Radhakrishnan said that the house functioned for around 92 hours and recorded 121 per cent productivity.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said, the House held a special discussion on the 150th anniversary of the National song Vande Matram, in which 82 members participated. He expressed concern over the disruption created during yesterday’s sitting by the opposition Members.
Later briefing reporters after the conclusion of the winter session, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said the bills which were passed in this session will play an important role in improving the lives of crores of people and to make India a developed nation. Our correspondent reports that a total of eight Bills were passed during this Winter Session of Parliament.
“In the Lok Sabha ten Bills were introduced and eight were passed. While the Rajya Sabha gave its approval to eight Bills. The Key bills passed in the Parliament are the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): Viksit Bharat – G RAM G Bill 2025, the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill and the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025. The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 has been sent to the Joint Committee of Parliament for further scrutiny. During the session, the Lower House registered 111 per cent productivity while the Rajya Sabha recorded 121 per cent. Apart from the legislatives business, special discussion on 150th Anniversary of the national song Vande Mataram and Electoral Reforms also took place in Parliament. Anand Kumar, Akashvani News Delhi.”
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Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah today highlighted that substantial progress has been made over the past 11 years in developing next-generation infrastructure. Addressing Confederation of Real Estate Developer Associations of India National Conclave 2025, in New Delhi, Mr. Shah said, several flagship initiatives including National Infrastructure Pipeline, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, and Parvatmala have significantly strengthened urban development and laid out a clear roadmap to position India among the world’s leading infrastructure countries.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticised the European Union’s attempts to seize Russian assets, calling the move a robbery. Speaking during his annual question-and-answer session and year-end press conference in Moscow today, Mr Putin said, the seizure was being done openly and warned it would undermine trust in the eurozone. He added that many countries, including Russia, keep gold and foreign currency reserves in Europe, and such actions could have wider consequences.
Meanwhile, no agreement was reached at on a reparations loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets. Instead, the European bloc will raise 90 billion euros in joint debt to fund Ukraine for the next two years. Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will not take part in the scheme.
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External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar has said, India values Netherlands support for closer India-EU ties and conclusion of Free Trade Agreement. Dr Jaishankar said this in a social media post after meeting his Dutch counterpart David van Weel in New Delhi today. The External Affairs Minister said, they discussed bilateral cooperation including trade, defence, shipping, water, agriculture, health and culture of both nations. The Minister added that both sides also discussed new opportunities in semiconductors, talent mobility and renewables.
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Dhaka and several other parts of Bangladesh witnessed widespread protests today following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi who succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment in Singapore last night. Jahangirnagar University and Mymensingh also saw highway blockades, while traffic in central Dhaka remained paralysed for hours. Security was tightened ahead of the repatriation of Hadi’s body, which arrived in Dhaka this evening. The unrest also coincided with attacks on media houses, prompting condemnation from international bodies. The Media Freedom Coalition and the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed deep concern over violence, vandalism and arson targeting journalists and news organisations, calling for swift investigations and protection of media professionals.
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Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya Scindia today virtually participated in a high-level task force meeting to strengthen handloom and handicrafts in the North Eastern region. In a social media post, Mr Scindia said that the meeting focused on key areas including skill upgradation, quality certification and sustainable fibres and dyes in the region.
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Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav has directed authorities to ensure visible improvement in air quality across the Delhi-NCR within one week. He asserted this while chairing the fourth high-level review meeting on air pollution in New Delhi today.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange colour warning for dense to very dense fog conditions over Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh tomorrow. IMD said that similar conditions will also prevail over Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and North- eastern parts of India. The Met Department has forecast Cold wave conditions to prevail over Interior Karnataka and Telangana for the next two days.
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Several flights and trains experienced disruptions due to dense fog conditions in the National Capital and NCR region today. Delhi Airport said that around 177 flights were cancelled due to low visibility at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Delhi Division of Indian Railways said that the movement of several Delhi-bound trains was also affected today. It said that around 20 trains were delayed by more than 3 hours.
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In Tamil Nadu, Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik today released draft electoral roll after Special Intensive Revision. More from our correspondent –
“The Special Intensive Revision for electoral roll was held in Tamil Nadu from November 4 to December 14. The draft electoral roll was released today by Chief electoral officer. In the electoral roll 6 crore 41 lakh 14, 587 voters were there. Booth Level Officers went to each house and gave enumeration forms to voters in 38 districts of the state. In the draft electoral roll 5 crore 43 lakh 76,755 voters are there. Out of which 2 crore 77 lakh are women and 2 crore 66 lakh are men. Special camps will be held for two weeks for those voters who are missing in the draft electoral list. The claims and objections to include eligible voters or delete ineligible names can be submitted till 18th of next month. K Devi Padmanabhan , Akashvani News, Chennai.
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Election Commission has decided to deploy Central government officers as electoral roll micro-observers in West Bengal. These observers will scrutinise electoral roll entries until final rolls are published on the 16th of February. They will report the findings to the Chief Electoral Officer and Electoral Roll Observers.
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Indian Railways has clarified that passengers who book unreserved tickets digitally can show the ticket on the same mobile phone used for booking during verification, and a physical printout is not required at present. This clarification comes after media reports claimed that Indian Railways had made it mandatory to carry a printed copy of unreserved train tickets
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In Men’s Cricket, India have set a target of 232 runs for South Africa in the fifth and final T20 International in Ahmedabad. Put into bat first, India scored 231 for 5 in the stipulated 20 overs. For hosts, Tilak Varma with 73 runs was top scorer followed by Hardik Pandya with 63. India currently lead the series 2-1, while the fourth match was abandoned due to foggy conditions in Lucknow.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in New Delhi; Says, Yoga has shown the whole world path to health, balance and harmony.
- Winter session of Parliament concludes, after passing eight bills including Viksit Bharat G RAM G Bill.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin criticises European Union’s attempts to seize Russian assets, calling the move a robbery.
- Met Department issues warning for dense to very dense fog conditions over Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh tomorrow.
- In Men’s Cricket, India set a target of 232 runs before South Africa in fifth and final T20 match in Ahmedabad.
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