THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of Kaziranga Elevated Corridor Project, worth over 6, 950 crore rupees at Kaliabor in Assam; Says Kaziranga is not merely a national park but the soul of Assam.
- Prime Minister also flags off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains.
- PM Modi to inaugurate and lay foundation stone of various development projects worth around 830 crore rupees at Singur in Hooghly district of West Bengal this evening.
- Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Jitan Ram Manjhi inaugurates PM Vishwakarma Haat in New Delhi.
- India’s power distribution utilities register a record profit of 2 thousand 701 crore rupees in 2024-25.
- NASA moves new moon rocket to launch pad for first crewed lunar flight in over 50 years
- And in Men’s Cricket, third and final ODI between India and New Zealand is underway in Indore.
<><><>
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of Kaziranga Elevated Corridor Project, worth over six thousand 950 crore rupees at Kaliabor, Nagaon district in Assam. The Prime Minister said the 86 kilometre long Kaziranga Elevated Corridor project is an environmentally conscious National Highway project.
Speaking at the launch of development works in Kaliabor, Mr Modi said that Kaziranga is not merely a national park but the soul of Assam.
The Prime Minister said the manner in which the BJP government in Assam is tackling infiltration, conserving forests, protecting religious, cultural and historical sites, and freeing them from encroachment is being widely appreciated.
Prime Minister Modi said that over the past decade, forest and tree cover in the country has increased. He said that more than 260 crore trees have been planted under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign so far. Mr Modi said, India is demonstrating to the world that nature and development can progress together.
The Prime Minister said that the BJP has become the first choice of everyone in the country. He said, the country’s faith in the BJP has been continuously on the rise in the last one and half year.
Mr. Modi also flagged off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains at Kaliabor, Nagaon district, Assam. These trains are Kamakhya-Rohtak Amrit Bharat Express and Dibrugarh-Lucknow (Gomti Nagar) Amrit Bharat Express.
<><><>
In the evening, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects worth around 830 crore rupees at Singur in Hooghly district, West Bengal. He will lay the foundation stone of the Extended Port Gate System at Balagarh, including an Inland Water Transport terminal and a Road Over Bridge. Spanning an area of approximately 900 acres, Balagarh is being developed as a modern cargo handling terminal with an envisaged capacity of about 2.7 million tonnes per annum. The Balagarh project aims to significantly improve cargo evacuation efficiency by diverting heavy cargo movement away from congested urban corridors. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Jayrambati-Barogopinathpur-Maynapur new rail line.
<><><>
Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Jitan Ram Manjhi has described MSMEs as the backbone of the country’s development. Mr. Manjhi said this while addressing the inaugural ceremony of PM Vishwakarma Haat 2026 in New Delhi today. He said, the event is providing a platform to the artisans for branding and marketing their products. Highlighting the PM Vishwakarma Yojna, Mr Manjhi said that this scheme is a medium of ending unemployment in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for MSME Shobha Karandlaje said that the PM Vishwakarma Yojana is supporting artisans by providing technological assistance, training, and access to proper markets. The Minister added that in the coming days, these artisans will emerge as entrepreneurs and contribute to the country’s journey towards Viksit Bharat.
The exhibition aims to provide a prominent platform for artisans to exhibit and market their handcrafted products to national and international buyers, stakeholders and the general public.
The event will remain open to the public from 10:30 AM to 10:00 PM culminate on the 31st of this month.
<><><>
India’s power distribution utilities have recorded a positive Profit After Tax (PAT) of 2 thousand 701 crore rupees in 2024-25. According to the Ministry of Power, the distribution utilities as a whole have been reporting PAT losses for the past several years since unbundling and corporatization of State Electricity Boards. The ministry stated that this positive PAT in 2024-25 is a significant improvement compared to a loss of 67 thousand 962 crore rupees in 2013-14.
While commenting on this, Union Minister of Power, Manohar Lal, said that this marks a new chapter for the distribution sector and is a result of several steps taken to redress the concerns of the distribution sector.
<><><>
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today held a meeting with United States Senator Steve Daines in New Delhi. In a social media post, Dr Jaishankar said that during the meeting both sides had wide ranging and open discussions on bilateral relations and its strategic significance.
<><><>
NASA has moved its powerful new moon rocket to the launch pad as it prepares for the first crewed lunar fly-around in more than 50 years.
The 322-foot Space Launch System (SLS) rocket slowly rolled out of Kennedy Space Center, a trip that took most of the day. This mission will carry four astronauts around the moon and back on a 10-day journey, possibly launching as early as February.
Earlier technical problems delayed this mission for years. While the astronauts will not land on the moon, this flight is a key step toward future lunar landings planned later in the Artemis program.
<><><>
In Switzerland, the Alpine town of Davos is under unprecedented security ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit, which will start tomorrow and run until January 23. More than 5,000 troops, snipers, AI-powered drones, airspace restrictions and anti-espionage systems have been deployed as authorities prepare for the arrival of over 3,000 global leaders.
<><><>
The United States military have killed a senior Al-Qaeda-linked leader in northwest Syria who had direct ties to the ISIS ambush that killed two American soldiers and an interpreter last month, said the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
The killed terrorist is reported to be connected to the ISIS gunman behind the December 13 attack in Palmyra, which also injured US and Syrian personnel.
<><><>
The European Union leaders have opposed US President Donald Trump’s Greenland takeover plans and tariff threats, with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola saying the EU supports Denmark and Greenland, emphasizing that the island’s sovereignty cannot be changed by tariffs and the measures against NATO allies announced today will not help in ensuring security in the Arctic.
Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland from the 1st of next month which could later rise to 25 percent, unless Greenland is sold to the US.
<><><>
In Jammu and Kashmir, an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in a remote forest area in Kishtwar district today. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that the encounter broke out at Singhpore village of the Kishtwar district. The gun fight was on when the reports last came in. More details are awaited.
<><><>
In Uttar Pradesh, police have registered 8 separate FIRs over alleged circulation of misleading content on social media related to Manikarnika Ghat reconstruction work in Varanasi. The cases were filed last evening at the city’s Chowk police station on charges of the use of images of Hindu deities to mislead people who have faith in Hinduism, triggering public outrage, disturbing social harmony, and tarnishing the image of the executing agency as well as the government.
<><><>
In Maharashtra, five persons lost their lives and one woman was injured in a tragic road accident on the Solapur-Pune National Highway near Mohol. The accident occurred late last night around 11 pm when a speeding car lost control and rammed into a roadside tree. The victims were travelling from Panvel to Akkalkot for a religious visit.The injured woman has been admitted to the government hospital in Mohol. Further investigation is underway.
<><><>
Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Raj K Purohit, a prominent voice of north Indian communities in Mumbai, died following an illness yesterday. He was 71. A well-known figure in Mumbai BJP circles, he had served as the party’s city president and a minister in the Maharashtra government, and was the BJP’s chief whip in the assembly between 2014-19.
<><><>
In Men’s Cricket, the decisive third and final ODI match of the series is underway between India and New Zealand at Holkar Stadium in Indore. Put into bat first, New Zealand were 33 for 02 in 08 overs when reports last came in. Earlier India won the toss and opted to bowl first.
The current ODI series is tied 1-1, with India winning the first match and New Zealand the second. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in focus India hope to bounce back from the painful defeat of the second match. New Zealand have toured India for bilateral ODIs since 1989 but have never won a series in India.
<><><>
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense to very dense fog conditions to prevail in morning and night hours over Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh till tomorrow. The weather agency said that cold wave conditions are expected in some parts of East Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and East Uttar Pradesh today. The Met Department further predicted a gradual rise in minimum temperatures by about 2 degree Celsius over northwest and central India during the next two days.
<><><>
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of Kaziranga Elevated Corridor Project, worth over 6, 950 crore rupees at Kaliabor in Assam; Says Kaziranga is not merely a national park but the soul of Assam.
- Prime Minister also flags off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains.
- PM Modi to inaugurate and lay foundation stone of various development projects worth around 830 crore rupees at Singur in Hooghly district of West Bengal this evening.
- Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Jitan Ram Manjhi inaugurates PM Vishwakarma Haat in New Delhi.
- India’s power distribution utilities register a record profit of 2 thousand 701 crore rupees in 2024-25.
- NASA moves new moon rocket to launch pad for first crewed lunar flight in over 50 years
- And in Men’s Cricket, third and final ODI between India and New Zealand is underway in Indore.