THE HEADLINES::
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate debate on 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram in Lok Sabha today.
- 20th session of Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage to begin today in New Delhi; India nominates festival of lights – Diwali as its submission for UNESCO Intangible heritage list this year.
- Four people arrested in connection with Goa nightclub fire; Chief Minister announces ex-gratia for victim’s kin.
- India and European Union to resume talks on Free Trade Agreement in New Delhi today.
- In men’s hockey, India beat hosts South Africa 5-2 in first match of three-match series in Cape Town.
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A special discussion on the 150th anniversary of the national song Vande Mataram will begin in Lok Sabha today. According to the official sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will initiate the debate in the Lok Sabha. Ten hours have been allotted for the discussion.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the full day discussion will start at 12 noon. He added, it was decided in the all party meeting chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that discussion on Vande Mataram will be conducted on 8th and debate on Electoral Reforms on 9th December.
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The 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will begin today at the Red Fort in New Delhi. The session will be chaired by Vishal V. Sharma, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO.
India has nominated Diwali – the festival of light, brotherhood, compassion, and collective celebration – as its submission for the UNESCO Intangible heritage list this year. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the proposal, earlier reviewed by independent evaluation bodies, will be discussed during the session and the government is confident of a positive outcome.
The six day event aims at Examining nominations submitted by States Parties for inscription on the UNESCO ICH Lists, reviewing the status of existing elements and providing international assistance for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.
The inaugural ceremony for the session was held at Red Fort in New Delhi yesterday. Speaking on the occasion, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that besides being home to many UNESCO heritage sites, India has itself undertaken many projects to preserve and conserve heritages across the world.
Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that the meeting reinforces the country’s commitment to protect the living traditions.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India’s motto of Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi is a commitment to ensure that modernization and urbanization strengthens culture rather than erasing the cultural roots. He said, India is ensuring that no tradition, no practitioner and no community remain invisible or unsupported.Mr Modi said this in his message at the inaugural ceremony of UNESCO’s 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in New Delhi. He said that for India, heritage has never been a matter of nostalgia, but is a living flowing river of continuous stream of knowledge, creativity and community.
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Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 is embodying the vision of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”. The fourth group of Tamil guests from Tamil Nadu, who arrived in Varanasi yesterday, received a grand welcome. The Writer and Media Professionals Group visited the Inter-Culture Studies Centre at BHU, engaging with the rich academic and cultural perspectives the institution nurtures.
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Goa Police has arrested four people including the general manager and 3 staffers of an Arpora nightclub after a massive fire at the club killed 25 people and injured six others. The move comes after police registered an FIR against the nightclub’s owners along with the manager and the event organisers.
Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch was also detained for issuing a trade license for the nightclub’s premises in 2013.
Addressing a press conference, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant vowed strict action against the culprits. Mr Sawant had earlier ordered a magisterial inquiry into the nightclub fire incident and constituted a committee comprising the District Magistrate and other officials from the police and the fire department. More from our correspondent:
The Goa Government has suspended three officials over lapses in granting permissions to the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, where a massive fire claimed several lives. Those suspended are Dr. Shamila Montero of the Pollution Control Board, Director of Panchayats Siddhi Halarnkar, and Hadfade-Nagwa Panchayat secretary Raghuveer Bagkar.
Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant earlier confirmed the arrest of four club staff members. Arrest warrants have been issued against owners Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, with a Goa Police team in Delhi to trace them. Local sarpanch Roshan Redkar remains detained for questioning.
The Chief Minister also announced ₹5 lakh ex-gratia for families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved ₹2 lakh and ₹50,000 from the PMNRF. Mahesh CHOPADE, AKASHVANI NEWS,PANAJI.
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The winter session of Maharashtra legislature will begin today. We have more from our correspondent:
The winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature will begin in the sub capital city – Nagpur today. The week-long session will be there till 14th of this month. On the first day supplementary demands will be tabled. Chief Minister, Devendra Fadvanis has informed that the government is ready to discuss all issues including agriculture in this session and a total of 18 bills will be tabled on the floor.
Meanwhile, the opposition leaders Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress , Bhaskar Jadhao of Shiv Sena (UBT) have alleged that the current dispeansion is not ready to give constitutional posts of Leader of opposition (LoP) in both houses of legislature and it is undermining the democratic institutions. The opposition also boycotted the customary tea party hosted by the ruling party yesterday on the eve of winter session in Nagpur. CM Fadnavis however made it clear that , the decision of appointing LoP rests with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman of the Legislative Council and ruling party will accept the decisions given by these presiding officers of the legislature. Dhananjay Wankhede, Akashvani News, Nagpur.
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India and the European Union will resume talks in New Delhi today on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The two-day negotiation session will commence today, marking another step forward in the long-standing effort to establish stronger economic ties between the EU and India. EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin, while speaking at India’s World Annual Conclave 2025, said the current negotiations represent a fundamentally new phase, calling them “EU-India FTA negotiation 2.0”. The EU is India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral goods trade reaching 137.5 billion dollars in 2023-24.
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India has stepped up humanitarian outreach to Sri Lanka as the island nation struggles to recover from the devastation caused by last week’s cyclonic storm, with fresh consignments of emergency relief arriving to support displaced families, damaged communities and disrupted livelihoods across several hard-hit districts.
Emergency relief consignments totalling 300 metric tonnes were formally handed over to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, as part of a larger 1,000-tonne assistance package dispatched by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
India has delivered 300 metric tonnes of emergency relief to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, as part of a broader 1,000-tonne assistance package from Tamil Nadu. Another ship carrying 700 tonnes is due to reach Trincomalee today afternoon. The aid was formally handed over by Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha to Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, as Sri Lanka continues to battle the aftermath of devastating floods that have killed 618 people and displaced thousands. India continues to help Sri Lanka through its Humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) efforts under Operation Sagar Bandhu. AHMED MUYEEN FAROOQI, AKASHVANI NEWS,Colombo.
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In view of the seasonal and Wintery Conditions, the 428 Km long Leh- Manali National Highway (NH-03) is officially closed for all kinds of vehicular movement with effect from today. It will open for traffic by next year after clearance of snow from all the four passes enroute to Leh-Manali Highway.
The decision of closures of this highway in an order is shared through a public notice by the Ladakh Police advising the public and commuters to avoid this route.
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In men’s hockey, India defeated hosts South Africa 5-2 in the first match of the three-match series at Stellenbosch in Cape Town, last night.
For India, goals came from Shailanand Lakra, Aditya Lalage, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, and Dilpreet Singh, while Mustapha Cassiem and Viwe Mbata scored for South Africa.
The second hockey test will be played today at 8:30 pm Indian Time at Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town.
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In FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025 semifinal match, Germany beat India comprehensively by a 5-1 margin at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai last night. Germany’s Lukas Kossel, Titus Wex, Jonas Gersum, and Ben Hasbach got on the scoresheet. Anmol Ekka was India’s sole goalscorer.
India reached the semifinals after defeating Belgium in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals. India, the two-time champions were aiming for their first title since 2016, while Germany enter the contest as the most successful side in the tournament’s history with seven titles.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast cold wave conditions in parts of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Vidarbha today. Places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu Puducherry and Karaikal are expected to experience thunderstorms and lightning. The Weather agency further predicted dense fog conditions at isolated pockets over Assam, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Odisha till the 11th of this month.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
- The tragic fire incident in a night club in Goa continues to figure prominently on the front pages of newspapers. “25 dead in Goa club fire; FIR flags lack of licences, exits; Four arrested, warrants out for owners”, reports The Indian Express.
- The IndiGo fiasco is lingering on. A front-page headline in The Times of India says, “Government probe to cover why IndiGo delayed preparations for new norms; Also investigate if pilots weren’t assigned duties”.
- In a majot breakthrough against financial fraud, the cyber cell of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has dismantled a multi-state cyber syndicate allegedly operating through shell companies and cryptocurrency channels with suspected Chinese links, writes The Tribune.
- And finally, McLaren driver Lando Norris celebrates his first Formula 1 title at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, reports Hindustan Times under the headline, “New King of the F1 track”.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN,
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate debate on 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram in Lok Sabha today.
- 20th session of Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage to begin today in New Delhi; India nominates festival of lights – Diwali as its submission for UNESCO Intangible heritage list this year.
- Four people arrested in connection with Goa nightclub fire; Chief Minister announces ex-gratia for victim’s kin.
- India and European Union to resume talks on Free Trade Agreement in New Delhi today.
In men’s hockey, India beat hosts South Africa 5-2 in first match of three-match series in Cape Town.
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