THE HEADLINES::
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeals to artisans to become entrepreneurs and businessmen by taking benefits of PM Vishwakarma scheme.
- Prime Minister to embark on a 3 day visit to United States tomorrow; Quad Summit, UN General Assembly and bilateral talks high on agenda.
- Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda says, NDA government has brought a politics of performance, accountability and last-mile delivery.
- Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flags off Bharat Nepal Maitri Yatra tourist train from New Delhi.
- In Sri Lanka, voting to take place tomorrow to elect a President.
- Sensex and Nifty touch new high amid strong global cues.
- In Cricket, India lead by 308 runs against Bangladesh at the end of day two of Chennai Test.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to artisans to become entrepreneurs and businessmen by taking the benefits of the PM Vishwakarma scheme. Addressing a function on the anniversary of PM Vishwakarma Yojana at Wardha in Maharashtra today, he said, this scheme is a roadmap to develop India by utilising thousands of years old skills in the country.
The Prime Minister said, under the scheme, over 6.5 lakh beneficiaries have been provided with the modern machinery and toolkits to increase the productivity of their occupation. Highlighting the benefits of scheme which provides a loan of 3 lakh rupees, the Prime Minister said, in the last one year, loans worth 1 thousand 400 crore rupees were disbursed to the beneficiaries.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit beginning tomorrow is packed with high level engagements and meetings ranging from participating in the annual QUAD Summit to addressing the United Nations’ Summit of the Future. Mr. Modi will leave for the US tomorrow early morning on a three day visit. He will begin his tour by participating in the QUAD Summit in US President Joe Biden’s hometown of Wilmington in Delaware. He is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Mr. Biden along with leaders of other members of the QUAD grouping. Afterward, the Prime Minister will travel to New York where he will interact with the Indian diaspora on the 22nd of this month. He will also hold interaction with CEOs of leading US-based companies to foster greater collaborations between the two countries in the areas of emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, and Semiconductors. On the last day of his three day tour, Mr. Modi will address the Summit of the Future at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The theme of the Summit is Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow.
We have our correspondent, Himani Rana, joining us, from New York.
Himani
Q1. On the first day of his visit, the Prime Minister will attend the Quad Leaders Summit at Wilmington in Delaware. What are the expected outcomes of the summit?
Q3. Himani, Prime Minister Modi is also expected to meet the CEOs of leading American companies in New York. Around which areas are the discussions planned?
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Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that semiconductor manufacturing company Analog Devices has partnered with the India Semiconductor Mission to develop semiconductor solutions in the country. In a social media post, Mr. Vaishnaw said that soon a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed with Semiconductor Advanced Manufacturing Upskilling for skill development.
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Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda today asserted that the NDA government has brought a politics of performance, accountability, and last-mile delivery to the country. Briefing the media in New Delhi about the achievements of his Ministry, Mr. Nadda stated that the government has made a significant decision to expand the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana by including all individuals aged 70 and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status. He said this aims to benefit six crore senior citizens with five lakh rupees in free health insurance.
Mr. Nadda informed that the expanded scheme will be implemented next month. He also mentioned another significant advancement, the U-WIN Portal, developed for the full digitization of vaccination services, providing complete vaccination records for pregnant women and children from birth to 17 years under the Universal Immunization Programme.
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Centre has sought a report from the Andhra Pradesh Government over the allegation of adulteration in Tirupati laddu. Replying to queries during a press conference in New Delhi today, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said, he has spoken to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on the issue and has sought a report in this regard. He said, the Government will examine the matter and take suitable action.
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asserted that the government has decided to uproot Naxalism and the idea of Naxalism from the country before March 2026. Mr Shah stated this while interacting with around 55 victims of Naxalite violence from Chhattisgarh at his residence in New Delhi today. He said, the Centre has been successful in ending Naxalism in the entire country except for 4 districts of Bastar. Mr Shah also appealed to Naxals to give up violence, lay down arms and surrender. He said that if Naxals don’t listen to his appeal to give up violence, then the government will soon launch an all-out operation against them.
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Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah today launched the party’s election campaign in Jharkhand starting the Parivartan Yatra campaign for Santhal Pargana Division from Bhognadih in the Sahebganj district. Addressing a public rally at the Police Line ground, Mr. Shah said that if the BJP is voted to power in the state, free treatment of up to 10 lakh rupees will be provided to people aged 75 years and older. He also alleged that Bangladeshi infiltrators have changed the demography of the Santhal region of the state. Addressing another rally in Giridih, Mr. Shah alleged that the Jharkhand government is protecting the infiltrators for vote bank politics.
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In Haryana, campaigning for assembly elections has intensified. BJP leader and co-incharge of Haryana Elections Biplab Dev today addressed party workers at Mahendergarh. At Gurugram, BJP’s Haryana co-incharge Surender Nagar addressed the party workers. BJP leader and Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini also addressed Jan Ashirwad Rally in Shahbad.
On the other hand, Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda addressed public rallies and campaigned in favour of party candidates. Azad Samaj Party chief and MP Chandrashekhar Azad also campaigned in favor of JJP-ASP candidates.
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In Kerala, noted Malayalam theatre and film personality Kaviyoor Ponnamma passed away at a hospital in Kochi this evening. She was 80. In a film and theatre career spanning over six decades, Kaviyoor Ponnamma acted in over 400 movies.
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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today flagged off the Bharat Nepal Maitri Yatra tourist train from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station in New Delhi. This 10-day Bharat Nepal Maitri Yatra will cover religious places in India and Nepal. During the 10-day trip, tourists will visit religious and heritage sites in Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Sitamarhi in India, and Janakpur, Kathmandu, and Pokhara in Nepal. Addressing the occasion, Mr. Vaishnaw said, tourists will now be able to experience the best of India and Nepal’s shared cultural heritage.
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Voters in Sri Lanka will choose a new President tomorrow as the island prepares to hold its first election after the 2022 economic crisis. While 38 candidates are in the race, the contest is mainly between the incumbent President Ranil Wickremasinghe, Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and leftist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
17 million voters will exercise their franchise to elect the ninth executive president in Sri Lanka tomorrow. District Returning Officers have confirmed that all necessary arrangements for the Election have been completed. Voting will commence at 7 am and go on till 4:30 pm after which the officials will start the counting of votes. to facilitate voter turnout, over 1300 buses are being deployed as per specific requirement of each region. Similarly, special trains are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday between Colombo and the northern region. Akashvani News, Ahmed Muyeen Farooqi, Colombo.
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At least eight people have been reportedly killed and 59 injured in Lebanon capital Beirut after an air strike carried out by Israel forces. Several news agencies reported that top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, has been killed in the strike.
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India’s domestic benchmark indices soared to new lifetime highs today amid strong global cues. In line with the equity market, the broader market at BSE also ended higher, snapping its three-day losing streak.
At close, Sensex settled at 84,544 with 1.6 percent or 1,359 points growth. The 30 stock index touched an all time high of 84,694 in the intra day trade. Meanwhile, the 50 stock index, Nifty hit a record high of 25,849 before closing the trade at 25,790. The Nifty index ended with 1.4 per cent or 375 points surge.
In the Forex market today, Indian rupee appreciated 11 paise to close at 83 rupees 57 paise against the US dollar. Lalima Aneja Dang for Akashvani News.
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In Cricket, India were 81 for three in their second innings at the end of day two of Chennai test against Bangladesh at MA Chidambaram Stadium. The hosts now lead by 308 runs in their second innings.
Earlier, Indian bowlers bundled up the first innings of Bangladesh at a paltry 149. In reply to India’s first innings score of 376, Bangladesh could manage to play just 47.1 overs. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah spearheaded the Indian attack scalping 4 wickets while Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Ravindra Jadeja bagged two wickets each.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeals to artisans to become entrepreneurs and businessmen by taking benefits of PM Vishwakarma scheme.
- Prime Minister to embark on a 3 day visit to United States tomorrow; Quad Summit, UN General Assembly and bilateral talks high on agenda.
- Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda says, NDA government has brought a politics of performance, accountability and last-mile delivery.
- Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flags off Bharat Nepal Maitri Yatra tourist train from New Delhi.
- In Sri Lanka, voting to take place tomorrow to elect a President.
- Sensex and Nifty touch new high amid strong global cues.
- In Cricket, India lead by 308 runs against Bangladesh at the end of day two of Chennai Test.
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