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December 2, 2024 9:55 PM

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Evening News

THE HEADLINES:

• Government and Opposition parties reach consensus to end deadlock in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

• BJP appoints senior party leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and Vijay Rupani as Central Observers to oversee election of its legislature party leader in Maharashtra.

• Cyclone Fengal causes widespread devastation bringing heavy rainfall and flooding in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

• Supreme Court refuses to relax GRAP-4 restrictions in Delhi-NCR until Air Quality Index shows downward trend.

• And, in Cricket, India thrash Japan by massive 211 runs in a group-stage match of Under-19 Asia Cup at Sharjah.

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The government and the opposition parties today reached a consensus to end the deadlock in the ongoing winter session of Parliament, ensuring smooth functioning of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

 

The breakthrough came during a meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of the Floor leaders of various political parties at the Parliament House this afternoon. During the meeting, Mr Birla requested all the members to let the house to function smoothly. The leaders agreed to extend their support to run the house smoothly.

 

The meeting was attende by Gaurav Gogoi of Congress, Kalyan Banerjee of TMC, Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu of TDP, T R Baalu of DMK, Supriya Sule of NCP, Dharmendra Yadav of SP, Dileshwar Kamait of JD(U), Abhay Kushwaha of RJD, Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT) among others.

 

Later, talking to reporters outside the Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, the leaders who were present in the meeting have assured their support for smooth conduct of both the Houses of Parliament. He said, a special discussion on the Constitution to commemorate its 75th year of adoption, will be held in the Lok Sabha on 13th and 14th of this month. In the Rajya Sabha, the discussion will take place on 16th and 17th December.

 

Earlier, both the Houses of Parliament could not transact any substantive business on the fifth consecutive day today following the opposition’s continued ruckus over various issues including alleged bribery charges against a prominent business group and violence at Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. Amid uproar, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed adjournments, first till noon and then for the day.

 

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The BJP has appointed senior party leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and Vijay Rupani as the party’s Central Observers for its legislature party’s meeting in Maharashtra, where the MLAs will elect their leader. The BJP Parliamentary Board has approved their appointment. The BJP led Mahayuti coalition registered a landslide victory, securing 230 out of 288 seats in the recently held Assembly polls.

 

Meanwhile, the suspense regarding the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra, continues amidst intense political discussions. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani are likely to meet the newly elected BJP MLAs in Mumbai tomorrow evening. The BJP’s legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

 

The much-anticipated oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra is scheduled to take place on Thursday evening at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar today emphasized the need for global partnerships, noting that the world faces complex challenges on multiple fronts. Speaking at the CII Partnership Summit in New Delhi, Dr.Jaishankar referred to the Ukraine conflict, US-China tensions, and issues like inflation, debt, and currency problems in the Global South, stressing the need for more cooperation.

The Minister also noted the growing strategic convergence between India and the United States, which has opened up more opportunities for collaboration.

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India has said that the incident related to the breach of premises at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission earlier today in Agartala is deeply regrettable. In a statement, the External Affairs Ministry said, the diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances. The Ministry added that the Government of India is taking action to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and their Deputy and Assistant High Commissions in the country.

 

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Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Chirag Paswan, today highlighted the huge potential in India’s food processing sector. Speaking at the Food Processing Investors’ meet at Patna in Bihar, the Minister said India can establish itself as a global food hub and gain international recognition in the sector. He emphasized that the sector can boost farmers’ incomes by extending the shelf life of perishable goods.

 

The Minister assured the Centre’s support to Bihar, which remains a top producer of foxnut, litchi, and other agricultural products.

 

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Cyclone Fengal has caused widespread devastation, bringing record rainfall and flooding to Puducherry and parts of Tamil Nadu. In Puducherry, four persons were killed in rain-related incidents while two others are still missing. Chief Minister N. Rangasamy has announced a compensation of 5 lakh rupees each to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident. To ease the hardships caused by severe weather, the Chief Minister also declared five thousand rupees relief for every ration cardholder in the Union Territory.

 

Highlighting the Relief operations, the Chief Minister said, the government evacuated 551 people and shifted them to relief camps.

 

Over 10,000 hectares of crops were destroyed in Puducherry, Karaikal, and Yanam. The government has pledged 30,000 rupees per hectare as compensation to affected farmers. Compensation will also be given for livestock losses and property damage.

 

A preliminary report estimating damages of 100 crore rupees has been sent to the central government to receive financial assistance.

 

In Tamil Nadu, at least 13 people have lost their lives in rain related incidents so far. Moderate to heavy rains are lashing the interior districts of the state as Cyclone Fengal is making headway to reach the Arabian Sea. Water bodies in Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram are overflowing as rains continue unabated.

 

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning over Kerala, north interior Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Lakshadweep, Coastal and South Interior Karnataka tomorrow. Kerala, Karnataka, Goa coasts, Lakshadweep area, gulf of Mannar and adjoining parts of Comorin area can experience squally weather tomorrow. The weather office has advised the fishermen not to venture into the sea in these regions. Further, in Delhi-NCR, smog and shallow-moderate fog is expected in the night and morning hours.

 

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The Supreme Court today refused to relax emergency measures implemented under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to tackle severe air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region till it noticed a downward trend in the air quality index (AQI) level. Posting the matter to the fifth of this month, a bench comprising justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, said, the Apex Court will examine the AQI levels on Thursday and find out whether there is any downward trend.

 

The Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi and adjoining areas submitted a report to the court seeking that emergency measures be scaled down from Grap-4 to Grap-2 as the AQI was in poor category.

 

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The air quality in national capital Delhi has shown slight improvement but was registered in the poor category with an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 275 as of 8 this evening. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, some areas of the city have breached the 300 AQI levels.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today watched the Hindi movie- ‘The Sabarmati Report’ at the GMC Balayogi Auditorium in the Parliament Library Building, New Delhi. Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw along with other Cabinet Ministers, Member of Parliaments and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

 

Later, in a social media post, the Prime Minister commended the makers of the film for their efforts.

 

Last month in a social media post, Mr Modi had said that it is good that this truth is coming out and that too in a way common people can see it.

 

The Film is based on the February 2002 Godhra Train Burning Incident in Gujarat.

 

Actor of the film Vikrant Massey said, this is the highest point of his career, as he got to watch his film with the Prime Minister.

 

The film has been made tax-free in many states and other states are also on the way path of making it tax-free.

 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, PRAGATI represents a wonderful amalgamation of technology and governance, ensuring silos are removed and projects are completed on time. In a social media post, Mr Modi expressed happiness that Oxford’s Said Business School and Gates Foundation have recognised the effectiveness of PRAGATI in the study.

 

A new case study by Oxford’s Said Business School released at IIM Bangalore today revealed that since its launch in 2015, PRAGATI has helped accelerate 340 projects worth 205 billion dollars.

 

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Around 2000 ex-servicemen will be hired to impart training to NCC cadets in their academies. In an interview to Akashvani News, Director General of National Cadet Corps (NCC), Lieutenant General Gurbeerpal Singh said, NCC cadets are enthusiastically taking part in Agniveer scheme.

 

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In our bilingual live phone-in programme “Public Speak” tonight at 09.30 pm, we will bring an insightful discussion on “Addressing Mental Health Issues” with Dr. Pratima Murty, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) and Dr. Rajesh Sagar, Professor of Psychiatry, AIIMS.

 

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Domestic benchmark equity indices today ended with gains of over half percent. The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 445 points to close at 80,248 and the NSE Nifty50 advanced 145 points to settle at 24,276.

 

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In the Under-19 Asia Cup Cricket, India thrashed Japan by a massive 211 runs in a Group A match at Sharjah in United Arab Emirates to register their first win in the tournament. Put in to bat, India posted a mammoth 339 runs for 6 in 50 overs. However, Japan failed to achieve the target of 340 runs, scoring 128 for the loss of 8 wickets in the stipulated period.

 

India lost to arch-rival Pakistan by 43 runs in its tournament opener. The Men in Blue will play United Arab Emirates in its final group game on Wednesday.

 

In another group A match today, Pakistan defeated UAE by 69 runs in Dubai.

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.

• Government and Opposition parties reach consensus to end deadlock in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

• BJP appoints senior party leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and Vijay Rupani as Central Observers to oversee election of its legislature party leader in Maharashtra.

• Cyclone Fengal causes widespread devastation bringing heavy rainfall and flooding in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

• Supreme Court refuses to relax GRAP-4 restrictions in Delhi-NCR until Air Quality Index shows downward trend.

• And, in Cricket, India thrash Japan by massive 211 runs in a group-stage match of Under-19 Asia Cup at Sharjah.

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