THE HEADLINES:
• Thirty-nine Ministers inducted in BJP-led Mahayuti Government of Maharashtra.
• Government unveils ‘Jalvahak’ scheme to incentivise movement of long-haul cargo through inland Waterways.
• President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrives in New Delhi on a three-day visit to India.
• Fives aspects of 38th National Games including logo, mascot and anthem unveiled in Dehradun.
• In Women’s Cricket, India register massive nine-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match of Under-19 T20 Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur.
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Thirty-nine Ministers were inducted into the Council of Ministers of BJP-led Mahayuti Government in Maharashtra today. These include 33 Cabinet Ministers and six Ministers of State who were sworn-in at a ceremony at Raj Bhawan in Nagpur.
Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly inducted ministers. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were also present on the occasion.
“In the cabinet ministerial berths, BJP tops the tally with 16 Cabinet Ministers and 3 Ministers of State while Shiv Sena got 9 Cabinet berths and 2 Ministers of State. Nationalist Congress Party’s 8 Cabinet Ministers and 1 Minister of State took oath. The prominent ministers include BJP’s state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule BJPs Shivendra Singh Bhosale Nitesh Rane, Shivsena’s Sanjay Rathod and NCPs Narahari Jhirwal and Hasan Mushrif. The Maharashtra cabinet also includes four women ministers BJP’s Pankaja Munde, Madhuri Misal, Meghna Bordikar and Nationalist Congress Party’s Aditi Tatkare. The week long winter session of the Maharashtra assembly will begin from tomorrow at Nagpur. Dhananjay Wankhede, Akashvani News, Nagpur.”
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the fourth National Conference of Chief Secretaries in New Delhi today. Mr Modi chaired the meeting yesterday as well. The three-day conference which began on Friday was aimed to further strengthen the partnership between the Centre and the State Governments, with a focus on enhancing cooperative federalism and ensuring better coordination to achieve faster growth and development. Chief Secretaries, senior officials of all States and Union Territories and domain experts among others attended the Conference.
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah today reiterated the Central government’s resolve to end the menace of Naxalism from Chhattisgarh by 31st of March, 2026. He hailed the state police’s efforts in curbing Left-Wing Extremism over the past year. Mr Shah was speaking at an event in Raipur to mark the prestigious President’s Colour Award to Chhattisgarh Police. He appealed to Maoists to join the mainstream and make the best use of the surrender policy of the state government.
Later in the day, Union Home Minister attended the closing ceremony of the Bastar Olympics in Jagdalpur. He stated that the event will pave the way for peace, security, and development in the region.
Eight teams, including a group of surrendered Naxalites, participated in an impressive march-past. Over one lakh fifty thousand players took part in the Bastar Olympics, with around three thousand competing at the divisional level. Union Home Minister also interacted with surrendered Maoists and families affected by Naxal violence.
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Two bills related to One Nation, One Election are scheduled to be introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will introduce The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Lower House.
Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the constitutional amendment bill recently to roll out the concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls.
The high-level committee on one nation, one election led by former president Ram Nath Kovind had recommended holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls in the country.
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Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal today unveiled ‘Jalvahak’ scheme, to give boost to cargo movement on three National Waterways. Jalvahak is aimed at incentivising the movement of long-haul cargo via National Waterways on rivers Ganga, Brahmaputra and Barak. The cargo promotion scheme provides a direct incentive to the cargo owners to transport their goods through inland waterways for a distance of more than 300 km. Mr Sonowal also flagged off 3 cargo ships with two Dumb Barges from the GR Jetty in Kolkata.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said, government has made a concerted effort to realise the tremendous potential of India’s rich network of inland waterways.
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President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrived New Delhi this evening on a three-day visit to India. He was received by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan at Delhi airport. This is the first bilateral visit of President Dissanayake to India after the recently concluded presidential and parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka.
During his visit, Mr Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow on bilateral issues of mutual interest.
President Dissanayake will also participate in a business event in Delhi to promote investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka. He will visit Bodh Gaya in Bihar.
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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova, Mihail Popsoi today jointly inaugurated the Embassy of Moldova in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jaishankar said, the establishment of the embassy marks a significant milestone in the relationship between the two nations.
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External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar stated that India has emerged as a nation with greater expectations and responsibilities. Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Dr. Jaishankar highlighted India’s growing role as a global first responder.
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Union Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth has described the new India as resilient, unstoppable, and determined to achieve greatness. He highlighted country’s rapid progress and said that India will lead the world by 2047, marking 100 years of Independence. Mr Seth was speaking at Gurdaspur in Punjab today.
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President Droupadi Murmu today attended an At-Home reception at Army House in New Delhi on the eve of Vijay Diwas. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi were among those present on the occasion.
The nation will celebrate the Vijay Diwas tomorrow to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war.
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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has said that mass awareness and public participation are key to success in the fight against Tuberculosis (TB) and Drug Addiction. Mr Birla said this while inaugurating a friendly cricket match among Members of Parliament, across political parties, for raising awareness about TB Mukt Bharat and Nasha Mukt Bharat campaigns at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi today.
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Foreign investors pumped in nearly 28,000 crore rupees into the Indian capital markets in the first two weeks of this month. As per the depositories data, the foreign portfolio investors or FPIs, pumped in 22,766 crore rupees into the Indian equities markets and 4,814 crore rupees into the debt market. This comes after heavy outflows in the last few months. So far this year, FPIs have invested 1.2 lakh crore rupees into the Indian capital markets.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share his thoughts with the people of the country and abroad in the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on Akashvani on 29th of December. It will be the 117th episode of the monthly radio programme.
People can submit their ideas and suggestions for the programme through the toll free number 1800-11-7800. People can also share their input online via the Narendra Modi App or the MyGov Open Forum. Suggestions for the upcoming episode will be accepted till 27th of this month.
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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami unveiled five aspects of the 38th National Games including the logo, mascot, anthem, jersey and torch at Dehradun today.
The 38th National Games are proposed to be held in Uttarakhand from January 28th to 14th February next year.
Addressing the programme virtually, Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya emphasised on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal to make India a superpower in sports. He said that the Government is constantly working to reform the sports policy. He said that this event of the National Games will give a new image of the country’s development journey.
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In Women’s Under-19 T20 Asia Cup Cricket, India registered a massive nine-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening Group A match at Kualalumpur in Malaysia. Opting to bat first, Pakistan were restricted to 67/7 in 20 overs. In reply, chasing a meagre total of 68 runs, India overhauled the target in just 7.5 overs.
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In Men’s Cricket, Australia were 405 for 7 against India in their first innings at the draw of stumps, on day two of the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba in Brisbane.
The five-match series is currently tied 1-1 after Australia won the second Test at Adelaide Oval, while India won the opening game in Perth.
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In Women’s Junior Asia Cup hockey, title clash between India and China is underway at Muscat in Oman. The first quarter remained goalless with defences of both the teams spoiling the party. In a disappointment for India, they missed out on two penalty corners.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
• Thirty-nine Ministers inducted in BJP-led Mahayuti Government of Maharashtra.
• Government unveils ‘Jalvahak’ scheme to incentivise movement of long-haul cargo through inland Waterways.
• President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrives in New Delhi on a three-day visit to India.
• Fives aspects of 38th National Games including logo, mascot and anthem unveiled in Dehradun.
• In Women’s Cricket, India register massive nine-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match of Under-19 T20 Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur.
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