THE HEADLINES:
• Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh cremated with full state honours; Government to allocate space for memorial of Dr Manmohan Singh, says Home Ministry.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his thoughts with the people in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on Akashvani at 11 tomorrow morning.
• Central Consumer Protection Authority to investigate cab aggregators over differential pricing.
• Rajasthan government dissolves nine districts, and 3 divisions created under previous government.
• 19 Pakistani soldiers and 3 Afghan civilians killed in clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan border forces.
• Hockey India League 2024-25 kicks off in Rourkela; Delhi SG Pipers takes on Gonasika in the tournament opener now underway.
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The mortal remains of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames with full State honours at Nigam Bodh Ghat in New Delhi today. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter, Upinder Singh. After the ceremonial guard of honour, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Jagat Prakash Nadda and LoK Sabha Speaker Om Birla paid their last respects to the former Prime Minister at Nigan Bodh Ghat. Besides, several leaders from Congress party including Party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi offered their tributes. Dr. Manmohan Singh died on 26th December at AIIMS, New Delhi at the age of 92.
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The Union Home Ministry has said that the government will allocate space for the memorial of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The Ministry said in a statement that the Government received a request from the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in this regard yesterday. The Ministry said, immediately after the Union Cabinet meeting, Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Mr Kharge and the family of Dr Singh that the Government will allocate space for the memorial.
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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’ program on Akashvani at 11 AM tomorrow. It will be the 117th episode of the monthly radio program. The program will be broadcast on the entire network of Akashvani and Doordarshan, the AIR News website, and the Newsonair mobile app. It will also be live-streamed on the YouTube channels of AIR News, DD News, PMO, and Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Akashvani will broadcast the program in regional languages immediately after the Hindi broadcast.
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Union Minister for Consumer Affairs , Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has directed the the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to investigate allegations of differential pricing by cab aggregators. They are allegedly charging different fares for the same rides on Android and Apple devices. In a social media post, Mr Joshi said that he has asked the CCPA to conduct a detailed inquiry into this and submit a report at the earliest. Mr Joshi has also asked the Department to look into other sectors as well like, food delivery apps, online ticket booking apps among others. He said, the government has adopted zero tolerance for consumer exploitation.
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The Haryana government today approved the revision of the Ex-Gratia amount to be given to the families of battle casualties of Armed Forces personnel and Central Armed Police Forces personnel. The Ex-Gratia amount has been increased from 50 lakh to 1 crore rupees. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini informed this in a press conference.
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The Supreme Court today pulled up the Punjab government for its failure to ensure the hospitalization of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast-unto-death. Mr. Dallewal has been fasting at Khanauri, a border point between Punjab and Haryana, since November 26 in support of long-standing farmer demands, including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, loan waivers, and agricultural reforms. A Vacation Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant told Punjab’s Advocate General Gurminder Singh to comply with the court’s previous orders, which instructed the state government to ensure Dallewal’s health remained stable. The Supreme Court ordered the Punjab Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to comply with its directives within two days, with the matter scheduled for a hearing on December 31.
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Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has ordered an inquiry into the allegation that non-government people are collecting personal details of residents of Delhi for the proposed Mahila Samman Yojana. He also said that the Commissioner of Police may direct the field officers to take action as per the law against the persons who are breaching the privacy of citizens. He ordered action against private individuals organizing camps for fraudulent enrollment in government schemes. The Delhi LG ordered a probe in this regard after receiving complaints from Congress’ New Delhi assembly constituency candidate Sandeep Dikshit.
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The Rajasthan government announced that nine out of the 17 new districts created by the previous government will be dissolved. Apart from this, the divisional status given to Pali, Banswara, and Sikar will also be abolished. Our correspondent reports that eight new districts will remain intact. This decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting held today. Rajasthan’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel said these districts and divisions were established prior to the elections without proper consideration of practicality. He said a review committee concluded that these districts were not viable.
The cabinet decision of Rajasthan government under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, has resulted in dissolution of Dudu, Kekri, Shahpura, Neemkathana, Sanchore, Anupgarh and Gangapur City districts. Jaipur Rural and Jodhpur Rural districts have also been removed from the list of new districts. However, Balotra, Beawar, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, Kotputli-Beharod, Khairthal-Tijara, Phalodi and Salumber districts have been kept intact. As the result of today’s decision there will be 7 divisions and 41 districts in Rajasthan. On the other hand, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, while talking to media, accused the current state government for doing politics on this issue. He said that his government took the decision on the basis of demography and for good governance. Saleha Ghazi, Akashvani News, Jaipur.
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On to weather news, North India continues to reel under cold wave conditions. Talking exclusively to Akashvani News, India Meteorological Department senior scientist Dr. RK Jenamani said that an orange alert for very dense fog conditions has been issued for North India tomorrow, including the Delhi-NCR region.
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In Jammu & Kashmir, the snowfall, occurring after a long dry spell and bone-chilling cold, has caused severe disruptions, with life coming to a halt in many areas of the Kashmir region. The administration, including the Army and J&K Police, is undertaking rescue operations in snowbound areas, besides providing succor to rescued people and tourists across the Kashmir region.
Director of Meterological Department Dr Mukhtar Ahmad predicted increase in cold from 30th to 31st December. He said moderate to heavy snowfall is likely to occur particularly in far flung areas between 3rd to 6th January next year. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reviewed all the measures being taken regarding restoration of traffic on main roads, restoration of power, drinking water supply and essential supplies. He emphasized the importance of seamless coordination and uninterrupted services to ensure comfort to the general public. Tariq Rather, Akashvani News, Srinagar.
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In Himachal Pradesh, intermittent snowfall continues in the upper areas, while light rain continues in the lower areas.
In Himachal Pradesh, normal life has been affected due to snowfall in upper & tribal areas and power supply has been disrupted in many places due to hundreds of electricity transformers being damaged. About 4 feet of snow has fallen in the upper areas of Lahaul Spiti district while the famous tourist city of Manali has also been covered in a white sheet of fresh snow. Due to snowfall, traffic activities have affected on more than one hundred roads and the administration has deployed heavy machinery to open them. The weather department has predicted that snowfall will continue in the upper regions of the state throughout the night today. Prabha Sharma, Akashvani News, Shimla.
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In Uttarakhand, Intermittent snowfall and rain has been continuing in the state since yesterday evening. Our correspondent reported that the cold has increased due to heavy snowfall in the higher altitudes and rain in the lower areas.
Heavy snowfall has occurred in Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Hemkund Sahib, Auli and other high altitude areas of the state. Temperature has significantly dropped due to snowfall. Along with this, rain has also brought relief from pollution in urban areas. The district administration has made all necessary arrangements to clear the roads blocked due to snowfall in high altitude areas. Meanwhile, in view of the increasing cold in the state, holiday has been declared in all schools and Anganwadi centers in the capital Dehradun from 28 December to 4 January. It may be noted that the Met Dept. has declared clear weather for tomorrow in the State. Sakshi Singh, Akashvani News, Dehradun.
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At least 19 Pakistani soldiers and three Afghan civilians were killed today after Heavy clashes erupted between Afghan and Pakistani border forces at border crossing points. The fierce clashes are ongoing in eastern Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces bordering Pakistan. Afghan border forces have set on fire several Pakistani military posts in the Ali Shir district of Khost province. Three Afghan civilians lost their lives due to mortar shells fired by Pakistani soldiers in the Dand-e-Patan district.
The clashes took place following airstrikes carried out by Pakistani troops in Paktika province on Tuesday night that killed 51 people, including women and children.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev following the downing of a commercial plane in Russian airspace that killed 38 people. However, Mr. Putin stopped short of acknowledging Russia’s responsibility for the incident. After a phone call between Mr. Putin and Mr. Aliyev, the Kremlin said the Russian President described it as a tragic incident occurring while Russian air defense systems were actively repelling Ukrainian drone attacks. Earlier, some media outlets reported that the plane, targeted by Russian air defense systems as it attempted to land in Chechnya, was forced to divert over the Caspian Sea. It crash-landed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 passengers on board.
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Reigning World Chess Champion, Gukesh D met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. In a social media post, the Prime Minister lauded Gukesh D’s determination and dedication, saying that his confidence was truly inspiring. He mentioned that Gukesh’s prediction of becoming the youngest world champion has now clearly come true, thanks to his own efforts. The Prime Minister also remarked that Gukesh embodies calmness and humility. He shared that his conversation with Gukesh also revolved around the transformative potential of yoga and meditation.
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The 2024-25 edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) kicks off at Rourkela in Odisha today. The tournament opener between Delhi SG Pipers and Gonasika is underway at the Birsa Munda Stadium.
At half time both team were tied at 1-1.
The men’s league will be played in two phases. Phase One will run from today till the 18th of January, with each team competing once. Phase Two will begin on 19th January, where teams will be split into two pools and play against each others in their respective pools. The top four teams from this phase will progress to the semifinals, set for the 31st of January, next year. The final is scheduled on 1st of February.
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In Cricket, India will resume their innings on Day 4 of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground tomorrow, with centurion Nitish Reddy and Mohammad Siraj at the crease. The visitors remain 116 runs behind Australia’s first-innings total of 474. India were 358 for 9 at stumps on Day 3, with play ending early due to bad light.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
• Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh cremated with full state honours; Government to allocate space for memorial of Dr Manmohan Singh, says Home Ministry.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his thoughts with the people in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on Akashvani at 11 tomorrow morning.
• Central Consumer Protection Authority to investigate cab aggregators over differential pricing.
• Rajasthan government dissolves nine districts, and 3 divisions created under previous government.
• 19 Pakistani soldiers and 3 Afghan civilians killed in clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan border forces.
• Hockey India League 2024-25 kicks off in Rourkela; Delhi SG Pipers takes on Gonasika in the tournament opener now underway.
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