THE HEADLINES:
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Constitution is guiding light of nation that stood test of time in every sense of the term.
• In his Mann ki baat programme on Akashvani, Prime Minister urges people to embrace spirit of unity while participating in Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj next month.
• PM Modi says, World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit next year is an important step toward making India a hub of global content creation.
• Death toll in South Korea plane crash goes upto 179.
• IMD forecasts dense to very dense fog and Cold wave conditions over Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan during next three days.
• And in Cricket, Australia consolidate its position in Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Melbourne taking 333 runs lead against India; Jasprit Bumrah completes 200 Test wickets.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that Constitution is the guiding light of the nation and stated that it is a matter of great honour that the Indian Constitution is completing 75 years on 26th January next year. Addressing the nation in his Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani, Mr Modi said the Constitution has stood the test of time in every sense of the term. The Prime Minister noted that on the occasion of Constitution Day this year, many activities have commenced that will continue throughout the year.
The Maha Kumbh is going to be held in Prayagraj from the 13th of January. Prime Minister said no discrimination is done and such unity in diversity is not witnessed anywhere else in the world. He stated that Kumbh is also the Maha Kumbh of unity. Mr. Modi urged people to embrace the spirit of unity while participating in the Maha Kumbh.
Touching the topic of animation, Mr Modi was pleased to note that Krish, Trish and Baltiboy, KTB, is a superhit animation series among children. Akashvani will broadcast the KTB series on every Sunday at 10:30 AM. It can also be watched on Doordarshan as well as other OTT platforms. Prime Minister Modi congratulated the film and entertainment industry because it has strengthened the sentiment of ‘Ek Bharat – Shreshtha Bharat’.
Prime Minister was pleased to share that for the first time, the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit, WAVES Summit, is going to be organised in India next year. He stated that as India is moving towards a 5 trillion dollar economy, the creator economy is bringing in new energy. He urged the entire entertainment and creative industry of India to be a part of the WAVES summit.
In this edition of Mann Ki Baat, Mr Modi highlighted two big achievements of India in the field of health. He said the first achievement has been in the fight against malaria.
He also elaborated that timely treatment means starting the treatment of a cancer patient within 30 days and the ‘Ayushman Bharat Yojana’ has played a big role in this. Because of this scheme, 90 percent of cancer patients have been able to start their treatment on time.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today called upon the Armed Forces to continue keeping a vigilant eye on the current geopolitical scenario, and always remain alert and ready to deal with any kind of threats. Interacting with all ranks of the three institutes at Army War College during Badakhana in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, he lauded the valuable contribution of the training institutions of the Indian Army in making the personnel proficient in military strategies and skills of warfare. Mr. Singh was on a visit to the three Premier Training Institutes. He was accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi and other senior officers of the Indian Army. Mr Rajnath Singh was briefed by the Officiating Commandant on the establishment of Advanced Incubation & Research Centre and the various MoUs towards enabling absorption & transformation of technologies.
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Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi today visited Charilam village in Sepahijala district of Tripura to oversee renewable energy project taken up by the Tripura Renewable Energy Development Agency (TREDA) for the farmers.
During the review of the Ministry’s activities in the area, the Minister said 27 SPV Pumps covering 54 acres of land under PM- KUSUM Scheme (Component B) and 35 LED based SPV Street Lighting Systems under MNRE Scheme have been installed.
He added that these initiatives have led to the successful implementation of double cropping, resulting in double income for the farmers.
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Bharatiya Janata Party’s organizational election review meeting was held at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi today. Party National president Jagat Prakash Nadda addressed a session of the meeting. Organization General Secretary BL Santosh, National General Secretaries, all the state presidents, state organization general secretaries and organization election in-charge and co-in-charge attended the meeting.
Party sources said, the review meeting was focussed on the elections for Mandal, District and State office bearers. The party aims to complete elections for Mandal, District, and State positions in 50 per cent of states by 15th of next month.
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Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia has been sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Shimla, today. The oath of office was administered by Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was also present on the occasion along with state cabinet ministers.
Earlier on 24th December, the union government notified the appointment of Justice Sandhawalia the senior-most Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as the next Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
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The Delhi Police has deported seven illegal Bangladeshi immigrants including five women back to Bangladesh. Two men aged 20 and 33 were residing in Gurugram of the National Capital Region while the other five women are also reported to be residing in the same area. Talking to the media, South Delhi DCP Ankit Chauhan informed that some of the migrants were working on construction sites while others were planning to work in beauty parlours.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had previously ordered a special drive to identify and take strict action against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing across Delhi and NCR region.
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India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense to very dense fog over Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan during 2 to 3 days. Dense fog conditions are also likely to prevail during late night and early morning hours in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
IMD also forecast light to scattered rainfall and snowfall over Western Himalayan region from 1st to 4th of next month due to Western disturbance.
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This December, Himachal Pradesh experienced good rainfall and snowfall. Farmers and orchardists are delighted with the snowfall, and tourists are thoroughly enjoying the experience as well.
“The snowfall and rainfall in the state during the last week of December have brought joy to farmers and orchardists. Meanwhile, tourists visiting Shimla and other popular destinations for the New Year celebrations are relishing the snowfall. However, the snowfall has also caused difficulties, with over 200 roads, including 3 national highways, completely closed. Post-snowfall and rainfall, the minimum temperature in several areas has dropped significantly below zero. The Meteorological Department has predicted clear weather for the next three days in the state, while an orange alert for a cold wave has been issued in five districts. PRABHA SHARMA, AKASHVANI NEWS, SHIMLA.”
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In Jammu & Kashmir, the traffic on Srinagar Jammu National highway plied normally after 270-kilometre-long highway was reopened for vehicular traffic today.
The highway remained closed for two days since Friday following inclement weather and heavy snowfall in Kashmir region. A senior traffic official said, all stranded vehicles were cleared to reach their destinations on both sides of the highway.
“At Srinagar, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah through video conferencing reviewed the status of essential services including snow clearance, power and water supply, health facilities and other critical services. He called for enhanced preparedness in view of the snowfall forecast in following week. The meeting was attended by legislators across party lines and senior officials of J&K administration. The meeting called for continuous monitoring and synergy among various departments to avoid any inconvenience to the public across Jammu & Kashmir. TARIQ RATHER, AKASHVANI NEWS SRINAGAR.”
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In South Korea plane crash, death toll has gone upto 179 out of 181 people onboard on Jeju Air flight. The dead included all 175 passengers and 4 crew members. Two crew members were rescued.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has declared a period of national mourning until 4 January over the plane crash. The disaster struck when the Boeing 737-800 flight was arriving at Muan International Airport this morning.
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In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump has defended the H-1B visa program that allows highly skilled foreign workers to immigrate to the US. In an interview to a news magazine, Trump said he is a believer in H-1B visas granted to thousands of foreign workers who immigrate to the US to fill specialized jobs. He said it is a great program and he has many H-1B visas on his properties.
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In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy test cricket, with a lead of 333 runs against India, Australia will resume their second innings at 228 for nine on the 5th day of fourth test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground tomorrow. On day 4 today, an unbeaten last wicket partnership of 55 runs between Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon helped Australia to reach 228 stretching their lead to 333 runs at stumps. Indian Pacer Jasprit Bumrah claimed four wickets and achieved a significant milestone, completing 200 Test wickets for India.
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The International Cricket Council has announced the nominees for the ICC awards 2024. Indian Pacer Arshdeep Singh has been named among the nominees for the T20I Cricketer of the Year award, joining Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza, Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Australia’s Travis Head. Arshdeep starred in the T20 World Cup triumph for India and took 36 wickets in T20 Internationals, this year.
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In Indian Super League Football, the match between hosts Jamshedpur football club and Kerala Blasters FC is underway at the JRD Tata Sports Complex. The score was 1-0 when the reports last came in.
The two teams headed into this clash on the back of identical run of forms, having two wins and three defeats in their last five matches. Jamshedpur FC are eighth in the points table with 18 points from 6 wins in 11 games. Kerala Blasters FC are placed 10th, garnering 14 points from 4 wins and couple of draws in 13 games.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Constitution is guiding light of nation that stood test of time in every sense of the term.
• In his Mann ki baat programme on Akashvani, Prime Minister urges people to embrace spirit of unity while participating in Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj next month.
• PM Modi says, World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit next year is an important step toward making India a hub of global content creation.
• Death toll in South Korea plane crash goes upto 179.
• IMD forecasts dense to very dense fog and Cold wave conditions over Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan during next three days.
• And in Cricket, Australia consolidate its position in Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Melbourne taking 333 runs lead against India; Jasprit Bumrah completes 200 Test wickets.
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