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February 26, 2025 10:09 PM

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Evening News

THE HEADLINES:

⦁ Seven BJP MLAs inducted in council of ministers in Nitish Kumar led government in Bihar.
⦁ World’s largest spiritual gathering Mahakumbh comes to an end on auspicious day of Mahashivratri.
⦁ Government constitutes a six-member committee to revise norms for providing financial assistance to National Sports Federations.
⦁ Australian government launches roadmap to strengthen trade and investment ties with India.
⦁ US President Donald Trump announces Gold Card Investor Visa Programme for wealthy immigrants, replacing existing EB-5 visa; Says it will deal with the uncertainty of H-1B work visas for professionals.
⦁ Death toll in a military plane crash in Sudan rises to 46.
⦁ In ICC Men’s Champions Trophy, Afghanistan set a target of 326 runs against England at Lahore; Ibrahim Zadran smashes highest individual score of 177 runs.

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In Bihar, seven new ministers were inducted in the Nitish Kumar led cabinet in an expansion of councils of ministers today. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office to seven MLAs from BJP quota in the oath ceremony held this evening at Rajbhavan in Patna.

The new ministers who subscribed the oath are Sanjay Saraogi, Krishna Kumar Mantu, Dr Sunil Kumar, Motilal Prasad, Raju Kumar Singh, Vijay Kumar Mandal and Jibesh Kumar.

With today’s expansion the number of Nitish Kumar led cabinet has reached to 36 including Chief Minister.

The cabinet expansion has taken place in an election year when Bihar will go to the assembly polls later in the year. Four MLAs who got berth in the cabinet are from Mithila region which is assumed as the pocket borough of BJP in terms of performance of party in elections. Jibesh Kumar and Raju Kumar Singh are former ministers but all other five members are new faces who got chance first time. The number of representations of BJP in the cabinet has now reached to 21 while JD(U) has 13 members. One Cabinet minister belongs to Jitan Ram Manjhi led Hindustani Awam Morcha. In Bihar, the NDA has five constituents in the alliance. Dharmendra Kumar Rai, Akashvani News Patna.

Earlier in the day, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal resigned from the Cabinet to conform with his party’s policy of ‘one person, one post’.

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Union Minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh today said that NDA will contest upcoming Bihar Assembly elections under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Talking to the media in Madhubani, he said there is no confusion about leadership in Bihar for NDA. Mr. Singh said people of Bihar have rejected the model of governance of RJD Chief Lalu Prasad.

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Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju today hit out at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for claiming that Narendra Modi government has reduced the number of beneficiaries of scholarships from the SC, ST, OBC and Minority communities. In a social media post, Mr Rijiju said Minority Affairs Ministry has empowered minorities like never before under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added that there has been an increase in scholarships, opportunities and transparency.

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Election for the post of Deputy Speaker in the Delhi Assembly will be held tomorrow. Delhi Assembly in its list of business mentioned that Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will table a proposal to make BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht the Deputy Speaker.

Mr. Bisht is the MLA from Mustafabad constituency. Apart from this, the discussion on the CAG report related to the liquor policy of the previous government will also continue in the House. The CAG report was presented in the house yesterday.

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Government has constituted a six-member committee to revise the norms for providing financial assistance to National Sports Federations. According to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the committee will be headed by joint secretary (sports) Kunal. The Ministry said, after the Paris Olympic, a new Olympic Cycle has started which necessitated the need for review of the norms in view of the evolving circumstances. The Committee will submit its report within 15 days.

The norms of providing financial assistance to National Sports Federations were last revised by the Ministry in 2022.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation CBI has submitted the third supplementary chargesheet in the primary school teachers’ recruitment scam in West Bengal today. CBI has chargesheeted Sujoy Krishna Vadro the main accused in this case. The investigation agency has informed that in the chargesheet it has mentioned that Trinamool Congress leader and Member of Parliament from Diamond Harbour, West Bengal, Abhishek Banerjee demanded 15 crore rupees from Sujoy Krishna Vadro. There is an audio clip which has been sent to Central Forensic Science Laboratory for verification of the voice.

Moreover, former education minister Partha Chattopadhyay and Manik Bhattacharya, Trinamool Congress MLA’s have been named in the chargesheet.

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The Mahakumbh in Prayagraj will end tonight on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri. Over 66 crore 21 lakh devotees have taken the holy dip so far across the 45-day long spiritual mega event. The Mahakumbh also witnessed many prominent personalities. Our correspondent reports that over 1 crore 44 lakh devotees have taken the holy dip today till 6 pm.

The Mahakumbh this year has been one of the largest centers of spirituality and human congregation in history. The final dip of the event was made even more special on the occasion of Mahashivratri today. Many devotees visited Shiv temples in the city after their holy dip in the Sangam. An air show by the Indian Air Force at the Mahakumbh Mela area along with a shower of rose petals upon the ghats by the Uttar Pradesh government gave the devotees a memorable experience. Traffic arrangements were also strictly adhered with the authorities monitoring the situation from the Integrated Command and Control Center. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also greeted the devotees, saints and Kalpvasis on this occasion. He said the devotees have given the message of national unity and dedication towards nationalism to the whole world by taking the holy dip in the Sangam.

Talking to Akashvani News, devotees at the Mahakumbh shared their stories of witnessing this divine experience on the final day.

The Mahakumbh 2025, through its 45-day journey, gave people from around the world a memorable spiritual and cultural journey that will be cherished for countless years. With Abhishek Kapil, Adarsh for Akashvani News, Prayagraj.

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Railway has operated more than 243 outward trains from various stations of Prayagraj till 6 PM today for the convenience of the Mahakumbh devotees returning home after taking dip in Sangam on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. The Railway Ministry said, over 11.50 lakh passengers traveled in these trains. The Ministry said, special arrangements have been made to run additional trains after the Maha Shivaratri Snan, and extra rakes have been stationed near Prayagraj for use. For the convenience of passengers, holding areas near Prayagraj junction railway station have fully been operational.

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The festival of Mahashivaratri is being celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in India and abroad today. A large number of devotees are visiting the most revered Shiva temples in the different state. In Madhya Pradesh, devotees are thronging all major temples on the occasion of Mahashivratri. Our correspondent reports, at Jyotirlingas Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar, long queues of devotees is seen since early morning today.

 

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The Australian government has launched a roadmap to strengthen and diversify its trade and investment ties with India. The roadmap released by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office announced the country’s investment of 16 million dollars in the Australia-India Trade and Investment Accelerator Fund to boost commercial ties between the two countries.

The Australian government also announced an additional 4 million dollars investment into its Maitri Grants programme which aims to enhance people-to-people, business-to-business, and cultural ties between the two nations. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that India is an essential partner as Australia diversifies its trade links to enhance prosperity for all Australians.

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The United States President Donald Trump has announced a new gold card investor visa programme for wealthy immigrants, replacing the existing EB-5 visa. Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump said the companies can buy immigration Gold Card on payment of 5 million dollor for highly talented employees to deal with the uncertainties of work visas and green cards. He described the initiative as green card privileges plus as an upgrade from the green card system.

Trump said, it could deal with the uncertainty of H-1B work visas for professionals and the wait of decades for green cards that people have to endure.

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In Sudan, the death toll from a military plane crash has risen to 46 in the city of Omdurman. The military in a statement said the Antonov aircraft crashed yesterday while taking off from the Wadi Sayidna air base north of Omdurman, which is the sister city of the capital, Khartoum.

A military source cited a technical malfunction as the cause of the crash. The army, which has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, said the plane crashed during takeoff, killing and injuring both military personnel and civilians.

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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said that Indian and Japan can also collaborate to strengthen resilience supply chain for African countries particularly in critical and emerging sector. Speaking at the Japan-India-Africa Business Forum virtually, Dr Jaishankar said, the growth and prosperity of Africa will not only benefit its people but also contribute to broader global stability and economic progress. The Minister said, India’s approach to Africa has always been guided by a deep-rooted commitment to building long-term, mutually beneficial partnership.

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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today met the delegation from Poland who is in India to attend the Jamsaheb Memorial Youth Exchange programme. The delegation is on a visit to India from 19th to 27th of this month. It is covering several culturally and historically significant locations, including Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Gir, Diu, Kolhapur, and Delhi.

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President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen will be on a two day visit to India from tomorrow. This will be President Leyen’s third visit to India. She will meet External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in the evening tomorrow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold delegation level talks with the President of the European Commission on Friday.

India and Europe are strategic partners since 2004 and their bilateral ties have expanded and deepened across a wide range of areas. The visit of President von der Leyen and the EU College of Commissioners will pave the way for further strengthening of bilateral relations.

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The President Droupadi Murmu has arrived on a four-day visit to Gujarat today. She was welcomed at Vadodara airport by Governor Acharya Devvrat and Minister of State Jagdish Vishwakarma. During her four day visit, President Murmu will visit several places in Kevadiya and Kutch districts. She is also scheduled to attend two convocation ceremonies in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.

Our correspondent reports that the President arrived at Ekta Nagar this evening. During her stay at Ekta Nagar, the president will visit statue of Unity, the tallest statue ij the world and key attractions at the monument, including the viewing gallery, exhibition hall.

Tomorrow, the President will visit other key attractions at Ekta nagar such as Arogyavan, Miyawaki Forest, Later, she will attend the 44th convocation ceremony of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, where 430 students will receive degrees in various design disciplines.

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Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy today said the rescue operations will gain pace from tomorrow at the SLBC tunnel project. The rescue teams have made further progress but yet to establish contact with the trapped eight persons inside the tunnel. The rescue teams who went further inside the tunnel, could find water and dangerous wrangled parts of the machines in darkness amidst heaps of silt.

A part of the tunnel roof collapsed last Saturday and 8 persons including project and site engineers and 6 workers were trapped inside the tunnel.

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In Jammu and Kashmir, an army vehicle came under fire from suspected terrorists in a forward village near the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district today. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that there were no reports of any casualties. The terrorists believed to be hiding in a forest, fired a few rounds at the army vehicle passing through the area, which is considered a traditional infiltration route for terrorists. The troops returned fire and reinforcements were rushed to neutralise the terrorists. However, a massive Cardon and search operation has been launched by the security forces and the combing operation underway in the area.

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In the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy cricket, chasing a victory target of 326 England were at 195 runs for 4 wickets in 32.4 overs against Afghanistan at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Electing to bat first, Afghanistan scored 325 for 7 in stipulated 50 overs with opener Ibrahim Zadran recording the highest individual score 177 off 146 balls in ICC Champions Trophy history. Zadran surpassed the previous record of 165 set by England’s Ben Duckett earlier in the same tournament. England pacer Jofra Archer clamed 3 for 64 in his 10 overs spell.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :

Seven BJP MLAs inducted in council of ministers in Nitish Kumar led government in Bihar.
⦁ World’s largest spiritual gathering Mahakumbh comes to an end on auspicious day of Mahashivratri.
⦁ Government constitutes a six-member committee to revise norms for providing financial assistance to National Sports Federations.
⦁ Australian government launches roadmap to strengthen trade and investment ties with India.
⦁ US President Donald Trump announces Gold Card Investor Visa Programme for wealthy immigrants, replacing existing EB-5 visa; Says it will deal with the uncertainty of H-1B work visas for professionals.
⦁ Death toll in a military plane crash in Sudan rises to 46.
⦁ In ICC Men’s Champions Trophy, Afghanistan set a target of 326 runs against England at Lahore; Ibrahim Zadran smashes highest individual score of 177 runs.

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