THE HEADLINES:
• President Droupadi Murmu says, a developed India can be built only on strength of self-reliant, self-esteemed, independent and empowered women.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributes 450 crore rupees to over 2.5 lakh women during Lakhpati Didi Sammelan at Navsari in Gujarat.
• Death toll from fighting in Syria’s coastal Latakia region rises to over 500.
• Indian Women’s Kabaddi Team crowned Asian Champions for fifth time.
• And in Women’s Premier League Cricket, UP Warriorz were 216 for 3 in 19 overs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Lucknow, a shortwhile ago.
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President Droupadi Murmu has said, a developed India can be built only on the strength of self-reliant, self-esteemed, independent and empowered women. Addressing a day long conference on the theme ‘Nari Shakti Se Viksit Bharat’ in New Delhi today to mark the International Women’s Day, the President
stressed that there should be more women in the workforce as India is heading towards becoming the third biggest economy in the world.
President Murmu said that the Central government is continuously working to ensure that women in the country are politically, economically, and socially empowered, and are able to lead the nation towards the vision of a developed India. She described the provision of reservations for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies through the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam as a historic step towards political empowerment.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today distributed 450 crore rupees in financial assistance to over 2.5 lakh women from over 25,000 Self-Help Groups during the Lakhpati Didi Sammelan at Navsari in Gujarat. Speaking on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Mr. Modi assured that his government is dedicated to the empowerment of women, highlighting the significant steps taken to improve their lives. He emphasized that India is advancing towards women-led development, with the government placing utmost importance on the dignity and well-being of women at every step.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the government’s achievements in enhancing women’s security over the past decade, citing the implementation of new criminal laws designed to protect women’s rights.
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The Delhi Government today approved the Mahila Samridhi Yojana to provide two thousand five hundred rupees to poor women. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta made the announcement during a press conference in the National Capital. She said that on the occasion of International Women’s Day, a cabinet meeting of the Delhi government was held in which the scheme was approved.
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BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda has said that the Narendra Modi government is focussing on women-led development and it is taking the country forward with the aim of women empowerment. Addressing a programme organised in New Delhi on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Mr Nadda said that with this aim, the BJP always moved forward by considering women empowerment as its fundamental principle. He also thanked Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for approving the Mahila Samridhi Yojana, which was the BJP’s poll promise during Delhi assembly elections.
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The News Services Division of Akashvani will broadcast a special programme on the occasion of International Women’s Day today. The participants are Professor Annapurni Subramaniam, Director Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Padma Shri Awardee, Kathak Dancer Duo Kamalini Asthana and Nalini Asthana and Anamika Joshi, Poet.
Tune into 100.1 Akashvani Gold at 9.15 tonight to listen to this special broadcast.
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Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, today stated that in this era of the new industrial and knowledge revolution, particularly with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, India will emerge not only as a service provider nation but also as a major technology creator. He was speaking at a programme organised by a private media house in Mumbai. Mr Vaishnaw praised the robust startup ecosystem in the country and highlighted that India is one of the top three nations in the world with the highest number of startups. The Union Minister also mentioned that the government is deeply committed to clean, sustainable energy and that by the end of this year, 100 per cent of Indian Railways will run on electricity.
Speaking at the same programme, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, informed that discussions regarding the reduction and rationalisation of GST rates, and the number of slabs, are in the final stages and will soon be sent for review.
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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today said that consensus and dissent are the strengths of democracy, but planned disruption in Assemblies and Parliament are not appropriate for democratic values. Mr. Birla was addressing public representatives and other dignitaries at the launch of the Constitution Club of Rajasthan in Jaipur. He added that Legislative institutions must become centres of discussion and dialogue to ensure accountability to the public.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said that India has always strongly advocated for maintaining a healthy relationship with its neighbours, and Bangladesh is no exception. In an interview with a news agency, Mr. Singh said, India always tries to maintain good relations with its neighbours.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two day State visit to Mauritius from Tuesday. Briefing media in New Delhi this evening, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, this is the first visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mauritius since 2015.
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The External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar has said that India looks at the world confidently and wants to deal more in terms of promoting trade, mobility, investment, tourism, and student engagements. Dr Jaishankar said this during an interaction with the Indian community and business leaders in Manchester, UK today. The Minister said that India-UK relationship has immense potential to grow and deepen. Dr Jaishankar acknowledged the contribution of the Indian diaspora, saying that it is the diaspora which shapes the country’s image across the world.
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The death toll from fighting in Syria’s coastal Latakia region has risen to over 500, as transitional government forces continued to battle an uprising carried out by armed loyalists of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 120 insurgents and 93 government troops have been killed. It also claimed that at least 330 civilians have been killed in reprisal attacks. Syrian authorities did not publish the death toll.
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Pakistan has ordered all documented Afghan migrants to leave the country by March 31st or risk deportation. The directive was issued yesterday, a day after the Afghanistan Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation Affairs urged Pakistan to slow down the expulsion of Afghans. The order called on those with Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs) to leave the country within the next three weeks, stating that the deportation of documented migrants would begin on April 1st. Local media reported that this affects nearly 900,000 documented Afghan economic migrants residing in Pakistan.
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The Italian government has approved a draft law that, for the first time, introduces the legal definition of femicide in the country’s criminal law and punishes it with life imprisonment. Announced yesterday on the eve of International Women’s Day, the move aims to combat rising violence against women in Italy by strengthening measures against gender-based crimes. The proposal still needs to go through parliament and be approved by both chambers to become law.
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And in Sports News, the Indian Women’s Kabaddi Team has been crowned Asian Champions for the fifth time. Defending champions, India defeated hosts Iran, 32-25 in the final of the 6th Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship at Tehran this afternoon.
The Indian women remained undefeated throughout the tournament. India had entered the final defeating Nepal, 56-18, in the first semifinal last evening. On the other hand, Iran had triumphed over Bangladesh 41-18 in the second semifinal.
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In Women’s Premier League, WPL Cricket, UP Warriorz have set a victory target of 226 runs before Royal Challengers Bengaluru, RCB at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. UP Warriorz scored 225 runs for Five wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Georgia Voll top scored with unbeaten 99 runs.
Earlier, RCB won the toss, and opted to bowl.
This is a do-or-die situation for RCB, as they must win their remaining two matches to qualify for the next round. RCB, currently in fourth place on the points table, have 4 points from 6 matches, while UP Warriorz have only 4 points from 7 matches and are at the bottom of the table.
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Dubai is set to host the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand tomorrow, with two esteemed umpires from the Emirates ICC Elite Panel – Paul Reiffel and Richard Illingworth – officiating the match. Both umpires played key roles in the semi-finals, with Illingworth standing in India’s win over Australia and Reiffel officiating New Zealand’s victory against South Africa.
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India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorm accompanied with lightning at isolated places over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal tomorrow. According to the weather agency, light to moderate rainfall or snowfall is also expected over Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the next five days. The weather body predicted heat wave conditions over Konkan, Goa, Saurashtra and Kutch during the next three days. The IMD also estimated hot and humid conditions at isolated pockets over Gujarat, Coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
• President Droupadi Murmu says, a developed India can be built only on strength of self-reliant, self-esteemed, independent and empowered women.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributes 450 crore rupees to over 2.5 lakh women during Lakhpati Didi Sammelan at Navsari in Gujarat.
• Death toll from fighting in Syria’s coastal Latakia region rises to over 500.
• Indian Women’s Kabaddi Team crowned Asian Champions for fifth time.
• And in Women’s Premier League Cricket, UP Warriorz set a target of 226 runs before Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Lucknow.
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