THE HEADLINES:
• Centre assures Supreme Court not to make fresh appointments to waqf boards and not change status of existing waqf properties until next hearing.
• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar questions Apex Court ruling over prescribing timeline for President to decide on bills; Says Supreme Court has no right to direct the head of the nation.
• India asks Pakistan to take action against perpetrators of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
• ED records statement of Robert Vadra over alleged land deal case; BJP hits at Congress on National Herald case; Calls it a matter of corruption and fraud.
• And, Anahat Singh, Veer Chotrani and Tanvi Khanna advance to quarterfinals of World Squash Championships Asia Qualifier at Kuala Lumpur.
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The Supreme Court today recorded the Union government’s assurance that no fresh appointments will be made to waqf boards or the Central Waqf Council under the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, until the next hearing. The three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna, also noted that the status of existing waqf properties, including those listed as ‘waqf by user’, will remain unchanged for now.
The apex court granted the Centre seven days to file a reply over the pleas filed against the Waqf Amendment Act, after which the petitioners will be granted five days to review the reply. The matter will now be heard on May 5th. Due to the large number of petitions, the bench asked the petitioners to identify five lead cases to be heard, while the remaining may be treated as applications or considered disposed of. A total of 10 pleas were listed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf Act. Yesterday, the bench had indicated it would pass an interim order but deferred it after the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested a hearing before any decision was made. The Waqf Act regulates the management of Islamic endowments used for religious and charitable purposes such as mosques, schools, and hospitals. This is R.S Raghu with desk report for Akashvani news.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with a Delegation of Dawoodi Bohra Community members at his residence at Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi. During the interaction, Bohra community members thanked the Prime Minister for bringing about the Waqf Amendment Act and said it was a long pending demand. They also narrated their struggle and shared stories of how properties belonging to members of their community were wrongfully claimed by Waqf. Speaking about the benefit of the Act for their Community, they said that the Prime Minister has brought this Act not only for minorities but for minority within minorities.
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Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar today questioned recent ruling of the Supreme Court prescribing a timeline for the President to decide on bills and said there can not be a situation where Court directs the President of India. He said, the Apex Court can only interpret the Constitution. Addressing the 6th batch of Rajya Sabha interns at the Vice-President’s Enclave in New Delhi, Mr Dhankhar said India had not bargained for a democracy where judges will legislate, perform executive functions and act as what he called the Super Parliament. He underlined that one has to be extremely sensitive while exercising power.
The Vice President remarks came days after Apex Court’s verdict in which it set a deadline for the President and the Governors to give assent to legislations.
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India has asked the Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, following the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana. Briefing media in New Delhi today, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the extradition of Rana serves as a reminder to Pakistan that it needs to bring to justice other perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, whom it continues to shield. He said, Pakistan may try very hard, but its reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism will not diminish.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson also said that India is working closely with the Belgium for the extradition of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi. Mr Jaiswal said that Mehul Choksi was arrested in Belgium following the extradition request made by India. The Ministry has said there is a possibility of resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra soon.
Replying to a question Mr Jaiswal said that the Ministry will soon issue a notice for the public on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. On the issue of resumption of direct air services between India and China, Mr Jaiswal said that in principle, both countries have agreed to resume flight services.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the government has reserved 75 per cent of the defence budget for procurement from domestic companies. Speaking at Defence Conclave in New Delhi today, Mr Singh pointed out that defence production in the country has risen from 40 thousand crore rupees in 2014 to over one lakh 27 thousand crore rupees today. He added that the government has set a target to produce defence equipment worth three lakh crore rupees by 2029.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a comprehensive review meeting in New Delhi to assess the current status of the Yamuna River and discuss ongoing and future plans for its cleaning and rejuvenation. The agency wise action plan to clean the river was reviewed in the meeting.
Duirng the meeting, the Prime Minister advised for harnessing the best available technology to gather micro level real-time data to measure the flows in the drains as well as monitor the functioning of the sewage treatment plants.He added that planning and implementation of pollution abatement infrastructure should be based on this data. During the meeting, it was also decided that Delhi would prepare an Urban River Management Plan, for holistic water management, and integrate it with the City Master Plan. Prime Minister also emphasised that the experience of people of Delhi while celebrating the festival of Chhath Puja should improve. With Anand Kumar, Akshit Vedyan Akashvani News Delhi.
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the country is safe because of the sacrifice and dedication of the armed forces. Mr. Shah was addressing a program related to security forces at the Brahma Kumari’s headquarters in Abu Road of Sirohi district today. The Home Minister said that the security forces dedicate their lives to the security of the country’s borders in snowy valleys and hot deserts.
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In Chhattisgarh, security forces have arrested twenty-two Maoists from different police station areas. Two of these Maoists had a reward on their heads. Security forces recovered tiffin bombs, explosives and other material from these Maoists. According to the police, a joint team of CoBRA Battalion and Central Reserve Police Force-CRPF was on an area domination operation in Usur area of Bijapur district. During this, seven Maoists were caught with explosives from the forest of Tekmetla.
Meanwhile, the team of District Reserve Guard-DRG arrested six Maoists from the forest of Belchar. Apart from this, the CRPF team has arrested nine Maoists from the forest of Kandakarka under Nelasnar police station area.
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today questioned for the third consecutive day and recorded the statement of Robert Vadra in connection with a alleged money-laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana. He was questioned at the ED office in New Delhi. The case is related to purchase of a land in Gurugram by Mr. Vadra’s company.
Meanwhile, BJP today said that the National Herald case in which senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been chargesheeted by the ED, is an open and shut case of corruption and fraud. Briefing media in New Delhi, senior party leader and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hit out at Congress for its protest following the action by the agency. He said the ED’s current investigation is not new in this matter as it is a case that began in 2012-2013, long before the BJP came to power at the Centre. The Minister added that property worth around two thousand crore rupees was acquired for just 50 lakh rupees in this case.
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RJD-Congress led Grand Alliance has decided to constitute a coordination committee to discuss and finalize issues related to Bihar Assembly Elections. The decision was taken in the marathon meeting of all the six constituent parties which was held at RJD office in Patna continued for three hours.
After the appointment as a head of coordination committee Grand Alliance parties have given indication that ultimately Tejaswi Prasad Yadav will lead the alliance in Bihar Assembly Elections. Two members from each party will represent the coordination committee headed by Mr Yadav. The committee will decide the entry of former union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras party RLJP, as the seventh partner in the Grand Alliance. After the meeting Tejaswi Prasad Yadav said there are several issues like unemployment and migration which will be in the poll agenda of the alliance. Dharmendra Kumar Rai, Akashvani News Patna.
Bihar Assembly polls are expected to be held in October-November this year. This was the first meeting of Grand Alliance in view of Bihar Assembly Elections.
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Union Finance Minister Sitharaman today lauded the Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) technological advancements and its vital role in India’s economic development. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Asia’s oldest stock exchange, marked a historic milestone as it celebrated its 150th anniversary and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was the chief guest at the celebration.
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The European Central Bank, ECB today cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent in response to slowing growth and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Explaining the reason for the rate cut, the governing council of the Frankfurt-based bank said the outlook for growth had deteriorated owing to rising trade tensions.
The ECB said, the increased uncertainty is likely to reduce confidence among households and firms, and the adverse and volatile market response to the trade tensions is likely to have a tightening impact on financing conditions. It added that these factors may further weigh on the economic outlook for the euro area.
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All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi has been named the 97th best hospital globally in the World’s Best Hospitals 2024 ranking by Newsweek and Statista. This prestigious recognition highlights AIIMS excellence in delivering high-quality healthcare, advancing medical research and providing affordable treatment to millions. Besides, AIIMS, New Delhi, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh ranked 228th in the list. Founded in 1962, PGIMER continues to serve as a vital healthcare and training hub in northern India.
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In Squash, India made a strong start at the 2025 World Squash Championships Asia Qualifier at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today, with Anahat Singh, Veer Chotrani and Tanvi Khanna advancing to the quarterfinals.
Anahat and Veer recorded commanding straight-game wins in their opening-round matches, while Tanvi pulled off a major upset by defeating top-seeded N. Ching Cheng of Hong Kong.
Tanvi, ranked No. 134 in the world, stunned Cheng 3-1 to book her place in the quarterfinals. She will face Helen Tang of Hong Kong in the last eight on Friday.
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In IPL T20 Cricket, Sunrisers Hyderabad were at 140 for 5 in 19 overs against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, when reports last came in. Earlier, Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bowl.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
• Centre assures Supreme Court not to make fresh appointments to waqf boards and not change status of existing waqf properties until next hearing.
• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar questions Apex Court ruling over prescribing timeline for President to decide on bills; Says Supreme Court has no right to direct the head of the nation.
• India asks Pakistan to take action against perpetrators of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
• ED records statement of Robert Vadra over alleged land deal case; BJP hits at Congress on National Herald case; Calls it a matter of corruption and fraud.
• And, Anahat Singh, Veer Chotrani and Tanvi Khanna advance to quarterfinals of World Squash Championships Asia Qualifier at Kuala Lumpur.
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