THE HEADLINES:
• India signs defence deal with France to procure 26 Rafale Marine fighter aircraft.
• NIA court extends 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Tahawwur Rana’s custody by 12 days.
• President Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Awards; Gastroenterologist D Nageswar Reddy, former Hockey player P R Shreejesh, Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin and Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur among prominent awardees.
• Russia announces three day ceasefire in Ukraine from 8th May for Victory Day celebrations.
• Sensex surges over thousand points; Nifty-50 closes near 24,330.
• And, in IPL T20 Cricket, Rajasthan Royals elect to field against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur.
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India today signed a defence deal with France to procure 26 Rafale Marine fighter aircraft. The Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) was signed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of Armed Forces of France Sebastien Lecornu in New Delhi. Out of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft, 22 will be single seater and four double seater and these will be designed and prepared as per the requirement of the Indian Navy. The delivery of these aircraft would be completed by 2030.
“The agreement includes training, simulator, associated equipment, weapons and performance-based logistics. It also includes additional equipment for the existing Rafale fleet of the Indian Air Force. The agreement will facilitate transfer of technology for integration of indigenous weapons in the country and setting up of production facilities for Rafale Fuselage as well as Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facilities for aircraft engine, sensors and weapons. The deal is expected to generate thousands of jobs and revenue for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. With the induction of Rafale Marine aircraft, the strength of the Navy will increase manifold and these fighter aircraft will be deployed in aircraft carriers like INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. Rafale will be equipped with advanced weapon systems and missiles. Manufactured by France’s Dassault Aviation, the Rafale-Marine is a carrier-borne combat-ready aircraft with proven operational capabilities in maritime environments. Bhupendra Singh, Akashwani News, Delhi.”
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh at his residence in New Delhi today. The meeting took place in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and decide the course of action after that. The meeting comes a day after Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan briefed the Defence Minister on the critical decisions.
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The Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly today passed a strong-worded resolution to condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed on April 22. The resolution, which described the attack as heinous, barbaric, inhumane and cowardly act, was unanimously adopted by the House after three-hour long discussion. Speaking at a special session of the Assembly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed solidarity with the victims of the terror attack and extended condolences to their families.
The Chief Minister praised the spontaneous outpouring of grief and condemnation across the region, marking the beginning of the end of terrorism. The House also endorsed the Union Government’s diplomatic measures.
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A meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence was held in New Delhi today, under the chairmanship of BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh. During the meeting, the Committee took oral evidence from the representatives of the Ministry of Defence in connection with the examination of the subject titled “A Review of the Resettlement Policies, Healthcare Facilities, and Avenues for Ex-servicemen.”
In a social media post, Mr. Singh said that before the commencement of the proceedings, the Committee expressed deep anguish and condemned the recent dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The members of the Committee also observed two minutes of silence to express solidarity with the victims and their bereaved families. Other members of the Committee, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Lumbaram Choudhary, were present.
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Pro-Pakistani social media accounts are circulating fake documents about army preparedness. The government has termed these documents as fake. According to the Press Information Bureau, these social media accounts are falsely claiming that confidential documents related to the preparedness of the Indian Army have been leaked. The government has urged people to avoid sharing unverified information and to rely only on official sources for accurate updates.
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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Delhi has extended the 26/11 terror attack mastermind Tahawwur Rana’s custody for 12 days. The NIA had sought a 12-day extension from the court after the expiry of the 18-day custody that had earlier been granted to the probe agency. Tahawwur Rana, who was recently extradited from the United States, was produced before the NIA court today.
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In Chhattisgarh, twenty-four Maoists surrendered today in Bijapur district. Of these, a reward of twenty-eight lakh fifty thousand rupees had been declared on fourteen Maoists. These Maoists surrendered to senior officers of the Central Reserve Police Force and the District Police. Cheques of fifty thousand rupees were given to the surrendered Maoists as an incentive under the government’s rehabilitation scheme. So far this year, more than two hundred Maoists have surrendered in Bijapur district.
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President Droupadi Murmu today conferred upon Padma Awards to 71 eminent personalities for the year 2025 at the first Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Of them four were confered with Padma Vibhushan, 10 with Padma Bhushan and 57 personalities were confered with Padma Shri.
D Nageshwar Reddy in medicine and Dr Lakshminarayana Subramaniam in art field, were confered with Padma Vibhushan for their contribution, while M. T. Vasudevan Nair and Osamu Suzuki were honoured with Padma Vibhushan posthumously. Among those honoured with Padma Bhushan are Nandamuri Balakrishna, Shekhar Kapur, former Indian Hockey team captain Sreejesh P R, while former deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi was confered posthumously. Those honoured with Padma Shri include Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, Former SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, Stephen Knapp, Ronu Majumdar, and classic vocalist Dr. K Omankutty Amma. On the occasion, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers including Amit Shah and other dignitaries were present.
The awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activities including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service.
Talking Exclusively to Akashvani News, recipient of Padam Shri Award and Former SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said that she achieved this honour for her role in expanding the Jandhan scheme.
Carnatic Vocalist Dr. K Omankutty Amma got the Padma Shri award for her contribution in the field of art. She recalled her days, working with All India Radio and expressed the public broadcaster’s contribution in shaping her career.
American Author, Stephen Knapp was also among the 71 people who received Padma awards this year. Talking to Akashvani News, He thanked the government for recognising his work.
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The World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) which is scheduled from 1st to 4th of May next month, places India at the centre stage of global creativity. In an article , Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan said that conceptualized under Prime Minister Narendra Modi leadership, WAVES is a transformative movement that will redefine the media and entertainment landscape. He said, as India’s media and entertainment industry nears 2.7 trillion rupees , WAVES 2025 signals country’s intent to lead in creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
“A special album titled Waves of India is set to be launched on 1st May. The album will feature a total of five songs. The track titled Connecting Creators, Connecting Countries has been composed by Oscar-winning composer M. M. Keeravaani. Academy Award-winning composer A. R. Rahman has composed Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Renowned singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan and lyricist Prasoon Joshi have collaborated on the song Ooncha Aasman. Three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej has created Symphony of India, while Meet Bros, regarded as pioneers of Desi Pop, have composed the fifth song in the album, titled Shubharambh, High in the Sky. SWATI RAKHEJA FOR DESK REPORT FROM AKASHVANI NEWS”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin today announced a 72-hour ceasefire in its ongoing Military Operation in Ukraine on account of the 80th anniversary of World War II Victory Day celebrations, next month. A statement issued by the Kremlin this afternoon, the ceasefire will begin from midnight on May 7-8 to midnight on May 10-11. The statement appealed Ukraine to follow the ceasefire.
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In Canada, polling stations opened nationwide early today, with voters selecting 343 members of Parliament. Election is being held to determine who will become the country’s next prime minister. A party needs 172 seats for a majority. The two clear front-runners are the Liberal Party led by Mark Carney who have been in power for a decade, and the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre. The election is being held just six weeks after Mr. Carney was sworn in as PM, replacing his party colleague Justin Trudeau.
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The benchmark domestic equity indices today ended over 1.2 per cent up, fuelled by strong earnings reports and significant gains in energy, oil and gas and PSU bank stocks.
“The 30-share index at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sensex, surged 1,006 points to close at 80,218. The National Stock Exchange Nifty-50 gained 289 points to settle at 24,329. In the Forex market, the rupee today strengthened by 41 paise to close at 85 rupees and three paise against the US dollar. In the Indian Bullion Market, 24 Karat Gold was trading at 95,040 rupees per 10 grams, when reports last came in. SARABJEET KAUR, FOR AKASHVANI NEWS.”
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In IPL T20 Cricket, Gujarat Titans were 202 for 4 in 19.2 overs against hosts Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, when reports last came in. Earlier, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.
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Fresh after a dominating win over hosts Sri Lanka yesterday, India Women are set to face South Africa Women in the second match of the 2025 Tri-Nation ODI Series being held at Colombo tomorrow. India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will rely on the batting prowess of Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues, while Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar are expected to anchor the bowling attack. The match will start at 10:00 AM IST.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall conditions over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya tomorrow.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.
• India signs defence deal with France to procure 26 Rafale Marine fighter aircraft.
• NIA court extends 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Tahawwur Rana’s custody by 12 days.
• President Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Awards; Gastroenterologist D Nageswar Reddy, former Hockey player P R Shreejesh, Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin and Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur among prominent awardees.
• Russia announces three day ceasefire in Ukraine from 8th May for Victory Day celebrations.
• Sensex surges over thousand points; Nifty-50 closes near 24,330.
• And, in IPL T20 Cricket, Rajasthan Royals elect to field against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur.
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