Evening News -

THE HEADLINES:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, country is marching towards becoming a vibrant trade and commerce hub.
India and UK agree to mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement and the Double Contribution Convention.
Civil Defence Mock Drill to be conducted across 244 districts of the country tomorrow; Centre holds meeting with States and Union Territories to review preparedness for the exercise.
Qatar expresses full support to India in its fight against terrorism and all its actions to bring the perpetrators of Pahalgam attack to justice.
Supreme Court directs Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify local body elections within four weeks.
Conservative leader Friedrich Merz elected as Germany’s new chancellor after the second round of Parliament voting.
On day three of Khelo India Youth Games, Maharashtra leads the medal tally followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the country is marching towards becoming a vibrant trade and commerce hub. Lauding the Free Trade Agreement between India and the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister said, this agreement will boost economic activities and will create opportunities for Indian business and MSMEs. He was speaking during a TV channel conclave in New Delhi today.The Prime Minister said, India has signed trade agreements with UAE, Australia, and Mauritius. He said, India is actively engaged with the world.

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Earlier, in a historic milestone, India and the UK have successfully concluded an ambitious and mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement, along with a Double Contribution Convention. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer had a telephone conversation today in which the two leaders welcomed the successful conclusion of an ambitious and mutually beneficial India-UK Free Trade Agreement. Prime Minister Modi said, these landmark agreements will further deepen India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and catalyse trade, investment, growth, job creation, and innovation. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that strengthening alliances and reducing trade barriers with economies around the world is part of their plan for change to deliver a stronger and more secure economy. More from our correspondent:

The free trade agreement will unlock new potential for the two nations to jointly develop products and services for global markets. It will enable comprehensive market access for goods across all sectors. India will significantly gain from tariff elimination on about 99 percent of the tariff lines covering almost hundred percent of the trade value. The FTA will boost manufacturing and export opportunities in sectors like textiles,leather, footwear, toys, gems, jewellery and engineering goods among others.This will improve Indian goods competitiveness in the UK and in other countries. It will have significant positive gains for employment in India. With Anand Kumar, Bhupendra Singh, Akashwani News, Delhi.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani today. Mr Al-Thani conveyed condolences and solidarity with the people of India at the loss of lives in the cross border terror attack in Pahalgam. The Amir of Qatar expressed full support in India’s fight against terrorism and all its actions to bring the perpetrators to justice.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke to Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and congratulated him on his historic second term. During their conversation, the Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

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Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan held a meeting today with Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories through video-conferencing to review the preparations for the Civil Defence Mock Drill scheduled for tomorrow. The meeting was attended by the Directors General of Civil Defence and the National Disaster Response Force along with other senior officials in the National Capital.

Yesterday, the Centre had asked the states to conduct mock drills to evaluate civil defence preparedness in the country. It has decided to organize the Civil Defence Exercise and Rehearsal across the 244 categorized Civil Defence Districts of the country. The conduct of the exercise is planned up to the village level.

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Civil Defense Mock drills will also be conducted in Uttar Pradesh. More from our correspondent;

“In Uttar Pradesh, District Bulandshaher has been identified under category A, Bagpat and Muzaffarnagar will perform the drill under category C. Agra, Allahabad, Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Varansi, Bakshi-Ka-Talab, Mughalsarai, and Sarsawa have been included in the list of category B. Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police, Prashant Kumar said that although centres have identified 19 districts for the defence mock drills, a comprehensive rehearsal will be conducted in all districts of Uttar Pradesh on May 7.

The exercise will involve multiple agencies like police, fire services, and disaster response teams. The drill aims to check response preparedness to respond to emergencies and disasters. Om Awasthi, Akashvani News Lucknow.”

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In Bihar, the Civil Defence mock drill will take place in six districts namely Patna, Purnea, Katihar, Kishanganj, Araria and Begusarai. Patna District Magistrate Dr. Chandra Shekhar Singh informed that the exercise will be conducted tomorrow from 7 pm to 7.10 pm at 80 locations in Patna.

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In view of the Civil Defence Mock Drills to be conducted across 244 districts of the country tomorrow, Director General, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards Vivek Srivastava said that common people should not be alarmed as it is a preparatory exercise and they should cooperate with the volunteers. In an exclusive interview with Akashvani News, he said that it is an exercise to prepare people to counter any external threat.

Tune in to 100.1 Akashvani Gold at 9.15 tonight to listen to this exclusive broadcast.

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India has objected to the statement made by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Pahalgam terrorist attack. External Affairs Ministry’s spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, the OIC statement, issued at the behest of Pakistan, is absurd in refusing to recognise the facts of the Pahalgam terrorist attack and its cross-border linkages. He said, this is yet another attempt by Pakistan, a country that has long engaged in cross-border terrorism, to manipulate and misguide the OIC Group to issue a self-serving statement. India rejected the OIC’s interference on matters that are internal to India.

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The Supreme Court today directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify local body elections in the state within four weeks. These polls had been stalled since 2022 due to litigation concerning the implementation of reservation for the Other Backward Classes. More from our Mumbai correspondent:

“A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh stated that elections to the local bodies will be conducted based on the OBC reservation status that existed prior to the submission of the Banthia Commission report in July 2022. Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to conduct all pending local body polls in the state. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Fadnavis said the Mahayuti, which consists of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP will contest the polls as an alliance. Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar too welcomed the decision saying that many former corporators are keen to get back to work after getting reelected, while many young aspirants are gearing up to make their career in politics by contesting these elections. The opposition too hailed the court’s decision and said that the directions must be followed immediately. With Nisha Raney, this is Ankita Apte, Akashvani News, Mumbai.”

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Minister of State for Space and Atomic Energy Dr. Jitendra Singh said the Naval Forces and Naval Guards will play a vital role in ensuring the success of the Gaganyaan mission. Addressing media in New Delhi, he said 2026 will be a landmark year, with India exploring both space and the deep sea.

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Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz has been elected as the new chancellor of the country after securing a majority in the second round of voting in the Lower House of Parliament. A total of 325 of the 630 lawmakers voted in favor of Mr Merz this time around, bringing him over the necessary 316 threshold. Earlier, in the first round, only 310 members voted for Mr Merz giving a significant blow to his prestige and an unprecedented failure in post-war German history.

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In Khelo India Youth Games;

The Maharashtra team has reached the number one position with six gold and a total number of 19 medals in its kitty.

The Rajasthan team with six gold, one silver and one bronze is in the second position. Karnataka which has bagged 18 medals including five gold has third position in the medal tally.

In football Jharkhand boys defeated Delhi by 1-0 in a tough fight at Barauni Refinery stadium this evening. Mizoram team thrashed Bihar by 6-1 in a one sided game in Begusarai.

In the recurve category of archery mixed doubles the pair of Dhaynesh Chinale and Sharvari Shende of Maharashtra stormed into the final defeating Andhra Pradesh, where the team will clash with Haryana for the quest of Gold. The Maharshtrian pair of Manav Ganesh Jadhav and Tejal Salve has also secured place in finals in compound mixed category.

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In the IPL T20 Cricket, Hosts Mumbai Indians were 135 for 7 in 18.3 overs against Gujarat Titans at Wankhede Stadium when reports last came in. Earlier, Gujarat Titans won the toss and opted to field.

Mumbai Indians are placed on the third position in the points table while Gujarat are at the fourth spot in the standings.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN: –

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, country is marching towards becoming a vibrant trade and commerce hub.
India and UK agree to mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement and the Double Contribution Convention.
Civil Defence Mock Drill to be conducted across 244 districts of the country tomorrow; Centre holds meeting with States and Union Territories to review preparedness for the exercise.
Qatar expresses full support to India in its fight against terrorism and all its actions to bring the perpetrators of Pahalgam attack to justice.
Supreme Court directs Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify local body elections within four weeks.
Conservative leader Friedrich Merz elected as Germany’s new chancellor after the second round of Parliament voting.
On day three of Khelo India Youth Games, Maharashtra leads the medal tally followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka.