THE HEADLINES:
- Election for Lok Sabha Speaker to be held tomorrow; Om Birla of N.D.A. and K Suresh of I.N.D.I.A. Bloc in the fray for the post.
- Oath taking process of newly elected Lower House members completes.
- Delhi High Court stays trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in alleged money laundering case.
- Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approves Ordinance to curb exam paper leaks with stringent punishment including life imprisonment and one crore rupees fine.
- IMD forecasts heavy rainfall along West Coast and over Northeast India during next five days.
- US Open Badminton tournament kicks off in Texas today.
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The Speaker for the 18th Lok Sabha will be chosen tomorrow. Senior BJP MP Om Birla, who was also the Speaker in the last Lok Sabha, is the N.D.A. nominee for the post this time as well. On the other hand, the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc has fielded Congress MP K Suresh for the post. Both the candidates today filed their nominations for the Speaker’s post for which the election is scheduled to be held tomorrow.
Despite hectic parley, the government and the Opposition failed to reach a consensus for the post. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, the Lok Sabha speaker should be elected unanimously and unopposed. He appealed to the opposition bloc to reconsider their decision.
On his nomination for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, Congress MP K Suresh said, there is a convention in Lok Sabha that the Speaker will be from the ruling party and the Deputy Speaker will be from the opposition.
“As per the Article 93 of the Constitution, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected on simple majority. It means that a candidate who receives more than half the votes from the members present in the House will be elected as the Speaker. Although the ruling NDA has numbers in its favour, it is likely that Om Birla will get a second term this time as well. However, the resurgent opposition is trying to put up a fight by fielding their nominee. Om Birla, who was also the Speaker in the last Lok Sabha, is representing Kota Bundi Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan for the third term. On the other hand, Congress MP and Opposition candidate K Suresh is currently representing Mavelikkara Lok Sabha seat of Kerala.”
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The oath taking process by the newly elected MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha was completed today. Barring five MPs, all MPs took oath in the last two days of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha. The oath taking ceremony started yesterday with the oath taking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is the leader of the House in the Lok Sabha. Today on the second day, prominent MPs including Om Birla, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee, Supriya Sule, Hema Malini, Yusuf Pathan among others took oath. President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
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As the 18th Lok Sabha begins, the House of the People stands out not only for its representation of the country’s diversity but also for the significant presence of women.
“The current representation of 74 women in the 18th Lok Sabha is set to play a key role in providing additional perspective to India’s legislation story. The single largest party BJP has 30 women representatives while Congress has 14. The TMC has 11 women representatives, Samajwadi Party has four, DMK has three, and both the JDU and LJP(R) have two women representatives each. Prominent figures from the ruling alliance, led by the BJP, include Annapurna Devi, Anupriya Patel, actress-turned-politician Hema Malini, Bansuri Swaraj and actress Kangana Ranaut. Key women representatives from the opposition include Mahua Moitra of the TMC, Dimple Yadav of Samajwadi Party, Supriya Sule of NCP (Sharad Pawar), Kanimozhi of DMK, Jothimani of Congress, and Misha Bharati of RJD. Their experiences and perspectives are expected to enrich Parliamentary debates and contribute towards progressive policy making for a better India.”
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The UP cabinet has passed the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination Ordinance 2024 today to curb paper leaks. Under this ordinance, stringent provisions have been made for punishment against violators, which include punishment from 2 years to life imprisonment and a fine of up to one crore rupees. The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath also passed 42 other proposals. Our correspondent reports that the proposal of not getting anticipatory bail in cases of women, children and gangsters has also been approved.
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Another accused in the NEET-2024 exam scam has been arrested by Latur police. The name of the accused is Sanjay Jadhav. Two out of four accused have been arrested so far. A case has been registered against a total of four people in the Shivajinagar police station at Latur. The exam admit cards of 12 students who appeared in the NEET exam have been found in the mobile phones of the accused.
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On the recent steps taken by the Central Government in connection with NEET-UG examination, Professor and Head of Department Pediatric at Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi, Dr. Harish Chellani appreciated the proactive steps taken by the government to ensure transparency in various competitive exams.
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Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh today expressed confidence that India’s Nuclear Power generation capacity will increase by around 70 percent in the next five years. He said this while convening a high-level meeting to review the 100 days Action Plan of the Department of Atomic Energy in New Delhi. Dr Singh highlighted India’s progress in nuclear energy and renewable energy in the energy landscape.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met former Vice President, Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi. In a social media post, Mr. Modi reminisced the opportunity to work with Mr. Naidu for decades and admired his wisdom and passion for India’s progress. Tripura governor Indrasena Reddy, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Vishnu Deo Sai and Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami also met the Prime Minister in New Delhi.
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Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry is rolling out Safai Apnao, Bimaari Bhagao initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 from 1st July to 31st August. This initiative seeks to enhance the preparedness of Urban Local Bodies to handle the challenges posed by heavy rainfall and heightened health risks during the months of June to August. It aligns with the Health Ministry’s ‘STOP Diarrhoea Campaign’. The Safai Apnao, Bimaari Bhagao initiative calls for comprehensive interventions focusing on cleanliness, advocacy and inter-departmental convergence to be implemented by all Urban Local Bodies.
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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will remain in jail as the Delhi High Court today stayed the trial court order granting him bail in an alleged money laundering case. A vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain pronounced its verdict on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate seeking a stay on the trial court order granting bail to Kejriwal. The High Court agreed with the ED’s allegations that the trial court did not hear the probe agency properly. Earlier, the Supreme Court yesterday adjourned Kejriwal’s petition challenging the High Court order of staying the trial court’s order and posted the case for hearing on Wednesday.
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The Bombay High Court has ordered the release of the juvenile accused in the Pune Porsche crash case. Terming the orders as illegal and without jurisdiction, a division bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande has directed that the juvenile be placed in the custody of his paternal aunt and must continue to undergo counselling sessions with the psychologist.
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New Ambassador of China Xu Feihong called on External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in Delhi today. In a social media post, Dr Jaishankar said they discussed the India-China bilateral relationship and common interest in its stabilization and progress. Dr Jaishankar wished the Chinese Ambassador a successful tenure.
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India’s Equity Benchmark Indices, Sensex and Nifty ended positive after hitting record highs today.
“The 30-stock index, Sensex rose 712 points to close at 78,054. Nifty gained 183 points to settle at 23,721.In the Forex market today, the Indian rupee closed at 83 rupee and 43 paisa against US dollar. In the Multi Commodity Exchange, Gold, for August contract, was trading at 71,708 rupees per 10 Grams, Silver, for July Contract, was trading at 88,815 per kilogram, when reports last came in.”
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Extremely heavy rainfall is likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim today. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall along the West Coast and over Northeast India during next four to five days. IMD further added, conditions are favourable for further advance of Southwest Monsoon into remaining parts of North, West, Central, East and some parts of Northwest India during next three to four days. Meanwhile, the National Capital is likely to witness light rain and thunderstorm for the next five to six days.
The IMD has also forecast heat wave conditions to continue over pockets of Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Rajasthan for today.
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The BWF US Open begins in Fort Worth Convention Center, Texas this evening. The tournament will see a watered-down field because the top players from across the globe opted to focus on the Paris Olympics. Leading the Indian charge will be Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. The women’s doubles duo will enter the competition as second seeds and are strong contenders for the title. On the other hand, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek are the only Indians in the men’s doubles category.
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The Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) has selected Anush Agarwalla to represent the country in the dressage event at the upcoming Paris Olympics. EFI selected him over Shruti Vora based on a thorough assessment of their recent performances, where Anush demonstrated a superior average. It will be India’s first ever entry at the dressage event at the Olympics as largely riders in past editions competed in eventing categories only. Agarwalla has been consistent since the Qualification period began last year and achieved Minimum Eligibility Requirement four times while veteran Shruti Vora earned the required two MERs this month. Anush emerged winner with an average score of 67.695 per cent against Shruti’s 67.163 per cent.
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Indian Air Force today conducted a capstone seminar marking the culmination of the No. three Warfare and Aerospace Strategy Program, WASP at the Air Force Auditorium in New Delhi. The seminar with the theme “India’s Strategic Culture and Imperative for Contemporary National Security’ was conducted under the aegis of the College of Air Warfare and Centre for Air Power Studies.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN
- Election for Lok Sabha Speaker to be held tomorrow; Om Birla of N.D.A. and K Suresh of I.N.D.I.A. Bloc in the fray for the post.
- Oath taking process of newly elected Lower House members completes.
- Delhi High Court stays trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in alleged money laundering case.
- Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approves Ordinance to curb exam paper leaks with stringent punishment including life imprisonment and one crore rupees fine.
- IMD forecasts heavy rainfall along West Coast and over Northeast India during next five days.
- US Open Badminton tournament kicks off in Texas today.
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