Evening News -

THE HEADLINES:-

Rajya Sabha takes up discussion on motion of thanks on President’s address; Both houses witness disruptions over NEET issue.
IFS officer Vikram Misri appointed as next Foreign Secretary.
India becomes world’s third-largest domestic aviation market after U.S. and China.
IMD forecasts heavy to very heavy rainfall over Northwest, Central and East India during next four days.
Amarnath Yatra to formally begin tomorrow; First batch of Yatris reach Base Camps.
In Women’s test Cricket, India hit 525 for four on first day against South Africa; Shafali Varma scores 205 runs.

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The Lok Sabha was today adjourned for the day while the Rajya Sabha faced three adjournments following opposition protest over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination. When the Lok Sabha assembled after the first adjournment at 12 Noon, Congress members started sloganeering demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the issue. Members from the Congress, DMK, TMC, Samajwadi Party and others trooped into the well. Speaker Om Birla said a committee has been formed to look into the issue. He said, not allowing the House to function in a pre-planned manner is not right for Parliamentary democracy. He said the members can raise the issue during the discussion on Motion of Thanks on the President’s address. Rejecting the opposition’s demand for discussion over the NEET issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, there is no tradition to allow any discussion during the period when discussion on the motion of thanks on the President’s address to the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament is scheduled.

Earlier, when the House met this morning, Speaker Om Birla disallowed the adjournment notices moved by the opposition parties over the issue. Opposition parties including Congress, DMK, TMC and Samajwadi Party raised the issue of alleged irregularities in NEET exam and sought a discussion over it in the House. Speaking in the House, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said, they want to give a message to the students that this is an important issue and discussion must be held on it.

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The Rajya Sabha today took up discussion on the motion of thanks on the President Dropoudi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament amidst opposition’s ruckus on the NEET examination issue and three adjournments. A total of 21 hours have been allotted for the discussion. Initiating the discussion, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi highlighted the achievements of the government in the last ten years. Rakesh Sinha, Kavita Patidar, Krishna Lal Panwar, Dr. Bhim Singh, Dr. Anil Bonde of BJP and others participated in the discussion.

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Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan today assured the NEET students that strict action will be taken against the culprits. Talking to newspersons outside parliament, he said the government is sensitive over this issue and assured the students and guardians that all necessary action would be taken. He mentioned that the government is ready to discuss any issue in the House.

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In Jharkhand the CBI today arrested three persons including Ahsanul Haque, Principal of Oasis School, Hazaribagh in the NEET paper leak case. The Vice Principal of the School Imteyaz has also been arrested. The CBI arrested them on the basis of evidence. CBI sleuths are interrogating them about various aspects related to paper leak since June the 26th. The Principal was city coordinator of schools of Hazaribagh for the NEET examination.

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Cracking down on suspects involved in the 2021 Visakhapatnam Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence espionage case relating to leakage of classified defence information, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) today conducted extensive searches at three locations in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The residences of the suspects who are believed to have received money from Pakistan to spy on Indian defence establishments, were thoroughly searched by NIA teams. Several incriminating materials, including mobile phones and documents were seized during the searches. The investigations have revealed that Pakistani nationals had collaborated with the arrested accused in the espionage racket, in which sensitive and vital information pertaining to the Indian Navy was being leaked as part of a conspiracy to unleash terrorist violence in India.

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India has become the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market after the U.S. and China. According to data compiled by aviation analytics firm Official Airline Guide (OAG), India is now third in aviation market after airlines such as IndiGo and Air India have expanded their fleet size to cater to the surge in air passengers.

The data show India’s domestic airline capacity doubled in the last 10 years from 7.9 million seats in April 2014 to 15.5 million in April 2024. India has replaced Brazil, which now stands at the fourth place with 9.7 million airline seats followed by Indonesia in the fifth rank with 9.2 million. India has also posted the highest annual average capacity growth rate of 6.9 per cent over the last decade among the top five countries, followed by China at 6.3 per cent and the US at 2.4 per cent.

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In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the annual Shri Amarnath Yatra 2024 will formally begin tomorrow with religious fervour in the upper Himalayas in south Kashmir. As the first batch of Yatris has reached the Base Camps in the Valley, thousands more have assembled at Yatri Niwas Jammu waiting for their onward journey towards the holy cave. Earlier, in the morning today, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the Yatra from Yatri Niwas Base Camp Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu amid tight security cover. More from our Srinagar orrespondent:

“The 52-day long annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra will formally commence tomorrow as the first batch of Yatris drawn from various parts of the country has reached the Nunwan Base Camp Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal Base Camp Sonamarg in Ganderbal district this evening. A total number of 4,603 pilgrims including men, women and Sadhus will begin their onward journey towards the holy cave early tomorrow morning to pay obeisance to naturally formed Ice Shivlingham of Lord Shiva. After their arrival in Kashmir, senior officials in police & civil administration and local people welcomed the Yatris at the Navyug Tunnel in Qazigund and other places enroute the base camps in the Kashmir Valley. Amid chanting of Bum Bum Bole and Baba Barfani Ki Jai, the Yatris, like always, are quite enthusiastic this year as well to catch a glimpse of the Shiv Parivar inside the holy cave shrine. Around four lakh devotees from across the country have registered online so far. However, expecting a huge rush, the UT administration has now issued notifications for the offline registrations as well. Meanwhile, elaborate security and other arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of this year’s Shri Amarnath Ji pilgrimage. This is Sunil Koul, for Akashvani News from Srinagar.”

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1989 batch Indian Foreign Service IFS officer Vikram Misri has been appointed as the next Foreign Secretary. He will succeed Vinay Mohan Kwatra whose tenure is ending on the 14th of next month. Mr Misri is currently serving as Deputy National Security Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat. He has served as Indian Envoy in China, Myanmar and Spain.

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India has rejected the US State Department’s report on International Religious Freedom, 2023 and termed it as deeply biased. Briefing media in New Delhi this evening, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it lacks understanding of India’s social fabric and is visibly driven by vote bank considerations and a prescriptive outlook. He stated that the exercise itself is a mix of imputations, misrepresentations, selective usage of facts, reliance on biased sources and a one-sided projection of issues.

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Heavy to very heavy rainfall very is likely over Northwest India during next four to five days. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over central and east India during next 2 to 4 days and over northeast India during next five days. India meteorological Department said Southwest monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of West Rajasthan, remaining parts of East Rajasthan, some parts of Haryana, entire Delhi, and some more parts of West Uttar Pradesh. Monsoon has also advanced into remaining parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, some more parts of East Uttar Pradesh and remaining parts of Uttarakhand. Conditions are likely to become favourable for further advance of southwest Monsoon into some more parts of West Rajasthan, remaining parts of Haryana, entire Chandigarh and remaining parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu during next 2 to 3 days.

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Heavy rainfall disrupted normal life in the National Capital this morning causing severe waterlogging and traffic jams in several areas of the city. Meanwhile, one person lost his life and four people were injured after a roof collapsed at Terminal-1 of the Delhi airport. Ministry of Civil Aviation said, heavy rain early this morning resulted in the collapse of the canopy at Delhi Airport Terminal 1. As a result flights to and from Terminal 1 have been closed till further notice. The Ministry said, alternate arrangements are being made for smooth operation of the flights. Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu visited the site.

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On the first day in Women’s Cricket, the one off test match between India and South Africa at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, hosts India were 525 for four at the stumps. Indian Captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat. Indian women went off on a scoring spree as in the first session itself they crossed the 100 mark, making 130. Both the openers, Shafali Varma and Smriti Mandhana made centuries. Shafali scored 205 runs while Smriti made 149.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated Antonio Costa on being elected as the next President of the European Council. In his message, Mr Modi said he is looking forward to working closely with him to advance the India-EU Strategic Partnership to greater heights.

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A 7.2 magnitude earth quake today rocked Peru. The US Geological Survey said the temblor hit 8.8 kilometers from Atiquipa district. Initially, an alert warning of possible tsunami waves reaching up to 1 to 3 meters along some coastal areas in Peru was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center but it later dropped the alert. In a post on social media, the Peruvian Presidency posted that the government is monitoring the situation and evaluating any possible damage.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-

Rajya Sabha takes up discussion on motion of thanks on President’s address; Both houses witness disruptions over NEET issue.
IFS officer Vikram Misri appointed as next Foreign Secretary.
India becomes world’s third-largest domestic aviation market after U.S. and China.
IMD forecasts heavy to very heavy rainfall over Northwest, Central and East India during next four days.
Amarnath Yatra to formally begin tomorrow; First batch of Yatris reach Base Camps.
In Women’s test Cricket, India hit 525 for four on first day against South Africa; Shafali Varma scores 205 runs.