THE HEADLINES::
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz co-chair the 7th Intergovernmental Consultations in New Delhi.
- Germany to increase annual visa quota for skilled Indian professionals from 20 thousand to 90 thousand.
- Heavy rainfall continues in several parts of Odisha and West Bengal as Cyclone Dana completes landfall process; Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi says, government achieves ‘zero casualty’ target; Restoration work underway in affected areas.
- Filing of nomination papers to end today for first phase of assembly elections in Jharkhand; Submission of nominations to also end for by-poll to 47 Assembly seats in different states and for Wayanad Parliamentary seat in Kerala.
- And, in Cricket, India bowled out for 156 by New Zealand in their first innings on second day of the Pune Test.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz co-chaired the 7th Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) in New Delhi this afternoon. The IGC is a whole-of-government framework under which Ministers from both sides hold discussions in their respective areas of responsibilities and report on the outcome of their deliberations to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. Addressing the event, Prime Minister Modi said there has been encouraging progress in various sectors of strategic relations between the two countries in the last two years. He highlighted that increasing cooperation in areas including defence, technology, energy, green and sustainable development have become symbols of mutual trust between India and Germany.
Mr. Modi stressed that the world is passing through an era of tensions, conflicts and uncertainty and there are serious concerns regarding the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific Region. He said, in such a time, a strategic partnership between the two nations has emerged as a strong anchor.
The two leaders also addressed the 18th Asia Pacific Conference of German Business in National Capital today.
Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Modi emphasized that talent, technology, innovation, and infrastructure are key to India’s growth. He noted that India stands on four strong pillars: democracy, demography, demand, and data. He highlighted the strengthening of India-Germany relations. He said, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries, and the ties will reach newer heights in the next 25 years.
Prime Minister Modi also announced that Germany will increase its annual visa quota for skilled Indian professionals from 20 thousand to 90 thousand.
Addressing the gathering, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, emphasized the need for enhanced cooperation between India and Germany.
India and Germany have agreed to maintain renewed momentum in ties and discussed key global issues of interest. German Chancellor met Prime Minister Modi at his residence in the National Capital. They discussed further avenues for cooperation in the fields of economy, investment and manufacturing, technology and innovation, security and defence as well as mobility of talent. Chancellor Scholz arrived in New Delhi last night on a three-day visit to India.
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Heavy rainfall continued in several parts of Odisha and West Bengal as the severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ completed its landfall process. The cyclone made a landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra on Odisha coast last night, uprooting large trees and electric poles, and damaging houses as well as paddy crops in the state. There have been no reports of casualties so far. More from our Bhubaneswar correspondent
“Reports of a large number of trees getting uprooted and some areas getting inundated in cyclone-affected districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur have been received. Disaster response forces cautiously treaded to remove obstructions along roads due to uprooting of big trees. Electricity in the affected areas is likely to be stored by this afternoon. People who were taking shelter in multipurpose cyclone shelter centres have started returning to their homes. The services at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport and Bhubaneswar Railway Station, which were suspended as part of precautionary measures, have resumed. Prakash Dash, Akashvani News, Bhubaneswar.”
Odisha’s Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi conducted a review of the damage and relief efforts in Bhubaneswar this morning. He said, the government was able to achieve ‘zero casualty’ target, adding that restoration work to clear roads and restore power lines is underway in the affected areas.
In West Bengal, several districts in southern part of state are witnessing incessant rainfall since morning today under the impact of cyclone Dana. Our correspondent has the details:
“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to chair a virtual meeting with the district officials of southern West Bengal today in the afternoon on the effects of cyclone Dana. Though this storm has not directly impacted on West Bengal but incessant rainfall has started over southern districts including Kolkata and also in north Bengal. Reports of water logging have been coming from many areas in Kolkata. Electric poles had fallen at some places in Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas districts. Authorities are clearing those. Tress have fallen in some areas of Paschim Medinipur district. Kaccha houses in coastal districts have been damaged due to heavy rainfall. Flight services have started at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata from 8 am in the morning today and suburban train services have also started in some routes . Kalyan Laha Akashvani News Kolkata. “
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that ‘Dana’ has weakened into a cyclonic storm and is expected to further weaken into a deep depression within the next few hours as it crosses northern Odisha.
Talking exclusively to Akashvani News, Director General of IMD, Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, under the influence of the cyclone, different parts of Odisha and adjoining places of West Bengal will experience heavy to extremely heavy rainfall today.
Kerala is also witnessing widespread rain under the influence of Dana. The IMD issued an orange alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.
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The filing of nominations will end today for the first phase of assembly elections in Jharkhand. Forty-three constituencies will go to polls in this phase on the 13th of November. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on 28th October, while candidates can withdraw their nominations till 30th of this month.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has started distribution of voters slip among electorates from today in view of the first phase of polling in the state. Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar said the slips will be distributed till 5th of November.
Polling for the assembly polls in Jharkhand is being held in two phases. Voting for the second phase will take place on 20th of November along with single-phase polling for Maharashtra assembly elections.
In Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by the Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has released its second list of seven candidates for the assembly election. The party has fielded Zeeshan Siddique, son of late Baba Siddique from Bandra East constituency, whereas former MP Prataprao Chikhlikar will be contesting from Loha. Both these leaders joined the NCP this morning.
Today is also the last date for filing of nomination for by-election to 47 assembly Constituencies in different states and for Wayanad Parliamentary seat in Kerala. The voting at these seats will take place on 13th of next month. Counting of votes will be held on 23rd of November.
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President Droupadi Murmu has said that the latest medical techniques should be used for the welfare of people living in remote areas. The President was speaking at the convocation ceremony of All India Institute of Medical Sciences-AIIMS Raipur in Chhattisgarh today. She called upon the students to give priority to serve the underprivileged class.
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Chief Justice of India, Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has said that various measures have been adopted to make Courts’ accessible for persons with disabilities. In an exclusive interview with Akashvani News, marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Court of India, the Chief Justice highlighted the initiative wherein for the first time the Supreme Court introduced sign language interpreters for lawyers with speech and hearing impairment.
The interview will be broadcast tonight.
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In Cricket, New Zealand were 85 for 2 against India in their second innings on the second day of the second Test match in Pune when reports last came in. Earlier, the visitors bowled out India for 156 runs in their first innings to take a lead of 188 runs.
On day one yesterday, New Zealand were all out for 259 runs. Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up three more wickets. The visitors are leading the three-match series, 1- Nil, after winning the first test match in Bangalore.
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In Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey, the group-stage match between the Indian Junior Men’s team and New Zealand is underway in Malaysia. This is the fifth and final game in the round-robin league phase for both teams, before the ranking rounds begin. The Blue colts continue to lead the points table with nine points, while Australia are placed third after New Zealand in second place.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN::
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz co-chair the 7th Intergovernmental Consultations in New Delhi.
- Germany to increase annual visa quota for skilled Indian professionals from 20 thousand to 90 thousand.
- Heavy rainfall continues in several parts of Odisha and West Bengal as Cyclone Dana completes landfall process; Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi says, government achieves ‘zero casualty’ target; Restoration work underway in affected areas.
- Filing of nomination papers to end today for first phase of assembly elections in Jharkhand; Submission of nominations to also end for by-poll to 47 Assembly seats in different states and for Wayanad Parliamentary seat in Kerala.
- And, in Cricket, India bowled out for 156 by New Zealand in their first innings on second day of the Pune Test.
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