THE HEADLINES::
- President Droupadi Murmu confers Bharat Ratna on former Prime Ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh posthumously; Agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan and former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur also conferred with the highest civilian honour posthumously.
- India’s foreign exchange reserves touch an all time high of over 642 billion dollars.
- IMD forecasts intense rainfall and thunderstorms over Northeast India from today.
- In Miami Open Tennis, Indo-Australian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden to contest for Men’s doubles title tonight.
- And in IPL Cricket, Lucknow Super Giants to take on Punjab Kings at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow this evening.
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President Droupadi Murmu today conferred Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour, on former Prime Ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh, agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan and two-time former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, posthumously at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The President will present the top civilian award of the country to former Deputy Prime Minister and veteran BJP leader L K Advani tomorrow in New Delhi.
During the investiture ceremony this morning, relatives of awardees received the awards. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and other dignitaries were present at the investiture ceremony.
Talking to the Media, the grandson of Chaudhry Charan Singh, Jayant Chaudhry said, he had no words to describe the joy.
A farmer, Narendra shared his joy on the former Prime Minister being honoured as a leader of farmers.
Agriculturist MS Swaminathan’s daughter, Saumya Swaminathan shared her thoughts in these words:
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Today is the last day for the withdrawal of nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha Elections and Assembly polls in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The nominations were closed on Wednesday and the Scrutiny of papers was done on Thursday. In Bihar, the filing of papers for the four parliamentary seats of Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada and Jamui in the first phase of Parliamentary Elections ended on Thursday. Scrutiny of nominations in the State is being held today. The last date of withdrawal of candidature in the State is the 2nd of April.
In the first phase, 102 Lok Sabha seats in 17 States including Bihar and four Union Territories will go to polls on the 19th of April. Simultaneously, single-phase polling for 32 Assembly constituencies of Sikkim and 60 Assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh will also be held.
Among 17 States and four Union Territories going to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, single-phase elections are being held in Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Puducherry. The Election Commission of India extended the last date of nomination in Bihar due to the festival of Holi and Bihar Foundation Day.
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Senior BJP leader and candidate from Nagpur constituency Nitin Gadkari held a massive roadshow in Central Nagpur today. A large number of BJP supporters flocked to show their support for him.
Mr. Gadkari is seeking a third term in the Lower House from Nagpur, where the Lok Sabha elections will be held on the 19th of April in the first phase. Congress party Candidate Vikas Thakre will be up against him. He is currently West Nagpur MLA and Nagpur District Congress President.
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The Opposition I.N.D.I.A. block will organise the ‘Save Democracy Rally’ at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi tomorrow. Prominent leaders of the Congress, the NCP, the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Samajwadi Party, the Aam Aadmi Party, the RJD, the DMK, the National Conference, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Left and others will participate in the rally.
Speaking about the rally, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, rising inflation, unemployment, economic inequality and social polarisation in the country will be key issues in the rally.
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In Telangana, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Mayor Vijayalakshmi has joined the Congress party. She got elected to the Corporation from the Bharat Rashtriya Samiti. The development signifies a strategic move that is poised to have a significant impact on the political dynamics of Telangana.
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In Manipur, the State Election Commission has placed all preparations to ensure free and fair polls on two Parliamentary Constituencies, Inner & Outer Manipur. In the first phase, Inner Manipur Constituency and some parts of Outer Manipur constituency, will go to polls on 19th of next month. Voting for the remaining thirteen State Assembly segments of Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency will be held on the 26th of April. More from our Imphal Correspondent.
“In Manipur, the voting will be conducted at two thousand nine hundred fifty-five polling stations spread across the State. Around thirty-four thousand seven hundred first-time voters are also ready to exercise their voting rights this time. In the last Election, the voting percentage of both the Manipur Parliamentary Constituencies crossed 80 per cent. This year also, the political parties and candidates are engaging to woo the voters and the voting percentage is expected to be high. The political party- INC fielded candidates in both Outer and Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituencies while BJP fielded State Education Minister Thounaojam Basantakumar from Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency. The party has announced that the BJP will support the Naga People’s Front (NPF) candidate in the Outer Lok Sabha seat of Manipur. JJ Thokchom, Akashvani News, Imphal.”
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India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by 140 million dollars to touch its all-time high of 642.631 billion dollars during the week ended on the 22nd of March. The data released by the Reserve Bank of India said, this is the fifth consecutive week of a jump in the overall reserves.
Gold reserves increased by 347 million dollars to 51.487 billion dollars during the week. The foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, decreased by 123 million dollars to 568.264 billion dollars.
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Rajasthan is celebrating its 75th Statehood Day today. While congratulating on the statehood day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Rajasthan is going to play an important role in building a developed and self-reliant India. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Governor Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal have also congratulated the people of the state on this occasion. Our correspondent reports that many programs are being organized across the state today on this occasion.
“Entry into museums and monuments has been kept free for tourists across the state today. A cultural evening will be organised this evening at Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, Where a glimpse of folk singing and folk dances of different regions of the state will be seen. Special arrangements have been made to welcome tourists at tourist places and cultural programs, lectures, exhibitions and other programs are being organized in the districts. It is noteworthy that the federal structure of Rajasthan was finalized on the 30th of March 1949 by integrating the princely states of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner in seven phases. Jitendra Dwivedi, Akashwani News, Jaipur.”
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In Himachal Pradesh, heavy rain and snowfall have been continuous in the middle and high-altitude regions including in capital Shimla since last night. Due to western disturbance activity, high peaks of Kinnaur, Kullu, Chamba, Kangra, Shimla, and Lahaul-Spiti have turned white with snow. Snowfall has been ongoing in the high-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti since this morning. Kelang has received three inches, Kokhsar five inches, and Rohtang and Baralacha Passes have received around eight inches of snowfall. As a result, internal roads in the valleys, including the Manali-Kelang road, have been blocked for traffic.
Meanwhile, in Kinnaur, heavy snowfall along with strong winds has been occurring in Kalpa, Sangla, and Chitkul since morning, increasing the risk of avalanches in many areas. Deputy Commissioner of Kinnaur, Amit Sharma, has advised residents and tourists against unnecessary travel to high-altitude areas. According to the Shimla Meteorological Center, there is a possibility of rain and snowfall in many parts of the state until the 31st of March.
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The India Meteorological Department has forecast a fresh spell of intense rainfall and thunderstorms over Northeast India from today. It also predicted Light to moderate Rainfall and thunderstorm activity over Northwest India till tomorrow with the possibility of isolated heavy falls over the Western Himalayan Region.
Isolated heavy rainfall and snowfall are likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya. Isolated heavy rainfall and snowfall are likely over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand today.
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The Indian Navy has rescued another vessel from the pirates. The Navy rescued 23 Pakistani nationals from an Iranian fishing vessel which was hijacked by the Somali Pirates in the Arabian Sea. The surrender marked a decisive victory for the Indian Navy in combating piracy and ensuring the safety of maritime activities in the region.
The Navy said, two Indian Naval ships, INS Sumedha and INS Trishul deployed in the Arabian Sea were diverted after receiving inputs on a potential piracy incident onboard Iranian Fishing Vessel ‘Al Kambar 786’ on Thursday. It added that after more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures, the pirates on board the hijacked fishing vessel were forced to surrender and the crew, comprising 23 Pakistani nationals, were safely rescued.
The Indian Naval specialist teams undertook thorough sanitisation and seaworthiness checks of the Fishing Vessel to escort it to a safe area for resuming normal fishing activities.
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The US has said, it will impose new visa restrictions on a number of Hong Kong government officials accused of perpetrating human rights violations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement asserted that the action will be promptly taken in this matter.
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In Miami Open Tennis, top seed Indo-Australian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden will play the Men’s doubles final against the second seeded pair of Austin Krajicek of America and Ivan Dodig of Croatia in Florida tonight.
In Women’s singles, fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina will lock horns with unseeded Danielle Collins in the final later tonight.
In Men’s Singles, second seed Jannik Sinner will face 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the Men’s Singles final on Sunday.
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In IPL Cricket, Lucknow Super Giants will take on Punjab Kings at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The match will begin at 7.30 PM.
Yesterday, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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France has reached out to around 45 foreign countries, soliciting their assistance in providing additional military, police and civilian personnel to bolster security measures for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games this summer.
Security is the biggest challenge for the Paris Games organisers as the city has been repeatedly hit by deadly attacks by Islamic extremists.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN
- President Droupadi Murmu confers Bharat Ratna on former Prime Ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh posthumously; Agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan and former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur also conferred with the highest civilian honour posthumously.
- India’s foreign exchange reserves touch an all time high of over 642 billion dollars.
- Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh receive fresh snowfall; IMD forecasts intense rainfall and thunderstorms over Northeast India from today.
- In Miami Open Tennis, Indo-Australian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden to contest for Men’s doubles title tonight.
- And in IPL Cricket, Lucknow Super Giants to take on Punjab Kings at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow this evening.
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