THE HEADLINES :-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds pre-budget consultation with economists in New Delhi.
- Centre releases 15th Finance Commission grants of over two thousand crore rupees for Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for rural development.
- Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi urges eCommerce platform and regulatory authorities to work together to promote ethical practices for consumer rights.
- Weather forecasting accuracy of IMD increased by 40 to 50 percent in last ten years, says DG IMD.
- French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou announces new government following collapse of previous Cabinet.
- In Women’s Cricket, match between India and West Indies underway in Vadodara.
<><><>
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today participated in a pre-budget consultation with eminent economists at NITI Aayog in New Delhi. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subhramanyam and other senior officers participated in the meeting.
The Pre-Budget consultations for Union Budget 2025-26 started on the 6th of this month. Mrs Sitharaman had held consultations with finance Ministers of various states, farmer associations, economists and MSMEs. The Union Finance Minister is likely to present the Budget for 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha on coming 1st of February.
<><><>
The Central Government has released the 15th Finance Commission grants of over two thousand crore rupees for Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for rural development. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj said, more than one thousand 598 crore rupees has been released for Uttar Pradesh and over 446 crore rupees for Andhra Pradesh. The grants will be utilized by Panchayati Raj Institutions and Rural Local Bodies for location specific needs.
The Ministry said, the government is providing grants directly to Panchayati Raj Institutions and Rural Local Bodies to transform the landscape of rural local governance.
<><><>
On the Occasion of the National Consumer Day, Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi today virtually launched several initiatives aimed at identifying dark patterns on e-commerce platforms and empowering the consumers. Mr Joshi launched the Jago Grahak Jago app, the Jagriti app, and the Jagriti Dashboard to protect Consumers and identify dark patterns on e-commerce platforms. The ‘Jago Grahak Jago App will provide essential e-commerce information about all URLs during a consumer’s online activities, alerting them if any URL may be unsafe and requires caution.
In his message, Pralhad Joshi reaffirmed the government commitment of protecting and empowering the rights of the consumer. Mr Joshi urged all the stakeholders, business eCommerce platform, civil society and regulatory authorities to work together to promote ethical practices and strong consumer rights.
<><><>
Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the export value of Smartphones has crossed one lakh crore rupees in the first eight months of the current financial year. In a social media post, Mr Vaishnaw said that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has led to the growth of smartphone exports in the country by 45 percent as compared to last year. He also said that the government has set a target to increase the export of smartphones to reach one lakh 70 thousand crore rupees in the current fiscal year.
<><><>
Union Home Minister Amit Shah today chaired a review meeting on the implementation of three new criminal laws with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in New Delhi. During the meeting, Mr. Shah asked the NCRB to facilitate the complete implementation of new criminal laws in the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System 2.0.
The Home Minister also said that alerts should be generated for all criminal cases at predefined stages and timelines right from registration to disposal of the case to benefit victims and complainants.
<><><>
Delhi Police has busted a gang involved in the illegal immigration of Bangladeshi citizens. Addressing a press conference, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Delhi, Ankit Chauhan said that 11 people have been arrested who were involved in this case. He said, the arrested individuals created fake documents through a fraudulent website, enabling the Bangladeshi nationals to stay in the country illegally. Mr Chouhan also said the police have arrested five Bangladeshi citizens and six other people who helped them in getting fake Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and voter ID cards.
<><><>
The first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on two bills related to One Nation One Election will be held on 8th of next month. The 39 member committee has 27 Members from Lok Sabha and 12 Members from the Rajya Sabha. The Committee will submit its report to the House by the first day of the last week of the next Parliament session.
<><><>
On the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Madhya Pradesh tomorrow. He will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects in Khajuraho.
The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of Ken- Betwa river linking national project, the country’s first interlinking of rivers project under the national perspective plan. This project will provide irrigation facilities to various districts in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh benefitting lakhs of farmer families. The project will also provide drinking water facilities to the people of the region.
Prime Minister Modi will release a commemorative stamp and coin marking the 100th birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
<><><>
The Weather forecasting accuracy of the India Meteorological Department has increased by 40 to 50 percent in the last ten years. Talking to the media, Director General of IMD Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that the accuracy of heavy rainfall has also increased from 60 percent to 80 percent. Highlighting the infrastructural growth of the IMD, Mr Mohapatra said when the weather agency started, they had 80 observation stations, but today they have 550 departmental observatories, two thousand automatic weather stations, and Doppler radars in 39 places.
<><><>
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast cold wave conditions in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh today. The met department further added that there will be a gradual fall in minimum temperatures by about 2 degrees Celsius over Northwest India during the next 2 days. The air quality in the national capital, Delhi remains is in the very poor category, with an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 390 as of 1 PM this afternoon.
<><><>
Ahead of New Year and Christmas, snowfall in Shimla and other high-altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh, along with rainfall in the lower regions, has attracted hordes of visitors to all the tourist destinations. Tourists are thoroughly enjoying the snowfall at places like Shimla, Kufri, Narkanda, Manali, and Dalhousie. A reports:
“The December snowfall, occurring after a long time in popular tourist destinations like Shimla and Manali, has greatly benefited the tourism industry, attracting a large number of visitors to the state’s tourist spots. However, due to the snowfall, around 174 roads, including 3 national highways, are blocked for traffic, and efforts to clear them are underway on a war footing. Considering intermittent snowfall and rain, the district administrations of Shimla, Kullu, and Kinnaur have issued advisories requesting people to avoid unnecessary travel to high-altitude areas. Tourists are also urged to adhere to the administration’s guidelines. The Meteorological Department has issued a warning for light snowfall in higher regions and dense fog in the middle and lower regions of the state for today. Ritesh Kapoor, Akashvani News, Shimla.”
<><><>
The temperature across Kashmir valley continues to plummet further with Srinagar recording minus 6.6°C last night. Several places including Shopian in South Kashmir recorded a low of minus 8.8°C.
In the Jammu region, temperatures also dipped but remained relatively mild compared to Kashmir. Jammu recorded a low of 7.6°C. We have more:
“On the 4th day of the harshest 40 day winter period “Chillai Kalan”, Kashmir region is continously experiencing dry bone chilling weather. The slippery condition of roads and fog during morning and evening hours hinder the early morning and late evening traffic movement. At Srinagar, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is personally supervising administration to ensure uninterrupted supply of power, water and other essential commodities across the Kashmir region particularly in far flung areas. The Administration is also making efforts to streamline the essential supplies in Jammu division including in the difficult areas of Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley parts of the region. TARIQ RATHER, AIR NEWS, Srinagar.”
<><><>
Telugu actor Allu Arjun today appeared before the police for questioning in connection with the Sandhya Theatre stampede case. The summons followed a notice issued yesterday, directing him to cooperate with the investigation. The latest notice comes amid reports that the police are considering approaching the High Court to seek the cancellation of his interim bail.
<><><>
Condolences are pouring in for renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who passed away in Mumbai last evening at the age of 90, following a prolonged battle with chronic kidney disease. His last rites will be performed this afternoon at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park.
<><><>
In Women’s Cricket, second ODI of the three-match ICC Championship series between India and West Indies is underway at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. India were 59 for no loss in 9.4 overs, when last reports came in. Earlier, Indian captian Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first.
<><><>
In France, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has unveiled a new government, following the collapse of the previous Cabinet. Former Prime Ministers, Manuel Valls and Elisabeth Borne are also included in the new cabinet. Valls will head the Ministry of Overseas Territories, while Borne will lead the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research.
<><><>
Benchmark domestic equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, were trading flat in afternoon trade today. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 30 points, to 78,510, and the NSE Nifty50 declined marginally by 6 points, to 23,747, when reports last came in.
Meanwhile, the broader market at the Bombay Stock Exchange were trading in positive territory. The Mid-Cap index added 0.11 percent and the Small-Cap index was trading over 0.2 percent up, a short while ago.
<><><>
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds pre-budget consultation with economists in New Delhi.
- Centre releases 15th Finance Commission grants of over two thousand crore rupees for Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for rural development.
- Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi urges eCommerce platform and regulatory authorities to work together to promote ethical practices for consumer rights.
- Weather forecasting accuracy of IMD increased by 40 to 50 percent in last ten years, says DG IMD.
- French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou announces new government following collapse of previous Cabinet.
- In Women’s Cricket, match between India and West Indies underway in Vadodara.
<><><>