MORNING NEWS 08:15 -

THE HEADLINES:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address PM SVANidhi beneficiaries in New Delhi today; To also lay foundation stone of two corridors of Delhi Metro Phase 4.
Centre announces Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 to accelerate adoption of Electronic Vehicles in the country.
Defence Ministry signs two contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for acquisition of 34 advanced light helicopters for Army and Coast Guard.
BJP releases second list of 72 candidates for upcoming Lok Sabha Polls.
Prime Minister Modi to hold talks with his Bhutani counterpart Dasho Tshering in New Delhi this evening.
US House of Representatives passes landmark bill that could ban TikTok.
In Badminton, PV Sindhu to face An Se-young of South Korea in Women’s Singles of England Open Championships today in Birmingham.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address PM SVANidhi Beneficiaries at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi today. During the programme, Prime Minister Modi will distribute loans under the scheme to 1 lakh street vendors, including five thousand vendors from Delhi. Mr Modi will also lay the foundation stone of two additional corridors of Delhi Metro’s Phase 4.

These corridors will be the Lajpat Nagar to Saket-G Block Corridor and Inderlok to Indraprastha Corridor, with a combined length of over 20 kilometres. The proposed corridors are expected to improve connectivity and reduce traffic congestion. The stations on the Lajpat Nagar to Saket G- Block corridor will include Lajpat Nagar, Andrews Ganj, Greater Kailash – 1, Chirag Delhi, Pushpa Bhawan, Saket District Centre, Pushp Vihar and Saket G – Block. The stations on the Inderlok – Indraprastha corridor will include Inderlok, Daya Basti, Sarai Rohilla, Ajmal Khan Park, Nabi Karim, New Delhi, LNJP Hospital, Delhi Gate, Delhi Sachivalaya and Indraprastha.

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The Heavy Industries Ministry has announced the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 to accelerate the adoption of Electronic Vehicles (EVs) in India. The Ministry said that a total outlay of 500 crore rupees will be implemented for four months under the scheme. It will run from 1st of the next month until July. It added that only electric two-wheelers (e-2W) and electric three-wheelers (e-3W) will be eligible under the scheme, including registered e-rickshaws, e-carts and L5 automobiles. Talking to the media, Mr Pandey said that this incentive scheme will promote the goal of net zero carbon emission and e-mobility.

The Ministry has estimated that the scheme will help over 3 lakh 72 thousand EVs. The Ministry hopes it will promote faster adoption of electric vehicles and provide further impetus to the green mobility and development of the EV manufacturing eco-system in the country.

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The Ministry of Defence has signed two contracts worth 8 thousand 73 crore rupees with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the acquisition of 34 Advanced Light Helicopters. The Ministry said that the deal was sealed for procuring 25 Advanced Light Helicopters for the Indian Army and 9 Advanced Light Helicopters for maritime role for the Indian Coast Guard under the buy Indian-indigenously designed, developed and manufactured category. It said, the Indian Army version ALHs are designed to carry out search and rescue, troop transportation, internal cargo and casualty evacuation operations. The Ministry also said, this project will have a positive impact on employment generation in the Defence sector.

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The 12th edition of the India-Italy Military Cooperation Group (MCG) meeting concluded in New Delhi yesterday. During the two-day meeting, both sides held discussions on new initiatives to further enhance defence cooperation and military-to-military level exchange between the two countries. The meeting was held between the Directorate of International Defence Cooperation, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and the Military Policy and Planning Division of the Italian Defence General Staff.

Italy and India recently elevated their bilateral relations to the levels of strategic partnership during the visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to India in March 2023.

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The BJP has released the second list of its 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The list includes the names of candidates for 20 seats each in Maharashtra and Karnataka, six each in Haryana and Telangana, seven in Gujarat, five in Madhya Pradesh, two each in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and one candidate each for Tripura and Dadar and Nagar Haveli Union Ministers Anurag Singh Thakur will contest from Hamirpur Parliamentary Constituency in Himachal Pradesh while Nitin Gadkari will fight from Nagpur seat, Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North and Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar from Dindori seat in Maharashtra.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will fight from Karnal seat and Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar from Faridabad Parliamentary Constituency in Haryana.

The Party has also announced the names of candidates for the remaining two Lok Sabha seats for Delhi. The party has fielded Harsh Malhotra from East Delhi and Yogendra Chandolia from North West Delhi.

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The Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has finalised a seat-sharing deal with the BJP as part of the NDA in Bihar for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. LJP Chief Chirag Paswan met BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda in New Delhi. In a social media post, Mr Chirag Paswan said that as a member of the NDA, his party and BJP President together finalised the seat sharing in Bihar for the Lok Sabha elections. He said, an announcement will be made soon accordingly.

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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued an advisory for Paytm FASTag users to switch to another bank FASTag before the 15th of March. The Road, Transport and Highways Ministry said, this will help avoid penalties or any double fee charge while commuting on National Highways. In line with the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India regarding restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank, the Paytm FASTags users will not be able to recharge or top-up the balance post the 15th of this month. They can, however, use their existing balance to pay tolls beyond the stipulated date. The NHAI has urged all Paytm FASTag users to take proactive measures to ensure a seamless travel experience on the National Highways across the country.

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The Union Health Ministry has termed the media reports claiming that there are no National Entrance cum Eligibility Test – Master of Dental Surgery, NEET MDS examination centres in the Northeastern States as false. The Ministry stated that there are examination centres in Northeastern States which are allotted in Shillong, Naharlagun, Kohima, Aizawl, Guwahati and Kolkata. It said, moreover, in the second application window for NEET-MDS 2024 which closed on the 11th of this month, only 560 candidates have registered.

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Prime Minister of Bhutan Dasho Tshering Tobgay will be on a five day visit to India from today. This is his first overseas visit after assuming office in January this year. External Affairs Ministry said, during the visit, Prime Minister of Bhutan will call on the President Droupadi Murmu and hold bilateral talks with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay will also visit Mumbai. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Employment and senior officials from the Government of Bhutan will accompany the Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay.

The Ministry said, India and Bhutan enjoy exemplary ties of friendship and cooperation, based on trust, goodwill and mutual understanding at all levels.

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India has signed a 181 million dollars loan with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve urban livability and mobility in Ahmedabad. The loan will fund development in areas transitioning from rural to urban, called Peri-urban areas. The Finance Ministry said under the Ahmedabad Peri-urban Livability Improvement Project, 166 km of water distribution network, 126 km of climate-resilient stormwater drainage, 300 km of sewerage systems, and four sewage treatment plants will be constructed. The Project will also support 10 junction improvements along the existing Sardar Patel Ring Road to improve connectivity of peri-urban areas to Ahmedabad.

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The US House of Representatives has passed a landmark bill that could ban TikTok in the US unless the app parts ways with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. It’s a major challenge to one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, used by 170 million Americans.

While the bill passed overwhelmingly in a bipartisan 352-65 vote, it still needs to clear the Senate and be signed by the president to become law. If enacted, the bill, would give TikTok about five months to separate from ByteDance, or app stores in the US would be banned from hosting it on their platforms. It’s not yet clear what the fate of the measure will be in the Senate.

Lawmakers supportive of the bill have argued TikTok poses a national security threat because the Chinese government could use its intelligence laws against ByteDance, forcing it to hand over the data of US app users.

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In All England Open Badminton Championships, Shuttler PV Sindhu will face An Se-young of South Korea in Women’s Singles match today.
In other matches, women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto will clash with Zheng Yu and Zhang Shuxian of China.
Yesterday, the duo reached pre-quarterfinals in Birmingham, UK where they defeated Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong in straight sets 21-13, 21- 18.

In another fixture, Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen moves to pre-quarterfinals of All England Championships with 21-14 21-14 win over Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen.

However, in Men’s singles match, Priyanshu Rajawat was defeated by Indonesian player Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo 19-21,21-11, 9-21.

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In Women’s Premier League Cricket, Delhi Capitals defeated Gujarat Giants by 7 wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi last night. Delhi Capitals scored 129 for the loss of 3 wickets in 13.1 overs.
Earlier, Gujarat Giants have set the target of 127 runs. Gujarat Giants, led by Beth Mooney, won the toss and decided to bat. Gujarat Giants scored 126 for 9 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.

While, DC finished at the top to directly proceed into the finals. Defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will now square off in the playoff tomorrow. The winner of the match will face DC in the final of the tournament on Sunday at the same venue.

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Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted isolated light rainfall and snowfall likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim till 16th of this month and Isolated light rainfall over Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha till 19th March. The weather department has also predicted rainfall over Jharkhand, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, and East Madhya Pradesh during 16th to 19th of this month.

On Hot and humid weather, the MET department has said that these conditions are likely to prevail over Kerala, Mahe, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal during the next 5 days.

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Today is World Kidney Day. The day is observed on the second Thursday of March, every year to create awareness among the people about kidney health and the various diseases that can affect its normal function. This year the theme is- “Kidney Health For All”.

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:

“India on way to becoming global power in the semiconductor sector, says Modi,” writes The Tribune.
The Asian Age quoting Prime Minister Modi says “Deprived benefited most from government schemes”.
“Gadkari, Khattar, Bommai in BJP’s second list of 72 candidates for Lok Sabha polls” reports The Statesman.
In another story, Financial Express says “Women steadily outnumber men in Lok Sabha seats”.
“New Haryana Chief Minister Saini sails through floor test” notes Hindustan Times.
“Its Trump vs Biden again, first US election rematch in 68 years.” reports The Times of India.
And finally, “News-sharing service by Prasar Bharati launched, content to be ‘free of copyright” states The Indian Express.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address PM SVANidhi beneficiaries in New Delhi today; To also lay foundation stone of two corridors of Delhi Metro Phase 4.
Centre announces Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 to accelerate adoption of Electronic Vehicles in the country.
Defence Ministry signs two contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for acquisition of 34 advanced light helicopters for Army and Coast Guard.
BJP releases second list of 72 candidates for upcoming Lok Sabha Polls.
Prime Minister Modi to hold talks with his Bhutani counterpart Dasho Tshering in New Delhi this evening.
US House of Representatives passes landmark bill that could ban TikTok.
In Badminton, PV Sindhu to face An Se-young of South Korea in Women’s Singles of England Open Championships today in Birmingham.

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