THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit in Jaipur today.
- Prime Minister to also launch Bima Sakhi Yojana at Panipat in Haryana this afternoon to promote financial literacy and insurance awareness among women.
- Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to visit Bangladesh today to attend a meeting under framework of Foreign Office Consultations in Dhaka.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to commission Indian Navy’s latest multi-role stealth guided missile frigate ‘INS Tushil’ in Kaliningrad, Russia today.
- Russia grants asylum to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family after they arrive in Moscow.
- India thrash Bangladesh 13-1 in Junior Women’s Asia Cup Hockey opener in Muscat.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit in Jaipur today. He will deliver the inaugural address at the three-day summit. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Rajasthan Global Business Expo organized at the summit. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and several union ministers will be present on the occasion. More than five thousand business and trade representatives, diplomats, investors and other participants will attend the event. After inauguration, thematic sessions will be held on various sectors. Day two, will be devoted to Pravasi Rajasthani Conclave. MSME Conclave will be held on the concluding day.
“Top business leaders of the country have reached Jaipur to participate in the summit. Representatives from 32 countries are participating in this summit, in which 17 are partner countries. Elaborate efforts are being made from the last several months to make this event a grand success. The main objective of this event is to promote investment and industries in the state and create new employment opportunities. To promote the investment in the state, 9 new policies have been recently released by the Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma including Energy, MSME, Tourism and Mining. MoUs worth Rs 30 lakh Crores have been signed for investment proposals prior to the summit. The state government has set a target to double the economy of the state to 350 billion dollars in the next 5 years. Jitendra Dwivedi, AkashVani News, Jaipur.”
Later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch LIC’s Bima Sakhi Yojana and lay the foundation stone of the main campus of Maharana Pratap Horticultural University at Panipat in Haryana.
The Bima Sakhi Yojana which is an initiative of Life Insurance Corporation of India is designed to empower women aged 18 to 70 years, who are Class X pass. They will receive specialized training and a stipend for the first three years to promote financial literacy and insurance awareness. After training, they can serve as LIC agents and the graduate Bima Sakhis will have the opportunity to qualify for being considered for Development Officer roles in LIC. On the occasion, Mr Modi will also distribute appointment Certificates to prospective Bima Sakhis. During the programme, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of the Main campus of Maharana Pratap Horticultural University, Karnal. The main campus and six regional research stations, spread over 495 acres, will be established at a cost of over 700 crore rupees. ANUPAM MISHRA, AKASHVANI NEWS, PANIPAT.
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A four-day special session of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly will begin in Ranchi today to enable the newly elected MLAs take oath and elect a speaker. Newly-elected MLAs will be administered the oath today and tomorrow. Protem Speaker Stephen Marandi will administer the oath to the new members. The Speaker’s election will be held tomorrow, followed by a trust vote of the Hemant Soren government. Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will address the assembly on Wednesday and there after the second supplementary budget of the current financial year will be tabled in the house.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will commission the Indian Navy’s latest multi-role stealth guided missile frigate ‘INS Tushil’ at Yantra Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia today. Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will also be present on the occasion.
The Defence Minister arrived in Moscow last night on a three-day visit to Russia. Mr Singh and and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov will co-chair the 21st meeting of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation in Moscow tomorrow.
The two leaders will review the entire range of multi-faceted relations between the two countries in the field of defence, including military-to-military and industrial cooperation. They will also exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The Defence Minister will pay tributes at ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ in Moscow to honour the Soviet soldiers killed during the Second World War. He will also interact with the members of the Indian community.
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Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will visit Bangladesh today to lead an Indian delegation at the next round of India-Bangladesh Foreign Office Consultation. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the mediapersons on Friday that the Foreign Secretary will meet his Bangladesh counterpart in Dhaka, and there will be several other meetings during the visit.
“The Foreign Secretary will meet his counterpart in Dhaka, and there will be several other meetings during the visit. The FOC led by the Foreign Secretaries is a structured engagement between India-Bangladesh. During the visit, the Indian Foreign secretary is expected to pay a courtesy call on Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Md Touhid Hossain. Earlier on Sunday, while addressing a seminar in Dhaka, Touhid Hossain said that during the visit, bilateral trade issues and other matters of mutual concern are expected to be discussed. He expressed optimism that Dhaka and New Delhi could move forward pragmatically and realistically to restore ties to a “completely normal” state. Navalsang Parmar, AkashVani News, Dhaka.”
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Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow after fleeing from the West Asia. Kremlin sources said that Russia has granted them asylum for humanitarian reasons. Assad left the country after rebel forces led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani seized control of the capital Damascus, ending Assad’s decades-long rule.
“The Kremlin confirmed Assad’s arrival on Sunday, marking the end of a regime that had maintained power through a brutal civil war with crucial support from both Moscow and Tehran. The collapse of Assad’s government represents one of the most significant shifts in regional power dynamics in generations, eliminating a key foothold through which Russia and Iran projected influence across the Arab world. The lightning offensive by opposition forces swept through the Syrian capital, culminating in the capture of key government institutions and the notorious Saydnaya prison, where rebels continue to free inmates held in what human rights organizations have long described as inhumane conditions. At the historic Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, rebel leader al-Jolani proclaimed a victory for the whole Islamic nation,”declaring that Syria was regaining its health. This is Vinod Kumar for Akashvani news from Dubai.”
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The Indian Embassy continues to remain operational in Damascus, Syria. External Affairs Ministry sources said the Embassy is in touch with all Indian nationals, and they are safe. Sources said Embassy remains available to assist the Indian nationals in Syria.
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The Consulate General of India in Vancouver has expressed condolences over the death of Harshandeep Singh, a 20-year-old Indian national, who was fatally shot in Edmonton on Friday. In a statement, the Consulate confirmed that two individuals, Evan Rain and Judith Saulteaux have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. The Consulate assured support for Singh’s family and said it will stay in contact with the local authorities.
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India’s digital infrastructure has seen remarkable growth, with 138.34 crore Aadhaar numbers generated to date. Key platforms like DigiLocker now store 776 crore documents for 37.046 crore users, while the DIKSHA education platform has facilitated 556.37 crore learning sessions, with 17.95 crore course enrollments and 14.37 crore completions.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting highlighted India’s evolving digital economy, powered by innovations in cloud computing, AI, and digital governance.
UPI transactions reached 15.48 billion in November, with a value of 21.55 lakh crore rupees, marking 38 percent Year on Year growth in volume. Monthly transactions may hit 25 billion by 2025.
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Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal proposed launching a startup bridge between Norway and India as the two countries discuss various ways to boost trade ties. Mr Goyal expressed his commitment to addressing various concerns collectively with relevant ministries to further enhance bilateral trade and investment relations between the two nations. He was addressing the India-Norway Business Forum in Mumbai, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in collaboration with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
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Some schools in the National Capital Delhi have received bomb threats via email this morning. According to the Delhi Police, School administrations have sent students back to their home and Fire Department has also been informed.
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India thrashed Bangladesh with a huge margin of 13-1 in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey at Muscat in Oman last night.
“Mumtaz Khan spearheaded the Indian attack against Bangladesh in the opening match of Women’s Junior Asia Cup of Hockey and scored an impressive four goals, supported by hat-tricks from Kanika Siwach and Deepika. India will now face Malaysia this evening in the next group game. The match will begin at 8:30 PM IST. In this edition, India is not only defending its title but also seeking to secure direct qualification for next year’s Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile.
In the FIDE World Chess Championship, India’s D. Gukesh took a 6-5 lead against defending champion Ding Liren after winning the 11th round in Singapore, yesterday. This victory ended a streak of seven consecutive draws and brought Gukesh closer to becoming the youngest world champion in chess history. The crucial 12th game of the championship will be played today at 2:30 pm.
Some great news from the Deaf Asia Pacific Games 2024, the Indian contingent clinched 8 gold including 5 only in Athletics, 18 silver, and 29 bronze, marking an impressive progress from their 5-medal tally in 2015. Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the athletes and said their dedication inspires the nation. Iran emerged as the overall champion of the Games with 62 Medals, including 24 gold.
In the world of Badminton, Indian Shuttlers, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto retained their women’s doubles title at the Guwahati Masters Super 100, yesterday. The duo defeated China’s Li Hua Zhou and Wang Zi Meng 21-18, 21-12 in just 43 minutes, claiming victory without dropping a single game throughout the tournament. In men’s singles, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran secured his second Super 100 title by beating China’s Zhu Xuan Chen 21-17, 21-14 while, in women’s singles, India’s Anmol Kharb narrowly missed out on the title, losing to China’s Cai Yan Yan. Chirag Jha, Akashvani News, Delhi.:
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast cold wave conditions in isolated pockets over the western parts of Rajasthan during five days.
The weather department estimated moderate fog during the morning hours and shallow fog in the night hours in Delhi-NCR over the next two days.
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In our bilingual live phone-in programme Public Speak at 09.30 pm tonight, we will bring an insightful discussion on TB-Mukt Bharat with Prof. Urvashi B. Singh, DDG (TB), Ministry of health and family welfare and Dr. Vijay Hadda, Professor, Pulmonary Medicine, AIIMS.
During the program, listeners will have the opportunity to ask questions to our experts relating to TB such as detection and treatment of TB, and the government’s ongoing intensified 100 Day TB elimination campaign.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:
- All the dailies have covered the news of the fall of the fifty year old regime in Syria. The Asian Age headline says “Assad flees Damascus as rebels seize Syria Capital.” The paper adds “Indians safe, embassy is still working.”
- “digital rupee to be used for subsidies” writes Hindustan Times on the government’s consideration to pay subsidy amounts through a pre-programmed digital rupee.
- “India will soon create comprehensive anti-drone unit to secure borders” writes The Pioneer quoting the Union Home Minister.
- A headline in The Economic Times cites “IPL a bigger hit; Revenues surge over two times” as the Indian Premier League shows a remarkable growth streak with soaring commercial appeal.
- And Finally, A report in The Times of India says ” Maharashtra tops the list of women ITR filers at 36.8 lakhs; Gujrat stands second.”
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit in Jaipur today.
- Prime Minister to also launch Bima Sakhi Yojana at Panipat in Haryana this afternoon to promote financial literacy and insurance awareness among women.
- Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to visit Bangladesh today to attend a meeting under framework of Foreign Office Consultations in Dhaka.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to commission Indian Navy’s latest multi-role stealth guided missile frigate ‘INS Tushil’ in Kaliningrad, Russia today.
- Russia grants asylum to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family after they arrive in Moscow.
- India thrash Bangladesh 13-1 in Junior Women’s Asia Cup Hockey opener in Muscat.
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