THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, government is actively supporting curiosity and conviction of youths by removing obstacles in their paths through reforms.
- Former President Ram Nath Kovind says, One Nation, One Election will boost country’s GDP by 1 to 1.5 percent.
- India to have its own space station by 2035 and an Indian will land on moon by 2040.
- External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold India-UAE Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi today.
- Meta’s social media platforms – WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram suffer major global outage.
- Khelo India Winter Games 2025 to be held in Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir in January and February.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the government is actively supporting the curiosity and conviction of youths by removing obstacles in their paths through reforms. Interacting with the innovators during the grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon, Mr Modi asserted that the youth today is developing a feeling of ownership towards finding ways to overcome the challenges being faced by the country.
He said, the future of the world is going to be driven by knowledge and innovation and India’s youth are its hope and aspiration in changing situations and the world is acknowledging that India’s strength is its innovative youth power.
Stressing the need to think out of the box to overcome challenges, Mr Modi said his government is standing with THE youths at every stage of their career and working according to their needs.
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The 7th Smart India Hackathon is underway across nine institutions in Karnataka. The event features a 36-hour Software Edition and a five-day Hardware Edition, concluding on December 15.
“In Bengaluru, the Smart India Hackathon is being hosted by three institutions, with a total of 66 teams comprising 428 students participating. Across the other six centers in Karnataka, located in Mysuru, Mangaluru, Belagavi, and Hubballi, 268 teams with 1,008 students are competing in this prestigious event.Ponnumon, Akashvani News, Bengaluru.”
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Former President Ram Nath Kovind has said that One Nation, One Election (ONOE) has potential to boost India’s GDP by 1 to 1.5 percent. Making a strong pitch for ‘one nation, one election,’ former President and chairman of the ONOE committee said that it will be a game changer for the country. Talking to media persons in Kanpur, Mr Kovind said that the central government will have to build consensus for the implementation of ONOE. While voicing support for holding simultaneous elections to the state assemblies and Lok Sabha in the country, Mr Kovind asserted that this issue is in the interest of the nation.
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The Union Government has decided to revise the wheat stock limit applicable until the 1st March 2025. In order to manage overall food security and to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation, the Centre had imposed stock limits on wheat for traders/wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers, and processors across all states and union territories.
The wheat stock limit for traders and wholesalers has been reduced from 2,000 MT to 1,000 MT, while the limit for retailers has been cut from 10 MT to 5 MT per outlet.
In a statement, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution stated that a total of 1,132 LMT of wheat was recorded during Rabi 2024, and there is ample availability of wheat in the country.
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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India’s banking sector, especially Public Sector Banks, has seen a remarkable turnaround under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for alleging that public sector banks are being used as unlimited sources of funds for fraudulent people, terming his remarks as baseless. The Finance Minister emphasized that citizen-centric governance is the core principle of the Modi government. She also alleged that during the UPA rule, Public Sector Banks were treated as ‘ATMs’ for shady businessmen.
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Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, has said that India will have its own space station, ‘Bharat Antariksha Station,’ by 2035, while an Indian will land on the moon by 2040. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on ‘Achievements of all Science Ministries,’ Dr. Singh said that the space reforms brought by the government have unlocked the space sector.
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External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will hold the India-UAE Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi today. The UAE Foreign Affairs Minister will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the afternoon. UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister arrived in New Delhi last night to take part in the 4th Strategic Dialogue and the 15th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting.
Welcoming the UAE leader, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a post on X said, the visit will further strengthen the multifaceted Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and UAE.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the family of legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor in New Delhi yesterday to commemorate his life and legacy ahead of his birth centenary on 14th December. The Kapoor family invited the Prime Minister to the Raj Kapoor Film Festival, which will be held from 13th to 15th of this month in 40 cities. The Prime Minister hailed the filmmaker’s contribution to the nation, saying that he established India’s soft power in the world at a time when the term itself was not coined.
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In Uttarakhand, World Ayurveda Congress and Ayurveda Expo will start today at the Parade Ground in Dehradun. This prestigious event is set to provide a vital platform for research, development, and breakthroughs in the field of Ayurveda.
“This year’s event is themed “Digital Health, Ayurvedic Approach,” focusing on the integration of traditional Ayurveda with modern technological advancements. Over 5,500 Indian delegates and more than 350 international participants are taking part in the four-day congress.
Special emphasis will be placed on incorporating cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, and Blockchain within the realm of Ayurveda.
The exhibition will showcase products and services from leading Ayurvedic institutions from India and abroad. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has lauded the event as a significant initiative for the Ministry of AYUSH, the Government of Uttarakhand, and partner states. He also highlighted the importance of promoting local Ayurvedic products in line with the “Vocal for Local” campaign. Sakshi Singh, Akashvani News, Dehradun.”
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Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, will host the 22nd Divya Kala Mela at India Gate, New Delhi, from today. The event will showcase the talent, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit of Divyang artisans, entrepreneurs, and artists from across India. Over 100 Divyang entrepreneurs and artisans will showcase their products and skills. The 11-day event, open daily from 11 AM to 9 PM, will run until the 22nd of this month.
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Meta has confirmed a global outage affecting some users’ ability to access its social media apps, including Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, late last night. While the company did not provide specific details about the issue, it assured users that it is actively working on a resolution. No official timeline has been provided for when the full service will be restored. In a statement on its handle, Meta confirmed it is aware that a technical issue is impacting some users’ ability to access its apps. The company is working to restore normal service as quickly as possible and apologized for any inconvenience.
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And now, from the world of sports we have big updates coming from Khelo India, Hockey, Chess and squash.
“The Khelo India Winter Games 2025 will be held in Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir in two separate phases. Ladakh will host the ice events, including ice hockey and ice skiing, from 23rd to 27th of January, while Jammu & Kashmir will host the snow events, such as alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, ski mountaineering, and snowboarding, from 22nd to 25th of February.
In the World Squash Team Championships 2024, the Indian Men’s team will take on France in the quarterfinals in Hong Kong, China, today. Yesterday, in the pre-quarterfinal the men’s team staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Malaysia 2-1.Meanwhile, Indian Women’s team will face the USA in their quarterfinal fixture. Earlier, the Women’s team defeated Australia 2-1 in the pre-quarterfinals.
In Chess, Indian Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh will take on defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final Game 14 of FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore today. Yesterday, the 13th game between Gukesh and Ding Liren ended in a draw after a five-hour battle on the board. After the draw, both have 6.5 points each.
Meanwhile, In hockey, India will take on Thailand in their fourth and final league match of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup in Muscat today. Yesterday, India suffered a 2-1 defeat to China in their third match. WITH SANYUKTA YADAV’S REPORT,MANIK SHARMA AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.”
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast cold wave conditions over Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Saurashtra, Kutch and parts of Punjab today. Cold wave conditions in these regions will continue for the next 3-4 days. Ground Frost Conditions is very likely to prevail over Uttarakhand. Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura can experience dense fog conditions in the night and morning hours for the next 2 days. According to the met department, there will be no significant change in minimum temperatures over Northwest and Central India during next 4-5 days. Delhi and the surrounding NCR are likely to experience smog and shallow fog during the night and morning hours over the next two days.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
- All dailies have covered the Prime Minister’s remarks at the Smart India Hackathon. Hindustan Times writes, “Young people solving India’s key challenges, says PM Modi”.
- Papers have also covered the churnings going on in the winter session of Parliament. The Times of India writes, “Vice president partisan, says INDIA bloc; BJP backs unfazed Dhankhar.” The Asian Age headlines, “Din over no-trust against V-P, Soros issue stalls Parliament.”
- “Delhi mercury below 5 degrees Celsius in earliest dip since 1987.” reports Hindustan Times.
- “Coca-Cola to sell 40 per cent in bottling unit to Jubilant Bhartia Group,” writes Business Standard.
- And finally, as the country’s youth march ahead in the fast changing digital era, 47 words like ‘Blue Carbon’ ‘Digital nomad’ and Flox have made it to a new dictionary acknowledging India’s prowess. “The Pioneer writes, Desi ‘jugaad’ and more make it to a new dictionary.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN–
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, government is actively supporting curiosity and conviction of youths by removing obstacles in their paths through reforms.
- Former President Ram Nath Kovind says, One Nation, One Election will boost country’s GDP by 1 to 1.5 percent.
- India to have its own space station by 2035 and an Indian will land on moon by 2040.
- External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold India-UAE Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi today.
- Meta’s social media platforms – WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram suffer major global outage.
- Khelo India Winter Games 2025 to be held in Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir in January and February.
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