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December 24, 2024 9:19 AM

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Morning News

THE HEADLINES:

 

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah stresses need to develop intelligence coordination strategy with friendly nations to detect anti-India outfits and networks.

 

  • National Consumer Day being celebrated today; Union Minister Pralhad Joshi to launch key initiatives to boost consumer protection.

 

  • 15 tableaux from various States and Union Territories selected for Republic Day Parade 2025 at Kartavya Path in national capital.

 

  • Bangladesh seeks extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India.

 

  • Shahu Tushar Mane bags Gold medal at Senior National Shooting Championship in Bhopal.

 

  • India’s Sairaj Pardeshi bags one Gold and two Silver medals at Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Doha.

 

 

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has stressed the need to develop an intelligence coordination strategy with friendly nations to detect anti-India outfits and networks. Delivering the 37th Intelligence Bureau centenary endowment lecture in New Delhi, Mr Shah said, out-of-the-box thinking is required to find solutions in the face of challenges such as attacks on critical infrastructure, cyber attacks, information warfare and radicalization of youth.

 

Praising the Intelligence Bureau, the Home Minister said, due to the working methodology, vigilance, alertness and the tradition of sacrifice and dedication of the IB, the country is safe today. Mr Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the security agencies have established dominance over various threats to the nation by fighting a decisive battle over the last five years.

 

The Home Minister explained that the success of any security agency is based on its workforce and its ability to train its personnel, and also highlighted the need to build a robust ecosystem to counter misinformation. In the coming days, he said, intelligence and law enforcement agencies must increase use of AI and machine learning. Mr Shah said, to achieve a fully developed India by 2047, security agencies must visualise all potential threats and prepare a comprehensive roadmap to safeguard the nation.

 

 

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National Consumer Day is being celebrated today. It is celebrated on the 24th of December to highlight the significance of the consumer movement in the country. It was on this day that the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, received presidential assent and was enacted. This year the theme is Virtual Hearings and Digital Access to Consumer Justice.

 

On the Occasion of the National Consumer Day, Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi will launch various initiatives in New Delhi today. It includes the Jago Grahak Jago app, the Jagriti app, and the Jagriti Dashboard, which are aimed at identifying dark patterns on e-commerce platforms and empowering the consumers. He will also launch the e-Mapp portal to streamline licensing, verification, and registration processes for businesses, reduce compliance burdens, and promote transparency. The Consumer Affairs department will also launch its revamped National Consumer Helpline Portal, incorporating advanced features. It offers enhanced functionality, improved navigation, and faster grievance resolution. A safety pledge will be signed by 13 major e-commerce platforms to ensure the safety of goods sold online and respect the consumer rights. Two state-of-the-art facilities of the National Test House in Guwahati and Mumbai will also be inaugurated on the occasion. SUMIT SAHA FOR AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.

 

 

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The Ministry of Defence has said that ‘Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas’ will be the theme of tableaux for Republic Day 2025. It added that 15 states and Union Territories have been selected to showcase their tableaux on Kartavya Path during the parade. These states include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman, and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka among others.

In addition, 11 Ministries and Departments of the Union government have also been selected for Republic Day 2025.

 

 

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The Central Government has scrapped the No Detention Policy for classes five and eight. Speaking to the media, Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar said that students, who failed in the annual examination of class five and eight will have a chance to retake the test within two months. After the retest if they fail again they will not be promoted. He added that these students will not be expelled from any school till the completion of their elementary education. The secretary added that this decision has been taken to improve the learning outcome among children.

 

 

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External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar will be on a six-day visit to the United States beginning today. During the visit, he will meet counterpart to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues. Dr. Jaishankar will also chair a conference of the Consul Generals of India in the USA.                      

         

 

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The Ministry of External Affairs has received a Note Verbale from the Bangladesh High Commission in connection with an extradition request. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, at this time, they have no comment to offer on this matter.

The interim government in Bangladesh had sent a diplomatic note to India to send back former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Since her ouster as the Bangladesh premier in August, Hasina has been living in India in exile.

 

 

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast cold wave conditions in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh today. According to the IMD, light to moderate rainfall is expected over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karaikal, Puducherry, and Odisha for the next two days. It has also said that dense fog conditions are likely to prevail during late-night and early-morning hours in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan today.

In Jammu & Kashmir, the Met Department has forecast erratic weather conditions until January 3, including light snowfall over the higher reaches of the Kashmir valley.

 

The weather is expected to remain generally dry over the next three days. Light rain over the plains of Jammu and light snow over the higher reaches of the Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal Range are expected from the afternoon of December 27 to the forenoon of 28th of this month. In view of fresh snowfall over important passes and higher reaches in Kashmir region, the tourists, travellers, and transporters have been advised to follow advisory from the administration and traffic department. TARIQ RATHER, Akashvani News, Srinagar.”

 

Uttarakhand is experiencing a significant drop in temperature due to snowfall in its higher regions and rainfall in the lower areas. Our correspondent reports that snowfall has occurred in the high-altitude areas of the state, including Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, and Tehri.

 

“The cold has intensified across the state just before Christmas, with snowfall in the mountains and rainfall in the plains contributing to the temperature drop. Meanwhile, the Met Department has predicted rain and light snowfall in some areas today, with more rain expected across all districts and snowfall above 2,500 meters on December 27th and 28th. Sakshi Singh, Akashvani News, Dehradun.”

 

The met department further added that central India and Maharashtra can witness a gradual rise in minimum temperatures of 2 to 4 degree Celsius during the next 5 days.

The IMD also said that Delhi-NCR is likely to experience smog and shallow fog during the morning and night hours over the next two days.

 In Himachal Pradesh, intermittent snowfall in the higher regions of the state and rainfall in some lower areas have led to a significant drop in temperature, plunging the entire state into a cold wave.This precipitation is expected to be a boon for crops, bringing much-needed relief to farmers and orchard owners.

 

“Due to fresh snowfall in the higher areas and rain in some lower places in Himachal Pradesh, there has been a huge drop in temperature, due to which the entire state is in the grip of cold wave. Farmers and gardeners have heaved a sigh of relief due to this snowfall and rain in the state. According to the State Emergency Center, 30 roads including 2 national highways are closed due to the latest snowfall. Efforts are being made to open them. The Meteorological Department has predicted light snowfall in higher areas and dense fog in lower areas of the state today. Ritesh Kapoor, Akashvani News, Shimla.”

                                                         

 

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Akashvani News brings you glimpses of 2024, in its Special Year Ender series. Today, we take a look at the achievements of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Our Correspondent reports that this year the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has played a pivotal role in building a self-reliant and globally competitive India. They achieved milestones under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme boosting start-up ecosystems, streamlining logistics and enhancing Foreign Direct Investment inflows.

 

The Ministry has launched several initiatives in line with India’s vision of becoming Atmanirbhar. The PLI Schemes have reached significant milestones, generating production of approximately 12.5 lakh crore rupees, exports worth 4 lakh crore rupees, and providing direct and indirect employment to over 9 lakh people. Under the One District One Product initiative, 1,256 products from over 780 districts across the country have been identified. This initiative is playing significant role to promote and support local products and artisans. Foreign Direct Investment equity inflow into the manufacturing sector has increased by 69 percent over the past decade. The Startup India initiative has recognized more than 1.49 lakh startups, with nearly 48 percent having at least one woman director, and about 50 percent located in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. These startups have created over 16 lakh direct jobs. Additionally, 12 greenfield infrastructure projects worth 28,602 crore rupees have been launched under the National Industrial Corridor Development Project, unlocking 1.5 lakh crore rupees in investment potential and creating 9.4 lakh potential jobs. With Sumit Saha, Saklen Akhtar for Akashvani News, Delhi.”
                                                         

 

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Moving on to the world of sports, we have updates from Shooting, Weightlifting and Cricket.

 

Shahu Tushar Mane clinched the gold medal to claim his first senior national title in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event at the 67th National Shooting Championship, in Bhopal yesterday. He edged out Dhanush Srikanth who bagged the silver medal. In Men’s junior national final, Rudrankksh Patil clinched the gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle category. In Weightlifting, India’s Sairaj Pardeshi bagged one gold and two silver medals in the 81kg Men’s category at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Doha, Qatar, yesterday. Meanwhile, Sanjana, who competed in the women’s 76kg category, clinched five silver medals at the Championship yesterday.

In Women’s Cricket, India will take on the West Indies in the second ODI of the three-match ICC Championship series at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara today. The match is schedule to begin at 1:30 PM. WITH SANYUKTA YADAV, CHIRAG JHA, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI”

 

 

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In Badminton, M. Raghu upset the top seed and Guwahati Masters winner Sathish Kumar in the 86th Senior National Badminton Championship yesterday. He defeated Sathish in the Men’s Singles semifinal clash. In the final, Raghu will take on Mithun Manjunath who defeated Rounak Chouhan in the semifinal.

 

 

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Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya will flag off the My Bharat Good Governance pad yatra at Vadnagar in Gujarat today. The 8-kilometer yatra is being organised to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Khadse will also be present on the occasion. The event has been organized as part of the year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution.

Our correspondent reports that this is one of 12 Padyatras that Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will undertake in a year each focusing on a unique theme.

 

 

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,

 

The scrapping of the no-detention policy for Classes 5 and 8 by the Centre is widely noticed on the front pages of most dailies. The Hindustan Times writes “No automatic promotions in classes 5 and 8”.

Another story widely covered on the front pages is the guning down of three members of the Khalistan Zindabad Force in Pilibhit district in UP. The Indian Express reports “3 of Khalistan outfit linked to Punjab grenade attacks killed in encounter”.

The Tribune has published a worrying statistic. It reports “Only 1.6% conviction rate in 2 years amid surge in cybercrime cases”.

Taking note of the passing away of noted film director Shyam Benegal, the Pioneer observes “Shyam Benegal, pioneer of parallel cinema in India, passes away at 90”.

The Hindu has an interesting story on the Dodo, a bird which became extinct in 1681, and has been brought to life by papier mache artisans in Kashmir with 50,000 models being shipped to markets in Europe.

 

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-

 

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah stresses need to develop intelligence coordination strategy with friendly nations to detect anti-India outfits and networks.

 

  • National Consumer Day being celebrated today; Union Minister Pralhad Joshi to launch key initiatives to boost consumer protection.

 

  • 15 tableaux from various States and Union Territories selected for Republic Day Parade 2025 at Kartavya Path in national capital.

 

  • Bangladesh seeks extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India.

 

  • Shahu Tushar Mane bags Gold medal at Senior National Shooting Championship in Bhopal.

 

  • And, India’s Sairaj Pardeshi bags one Gold and two Silver medals at Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Doha.

 

 

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