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December 27, 2024 9:02 AM

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Morning News

THE HEADLINES:

 

  • Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh passes away in New Delhi.

 

  • President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condole his demise.

 

  • Government declares 7-day state mourning; Last rites to be performed with full state honours.

 

  • Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah calls for production of seeds that require less water and pesticides.

 

  • Indian banks profitability improves for sixth consecutive year; NPAs decline to 13-year low, says RBI.

 

  • In cricket, Australia resume their first innings on Day 2 of fourth Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India at Melbourne.

 

 

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Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh passed away in New Delhi last night. He was 92. Dr. Singh breathed his last at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi. He was admitted to the Emergency ward of AIIMS at around 8 PM in a critical condition. The former Prime Minister had sudden loss of consciousness at home last evening. An AIIMS bulletin said, despite all efforts, Dr. Singh could not be revived and was declared dead at 9.51 PM. Dr Singh had been in poor health for the last few months. He is survived by wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters.

 

Born on 26th September 1932, in a village in Punjab province of undivided India, Dr. Manmohan Singh served as India’s 13th Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014.  After obtaining his doctorate in economics from Oxford, Dr. Singh worked for the United Nations for a brief time. Dr. Singh’s academic credentials were burnished by the years he spent on the faculty of Punjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics. In 1971, Dr. Singh joined the Government of India as Economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry. He also served as Chief Economic Advisor and Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Advisor of the Prime Minister and Chairman of the University Grants Commission. Dr. Singh served as Union Finance Minister from 1991 to 1996 and brought in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms. Dr. Singh was a Member of the Rajya Sabha from 1991 to 2024. The key decisions he took as Prime Minister were the launch of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Right to Information Act and National Food Security Act. ANUPAM MISHRA, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.

 

 

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The Government has declared a seven-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. During the period, the national flag will be flown at half mast throughout India and there will be no official entertainment. A state funeral will be accorded to the departed dignitary. The National Flag will also fly half-mast on the day of funeral in all Indian Missions and High Commission of India abroad. A meeting of the Union Cabinet is scheduled to be held today to pay tributes to the former Prime Minister.

 

 

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President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and various leaders have expressed grief over the passing of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. In her message, the President said, Dr Singh was one of those rare politicians who also straddled the worlds of academia and administration with equal ease. In his message, Mr Dhankhar called the former Prime Minister a distinguished economist who transformed India’s economic landscape.

In his message, Prime Minister Modi said that India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders. He also praised Dr. Singh’s insightful interventions in Parliament, and his extensive efforts to improve the lives of people during his tenure as Prime Minister.

 

In his condolence message, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Dr. Manmohan Singh played an important role in the governance of the country, from being the Governor of the RBI to the Finance Minister and as the Prime Minister.

In his message, Union Minister and BJP President JP Nadda said, that Dr Singh’s leadership earned admiration and respect across party lines and his legacy will continue to inspire generations in their pursuit of nation-building.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has expressed sadness over the loss, and highlighted that Dr. Singh’s leadership, humility, and dedication will always be remembered.

 

In his condolence message, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, India has lost a visionary statesman, a leader of unimpeachable integrity, and an economist of unparalleled stature. In his message, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, Dr. Singh led India with immense wisdom and integrity. In his condolence message, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar described Dr. Singh’s demise as an irreparable loss for Indian politics.

 

 

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Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has said that the Bhartiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) should focus more on the seed production that requires less water and pesticides. Chairing a review meeting of the BBSSL in New Delhi, he said, efforts should be made to ensure that small farmers achieve the highest possible yields. The Home Minister said, the BBSSL has a crucial role in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sehkar Se Samriddhi”, and empowering farmers.

He called on the BBSSL to focus on the collection and preservation of India’s traditional seeds. In this context, Mr Shah set a target for Samiti to connect with an additional 20,000 cooperatives by the year 2025-26.

 

 

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The profitability of Indian banks improved for the sixth consecutive year in 2023-24 and their non-performing assets (NPAs) declined to a 13-year low of 2.7 percent. According to a report released by the Reserve Bank of India, the financial position of Indian banks has stayed robust, marked by the sustained expansion in loans and deposits.

Asset quality improved, with the gross non-performing assets ratio falling to its lowest in 13 years at 2.7 per cent at end-March 2024, and 2.5 per cent at end-September 2024.

 

 

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan in Washington DC last night. The two leaders held wide-ranging discussions on the progress of the India-US strategic partnership and exchanged views on current regional and global developments. Dr Jaishankar is on a 6-day visit to the United States since December 24.

The External Affairs Minister will meet his US counterpart to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues. During the visit, Dr Jaishankar will also chair a conference of the Consul Generals of India in the USA.

 

 

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President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar on 17 children for their exceptional achievements in seven categories in New Delhi yesterday.

The awardees, hailing from 14 states and union territories, were recognized for their remarkable contributions in Art and Culture, Bravery, Innovation, Science and Technology, Social Service, Sports, and Environment. Each recipient was presented with a medal, a certificate, and a citation booklet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi also interacted with the awardees.

Talking exclusively to Akashvani News the awardees expressed their happiness on receiving the prestigious award.

 

 

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The 4th Sushasan Saptah 2024 and the ‘Prashasan Gaon ki Ore’ campaign, successfully concluded on Wednesday. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances coordinated both the Sushasan Saptah and the nationwide “Prashasan Gaon ki Ore” campaign, which took place from the 19th to the 25th of this month.

 

During Prashasan Gaon ki Ore Campaign, District Collectors organized special camps and events at Tehsil Headquarters and Panchayat Samitis to resolve public grievances for improved service delivery. The Good Governance Week events included a series of workshops on good governance to formulate visions for Districts@100 and present district level innovations. Over 2 crore 99 lakh applications were disposed under service delivery and nearly 15 lakh Public Grievances were redressed on State Portals. Over 51 thousand Camps were held and 272 District Vision @ 100 documents were prepared. WITH Pallavi Parmar’S REPORT, MANIK SHARMA, Akashvani News, Delhi.

 

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Akashvani News brings you glimpses of 2024 in its special Year-Ender series. Today, we take a look at the key initiatives and achievements of the Ministry of Tourism during the year.

 

The Ministry has launched various initiatives throughout the year to boost tourism in the country. The ‘Chalo India’ Campaign was started to encourage the Indian diaspora to invite their non-Indian friends to travel to the country. Under this campaign, one lakh free e-visas were also issued for foreign tourists visiting India. Incredible India Content Hub was started to provide the global travel and tourism industry with unified source of content on Incredible India. 40 projects of around Three thousand 295 Crore rupees were approved under Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment for the  Development of Iconic Tourist Centres to Global Scale across 23 States. The Ministry has signed various agreements to leverage the expertise of private hotel chains to provide students with exposure to the industry’s best practices. SUMIT SAHA FOR AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.

 

 

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In Test cricket, Australia were all out for 474 runs in their first innings on Day 2 of the fourth Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India in Melbourne. They added 163 runs to their overnight score of 311 for 6 today. Steven smith scored 140 runs for the Aussies. Jaspreet Bumrah took 4 wickets for India.

Both the teams have won one match each in the five-match series.

We have some more news from the world of cricket, badminton and shooting:

 

In Women’s Cricket, India will face the West Indies in the third and final ODI of the three-match ICC Championship series in Vadodara this morning. The match is scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM. India have already secured the series, having won the first two matches.

In Badminton, World No. 12 Indian shuttler, Lakshya Sen, will be in action today at the inaugural King Cup International Open 2024, in Shenzhen, China. He will face Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long in the quarter-final match.

In Shooting, Olympian Vijayveer Sidhu clinched the Men’s 25 metre rapid fire Pistol title at the 67th National Championship in Tughlakabad yesterday. While Shivam Shukla bagged the bronze, with 23 shots. VISHNU PS, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.

 

 

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms accompanied with hailstorms, gusty winds, and lightning at many places over East Rajasthan, Punjab, East Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and West Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and the Gujarat Region today. Assam and Meghalaya can experience dense fog in the night and morning hours today. According to the IMD, there will be no significant change in the minimum temperatures over East and Central India during the next 3 days.

 

 

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,

 

  • The passing away of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has been reported on the front pages of dailies this morning. “Dr Singh walks into history; He opened India to the world, set stage for seat at global high table”, says The Indian Express. “The Great Liberaliser”, writes Hindustan Times, while The Tribune calls him a man of exceptional intellect and unparalleled humility.
  • A headline in The Statesman quotes PM Modi as saying, “Our democracy’s greatness is rooted in the fundamental principal of national unity”.
  • “AAP-Congress Delhi face-off ahead of polls puts INDIA bloc on edge”, reports Hindustan Times.
  • Financial Express writes that the government is considering cutting income tax for individuals making up to 15 lakh rupees a year in the upcoming budget.
  • “Can’t spell iPhone without India”, says The Economic Times, adding that experts see India becoming Apple’s third-biggest market amid China woes.

 

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-

 

  • Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh passes away in New Delhi.

 

  • President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condole his demise.

 

  • Government declares 7-day state mourning; Last rites to be performed with full state honours.

 

  • Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah calls for production of seeds that require less water and pesticides.

 

  • Indian banks profitability improves for sixth consecutive year; NPAs decline to 13-year low, says RBI.

 

  • And in cricket, Australia all out for 474 in their first innings in fourth Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India at Melbourne.

 

 

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