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January 4, 2025 8:57 AM

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Morning News

THE HEADLINES:

 

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Grameen Bharat Mahotsav in New Delhi today; Six-day event to celebrate rural India’s entrepreneurial spirit and cultural heritage.
  • Centre releases draft of Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, proposing parental consent for children to open social media accounts.
  • External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar assures continued support to Maldives, under India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
  • India and Iran review bilateral ties, including Chabahar Port and trade relations.
  • Dense fog engulfs various parts of North India; Train and Flight operations disrupted.
  • And in Hockey India League, Tamil Nadu Dragons beat Vedanta Kalinga Lancers in penalty shootout in Rourkela.

 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Grameen Bharat Mahotsav 2025 in New Delhi today. Mr Modi will also address the gathering on the occasion. Our correspondent reports that the Mahotsav aims to enhance rural infrastructure, create self-reliant economies, and foster innovation within rural communities. 

 

The Mahotsav will showcase India’s rich cultural heritage through vibrant performances and exhibitions. The theme of the six-day Mahotsav is Building a Resilient Rural India for a Viksit Bharat 2047. A significant focus of the Mahotsav is to empower rural women through entrepreneurship. It will bring together government officials, rural entrepreneurs, artisans and stakeholders from diverse sectors to build a roadmap for collaborative and collective rural transformation. The objective of this event includes promoting economic stability and financial security among rural populations, with a special focus on North-East India. With Dipendra Kumar, Suparna Saikia, Akashvani News Delhi.”

 

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Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that his Ministry is determined to make the villages poverty-free this year. Mr Chouhan said this during a review meeting on various schemes of the Ministry with the Rural Development Minister of all States and Union Territories in New Delhi yesterday. The Minister highlighted the role of villages in nation-building, which will make India an ideal nation for the world. The Union Minister said, the schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are a hope for the common people and a means to fulfil their dreams. The Minister said that 3.45 crore houses have been constructed in rural areas under the housing scheme in the last ten years.

 

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The Centre has released the draft of Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025. Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared that the Draft rules are open for consultation and sought people’s views. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 received the assent of President Droupadi Murmu in August 2023. The guidelines proposed mandatory and verifiable parental consent for children to open social media accounts. More from our correspondent:

 

The draft rules explain how consent should be obtained from individuals, the responsibilities of data processors, and how authorities will operate under the Digital Data Protection Act, 2023. According to the Draft Rules, the Data Fiduciary must take steps to ensure they get clear consent from a parent before processing a child’s personal data. Any feedback submitted will be kept confidential and trusted, to enable people to share their thoughts freely. The comments on the draft rules can be submitted by 18th February through the MyGov portal. With Dipendra Kumar, Bhanu Pratap Singh, Akashvani News, Delhi.”

 

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External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of Maldives Dr. Abdulla Khaleel held bilateral discussions in New Delhi yesterday. Dr. Jaishankar reaffirmed the importance India attaches to its bilateral ties with the Island Nation and assured continued support to Maldives, under India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and Vision SAGAR.

 

They took stock of progress made on the understandings reached during the state visit of President of Maldives Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to India in October last year.

 

Both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding for implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects under Phase-III in Maldives, through grant assistance by India.

 

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India and Iran reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relationships, including Chabahar Port, agricultural cooperation, trade and economic issues, as well as cultural and people-to-people ties. The 19th India-Iran Foreign Office Consultations were held in New Delhi yesterday. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, Majid Takht Ravanchi co-chaired the meeting.

 

The External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the discussions also covered current regional and global developments, including situation in Afghanistan, West Asia, and the South Caucasus. The Foreign Secretary highlighted the significance of Chabahar Port in supporting Afghanistan’s reconstruction and economic development.

 

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Akashvani News brings you glimpses of 2024 in its special series. Today, we take a look at the key initiatives and achievements of the Ministry of Steel. Our correspondent has filed this report.                                    

 

The Government has taken several decisive steps to enhance the industry’s environmental sustainability. The Ministry is preparing Green Steel Mission for helping the steel industry to reduce carbon emissions and progress towards the Net Zero Target. To boost domestic steel manufacturing, more than 27 thousand crore rupees have been committed by the companies under the PLI Scheme. A Taxonomy for Green Steel was released to provide standards for defining and categorizing the low emission steel, facilitating the green transition of the industry. The Ministry has also taken measures to formulate standards for the steel consumed in the country and incorporate them in the Quality Control Order (QCO). With Sumit Saha, Akshit Vedayan, Akashvani News, Delhi.”

 

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Severe cold wave conditions and dense fog have disrupted normal life in various parts of northern India. A dense fog blanketed the region in the early hours today, reducing visibility to zero in several areas and disrupting flight and train operations. We have a report:

 

Road traffic in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana moved at a snail’s pace as commuters struggled to navigate through the thick fog cover. Flight operations were affected at the Delhi airport in the early morning due to thick fog. In a social media post, Delhi International Airport Ltd urged passengers to contact airlines for an update on flight information.

 

According to Indian Railways, as many as 49 Delhi-bound trains have been delayed by up to four hours. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that dense fog and cold day conditions is likely to continue over parts of Northwest and central India during the next two days and improve thereafter. Very dense fog conditions are likely to prevail during  night and early morning hours in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and some parts of Uttar Pradesh. With Bhanu’s report, Chirag Jha, Akashvani News, Delhi.”

 

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In Jammu and Kashmir, the IMD has issued a yellow alert for intense rain and snowfall across various areas of the Kashmir region for tomorrow and Monday.

 

Due to the forecast of snowfall, traffic movement on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway could be disrupted, with risks of snow avalanches, landslides, and shooting stones on vulnerable mountainous sections of the highway. More from our correspondent:

 

Traffic department said subject to fair weather and better road conditions, the vehicular traffic on both sides will be allowed on Srinagar Jammu National Highway today. The one way traffic from Srinagar to Kargil will be allowed today depending on the weather and road condition. The tourists, travellers and transporters have been advised to plan their travel as per the traffic advisories. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the Administration is fully ready to tackle any kind of contingency across Kashmir region and in Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley areas in Jammu Division. Tariq Rather, Akashvani News, Srinagar.”

 

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The air quality in DelhiNCR has deteriorated to the very poor category with an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 385 as of 7 AM this morning. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI in some areas of the city has crossed the severe category mark at 400.

 

Amid the poor air quality, the Commission for Air Quality Management has invoked the stage three of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the National Capital Region with immediate effect to prevent further deterioration of air quality.

 

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Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav chaired a high-level meeting in Bhopal yesterday amid ongoing protests against the disposal of Union Carbide factory waste at Pithampur in Dhar district. After the meeting, the Chief Minister assured that the state government respects public sentiments and will present all circumstances and practical difficulties before the High Court. He urged the public not to believe  rumours or misleading news.

 

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The three-day-long celebration of Prakash Utsav to mark the 358th birth anniversary of the 10th and last Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh began at Takht Shri Harimandir Sahib in Patna City of Bihar this morning. The Takht Shri Harimandir Sahib is the birth place of the founder of the Khalasa Panth Guru Gobind Singh.

 

Since early morning, procession is being taken out from Takht Shri Harimandir Sahib. The celebration will conclude with ‘Kirtan Darbar’ and ‘Akhand Path in the midnight on Monday. Devotees in large number from different part of the country and abroad are reaching at Patna Sahib to attend the celebrations.

 

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On behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju will offer a chaadar at the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti in Ajmer today. The 813th Urs of Khwaja Gareeb Nawaz, which began on Wednesday, marks the start of paying process  homage at the dargah, including the offering of chaadars.

 

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In Hockey India League, the Tamil Nadu Dragons defeated Vedanta Kalinga Lancers in a tense shootout in Rourkela last night.

 

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In Cricket, Australia’s top order collapsed this morning after Indian seamers took early wickets in the first session of Day 2 of the decisive fifth and final Test Match of Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney. Hosts were 137 for 6 in their first innings, when reports last came in.

 

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:

 

  • “India protests China’s new counties in Ladakh” leads The Hindu.
  • “India and Maldives agree on local currency use for trade” says The Pioneer.
  • The Hindu Business Line quoting the Health Ministry says ” India monitoring China virus situation no cause for alarm now”.
  • The Tribune quotes  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as saying ” Trump’s unpredictability can help end war”.
  • The Statesman citing an SBI report says ” Dramatic decline in India ‘s rural poverty from 25.7 % to 4.86 % in the last 12 years”.
  • “Breach alert, parental nod in digital privacy rulebook ” reports Hindustan Times.
  • And finally, The Times Of India citing the US state department says “Indian diamond priciest gift given to Jill Biden in 2023”.

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

 

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Grameen Bharat Mahotsav in New Delhi today; Six-day event to celebrate rural India’s entrepreneurial spirit and cultural heritage.
  • Centre releases draft of Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, proposing parental consent for children to open social media accounts.
  • External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar assures continued support to Maldives, under India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
  • India and Iran review bilateral ties, including Chabahar Port and trade relations.
  • Dense fog engulfs various parts of North India; Train and Flight operations disrupted.
  • And in Hockey India League, Tamil Nadu Dragons beat Vedanta Kalinga Lancers in penalty shootout in Rourkela.

 

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