THE HEADLINES : –
- Campaigning for Delhi Assembly Elections ends this evening; political leaders make last ditch efforts to woo voters.
- JPC Report on Waqf bill to be presented in Lok Sabha today.
- Third Amrit Snan of Mahakumbh underway on the occasion of Basant Panchami in Prayagraj.
- Country cannot have millions of illegal migrants, says Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar; appeals to youth to neutralise anti-national narratives.
- In Chess, Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa clinches prestigious Tata Steel Masters 2025 title at Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.
- Mens’ T-20 Cricket, India beat England in fifth and final match of series played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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Today is the last day of campaigning for the Delhi assembly elections. Leaders and star campaigners from BJP, AAP and Congress have left no stone unturned to woo the voters, with roadshows, door to door campaigns and public meetings across the city. BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda will address a public meeting in the Burari area this afternoon. Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also going to address public meetings in different constituencies of the national capital. Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to hold a public meeting and a road show this afternoon. Senior AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will also be addressing several public meetings in the city today. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi is going to hold a road show in the Kasturba Nagar area to seek votes in favour of the party candidates.
A total of 699 candidates are in the fray. Elections for the 70 member Delhi Assembly will be held on Wednesday, and the counting of votes will take place on Saturday.
“Delhi is witnessing a three way contest between BJP, Aam Aadmi Party and Congress in the polls. Over one crore 56 lakh voters are set to exercise their electoral franchise and decide the fate of the candidates. Voting will take place at 13 thousand seven hundred sixty polling stations in the National Capital. The Election Commission is taking various voter-friendly measures to ensure voter participation in the polls. A Queue Management Solution, QMS app has been launched to make voting experience smoother and faster. More than 35 thousand Delhi Police personnel, 19 thousand home guards and 220 CAPF companies will be deployed for ensuring security on the day of voting. Suparna Saikia, Akashvani News, Delhi.”
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The report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is to be presented in the Lok Sabha today. Jagdambika Pal, the Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, along with BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, will present the report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. They will also lay on the table the record of evidence given before the Joint Committee. The report was presented to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30, 2025. The JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill adopted the draft report and the amended revised bill on Wednesday, January 29. However, the opposition leaders submitted their dissent notes on the report. The JPC had earlier cleared the Waqf Bill 1995 with 25 amendments across 14 clauses and sections. The Budget session of Parliament began on January 31 and will continue till April 4.
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Mahakumbh –
The third Amrit Snan of Mahakumbh is underway on the occasion of Basant Panchami. The Amrit snan is the most significant and sacred ritual of the Maha Kumbh Mela. The first two Amrit Snan took place on 14th January, that is Makar Sankranti and 29th January on Mauni Amavasya. The Uttar Pradesh government has implemented a robust security plan and the Mela area of Mahakumbh has been designated as no vehicle and no VIP zone. The Maha Kumbh Mela, recognized as the world’s largest religious gathering, commenced on 13th January and more than 35 crore devotees have taken holy dip in sangam so far.
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Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has said that the country cannot have millions of illegal migrants and allow the electoral politics to be disturbed by demographic dislocations, as he appealed to the youth to neutralise the anti-national narratives. Jagdeep Dhankhar, also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, voiced concerns over frequent disruptions in Parliament. Speaking at the World Forum of Accountants (WOFA) conference, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in the national capital yesterday, he said the youth should be concerned about the existential challenges.
Expressing concerns that some people and entities are not feeling good with the country’s development journey, the Vice President also said there is a trend to generate sensation and narratives. Appealing to the youth, he said that power is in their hands to neutralise these anti-national narratives and to defeat those forces that are inimical to India.
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Jammu and Kashmir –
In Jammu and Kashmir, a six-member team of experts from AIIMS New Delhi, led by its Director- Prof (Dr) M Srinivas and including specialists in Toxicology, yesterday visited Badhaal village of district Rajouri, where 17 persons have died due to a ‘mysterious disease’ and collected samples of water from the Bowli and other food items from the houses of these 3-4 affected families. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that the team visited Badhaal village yesterday and collected food samples from their sealed homes and water bodies surrounding that area.
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ISRO –
ISRO’s attempts to place the NVS-02 satellite in the desired orbit suffered a setback after the thrusters on board the spacecraft failed to fire, the space agency said yesterday. The NVS-02 satellite, which was crucial for India’s own space-based navigation system, was launched on January 29 on board the GSLV-Mk 2 rocket which was ISRO’s 100th launch from the spaceport at Shriharikota. The satellite is orbiting the Earth in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) which is not suitable for the navigation system. ISRO said, the satellite systems are healthy and the satellite is currently in elliptical orbit.
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SPORTS –
Moving on to the world of sports, In Mens’ T-20 Cricket, India registered a whopping 150-run win against England in the fifth and final match played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai last night and won the five-match series by 4-1.
“Put into bat first, the Indian team scored 247 runs with loss of 9 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma played a starring role with the bat with a knock of 135 off 54 balls, which also saw him create the record for most sixes (13) by an Indian in a T20I innings. Chasing a target of 248 runs set by India, the English side was bundled out for 97 runs in just 10.3 overs. Abhishek Sharma was declared Player of the Match and Varun Chakravarthy was declared Player of the Series.
Moving towards Chess, Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa clinched the prestigious Tata Steel Masters 2025 title in a thrilling showdown, defeating reigning World Champion D. Gukesh in a nail-biting tiebreaker last night at Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. This victory makes R. Praggnanandhaa the first Indian since Viswanathan Anand in 2006 to claim the prestigious title.
In Table Tennis, India’s campaign at the 2025 WTT Singapore Smash continues with several key matches in the Women’s Singles Round of 64 scheduled for today, as Sreeja Akula will take on China’s He Zhuojia, while Manika Batra is set to face Romanian Elizabeta Samara. On the other hand Yashaswini Ghorpade will challenge Japan’s Miwa Harimoto in her Round of 64 match . JIGYASA PANDEY, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.”
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense fog conditions over Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh during the morning and night hours today. The weather agency predicted thunderstorm accompanied with lightning at isolated places over Rajasthan today. The Met Department forecast scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall or snowfall over Western Himalayan Region during the next two days. The IMD said, light rainfall is also likely over adjoining plains of Northwest India during the next two days.
TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS –
- After Income tax relief in budget “Centre may push for a leaner GST machine” to simplify and rationalise its implementation, reports The Economic Times.
- Trumps triggers tariff wars with Mexico, Canada, China” justifying it by citing illegal immigration, drug crisis as reasons, states Hindustan Times. The Times of India headline says “Canada slaps tit-for-tat tariffs on US; Mexico and China vow action.
- Badrinath temple to open on May 4 after winter closure.
- To celebrate country’s musical heritage “Har kanthh mein Bharat” radio series launched on “
Basant Panchami” showing richness of Indian classical music, notes The Statesman. - Newspapers today have covered the second successive win of Indian women’s Under-19 T20 world cup title. The Asian Age quotes the Prime minister hailing the team saying ” Immensely proud of our Nari shakti.”
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN-
- Campaigning for Delhi Assembly Elections ends this evening; political leaders make last ditch efforts to woo voters.
- JPC Report on Waqf bill to be presented in Lok Sabha today.
- Third Amrit Snan of Mahakumbh underway on the occasion of Basant Panchami in Prayagraj.
- Country cannot have millions of illegal migrants, says Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar; appeals to youth to neutralise anti-national narratives.
- In Chess, Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa clinches prestigious Tata Steel Masters 2025 title at Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.
- In Mens’ T-20 Cricket, India beat England in fifth and final match of series played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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