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March 8, 2025 9:20 AM

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Morning News

THE HEADLINES ::

  • International Women’s Day being celebrated today.
  • President Droupadi Murmu to inaugurate a national conference in New Delhi on the theme Nari Shakti Se Viksit Bharat.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Lakhpati Didi Sammelan at Vansi-Borsi in Navsari district of Gujarat; To also disburse financial assistance worth 450 crore rupees to more than 2.5 lakh women.
  • Election Commission says, it will resolve longstanding issue of duplicate voter IDs within next three months.
  • At least two people killed and 186 missing after four boats carrying migrants from Africa capsized in waters off Yemen and Djibouti coasts.
  • Indian Grandmaster Pranav Venkatesh becomes World Junior Chess Champion 2025.

 

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International Women’s Day is being celebrated across the globe today. President Droupadi Murmu will preside over a national-level conference on ‘Nari Shakti Se Viksit Bharat’ in New Delhi today to mark the occasion. The conference will be followed by a high-level panel discussion and three technical sessions. Minister of State for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi will also be present at the event.

To mark the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is handing over his social media accounts for a day to inspiring women on the occasion. Earlier in his Mann Ki Baat address, Mr Modi had encouraged women across India to share their inspiring life journeys on the NaMo App Open Forum.

 

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will also inaugurate an Exhibition on Women Members of the Constituent Assembly in the Parliament House Complex today. The exhibition seeks to commemorate 75 Years of the Constitution of India.

To commemorate the Day, the National Commission for Women in collaboration with the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad, will organise the All India Women Advocates’ Conference this afternoon. The program will be focused on strategizing the enhanced role of women for Resurgent Bharat with women lawyers leading the way.

 

“The theme of International Women’s Day this year is ‘For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. The theme calls for action to unlock equal rights, power, and opportunities for all and an inclusive future where no one is left behind. The central government has been actively working towards women’s empowerment and gender equality through various policies, schemes, and legislative measures. India has undertaken several initiatives to ensure that girls have equal access to quality education from primary schooling to higher education. These include Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative and Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

 

For the first time, Women priests, or batuk kanyas, performed the Ganga aarti at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. This practice broke centuries-old tradition. Talking exclusively to Akashvani News, one of the seven batuk kanyas shared her experience.

 

As part of International Women’s Day 2025 celebrations, the government recently launched Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats. The initiative primarily aims to establish at least one Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayat in each district, serving as a beacon for gender-sensitive and girl-friendly governance practices.

 

Talking to Akashvani News, District Panchayat member from Goa, Anita Thora, appreciated the government’s initiative to support Panchayats.

 

The year 2025 is a pivotal moment as it marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The document is the most progressive and widely endorsed blueprint for women’s and girls’ rights worldwide. Priya Mondal, Akashvani News, Delhi.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Navsari district of Gujarat today to attend the ‘Lakhpati Didi Sammelan’ at Vansi-Borsi. Mr Modi will disburse 450 crore rupees in financial assistance to more than 2.5 lakh women from over 25,000 self-help groups. Prime Minister will also felicitate 5 Lakhpati Didis with Lakhpati Didi Certificates. Mr Modi will launch the G-SAFAL (Gujarat Scheme for Antyodaya Families for Augmenting Livelihoods) and G-MAITRI (Gujarat Mentorship and Acceleration of Individuals for Transforming Rural Income) programme of the Government of Gujarat at the event.

 

“Over 1 lakh women from Navsari, Valsad and Dang districts will participate in the Lakhpati Didi Sammelan to be held at Vansi Borsi in Navsari today. During the programme, the PM will provide assistance worth over ₹450 crore to the women from over 25 thousand self-help groups in Gujarat. The PM will also launch two new initiatives of the Government of Gujarat namely G-SAFAL and G-MAITRI. G-SAFAL will provide financial assistance and entrepreneurial training to SHG women of Antyodaya families in two Aspirational districts and thirteen Aspirational Blocks of Gujarat while the G-MAITRI scheme will provide financial assistance and handholding support to Startups which are working to create a conducive environment for rural livelihoods. It is worth mentioning that following the widespread efforts of the government, today there are, about 1.5 lakh women who have an annual income of one lakh or more and have become Lakhpati Didi in Gujarat. Aparna Khunt, Akashvani News, Ahmedabad.”

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In Bihar, the demographic landscape has undergone significant changes across various sectors, including government posts, police establishments, and Panchayati Raj institutions, highlighting the rise of women power. In the police force, Bihar leads all states with 30 thousand female personnel. Out of a total of One lakh 10 thousand police officers in the state, the number of women is the highest in the country. Providing strong representation for women is also contributing to the demographic dividend, especially in the police force. Previously, the landscape was lopsided in terms of women’s representation. The data of women representation changed in favour of women due to 35 percent reservation given by Nitish Kumar led government in 2013 for women in police jobs.

Talking to Akashvani News, former Director General of Police (DGP) Abhayanand says it is overall a very positive change and it has wiped out gender bias in the state police force.

 

Mr. Abhayanand said, with more representatives in police forces it will give a facelift to the enforcement agency and it is quite helpful during investigation and law & order maintenance needs.

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Telangana government will be celebrating the International Women’s Day at Parade Ground in Secunderabad this evening. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will launch several schemes that are aimed at financially empowering women’s self-help groups.

 

“The state will launch the‘Indira Mahila Shakti Mission’, marking a major initiative integrating the achievements of women’s SHGs and the government’s future plans for the empowerment of women.The government is also launching a first-of-its-kind initiative allowing women SHGs to own and operate Road Transport Corporation buses on a rental basis. As part of the Indira Mahila Shakti Mission, the government will introduce 150 RTC buses in the first phase, each assigned to a mandal women federation. This pilot project will be implemented in the undivided districts of Warangal, Khammam,Karimnagar, and Mahbubnagar.The government will sign agreements for 600 buses between women federations and RTC. With the report of Lakshmi from Hyderabad, this is Deepmala Kaushik, Akashvani News.”

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Akashvani News is celebrating International Women’s Day in a unique way with all English and Hindi News bulletins being presented by Women News Readers. This has started since midnight last night and will continue throughout the rest of the day today. During this period, all 45 main and hourly bulletins as well as News Magazine Programmes in English and Hindi will be read by Women News Readers. The entire functioning of English and Hindi News Rooms during the day time today will also be handled by all women staff of the News Services Division of Akashvani. A special panel discussion programme will also be broadcast from 9.15 PM to 10 PM today on International Women’s Day by Akashvani News.

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The Railway Ministry has said that there has been over five-fold increase in women loco-pilots in Railways. Railways had been a male dominated sector due to its difficult operational challenges. However, women are breaking the glass ceiling in this sector too. Women have also entered the domains like Loco Pilots, Station Master, Trackmen, signal maintenance, Guard, and Gangmen. The present strength of women employees in Railways is over one lakh, which is about 8.2 percent of the total strength of Railways.

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The Election Commission has said that it will resolve the longstanding issue of duplicate Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers within the next three months. In a statement, the Commission said, it has decided to resolve this long-pending issue after detailed discussions within the technical teams and concerned Chief Electoral Officers in the next three months, ensuring a unique national EPIC number for existing electors having duplicate EPIC numbers. The Commission had already taken cognizance of the issue of duplicate EPIC numbers. Irrespective of an EPIC number, an elector who is linked to the electoral roll of a particular polling station can cast their vote at that polling station only and nowhere else.

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United Nation’s Migration Agency has said that at least two people have died and 186 others are missing after four boats carrying migrants from Africa capsized overnight in water off Yemen and Djibouti. The spokesperson of International Organisation for Migration mission Tamim Eleian said that two of the boats capsized off Yemen.

 

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Moving on to sports, Indian Grandmaster Pranav Venkatesh has become the World Junior Chess Champion 2025.

 

“18-year-old Indian Grandmaster Pranav Venkatesh dominated the FIDE World Junior Championship 2025 to claim the title. Pranav became the fourth Indian to win the World Junior title, following Viswanathan Anand, Pentala Harikrishna, and Abhijeet Gupta. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram won the prestigious Prague Masters in the Czech Republic. In the final round, Aravindh held a solid draw against Turkey’s Ediz Gurel to clinch sole first place.

Moving on to Cricket, In Women’s Premier League (WPL), Gujarat Giants defeated Delhi Capitals by 5 wickets in Lucknow last night. Chasing a target of 178 runs set by the Capitals, Gujarat Giants reached the target with 5 wickets in hand and 3 balls to spare.

And, In the 6th Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship, defending champions India will face the hosts, Iran in the final in Tehran this afternoon. The match is scheduled to begin at 12 noon. With Sudihr Singh Yadav, this is Chirag Jha, Akashvani News Delhi.”

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS

  • A top headline in The Pioneer says “Prime Minister Narendra Modi invokes Nari Shakti” when India for the first time will see only women security personnel ensuring PM’s safety today at Navsari event on the occasion of International Women’s Day, sending a strong message to the world that women are playing an important role in making Gujarat a safe and secure state.
  • Younger adults facing more mental distress than older generation” states a study in Hindustan Times, identifying issues like screen time, and exposure to neurotoxic chemicals in food among reasons for this deterioration.
  • In the final placements for the class of 2025,”Domestic Recruiters score big at IIMs” with home-grown companies offering better salaries and more job offers than last year, notes The Economic Times.

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And some more news, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast hot and humid conditions at isolated places over Konkan, Goa, Kerala, Mahe, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Yanam today. Hot and humid weather conditions over the Gujarat region, Kerala, and Mahe will continue till tomorrow.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN

  • International Women’s Day being celebrated today. 
  • President Droupadi Murmu to inaugurate a national conference in New Delhi on the theme Nari Shakti Se Viksit Bharat. 
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Lakhpati Didi Sammelan at Vansi-Borsi in Navsari district of Gujarat; To also disburse financial assistance worth 450 crore rupees to more than 2.5 lakh women.
  • Election Commission says, it will resolve longstanding issue of duplicate voter IDs within next three months. 
  • At least two people killed and 186 missing after four boats carrying migrants from Africa capsized in waters off Yemen and Djibouti coasts. 
  • Indian Grandmaster Pranav Venkatesh becomes World Junior Chess Champion 2025.