THE HEADLINES:-
- India takes many strong measures against Pakistan following Pahalgam terror attack; Suspends Indus Waters Treaty, closes Integrated Check Post Attari and downgrades diplomatic ties.
- Pakistani nationals not to be permitted to travel to India under SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme.
- Government convenes all party meeting in New Delhi this evening in view of Pahalgam terror attack.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Madhubani in Bihar today to participate in programme marking National Panchayati Raj Day; Also to launch multiple development projects worth over 13 thousand 480 crore rupees.
- Vithya Ramraj wins gold breaking meet record in women’s 400 meter hurdles at National Federation Senior Athletics Competition in Kochi.
- In IPL T20 Cricket, Mumbai Indians beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 wickets.
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India has taken series of strong measures following Pahalgam terror attack including suspension of Indus Waters Treaty, 1960 and closing of the Integrated Check Post Attari with immediate effect. The Cabinet Committee on Security, CCS reviewed the overall security situation in its meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence last evening and directed all forces to maintain high vigil. Briefing media in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri informed these decisions.
The Foreign Secretary said that Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas.
Mr Misri said, the overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions by 1st May. He said, the CCS chaired by the Prime Minister was briefed in detail on the terrorist attack that took place on Tuesday in Pahalgam. In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out.
The CCS condemned the attack in the strongest terms and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hoped for the early recovery of the injured.
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Government has convened an all party meeting in New Delhi today in view of Pahalgam terror attack incident. Sources said, the meeting will take place at Parliament house complex at 6 PM.
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Maharashtra has announced financial assistance of five lakh rupees for the families of six victims who were shot dead during the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a financial assistance of fifty thousand will also be given to those injured in the incident.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Mr. Fadnavis said such a despicable act of terrorism will not go unpunished, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would track down the mastermind and retaliate with extreme steps.
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the terrorist strike at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people. He stressed that attacks against civilians are unacceptable, under any circumstances. The Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that Mr. Guterres offered his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the victims. The targeted attack by a front organisation of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba killed tourists at a popular tourism spot.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bihar today and participate in a programme at Madhubani marking the National Panchayati Raj Day. On the occasion, Mr. Modi will address Gram Sabhas Nationwide from Madhubani. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate, lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over 13 thousand 480 crore rupees. The public meeting has been organised at Bideshwar Sthan at Jhanjharpur where he will launch these projects. Mr. Modi is scheduled to address the function at 11.30 am at the venue.
This year the National Panchayati Raj Day is being observed as a major national programme through a “Whole-of-Government” approach, involving participation of six Union Ministries -the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The Prime Minister will also confer Special Category National Panchayat Awards 2025 on the occasion in different categories.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present several gifts to the people of Bihar and the country from Madhubani today. On the Panchayati Raj Day, he will launch several initiatives to empower Panchayats and present awards to Mukhiyas and Sarpanches for innovation in Panchayat areas. Marking the significance of the Mithila region, these awards will also feature the specially designed imprint of Madhubani paintings.
Additionally, Prime Minister Modi will distribute assistance funds of 930 crore rupees among two lakh self-help groups under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Rural Livelihoods Mission. He will also lay the foundation stone and inaugurate several schemes worth 6200 crore rupees to support Bihar in the power sector.
To ensure easy availability of cooking gas, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation of an LPG bottling plant in Hathua in Gopalganj, at a cost of 340 crore rupees. To fulfill the basic needs of poor people, the Prime Minister will grant 15 lakh approvals under the PM Awas Yojana for rural beneficiaries and release installment to 10 lakh people. He will also hand over constructed houses to one lakh 50 thousand beneficiaries from urban and rural areas under PM Awas Scheme. Dharmendra Kumar Rai, Akashvani News, Jhanjharpur, Madhubani.”
The Prime Minister will also flag off four trains, three rail lines and two rail over bridges through video conferencing during the event at Madhubani.
“The Prime Minister will flag off Namo Bharat Rapid rail between Jaynagar to Patna and Amrit Bharat express between Saharsa to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai. This will be the second Namo Bharat train in the country while the introduction of Amrit Bharat will be the third train service.
Talking to Akashvani News, Executive Director, Ministry of Railways Dilip Kumar said that the fully air conditioned Namo Bharat train is equipped with improved passengers amenities and advanced security system.
During the event, rail lines between Supaul to Pipra, Hasanpur to Bithan and Khagaria-Alauli will also be dedicated to the nation. These projects will improve connectivity and lead to overall socio-economic development of the region. Anand Kumar for Akashvani News, Jaynagar.”
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and several other dignitaries will attend the programme.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the largest international steel event, ‘India Steel-2025’ at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai today. He will address the premier Steel Industry event through video-conferencing. The three-day international exhibition and conference will bring together leading stakeholders from across the global steel value chain to discuss the future trajectory of the sector.
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United States President Donald Trump has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of prolonging the war with Russia and harming peace negotiations, after Mr Zelensky said that Kyiv would not recognise Russian control of Crimea. In a social media post, Mr Trump claimed that a deal to end the war was very close, but Mr. Zelensky’s refusal to accept US terms will do nothing but prolong the conflict. Ukraine has long said it will not give up Crimea, a southern peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
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World Immunization Week 2025 by the World Health Organisation,WHO will begin from today across the globe. The week-long campaign will last till end of this month. It is celebrated in the last week of April, with the aim to promote the life-saving power of immunization. The theme for this year is “Immunization for All is Humanly Possible”. The WHO claims that over last 50 years, essential vaccines have saved more than 15 crore lives.
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Moving on to the world of sports. Olympian Vithya Ramraj has won gold in the women’s 400 meter hurdles at the National Federation Senior Athletics Competition in Kochi.
“Along with gold, Ramraj clocked 56.04 seconds to qualify for the Asian Championships 2025. Her time also set a new meet record, surpassing Saritaben Gayakwad’s 2019 mark of 57.21 seconds. Moreover, Anu R finished second.
Next comes the IPL T20 Cricket, where Mumbai Indians defeated hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 wickets in Hyderabad last night. Mumbai Indians comfortably surpassed the target of 144 runs scoring 146 for three wickets in 15.4 overs. During the match, the BCCI paid tribute to the victims of the terror attack in Pahalgam as a 60-second moment of silence was observed before the start of play. Players and staffs were also seen wearing black armbands as a mark of respect. Today, hosts Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face Rajasthan Royals at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium at 7:30 PM.
In Chess, Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy won the Pune FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, beating Bulgarian International Master Nurgyul Salimova. CHIRAG JHA, SPORTS DESK.”
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The 2nd Asian Yogasana Championships is set to begin at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi from tomorrow. Over 170 athletes from 21 Asian countries will participate, along with several technical officials and team managers and coaches. The three-day event is part of the government’s effort to promote Yogasana as a competitive global sport.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heat wave conditions to continue over Northwest India during the next five days. According to the IMD, heat wave conditions will continue over West Madhya Pradesh, West Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and East Rajasthan till the 29th of this month. Similar conditions will prevail over Central and East India including Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday.
In Telangana, several districts are reeling under heatwave conditions especially northern districts of the state including Nizamabad, Adilabad, Nirmal and Mancherial.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES :-
- India sees pak link, cuts ties headlines The Pioneer, indus treaty on hold, no entry to pakistanis headlines The Times of India and The Statesman headlines “Government Suspends indus water treaty, to expel defence staff at pak mission”. The Asian Age adds that Amit Shah pledges “terrorists will not be spared” and has Shah telling forces “chase them to hell”.
- Most financial dailies have on their front page the story of the 30 share sensex extending their winning run for the 7th consecutive trading session and closing at 80,016. The Financial Express headlines “sensex reclaims 80000 peak after 4 months”.
- Another prominent front page story in most dailies is the entry ban on all vehicles registered outside delhi from November 1st in a move to tackle the high pollution load from commercial vehicles entering Delhi. The Tribune has on it’s front page “come winter, welcome entry ban on all vehicles registered outside delhi”.
- And finally, the IMD issues heatwave alert for Friday is a story in the Tribune. Temperature may rise to 43 degrees by Friday adds the paper.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
- India takes many strong measures against Pakistan following Pahalgam terror attack; Suspends Indus Waters Treaty, closes Integrated Check Post Attari and downgrades diplomatic ties.
- Pakistani nationals not to be permitted to travel to India under SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme.
- Government convenes all party meeting in New Delhi this evening in view of Pahalgam terror attack.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Madhubani in Bihar today to participate in programme marking National Panchayati Raj Day; Also to launch multiple development projects worth over 13 thousand 480 crore rupees.
- Vithya Ramraj wins gold breaking meet record in women’s 400 meter hurdles at National Federation Senior Athletics Competition in Kochi.
- In IPL T20 Cricket, Mumbai Indians beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 wickets.
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