Morning News

THE HEADLINES::

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his thoughts in Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani at 11 AM today.
Prime Minister talks to Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla aboard International Space Station; Calls him pride of 140 crore Indians
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar says, Preamble of any constitution is its soul and it is not changeable.
India’s social security coverage soars from 19 percent to 64.3 percent, benefiting over 94 crore people in last 10 years.
Fourth accused in Kolkata law college gang rape case arrested; SIT formed to probe the incident, amid growing outrage.
And in Women’s cricket, India beat England by 97 runs in first T20 of their five-match series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share his thoughts with the people of the country and abroad in the Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani at 11 AM today. It will be the 123rd episode of the monthly radio programme.

The programme will be broadcast across the entire Akashvani and Doordarshan network, the AIR News website, and the Newsonair mobile app. It will also be live-streamed on the YouTube channels of AIR News, DD News, the PMO, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Akashvani will broadcast the programme in regional languages immediately after the Hindi broadcast.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who is aboard the International Space Station yesterday. Mr Modi said, you are farthest from India but closest to Indians’ heart and your journey marks the auspicious beginning of a new era. He said, Parikrama has been a centuries-old tradition in India, and you have been blessed with the rare opportunity to perform the parikrama of Mother Earth. Mr Modi extended his heartfelt congratulations and good wishes to Group Captain Shukla for his mission.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla said that he is feeling proud to represent India. Sharing his experiences, with Prime Minister Modi, Group Captain Shukla said, when he was a child, he never imagined that he could become an astronaut. Captain Shukla said, under the leadership Prime Minister, today’s India offers numerous opportunities to people to fulfil their dreams.

Shubhanshu Shukla shared that, for the first time, Indian scientists have designed seven unique experiments which he has taken to the space station. He informed that one major advantage of conducting experiments in space is the accelerated pace of biological processes, enabling researchers to obtain results much faster than on Earth.

Group Captain Shukla is the second Indian astronaut, who has travelled to space, four decades after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma made the cosmic journey as part of a Soviet mission in 1984.

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Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has said that Preamble of any constitution is its soul and it is not changeable. He said, except India, no other Constitution’s Preamble has undergone change. Addressing a book release function in New Delhi, Mr Dhankhar said, Preamble is the basis on which the constitution has grown, but devastatingly, a change was effected at a time when people were virtually enslaved during emergency. Mr Dhankhar said, addition of words Socialist, Secular and integrity in the Preamble during the Emergency signal betrayal of the mindset of the framers of the Constitution. He said, it is nothing but belittling the civilizational wealth and knowledge of this country for thousands of years.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the National Turmeric Board in Nizamabad, Telangana today. He will also unveil the official logo of the board, symbolising a new era of farmer innovation and global competitiveness. Mr Shah will also unveil the statue of D Srinivas, a popular leader of the region, who served the people in various capacities for decades. The Union Minister will address a farmers’ rally in Nizamabad.

Mr Shah will reach Hyderabad this afternoon and then leave for Nizamabad.

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India has achieved a remarkable milestone in social security, expanding coverage from 19 percent in 2015 to 64.3 percent in 2025, bringing over 94 crore people under at least one social protection benefit. This unprecedented increase over a decade has been acknowledged by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on its ILOSTAT database. Social security, as defined by the ILO, ensures access to healthcare and income security during times of old age, sickness, unemployment, disability, maternity, work injury, or loss of a breadwinner.

Labour and Employment Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya has said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has witnessed a historic surge in social protection coverage. In a social media post, Dr Mandaviya expressed gratitude to DG, International Labour Organisation, Gilbert Houngbo, for acknowledging and appreciating India’s transformative journey in building a robust and inclusive social security net. Mr Houngbo has said that India’s social security coverage has increased from nearly 25 per cent in 2019 to 64 per cent in 2025.

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In West Bengal, fourth accused in Kolkata law college gang rape case has been arrested. The security guard of the law college was arrested yesterday. The total number of arrests has now reached four in the crime that took place inside the guard’s room of the college. The 24-year-old victim of the South Calcutta Law College was allegedly raped by two senior students and an alumnus of the institute in the guard’s room on June 25. Following her complaint, police arrested prime accused Manojit Mishra, Promit Mukherjee and Zaid Ahmed.

Kolkata Police has formed a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by an Assistant Commissioner rank officer, to probe the case, amid growing outrage over the incident.

BJP national president J P Nadda has formed a four-member committee which will visit the state to investigate the matter and submit its findings. Party’s spokesperson Sambit Patra said that Biplab Kumar Deb and Manan Kumar Mishra, both MPs, and Satyapal Singh and Meenakshi Lekhi, both former parliamentarians, are its members.

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India has rejected the official statement issued by the Pakistani Army that seeks to blame India for the recent attack in Waziristan. In a statement, New Delhi dismissed the Pakistan Army’s attempt to link India to the Saturday attack, stating that it rejects the allegation “with the contempt it deserves.”

Earlier, at least 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy. Around two dozen others, including army personnel and civilians, were injured. The attack was claimed by the suicide bomber wing of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur armed group, a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

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In Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, a cloudburst near Silai Band in Barkot tehsil has left nine workers missing at an under-construction site. Teams from the SDRF, Police, and Revenue departments are carrying out relief and rescue operations. Our correspondent reports that continuous rainfall since last night has disrupted normal life in various parts of the state.

“Ongoing rainfall has caused waterlogging in several low-lying areas, while landslides in hilly regions have disrupted traffic movement. The Yamunotri and Gangotri National Highway remains blocked at multiple points due to landslides. Water levels in major rivers have risen, and mountain streams are flowing in spate.Meanwhile, the Met Department has issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Haridwar, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts today and tomorrow. An orange alert is in place for the rest of the state. Authorities have advised the public to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions.Sakshi Singh, Akashvani News, Dehradun.”

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Himachal Pradesh has been experiencing heavy monsoon rainfall over the past few days. Rain-related incidents in recent days have claimed 17 lives so far, and property worth crores of rupees has been damaged. More from our correspondent:

“Heavy rainfall continues across most parts of Himachal Pradesh, including the capital Shimla. Water levels in all major rivers and streams in the state have risen. So far, 17 people have lost their lives in incidents related to heavy rain, cloudbursts, and floods. Moreover property worth over rupees 300 crore has been damaged. Additionally, 37 roads are still blocked due to landslides. The Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain in the state for the next two days. Ritesh Kapoor, Akashvani News, Shimla.”

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Moving on to the world of sports, In Women’s Cricket, India defeated England by 97 runs in the first T20 of their five-match series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham last night. We have a report:

“Put into bat first, India scored 210 runs for 5 in the stipulated 20 overs. In response, England were all out for 113 runs in 14.5 overs. Smriti Mandhana top-scored for the Indian cricket team with a fluent 112 off 62 balls, marking her maiden century in T20 Internationals. Her outstanding performance earned her the Player of the Match award.

At the US Open 2025 Badminton, Indian rising shuttler Tanvi Sharma cruised into the Women’s Singles final with a straight-games win over Ukraine’s Polina Burhova at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA last night. The 16-year-old from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, defeated World No. 40 Burhova 21-14, 21-16 in the Women’s Singles event, wrapping up the match in just 34 minutes.

Tanvi, currently ranked World No. 66, has defeated higher-ranked players throughout the tournament, including World Nos. 23, 58, and 50. Tanvi will now face World No. 21 Beiwen Zhang of China in her first major final this evening. The match is schedule to begin 8:30 PM IST. WITH MAYUR JAIN, AMRIT BHUSHAN, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.”

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:

Group Captain, Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to visit the international Space Station, in a video interaction with Prime Minister Modi has been quoted in The Statesman as saying, India looks “very big and grand from Space”.
Delhi plans cloud-seeding trial, executed by IIT-Kanpur, between July 4 and 11, writes The Times of India.
And finally, after an uproar in India over cultural appropriation of Kolhapuri chappal, without credit, by fashion brand Prada, the brand could well partner with Indian artisans, reports The Economic Times, quoting Prada Group Spokesperson.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his thoughts in Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani at 11 AM today.
Prime Minister talks to Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla aboard International Space Station; Calls him pride of 140 crore Indians.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar says, Preamble of any constitution is its soul and it is not changeable.
India’s social security coverage soars from 19 percent to 64.3 percent, benefiting over 94 crore people in last 10 years.
Fourth accused in Kolkata law college gang rape case arrested; SIT formed to probe the incident, amid growing outrage.
And in Women’s cricket, India beat England by 97 runs in first T20 of their five-match series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.