THE HEADLINES::
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch nationwide HPV Vaccination Programme for girls aged 14 years from Ajmer in Rajasthan today.
- Prime Minister to also inaugurate Micron Technology’s Semiconductor Assembly, Test and Packaging facility at Sanand in Gujarat this afternoon.
- CBI moves Delhi High Court challenging acquittal of Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and others in Delhi liquor policy case.
- Election Commission to publish incomplete final voter list of West Bengal today following Supreme Court’s order.
- US President Donald Trump suggests friendly takeover of Cuba amid US fuel blockade.
- In Cricket, England beat New Zealand by 4 wickets in Super 8 match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Colombo.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Programme for girls aged 14 years from Ajmer in Rajasthan today. The nationwide roll-out marks a decisive move in the country’s public health care journey and fulfills the government’s commitment to advancing the vision of Swastha Nari, ensuring prevention, protection and equity at the core of women’s healthcare. The programme will target approximately 1.15 crore girls aged 14 years every year across all States and Union Territories. The vaccine will be provided free of cost at designated government health care facilities. The Vaccination will be voluntary and informed consent from parents or guardians will be obtained prior to administration.
“India’s national programme will use a quadrivalent HPV vaccine -Gardasil. HPV vaccines are among the most extensively studied vaccines globally with more than 500 million doses administered worldwide since 2006. Scientific evidence demonstrates almost 100 percent effectiveness in preventing cervical cancer caused by vaccine-covered HPV types. With this launch, India will join over 160 countries that have introduced HPV vaccination into their immunization schedules. The special campaign will run in mission mode over a three-month period, during which eligible girls can receive the vaccine daily at designated facilities. Thereafter, the vaccine will continue to be available on routine immunization days.The nationwide HPV vaccination programme reflects delivery-oriented governance where scientific evidence, policy commitment and implementation readiness converge to produce measurable public health impact. Anand Kumar, Akashvani News, Delhi.”
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has hailed the central government’s decision to provide free HPV vaccination for adolescent girls aged 14 years across India. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, IMA said that this initiative will contribute in the prevention of cervical cancer, safeguarding the health and lives of millions of women in India.
Moreover, Prime Minister Modi will also launch, inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over 16 thousand 680 crore rupees in Ajmer, Rajasthan today. The projects span key sectors, including urban development, drinking water supply, roads, irrigation, energy, and industrial infrastructure. The Prime Minister will also address a public gathering on the occasion.
“The Prime Minister will inaugurate several National Highway projects, including the 4-lane Greenfield Expressway from Bandikui to Jaipur, along with other key infrastructure projects. With the completion of the Bandikui–Jaipur Greenfield Expressway, Jaipur has now been directly connected to the Delhi–Mumbai Greenfield Expressway. In addition, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for important elevated road projects at Sanganer in Jaipur and in Jodhpur city. In line with the Government’s commitment to ensuring safe and clean drinking water for all, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for four packages of the Nonera Major Drinking Water Project and five packages of the Parwan Akawad Major Drinking Water Project. To ensure seamless power transmission from generation centres, the Prime Minister will inaugurate transmission systems for evacuation of power from renewable energy zones in the state. On the occasion, the prime minister will also distribute appointment letters to more than 21,000 youth selected in various departments of the State Government. – Jitendra Dwivedi, Akashwani News, Ajmer.”
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Gujarat this afternoon. During his visit, Mr Modi will inaugurate Micron Technology’s state-of-the-art Semiconductor Assembly, Test and Packaging (ATMP) facility in Sanand. This landmark event marks the official commencement of commercial production and shipment of the first Made-in-India semiconductor memory modules. Union Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw will also be present on the occasion.
“The inauguration of Micron’s Sanand facility today marks a transformative leap for India’s technology ecosystem. With a total investment of over ₹22,500 crore, the project represents the first proposal approved under the India Semiconductor Mission. This project, which saw its ground-breaking just in September 2023, is now ready to convert advanced DRAM and NAND wafers into finished products for markets worldwide. A key highlight of this facility is its nearly 500,000 square feet of cleanroom space, ranking it among the largest raised-floor cleanrooms in the world. By commencing commercial shipments of the first indigenous memory modules, India is taking a decisive step toward self-reliance in the semiconductor sector. Aparna Khunt /Akashvani News /Ahmedabad.”
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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has moved Delhi High Court challenging the acquittal of Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, party leader Manish Sisodia and others in the corruption case related to the Delhi liquor policy case. The move comes hours after the trial court passed the order. The trial court acquitted all the 23 accused persons in the case, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha. The CBI has said that the trial court in its order has ignored several important aspects of the investigation and the material has not been considered adequately.
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The Election Commission will publish the incomplete final voter list of West Bengal today following the Supreme Court’s order. The list will also contain the names of the voters whose credentials were verified by the judiciary engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process on the order of the apex court.
“The draft list wil contain the names of 7 crores 8 lakh voters’, that will also remain in the final list. However, this list will be divided into different categories. Those whose applications have been approved will naturally have their names included. Those whose names are being excluded will have the word Delete written beside them and for those whose documents are still under judicial review which is about 60 lakhs the word Adjudication will be mentioned next to their names.
State’s Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said that the list will be be uploaded online by this afternoon. The voter list can be viewed on the Election Commission’s website, Chief Electoral Officer’s website, and the ECI Net app. Copies will also be sent to all recognized political parties. Additionally, two hard copies will be given to district election officers. Offline copies are being sent to the offices of district magistrates, sub-divisional officers, and block development officers, where the public will be able to view the voter list offline. In Kolkata, the documents will also be kept at the Jessop Building and the Survey Building. WITH Sandipon Dasgupta and Avirup Bhattacharya/Kolkata/ Ashish P. Abraham/AKASHVANI NEWS.”
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Artificial Intelligence is playing a transformative role in the service sector by enhancing customer experience, streamlining operations, and improving decision-making through advanced data analytics. The recently concluded India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi highlighted how AI is rapidly reshaping the service sector such as hospitality, healthcare, retail, banking, and logistics.
Talking to Akashvani News during the summit, Prashant Malvi, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Right Left AI, said that his company’s software uses AI to recognise and interpret sign language, making communication easier and more seamless between sign language users and others.
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To mark the 350th death anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji, lakhs of devotees are set to attend the Shaheedi Diwas event being held at Ove Maidan in Kharghar Navi Mumbai today. The coordinating authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the two day long religious congregation. This event is being organised to spread the message of Guru Tegh Bahadur and make people aware about his legacy, sacrifice, compassion, fearlessness, and courage.
“Navi Mumbai is set to witness one of its largest ever religious congregations – Hind – di- Chadar for the next two days begining today. Nearly 20 lakhs devotees are likely to attend the grand event. More than 1000 buses will operate across Mumbai Metropolitan Region for two days providing free rides to people visiting the venue. The programme will feature a large 120 acre pandal to accomodate vast crowd. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to attend in person while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to join the event virtually. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis along with several other dignitaries will also be present. The program will see participation from around 25 thousand Sikh saints and devotees from Panjab. Arrangements for mass langar, medical camps and proper sanitation will be in place. Nivedita AIR News, Mumbai.”
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US President Donald Trump has suggested friendly takeover of Cuba, amid fuel blockade by the United States. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said that the United States could take over Cuba, but on amicable terms. He said, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in discussions with Cuban leaders at a very high level. Mr Trump further said that Cuba is in serious economic trouble as Trump administration is intensifying pressure on Havana’s communist government through a strict fuel blockade.
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US President Donald Trump has directed every federal agency to immediately stop using technology from AI developer Anthropic. Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that they do not need it, and will not do business with them again.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also said in a social media post that this week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon.
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In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, England defeated New Zealand by 4 wickets in the Super 8 – Group 2 match at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo last night. Chasing a target of 160 runs set by New Zealand, England scored 161 for 6 in 19.3 overs.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES:-
- Pakistan declaring war with Afghanistan is the top headline across newspapers today along with Ex Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others getting a clean chit in the Delhi excise policy case.
- The Pioneer writes ‘Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict escalates’ while Hindustan Times headlines, ‘Pakistan declares open war with Afghanistan, strikes Kabul.’ The Hindu reports, ‘Pakistan bombs Kabul, declares ‘open war’.’
- The Tribune headlines, ‘Kejriwal, Sisodia among 23 discharged; CBI moves High Court.’
- All newspapers inform of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India. The Asian Age writes, ‘Carney in India: Talks with PM on March 2; uranium pact on agenda’. Financial Express writes ‘Carney visits India to mend relations.’
- Ahead of Tamil Nadu assembly polls, political churnings are taking place in the state. The Hindu writes, ‘O Panneerselvam joins DMK ahead of T.N Assembly poll.’
- ‘Netflix walks away from Warner deal, clears Paramount’s path’ writes The Times of India.
- In its editorial titled ‘Politics as theatre’ The Statesman writes ‘President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to the US Congress looked less like a governing report card and more like a campaign rally that happened to be held in the nation’s most formal chamber.
- And finally, The city of joy turned into a city of tremors on Friday. The Statesman writes, ‘Earthquake jolts Kolkata.’
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch nationwide HPV Vaccination Programme for girls aged 14 years from Ajmer in Rajasthan today.
- Prime Minister to also inaugurate Micron Technology’s Semiconductor Assembly, Test and Packaging facility at Sanand in Gujarat this afternoon.
- CBI moves Delhi High Court challenging acquittal of Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and others in Delhi liquor policy case.
- Election Commission to publish incomplete final voter list of West Bengal today following Supreme Court’s order.
- US President Donald Trump suggests friendly takeover of Cuba amid US fuel blockade.
- In Cricket, England beat New Zealand by 4 wickets in Super 8 match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Colombo.
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