• Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his thoughts in the 99th episode of Mann Ki Baat this morning.

• Disturbed Area status under AFSPA lifted from jurisdiction of another four Police Stations in Manipur.

• Centre asks States and Union Territories to be vigilant about evolving cases of Influenza Like illness, COVID-19 and Severe Acute Respiratory illness.

• At least 26 people killed in a devastating tornado in several towns of Mississippi in US.

• Mumbai Indians to take on Delhi Capitals for summit clash of Women's Premier league in Mumbai this evening.

• Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain to play for gold in Women's World Boxing Championship in New Delhi today.

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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 All India Radio at 11 AM today. It will be the 99th episode of the monthly radio programme. The programme will be broadcast on the entire network of All India Radio and Doordarshan, AIR News website and Newsonair mobile app. It will also be live streamed on the YouTube channels of the AIR News, DD News, PMO and Information and Broadcasting Ministry. AIR will broadcast the programme in regional languages immediately after the Hindi broadcast.

As Mann Ki Baat reaches its 100th Episode next month, All India Radio is presenting a vignette of select quotes of the Prime Minister from the programme. Today we present the excerpts from the series in which the Prime Minister gave the mantra for Kashmir- the mantra of unity and compassion.

कश्मीर के संबंध में मेरा सभी दलों से जितना interaction हुआ, हर किसी की बात में से एक बात ज़रूर जागृत होती थी। अगर उसको मैंने कम शब्दों में समेटना हो, तो मैं कहूँगा कि ,एकता और ममता ये दो बातें मूल मंत्र में रहीं। और हम सभी का मत है, सवा-सौ करोड़ देशवासियों का मत है, गाँव के प्रधान से ले करके प्रधानमंत्री तक का मत है कि कश्मीर में अगर कोई भी जान जाती है, चाहे वह किसी नौजवान की हो या किसी सुरक्षाकर्मी की हो, ये नुकसान हमारा ही है, अपनों का ही है, अपने देश का ही है

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The Disturbed Area status under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 has been lifted from the jurisdiction of four more Police Stations in Manipur. The four police Stations are Nambol, Leimakhong, Moirang and Wangoi. With this, the Disturbed Area status is no more implemented in altogether 19 police stations of the state. Earlier the government had lifted the Disturbed area status from the jurisdiction of 15 police stations. Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh conveyed thankfulness to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for acknowledging the sentiments of the public of Manipur and bringing peace and normalcy in the State. Speaking to media persons last evening, the Chief Minister said, Manipur has witnessed progress in development and peace. He said, many unlawful insurgency groups and cadres have joined mainstream society, therefore, the government has been able to lift the Disturbed Areas status from the jurisdiction of more police stations.

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The Union Health Ministry has asked States and Union Territories to keep a close watch on the evolving cases of diseases including COVID-19, Influenza Like illness  and Severe Acute Respiratory illness. In an advisory, the Ministry said that COVID-19 and influenza share a number of similarities in terms of mode of transmission, high-risk population, clinical signs and symptoms. It said, these diseases can be prevented by following simple public health measures including avoiding overcrowded and poorly ventilated settings, using handkerchiefs or tissue while sneezing or coughing, wearing a mask in crowded and closed settings, maintaining hand hygiene and avoiding spitting in public places. The Ministry also stressed on raising community awareness regarding adherence to respiratory and hand hygiene to limit the transmission of these diseases.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Whitefield (Kadugodi) to Krishnarajapura Metro Line in Bengaluru yesterday. In a tweet, Mr Modi expressed delight at the same and said this will boost ‘Ease of Living’ for the people of Bengaluru. The Prime Minister also shared a few photographs in which he is boarding the metro and seen interacting with people from different walks of life. The Prime Minister also inaugurated Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Muddenahalli in Chikkaballapur district. Earlier, the Prime Minister addressed a public rally after holding a road show in Davangere. He said, fractured mandate is detrimental to the cause of development and a government with an absolute majority will speed up development through a stable government. The Prime Minister said, the BJP has transformed the politics of perception into the politics of performance at the national and State levels. 

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the performance and preparedness of the Public Sector Banks, PSBs in a meeting yesterday. The review was based on various financial health parameters, and the resilience of Public Sector Banks in the light of current global financial scenario emanating from the failure of some international banks in US and Europe. During the meeting, Ms Sitharaman emphasised that the PSBs must look at business models closely to identify stress points, including concentration risks and adverse exposures. The Minister urged the PSBs to use this opportunity to frame detailed crisis management and communication strategies.

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In the United States, at least 26 people were killed after a tornado and severe storms swept through the state of Mississippi last night. According to the emergency management organisations of the southern state, tens of thousands of residents in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee were without electricity, and at least four individuals were reported missing and injured. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said, the death toll is expected to rise further as search and rescue operations continue in Sharkey and Humphreys counties. The National Weather Service has warned residents that as clean-up operations continue, dangers remain even after the storms move on.

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Back home, the Strategic 427 km long Leh-Manali Highway is reopened for traffic, in a record time, yesterday. The highway is an alternate axis to the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh Highway. The road connects Ladakh to the rest of India via Manali. More from our correspondent:

In a ‘Golden Handshake’ ceremony organised at Sarchu, bordering Village between Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh the two snow clearance teams met on Saturday. Project Himank Chief Engineers Brig Gaurav Karki and officiating Chief Engineer Project Deepak Col Vishal Guleria declared the highway clear of snow and open. The entire snow clearance operations was executed by BRO's Project Himank in Ladakh and Project Deepak in Himachal Pradesh working simultaneously for the challenging operation in sync. Border Roads Organization engineers and workforce have to negotiate four important and high altitude passes including Bara-lacha La, Nakee La, Lachung La  and Tang-lang La on this axis. The highway is strategic for the movement of the armed forces and their supplies and wares to forward areas in Ladakh region that borders both China and Pakistan, as well as connecting the people of Ladakh to India. Muzaffar Wani for AIR News, Leh.

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In Women's Premier League Cricket, Delhi Capitals will face Mumbai Indians in the summit clash of the tournament in Mumbai today. The match will be played at Brabourne Stadium at 7:30 pm. Both the teams have recorded heavy wins against each other in the group stage and finished with identical 12 points, with only the net run rate separating them at the top of the table. Delhi Capitals stand at the top with 1.856 while Mumbai Indians with 1.711 hold the second spot. Going by their record at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai Indians have the upper hand, having won all three games so far, while Delhi Capitals have two wins and a loss at the venue. 

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In World Women's Boxing Championship Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain will play for the Gold Medal at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi this evening. While Nikhat will take on Vietnamese boxer Nguyen Thi Tam Lovlina will face Caitlin Parker of Australia. Nitu Ghanghas and Saweety Boora bagged two gold for India yesterday. Nitu defeated Mongolia’s Altantsetseg Lutsaikhan 5-0 in the 48-kilogram category and Saweety Boora overcame Lina Wang of China by 4-3 in the 81-kilogram category. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated both players for their gold medal-winning performance.

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In the Swiss Open Super Series Badminton Tournament, Indian Men's Doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will play unseeded Chinese pair of Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang in the summit clash today. The 2022 World Championship's bronze medalist Indian duo cruised into the finals of Swiss Open, defeating the Malaysian combination of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi in the Semifinal, 21-19, 17-21, 21-17 at Basel yesterday.

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The National Science Centre is organising the Innovation Festival. The two-day event was inaugurated in New Delhi yesterday. The festival aims to foster a passion and aptitude for science and technology and to provide a unique platform to Innovative and creative Innovators. It is about participation of the public and open for all age groups. The Festival comprised of Creative Robo Design, Innovative Challenges for families, Science Quiz, Popular Science lecture, Workshop on Intellectual Property Right and Idea Contest.

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• Front page headline in all the dailies mention about Indian sportswomen packing a punch. Hindustan Times writes "Indian women strike gold at boxing worlds. Eyes set on two more today."

• Press conferences conducted by both Congress and The BJP on Rahul Gandhi losing his membership in Parliament, also find mention in all the newspapers today.

• Amid International Banking turbulence "Finance minister tells PSBs to flag stress points in business, stay alert" writes The Economic Times.

• Uttarakhand implementing a QR code-based project to prevent littering the Char Dham route with plastic bottles and packets, cites The Hindu under the headline "In hill state, Point and shoot plastic."

• And Finally,  A headline in Hindustan Times says "A window to city's past, present: Government launches six heritage walks" in an effort to make the national capital a tourism capital and display the rich cultural heritage of Delhi.

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• Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his thoughts in 99th episode of Mann Ki Baat this morning.

• ·Disturbed Areas status under AFSPA lifted from jurisdiction of another four Police Stations in Manipur.

• Centre asks States and Union Territories to be vigilant about evolving cases of Influenza Like illness, COVID-19 and Severe Acute Respiratory illness.

• At least 26 people killed in a devastating tornado in several towns of Mississippi in US.

• Mumbai Indians to take on Delhi Capitals for summit clash of Women's Premier league in Mumbai this evening.

• Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain to play for gold in Women's World Boxing Championship in New Delhi today.

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