THE HEADLINES:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address joint commanders' conference in Bhopal this morning.

• Prime Minister to also flag off Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express at Rani Kamlapati Railway Station today.

• Government hikes interest rates of small savings schemes by up to 70 basis points for April-June quarter.

• IMF approves 15.6 billion dollar support package for Ukraine.

• Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets in the inaugural match of IPL Cricket in Ahmedabad.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Bhopal today on a day-long visit to Madhya Pradesh. Mr. Modi will address the Joint Commanders' conference of the three services going on in Bhopal. The Prime Minister will also flag off Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express train from Rani Kamalapati railway station this afternoon. More from our correspondent: 

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Joint Commanders Conference at Kushabhau Thackeray International Convention Center in Bhopal at around 10 am. The theme of the conference is 'Ready, Resurgent, Relevant'. Commanders of the three services and senior officials of the Ministry of Defense are participating in the conference. The Prime Minister will also flag off the Vande-Bharat train running between Bhopal and New Delhi from Rani Kamalapati Railway Station at around 3.15 pm. This is the 11th Vande Bharat train in the country. Shri Modi will also interact with students selected from different schools of Madhya Pradesh inside the Vande Bharat train. Sanjeev Sharma, AIR News, Bhopal."

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The Government has raised interest rates on most post office saving schemes for the April-June 2023 quarter. An office memorandum issued by the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry said, the highest increase is in the interest rate of the National Savings Certificate NSC which will now attract 7.7 per cent up from 7 per cent. The new rate for the girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi has been increased to 8 per cent from 7.6 per cent. The interest rates for PPF and savings deposits have been retained at 7.1 per cent and 4 per cent. The interest rate on the senior citizen savings scheme is 8.2 per cent up from 8 per cent and Kisan Vikas Patra KVP is 7.5 per cent up from 7.2 per cent. KVP will now mature in 115 months as against 120 months earlier. A one-year term deposit with post offices would earn 6.8 per cent up from 6.6 per cent. For a two-year term deposit it will be 6.9 per cent which was earlier 6.8 per cent. For three-year term deposit, it will be 7 per cent, up from 6.9 per cent.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Aizawl in Mizoram today. Mr. Shah will inaugurate the construction of Assam Rifles’ new battalion headquarters at Zokhawsang, which is 15 km away from Aizawl city. He will also lay the foundation stone for several other projects worth 2,414 crore rupees.

Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his Cabinet colleagues will attend the programme to be held at Lamual in Aizawl. In this programme, Mr. Shah will also lay the foundation stones for several infrastructural projects. He will lay the foundation stone for Laldenga Cultural Centre, a smart city project, Aizawl Bypass roads and several roadway projects for Aizawl, Champhai and Mamit districts. 

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Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Patna this evening on a two-day visit to Bihar. Mr Shah is likely to hold a meeting with senior BJP leaders to chalk out a strategy in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. He will address public meetings at Sasaram in Rohtas district and Hisua in Nawada district tomorrow. This is the fourth visit of Mr. Shah to Bihar since the JD(U) snapped its ties with the BJP in the state in August last year.

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The three-day 2nd G-20 Tourism Working Group (TWG) Meeting will begin in Siliguri today. Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh said this meeting will carry a message about the prospects and potential of the North Eastern part of India.

The meeting will be attended by more than 130 Delegates from the G20 Member Countries, Invitee Countries, and International Organizations along with Tourism Industry partners, State Tourism, and local tour operators. Mr Singh said, the main aim behind holding this meeting in Siliguri is to showcase the typical features of the area, tea plantation, adventure tourism and local art and culture to the delegates. 

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On the second day of the plenary session of the Sherpa Meet under India's G20 Presidency currently underway in Kumarakom, sessions on Way Forward for G20 Outcome Documents, Green Development & LiFE will be held at the Waterscapes Resort today. The working group meets on Development, Energy Transitions, Environment, Climate Sustainability and Disaster Risk Reduction will also be held. The formal deliberations at the second Sherpa Meet will draw to a close this evening. Our Correspondent has filed this report:

" Perhaps the most important sessions today is on the Way Forward for G20 Outcome Documents, which will discuss the outcomes of various meetings that form the basis of the Leader's Declaration, slated to be adopted at the New Delhi Summit in September later this year. There will be presentations and discussions on Unlocking Finance for Development by the Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados Avinash Persuad and another one on Macroeconomic Outlook and its Impact on Sustainable Development Goals. In the afternoon, a session on Green Development and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative on Lifestyle for the Environment will be taken up. Formal deliberations at the meet will conclude today with India's Sherpa Amitab Kant addressing the delegates on the G-20's Way Forward." Raj Mohan, AIR News, reporting from Kumarakom."

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In Odisha, ahead of the third Education Working Group Meeting under India’s G20 Presidency to be held later this month, several activities are being rolled out from the auspicious occasion of the statehood day of Odisha today. Accordingly, month long programmes have been scheduled to be held in many educational institutions in all the thirty districts of the state. The G20 meetings on the theme ‘Future of Work’ will be held in capital Bhubaneswar from the coming 27th to 29th of this month with the participation of delegates of G20 nations. A report:

More than 35 institutes have girded up their loins to make the most out of this brilliant opportunity. Top-notch educational institutions like IIT, NIT, IIM, IISER, NCERT, ICAR and Skill Development Institutes are anchoring several shows starting from Pravatpheri to cyclothon, webinar to seminar and competitions to conferences to fish out the best practices and proposals on the theme ‘Future of Work’ in relation to education and skilling. Girish Chandra Dash, AIR News, Bhubaneswar."

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On the third and final day of the 1st Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group meeting under India's Presidency, a technical session on Ecosystem-based Approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction will be held today. The three-day meeting of the Working Group which is being held in Gandhinagar in Gujarat began on Thursday. Around 100 delegates from the G20 member countries, invitee countries and from nine International organisations are participating in the three-day event. Today, the participating delegates will also be taken on a field visit to Smritivan Earthquake Memorial and Museum in Bhuj.

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All India Radio is presenting a vignette of select quotes of the Prime Minister from Mann ki Baat as the programme completes its 100th episode in April this year. In this 35th episode, let’s listen to the excerpts of Mann ki Baat in which the Prime Minister called upon the people to make sports a part and parcel of their lives. 

$16986D13-A971-42B8-83FC-F25C9911A101$MANN KI BAAT @100 EP 35  Morning - Make Sports a Part of Life (ENG) - Radio News Reel-136 SECS]

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a 15.6 billion US dollar support package for Ukraine to assist with the conflict-hit country’s economic recovery. The loan is part of a broader 115 billion US dollar international support package to help the country meet urgent funding needs. Of the total amount approved by the IMF, 2.7 billion dollar is being made available to Ukraine immediately and rest of the funds are due to be released over the next four years. Extended Fund Facility is the first major financing programme approved by the IMF for a country involved in a large-scale war.

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Sri Lanka’s Power Minister Kanchana Wijesekara has said that the India-Sri Lanka power grid connectivity project will be finalised in the coming few weeks. Speaking at a dinner organised by the Sri Lanka India Society to commemorate the 74th Republic Day of India and the 75th Independence Day of Sri Lanka, Mr. Wijesekara said that Sri Lanka will develop Northern and Eastern provinces with a specific focus on Trincomalee with India’s assistance.

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In IPL Cricket, Gujarat Titans defeated Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets in the inaugural match at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad last night. Chasing 179 for victory, Gujarat Titans overhauled the target with 5 wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare. Earlier, put into bat, Chennai Super Kings scored 178 for 7 in the stipulated 20 overs. Gujarat's Subhman Gill scored 63 off 36 while Chennai's Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 92 off 50 balls. Chennai's Rajvardhan Hangargekar picked up 3 wickets while Gujarat Titan's Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph grabbed a couple of wickets each. Rashid Khan was adjudged player of the match.

Today, Punjab Kings will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at 3.30 pm in Mohali, while Lucknow Super Giants will lock horns with Delhi Capitals at 7.30 pm in Lucknow.

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Today's Newspapers Headlines

• India has announced a Foreign Trade Policy targeting 2 trillion dollars in exports by 2030, writes The Hindustan Times. "Amnesty scheme, incentives for Rupee payment in new foreign trade policy" reads the headline in The Indian Express.

• The Asian Age carries in a box item the news of concern in India's security establishment due to China allegedly constructing a 'listening post' on Myanmar island.

• Project Tiger, a national project dedicated to the protection and conservation of the tiger, turns 50 today, writes The Times of India. The online version of Hindustan Times informs that the prime minister is set to release new census on April 9.

• Newspapers have widely reported on the indictment of former US president. "Trump indicted for hush money to porn star, to be arraigned on Tuesday", headlines The Pioneer.

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is to repatriate 15 stolen Indian artefacts, reports The Hindu.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address joint commanders' conference in Bhopal this morning.

• Prime Minister to also flag off Bhopal-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express at Rani Kamlapati Railway Station today.

• Government hikes interest rates of small savings schemes by up to 70 basis points for April-June quarter.

• IMF approves 15.6 billion dollar support package for Ukraine.

• Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets in the inaugural match of IPL Cricket in Ahmedabad.

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