THE HEADLINES:-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi draws parallels between Volleyball and India’s growth story, highlighting teamwork, balance, and determination as common threads; Inaugurates virtually 72nd National Volleyball Tournament at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
- Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan releases 184 new varieties of 25 crops in New Delhi; Says, India has surpassed China in rice production.
- Senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah asks party workers to ensure massive victory in poll-bound Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
- External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar to embark on two-nation visit to France and Luxembourg tonight.
- India expresses deep concern over recent developments in Venezuela; Calls upon all concerned to address issues through dialogue.
- IMD forecasts very dense fog in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, East Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha over next two days.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today virtually inaugurated the 72nd National Volleyball tournament in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Mr Modi who is also the Member of Parliament from Varanasi, extended greetings to players from across the country and underlined the role of sports in nation-building. Addressing the event, Mr Modi drew parallels between volleyball and India’s growth story, emphasizing teamwork, balance, and determination as common threads between the sport and the country’s progress, where every individual and state contributes to national growth. He pointed out that both realms prioritize cooperation, trust, and teamwork, with success hinging on collective effort.
The Prime Minister noted that the government has significantly increased the sports budget, and today India’s sports model has become ‘athlete-centric’, with focus on talent identification, scientific training, nutrition, and transparent selection.
The eight-day tournament which will continue till 11th of this month, is witnessing participation of over one thousand players from across the country, competing as part of 58 teams representing various states and institutions.
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Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan today released 184 new varieties of 25 crops with improved traits developed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research at New Delhi. It includes 60 rice varieties, 50 maize and 13 oil seeds. Addressing the event, Mr Singh said, India has surpassed China in rice production. He added that India has become a leading rice-exporting nation to the world.
Earlier, speaking at a press conference in New Delhi today, the Minister said, newly enacted Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar aur Aajeevika Mission – Gramin (Viksit Bharat G-RAM-G) Act safeguards workers’ interest. He called out the Congress for allegedly misleading the public over Viksit Bharat G-RAM-G scheme. Mr Chouhan said, MGNREGA had become a synonym for corruption, where workers were often side- lined and routinely exploited.
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Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has aske party workers to ensure massive victory in poll-bound Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Addressing a public meeting at Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu this evening, Mr. Shah asserted that the NDA alliance has been on a winning streak in Assembly elections across the country and expressed confidence that this success will be repeated in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal as well. He alleged that the ruling dispensation in the state is rooted in dynastic politics, is synonymous with corruption, and should be rejected by the people of the State. The BJP leader said the time was ripe for the formation of an NDA government in Tamil Nadu, in alliance with the AIADMK. He added that the Narendra Modi-led government has steadily increased financial allocations to the State and cited comparative statistics highlighting development projects implemented over the past decade.
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Prime Minister’s flagship platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, PRAGATI, has marked a significant milestone with the successful conduct of its 50th meeting. Since its launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, PRAGATI has transformed governance by enabling real-time monitoring and resolution of key infrastructure projects and public grievances through direct Prime Ministerial review. The platform exemplifies cooperative federalism, bringing together the Centre, States, and Union Ministries on a single digital interface. Over a decade, PRAGATI has helped accelerate decision-making, resolution of issues causing delay in key infrastructure projects, and instilled a strong culture of accountability. It has also emerged as a platform for governance reforms, not merely monitoring. Today, in this special series, our correspondent takes a look at the AIIMS, Bibinagar project in Telangana which will be commissioned soon.
“All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bibinagar is being established at Yadadri Bhuvanagiri District, Telangana, under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. The project commenced on July 2022 and has achieved around 86 percent physical progress as of 1st of December last year, keeping it on track for completion by the end of June this year.
Prime Minister reviewed the project under the PRAGATI mechanism on 28th of June, 2023, following which a clear progress in project execution was observed.
Executive Director, AIIMS, Bibinagar Dr Amita Aggarwal highlighted how the PRAGATI mechanism helped resolve critical issues like water supply and power supply to AIIMS.
The hospital is expected to generate around 3,000 direct jobs across faculty and non-faculty positions. Once operational, the institution will significantly strengthen tertiary healthcare, medical education and regional employment. With Anand Kumar, this is Suparna Saikia, Akashvani News, Delhi”
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked the state administration to tackle the typhoid outbreak in Gandhinagar on a war footing. Following detailed reviews with Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and senior officials, Mr. Shah who is a Member of Parliament from Gandhinagar, directed that all identified patients be provided prompt treatment from expert doctors.
The outbreak is linked to contaminated water from pipeline leakages. Mr. Shah ordered immediate repairs to the water network and instructed that meals and facilities be provided for relatives at the Civil Hospital.
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External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar will embark on an official two-nation visit to France and Luxembourg tonight. His visit will continue till the 10th of this month. In Paris, Dr Jaishankar will meet the French leadership and hold talks with his counterpart Jean Noel Barrot. They will discuss the progress made under the India-France Strategic Partnership and matters of global importance. External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that Dr Jaishankar will also address the 31st edition of the French Ambassadors’ Conference as the Guest of Honour.
The External Affairs Minister will also be visiting Luxembourg, where he will hold discussions with the Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel and with the senior leadership of the country.
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India has expressed deep concern over the recent developments in Venezuela. The External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the evolving situation is being closely monitored. India has re-affirmed its support to the well-being and safety of the people of Venezuela. New Delhi has called upon all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has issued an advisory urging Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela in view of recent developments.
In a related development, the United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss the US military operation in Venezuela. On the other hand China has said, US should immediately release deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Israel and Argentina have welcomed the developments and described them as progress for freedom.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court has ordered that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assume the role of acting president of the country.
The US military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has drawn sharp criticism from US Democrats, international media, and protesters across major American cities. Hundreds of people took to the streets in major US cities including Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami yesterday.
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OPEC (Plus) has agreed in principle to maintain steady oil output despite rising geopolitical tensions among key members and fresh uncertainty surrounding Venezuela. The eight participating countries, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman, collectively pump about half of the world’s oil. They had raised output targets by around 2.9 million barrels per day between April and December last year, equivalent to nearly three percent of global demand, before agreeing in November to pause further increases for January, February and March. More from our West Asia correspondent:
“Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates flared last month over the conflict in Yemen, after a UAE-aligned group seized territory from the Saudi-backed government, triggering what has been described as the biggest rift in decades between the two former allies. OPEC has previously managed internal disputes by prioritising market stability, but it is now facing multiple challenges. Russian exports are under pressure from U.S. sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine, while Iran is facing protests and U.S. threats of intervention. Geopolitical uncertainty has deepened further after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but production has sharply declined due to years of mismanagement and sanctions. No meaningful production increase is expected despite trump’s assurance of increased output. Vinod Kumar, Akashvani News, Dubai.”
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast very dense fog conditions in Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Odisha, Punjab, East Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh over the next two days. The Met department has also predicted dense fog over Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Sub Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, West Uttar Pradesh and North-eastern India tomorrow.
Dense fog has disrupted the movement of several trains in various parts of the country due to low visibility. According to Indian Railways, as many as 11 trains are delayed by over two hours.
Meanwhile, the air quality in Delhi-NCR continues to be in the Very Poor category. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) of the National Capital was recorded at 310 as of 8 tonight.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi draws parallels between Volleyball and India’s growth story, highlighting teamwork, balance, and determination as common threads; Inaugurates virtually 72nd National Volleyball Tournament at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
- Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan releases 184 new varieties of 25 crops in New Delhi; Says, India has surpassed China in rice production.
- Senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah asks party workers to ensure massive victory in poll-bound Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
- External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar to embark on two-nation visit to France and Luxembourg tonight.
- India expresses deep concern over recent developments in Venezuela; Calls upon all concerned to address issues through dialogue.
- IMD forecasts very dense fog in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, East Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha over next two days.
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