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December 9, 2025 9:00 PM

Evening News

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THE HEADLINES:

 

  • Lok Sabha holds discussion on election reforms; Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal says, Special Intensive Revision of Electoral rolls conducted several times during the Congress regime.

 

  • Home Minister Amit Shah asserts, Vande Mataram awakened cultural nationalism in the country during freedom struggle and remains relevant even today, as Rajya Sabha witnesses discussion on 150th Anniversary of the National Song.

 

  • Microsoft announces largest ever investment in Asia, of 17.5 billion dollars to advance India’s AI infrastructure; Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, when it comes to Artificial Intelligence, world is optimistic about India.

 

  • Prime Minister asks NDA MPs to undertake reforms across all sectors aimed at making public life easier.

 

  • Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu says disruption caused by IndiGo’s operational failures now rapidly stabilising; Reiterates, government’s determination to build a robust airline system. 

 

  • In Men’s Cricket, India set a target of 176 runs against South Africa in first T20 of five-match series at Cuttack in Odisha.

 

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Lok Sabha today held discussion on election reforms. Intervening in the discussion, Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral rolls were conducted several times during the Congress regime, but now the opposition is raising questions over the exercise. He lauded the country_s voting structure saying that everyone got equal voting rights since Independence. He said the election process in the country was being carried out as per the principles laid down by Dr BR Ambedkar.

 

Participating in the discussion, Nishikant Dubey of BJP said, BJP does politics of national interest, rather than vote bank politics.

 

Speaking on the election reforms, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of duplicate voters in the electoral rolls. Mr. Gandhi said, reform requires machine-readable voter lists for all parties a month before polling.

 

Several other members including, Manish Tewari of Congress, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Shrikant Shinde of Shiv Sena also took part in the debate.

 

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that the members who did not get the opportunity to participate in the debate today will get their chance tomorrow. The Speaker adjourned the House for the day.

 

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said Vande Mataram was the mantra that awakened India’s cultural nationalism and remains as relevant today as it was during the freedom struggle. Initiating the discussion on the 150th Anniversary of Vande Mataram in the Rajya Sabha today, Mr Shah stressed that the song will remain relevant in the nation’s journey towards a Viksit Bharat. The Home Minister criticised Congress for questioning the need for a debate on Vande Mataram and linking it to the upcoming West Bengal elections.

 

Participating in the discussion, Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said Congress made Vande Mataram, the slogan during the freedom struggle.

 

Former Prime Minister and JD (S) leader H.D. Deve Gowda said, Vande Mataram continues to unite the nation.

 

Tiruchi Shiva of DMK, Dr M Thambidurai of AIADMK, Praful Patel of NCP, Shiv Sena_s Milind Murli Deora, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy of TMC, V Sivadasan of CPI (M), Sanjay Singh of AAP, K R Suresh Reddy of BRS, YV Subba Reddy of YSRCP, Muzibulla Khan of BJD, Manoj Jha of RJD also participated in the discussion.

 

After Haris Beeran’s speech, the Chair adjourned the House to meet at 11 AM tomorrow.

 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed Microsofts Largest-Ever investment in Asia and expressed optimism about India_s leadership in Artificial Intelligence. Responding to a post on social media by Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, Mr Modi said when it comes to AI, the world is optimistic about India. He added that he expressed happiness to see India being the place where Microsoft will make its largest-ever investment. He further said that the youth of the nation will harness this opportunity to innovate and leverage the power of AI for a better planet.

 

Meanwhile, Mr Nadella thanked Mr Modi for an inspiring discussion on India_s AI opportunity. In a social media post, Mr Nadella said that Microsoft is committing more than 17 billion US dollars to support India’s ambitions. He added that this investment will help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India_s AI-first future.

 

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The NDA Parliamentary party meeting was held at the Parliament House complex in New Delhi today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President J P Nadda, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar, JDU MP Sanjay Jha, Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha, NCP MP Praful Patel and other NDA MPs were present in the meeting. During the meeting, various issues, notably, ways to further good governance agenda to realise the dream of a Viksit Bharat were discussed. Prime Minister Modi was felicitated by the NDP MPs for the alliance’ victory in Bihar Assembly elections in the meeting. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, during the meeting all NDA leaders congratulated the Prime Minister for NDA’s victory in the Bihar elections. He said, Prime Minister asked NDA leaders to work with more speed for the development of the country. Mr Rjiju informed that the Prime Minister emphasised to undertake reforms across all sectors to ease people’s lives and ensure they did not face problems. He said that Prime Minister Modi also urged the MPs to connect with the youth.

 

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The first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Gujarat is nearing its final stage, with the first draft list set to be published on the 12th of this month. The rigorous campaign has achieved over 99 percent verification across the state. We have a report from our correspondent:  

 

“The mammoth effort to clean up the electoral roll has resulted in 99% of verification work completed for over 5 crore electors in Gujarat. The campaign has seen remarkable success, with 17 districts and one 133 Assembly Constituencies achieving a one-hundred per cent verification milestone.This intensive cleanup drive has yielded significant results, with over forty lakh forty-seven thousand permanently migrated voters, over eighteen lakh deceased voters, and more than ten lakh thirty-seven thousand absent voters being identified. Furthermore, over eleven lakh fifty-eight thousand duplicate entries have been flagged for scrutiny. Speaking on the SIR drive in Surat, the District Collector Saurabh Pardhi said more than 70 per cent enumeration forms have been returned. He added that the list of potential absentees, shifted, and deceased voters has been uploaded on the Collector Office website for public verification. Aparna Khunt, Akashvani News, Ahmedabad”.

 

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Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu today said the disruption caused by IndiGo’s recent operational failures is now rapidly stabilising and reiterated that the government is fully determined to build a robust airline system.  Addressing the Lok Sabha on the ongoing IndiGo crisis, the Minister stated that IndiGo is being held fully accountable.  The Minister further added that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued notices to the airline, and based on its report, strict and appropriate action will be taken.

 

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu today held a meeting with Indigo_s top management to review the stabilization measures. In a social media post, He informed that Indigo CEO Pieter Elbers was summoned to the Ministry to provide an update. The minister said that Mr Elbers has confirmed that full refunds for flights affected till 6th December have been completed. He said, a strict instruction to expedite the completion of the remaining refunds and baggage handover has also been given. He said, the minister considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilizing the airline_s operations and lead to reduced cancellations. Mr Naidu added that a curtailment of ten percent has been ordered. 

 

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India’s handicraft sector continues to serve as one of the largest employment generators in rural and semi-urban areas. Our correspondent brings a report on how government initiatives are supporting artisans and strengthening traditional crafts across the country. A report:

 

“To support nearly 64 lakh artisans, the government is implementing various schemes aimed at improving production, skills, and market access. With these measures, the rising global demand for handmade and eco-friendly products has further strengthened the visibility of Indian handicrafts in international markets. Government support under the National Handicraft Development Programme focuses on design and skill development, raw-material assistance, marketing support, and participation in domestic and international exhibitions.  With the implementation of these initiatives, artisans can expect improved access to welfare measures, stronger market connections, and improved recognition for their contribution to India’s cultural and economic landscape. With Rohan, Nitika Gupta for Akashvani News, Delhi.”

 

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested another key accused in connection with last month’s Delhi bomb blast case. NIA said that Dr. Bilal Naseer Malla of Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir is the 8th accused to be arrested in the case. He was nabbed by an NIA team from Delhi.

 

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In Men’s cricket, chasing a target of 176, South Africa were 18 for two in 3 overs against India in the first game of the five-match T20 series at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha, when reports last came in. Earlier, India posted 175 runs in the stipulated 20 overs with a blazing 59 off 28 balls knock by Hardik Pandya. For South Africa Lungi Ngidi took 3 wickets while Sipamla took 2.

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

 

  • Lok Sabha holds discussion on election reforms; Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal says, Special Intensive Revision of Electoral rolls conducted several times during the Congress regime.

 

  • Home Minister Amit Shah asserts, Vande Mataram awakened cultural nationalism in the country during freedom struggle and remains relevant even today, as Rajya Sabha witnesses discussion on 150th Anniversary of the National Song.

 

  • Microsoft announces largest ever investment in Asia, of 17.5 billion dollars to advance India’s AI infrastructure; Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, when it comes to Artificial Intelligence, world is optimistic about India.

 

  • Prime Minister asks NDA MPs to undertake reforms across all sectors aimed at making public life easier.

 

  • Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu says disruption caused by IndiGo’s operational failures now rapidly stabilising; Reiterates, government’s determination to build a robust airline system. 

 

  • In Men’s Cricket, India set a target of 176 runs against South Africa in first T20 of five-match series at Cuttack in Odisha.

 

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