THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to embark on a two-day visit to Kuwait today to strengthen bilateral ties.
- Home Minister Amit Shah to take part in 72nd plenary meeting of North East Council at Agartala.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to chair 55th GST Council meeting at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan today.
- India registers remarkable progress in reducing malaria cases and associated mortality in the country, says World Health Organization.
- US House of Representative passes spending bill to avert consequential government shutdown.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Kuwait beginning today at the invitation of the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait. Today, Mr Modi will interact with the Indian diaspora at a community event and also visit a labour camp. He will also attend the opening ceremony of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup as a special guest of the Amir of Kuwait.
Tomorrow, Prime Minister Modi will be accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at the Bayan Palace following which he will be holding separate meetings with the Amir of Kuwait and the crown Prince of Kuwait. This will be the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to the Gulf nation in 43 years. As Kuwait currently chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council, the visit is expected to strengthen not only bilateral relations but also enhance India's ties with the broader Gulf region.
"The visit follows recent high-level diplomatic engagements, including a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Kuwait's Crown Prince at the UN General Assembly in September, and India's External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar's visit to Kuwait in August. Additionally, Kuwait's Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al Hayya's recent visit to India in early December has helped strengthen bilateral ties. The bilateral relationship between India and Kuwait has shown robust growth, with trade exceeding 10 billion US dollars in 2023-24. Kuwait remains a crucial energy partner for India, supplying both crude oil and LPG. The Indian community, numbering around one million, represents the largest expatriate group in Kuwait and plays a vital role in the country's development across various sectors. THIS IS VINOD KUMAR, AKASHVANI NEWS, DUBAI."
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the 72nd plenary meeting of the North East Council at Agartala in Tripura today.
The plenary session will also be attended by Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Dr. Sukanta Majumdar. Governors and Chief Ministers from all North Eastern States will be present at the meeting.
"The all crucial NEC plenary that lays emphasis on the accelerated growth of the region will be held today at the Pragya Bhavan in Agartala. In addition to presiding over the plenary, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the Bankers Conclave which will see participation of government undertaking and private banks and a meeting of North East Space Applications Centre, NESAC. As a prelude to the main Plenary, a thematic and technical session chaired by the Minister of State for DoNER Dr Sukanta Majumder was held last evening. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has been at the forefront of driving the vision of balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth for the region. The creation of the Ministry was a landmark moment in Government of India's commitment to the North Eastern States, as it understood the need for a dedicated approach to addressing the unique challenges of this region. Kunal Shinde, Akashvani News, Agartala.
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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 55th GST Council meeting at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan today. The discussions at the meeting will focus on key issues related to goods and services tax. Chief Ministers of Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Odisha, Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana and Finance Ministers of several States and Union Territories will take part in the meeting. Our correspondent reports all preparations are in place for the meeting:
"The GST council is expected to deliberate taxability issues concerning food delivery services and health insurance, as well as potential changes to GST slabs and rate rationalisation. The Council is expected to discuss reducing the GST rates on life and health insurance premiums. The council is also likely to hold discussion on the issue of raising tax rates on high-end wrist watches, shoes and apparel. Besides, the council may deliberate on bringing aviation turbine fuel under GST. The Finance Minister will hold a press conference regarding the decisions of the GST Council following the conclusion of the meeting. The GST Council meeting is being held in Jaisalmer, famously known as the Golden City, for the first time. Jitendra Dwivedi'S REPORT FROM Jaipur, SHARANYA FOR Akashwani News."
The Union Minister chaired the pre-budget consultation meeting with Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories at Jaisalmer last evening. The Minister said, because of the healthy macroeconomic environment, buoyancy and efficiency in the tax collections, the funds devolved to the States in the last 45 months under 15th Finance Commission is more than what was devolved in 60 months under the 14th Finance Commission from 2015 to 2020.
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Copra for 2025 season. Briefing media in New Delhi last evening after the Union Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the NDA government has taken a series of decisions for the welfare of farmers.
Mr Vaishnaw said, that MSP for Fair Average Quality of milling copra has been fixed at 11 thousand 582 rupees per quintal and for ball copra at 12 thousand 100 rupees per quintal. He added that the financial implication for this decision would be worth 855 crore rupees.
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The Delhi Police has transferred the case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for alleged assault and incitement and injuring two BJP MPs during a protest in the Parliament House, to its Crime Branch for further investigation. An FIR was registered against the Congress leader on BJP's complaint. BJP MP Anurag Singh Thakur, along with fellow MPs Bansuri Swaraj and Hemang Joshi had lodged a complaint against Mr Gandhi at Parliament Street Police Station on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has also taken suo-motu cognizance of the alleged misbehavior of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi towards Nagaland's woman MP, Phangnon Konyak. The Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Vijaya Rahatkar, condemned Mr. Gandhi's behavior and urged the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to take swift action to uphold the dignity of women in Parliament.
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The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former minister K Tarakarama Rao and some others in a case related to alleged payment irregularities during the Formula-E Car race held in Hyderabad last year.
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In Madhya Pradesh, over eight thousand houses have been built in Shivpuri district so far under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), which is the highest in the country. These houses have essential amenities like tap water, electricity, roads and community facilities. A tribal woman Lalita's house was completed first. Her dream of getting a pucca house was fulfilled after an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year who not only fulfilled her wish but also provided homes to many other families in need.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had interacted with two Sahariya tribal women in Hatod Gram Panchayat of Shivpuri district on 15 January this year, in which one tribal woman Lalita Adivasi had requested the Prime Minister to provide a house in Boorda Panchayat. The Prime Minister has fulfilled this dream of Sahariya tribals.Lalita Adivasi has thanked the Prime Minister for pacca house.
The first PM Jan Man Colony of Pohri block of Shivpuri district has been completed in Boorda Panchayat. The colony has a total of 32 houses. These houses have been built like duplexes on the lines of cities. The house also has the facility of tap and electricity connection. With Ranjit Gupta from Shivpuri, Sanjeev Sharma, Akashvani News, Bhopal."
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World Health Organisation’s (WHO) has stated that India has demonstrated remarkable progress in reducing malaria cases and associated mortality in the country, particularly in its high-endemic states. This was highlighted in the WHO's World Malaria Report 2024. The stakeholders gathered at a meeting in the UK Parliament complex and praised the contributions of India’s community health workers, mostly women, who are effectively reducing malaria in remote areas.
According to the report, nationwide, the number of estimated malaria cases in India has reduced from 6.4 million in 2017 to 2 million cases in 2023, which is a remarkable 69 percent decrease. Similarly, the estimated malaria deaths decreased from 11,100 to 3,500 during the same periodwhich is a 68 per cent decrease.
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The US House of Representatives passed a spending bill today narrowly avoiding a consequential government shutdown just few hours before the deadline came to an end. The Democrats joined the Republican lawmakers to advance the bill to keep the federal government funded until mid-March next year. The bill passed with 366 votes in favor compared to 34 against with more Democrats voting to support it than Republicans.
The legislation is headed to the Democrat-led Senate for a vote today before it can be signed by President Joe Biden. If senators drag their feet, the government will still cease to be funded at midnight, and non-essential operations will start to grind to a halt, with up to 875,000 workers furloughed and 1.4 million more required to work without pay.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast severe cold wave conditions over Jammu-Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh during the next five days. The IMD said that these conditions will also prevail over Punjab and Rajasthan till Monday. The weather agency has forecast dense fog conditions during late night and early morning hours in isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh, East Rajasthan and Jharkhand till tomorrow. The Weather agency said, in Delhi-NCR, smog and shallow fog is likely during evening and night hours for the next two days.
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TODAY'S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
⦁ All the dailies have mentioned about the severe air pollution in the national capital on the front page. "Air still severe: Worst December run in 3 years", writes the Hindustan Times.
⦁ "GST relief on cards for food delivery, insurance premiums: Council may consider hiking rates for high-end items", informs The Indian Express as agenda for 55th GST Council meeting.
⦁ A report in the Financial Express says, "More than 15 percent of super-rich in India are under 30", driven by start-up Unicorns and IPOs.
⦁ "Delhi University students may soon get to complete a semester of final-year in International University", is a headline in The Times of India.
⦁ "Three-day state mourning for the five-time CM, Om Prakash Chautala" states The Pioneer.
⦁ And finally, The Economic Times writes, "NRIs Don't miss golden opportunity as duty slash adds sheen to jewellery." The paper adds cut in customs duty and labour arbitrage, people are finding it more cost effective to buy gold jewellery in India than in The Emirates.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to embark on a two-day visit to Kuwait today to strengthen bilateral ties.
- Home Minister Amit Shah to take part in 72nd plenary meeting of North East Council at Agartala.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to chair 55th GST Council meeting at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan today.
- India registers remarkable progress in reducing malaria cases and associated mortality in the country, says World Health Organization.
- US House of Representative passes spending bill to avert consequential government shutdown.
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