THE HEADLINES:
Campaigning for second and final phase of assembly elections in West Bengal to end this evening.
Rajya Sabha chairman approves merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party MPs with BJP; Total members strength rises to 113.
India and New Zealand to formally sign Free Trade Agreement in New Delhi this afternoon; Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asserts FTA reflects growing strategic importance of India in world geopolitics.
IMD forecasts heat wave conditions over Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Vidarbha today.
And in IPL Cricket, Delhi Capitals to face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in New Delhi this evening.
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Campaigning for the second and final phase of assembly elections in West Bengal will end this evening. A total of 142 constituencies will go to polls in this phase on the 29th of this month. The assembly segments that will vote in the second phase cover eight electoral districts, including Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Howrah, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman.
Leaders from all major parties will be holding rallies across the state. Prime Minister and Senior BJP leader Narendra Modi has said that Barrackpore played a key role in the 1857, giving strength to India’s first war of independence. Addressing a public meeting at Jilepi Math, the Prime Minister said the entire country is witnessing the development of the Northeast, while Bengal is undergoing a historic transformation.
Meanwhile, Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee has multiple programs scheduled for the day. She will walk in a public outreach march from Sukanta Setu in Jadavpur in support of the party’s candidates for the Jadavpur and Tollygunge constituencies. Later, she has a public outreach program in her own constituency, Bhabanipur.
Trinamool’s All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee is scheduled to campaign in Ranaghat, Hooghly, Arambagh, and Maheshtala in support of party candidates.
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The total number of the Members of Parliament of BJP in Rajya Sabha has increased to 113. In a social media post, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju today informed that the Chairman of the Upper House C P Radhakrishnan has approved the merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party turncoat MPs. The MPs include, Raghav Chadha, Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Swati Maliwal and Harbhajan Singh. After the merger, the number of Aam Aadmi Party MPs in the Upper House has reduced to three.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Gangtok today on a two-day visit to Sikkim. We have a report:
“The visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks an important milestone in a Golden Jubilee year of Sikkim’s statehood and reflects the Modi government’s continued commitment to the sustainable development of Sikkim. Prime Minister will take part in a grand road show from Biralu dwar to M G Marg this afternoon. Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will participate in the closing ceremony of Sikkim’s 50th Year of Statehood celebrations at Paljor Stadium, where he will inaugurate, launch and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects over 4,000 crore rupees across the state. The Sikkim government will present a grand cultural event themed – 1000 Steps of Unity involving nearly 1500 artists. With Mainak, Manas Pratim Sarma, Akashvani News, Gangtok.”
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A one-day special session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly is underway on ‘Nari Shakti Vandan’, resolution for women’s empowerment. A resolution has been tabled in the House to give 33 percent reservation to women, but it has also triggered a political storm. Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar demanded 33 percent reservation for women across all 230 assembly seats in the state. Following this, Congress MLAs raised slogans against the government resolution and walked out of the House.
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Total 142 assembly constituencies will go to the polls on Wednesday in the second phase of Assembly election in West Bengal. In our Series of Constituency Profile, today we will look into the Howrah Uttar assembly constituency.
The Howrah Uttar assembly constituency in the Howrah district of West Bengal will go to the poll on 29th April under the second phase of General Election to the Assembly of West Bengal. The incumbent MLA Gautam Chowdhury has been fielded again by the Trinamool Congress. Total of 13 candidates including 7 independents are in the fray. BJP fielded Umesh Rai. The CPIM candidate is Gautam Rai and the Congress candidate is Om Prakash Jaiswal. Total electors in the Howrah Uttar assembly constituency as on the last date of nomination are nearly one lakh fifty thousand. There were many industrial estates in the Howrah Uttar constituency most of which are now closed. While BJP, Congress, Left and other political parties alleged that Trinamool Congress failed to bring industry in the state.Trinamool Congress rejected the allegations. Kalyan Laha, Akashvani, News Kolkata.
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The Supreme Court today took suo motu case over the brutal assault of a woman advocate by her husband and ordered a probe into allegations that three hospitals denied her emergency treatment. A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice J Joymalya Bagchi acted on a letter by advocate Sneha Kalita regarding the attack on her colleague practising at Karkardooma courts. The court was told the victim suffered multiple injuries and was taken to several hospitals that allegedly refused admission and was later treated at AIIMS. Authorities said an FIR was filed and the accused husband was arrested. Expressing concern over denial of treatment, the Bench expressed concern and directed the investigating officer to examine the circumstances surrounding the denial of admission and submit a status report.
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India and New Zealand will signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in New Delhi this afternoon. The signing ceremony will be presided over by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Investment, Todd McClay. Finalized in December last year, the agreement grants 100 percent duty-free access for Indian exports across all tariff lines, benefiting diverse sectors. The FTA also opens new avenues in services, mobility, education, healthcare, traditional medicine, and investment.
Addressing the India-New Zealand Business Forum earlier today, Mr Goyal said that the FTA reflects the shared trust between the two nations and sets the stage for doubling the bilateral economic trade.
He said that the agreement will create new opportunities for businesses in countries, strengthening value chains, and further deepening economic partnership. The Minister highlighted how India’s vast market, skilled talent, digital capabilities, and manufacturing strengths complement New Zealand’s expertise in agri-tech, clean energy, and fintech.
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Nominations for the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2026 are now open for children aged between 5 and 18 years as of 31st July this year. The last date for submission of nominations is the 31st of July. Nominations can be received only through the National Awards Portal on <<https://awards.gov.in/>>.
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting searches at eleven premises across Punjab including Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Patiala, Nabha and Jalandhar in the case against former DIG of Punjab Police Harcharan Singh Bhullar. These searches are being conducted under Section 17 of PMLA. ED said the action arises from predicate offences registered by the CBI, ACB, Chandigarh, relating to allegations of demand of illegal gratification through a middleman for settlement of a criminal case.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heat wave conditions at isolated places in the national capital today. According to the IMD, the maximum temperature in Delhi is expected to reach 44 degree Celsius. Similar weather conditions are expected over Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Vidarbha today. The Weather Agency also predicted warm night conditions over Delhi Haryana, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh and West Madhya Pradesh today. Meanwhile hot and humid weather conditions have been predicted over Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu during the next two days.
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In the plains of Himachal Pradesh, intense heatwave conditions, along with scorching sunlight and hot winds, are making it difficult for people to step out of their homes. Along with rising daytime temperatures, an increase in night-time temperatures has also been recorded. A report:
Intense heatwave conditions are prevailing in the plains of Himachal Pradesh. In districts like Una, Hamirpur, Chamba, and Kangra, as well as several other towns, the maximum temperature has been recorded above 40 degrees Celsius over the past few days. The Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for heatwave conditions in these districts for today as well. However, the department has forecast rainfall in many parts of the state from April 28 to May 2, bringing a possibility of relief from the heat. For now, most parts of Himachal Pradesh continue to grapple with intense heat. Ritesh Kapoor, Akashvani News, Shimla.
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In Jammu and Kashmir, the Meteorological department has issued a heatwave alert for five districts of the Jammu region. Hot and dry weather is likely to continue in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Reasi and Udhampur districts during the next two days with heat wave conditions at a few places. The weather is expected to remain pleasant in the rest of the Union Territory over the next five days.
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In Bangladesh, at least 14 people were killed and several others injured after lightning strikes hit seven districts during Kalbaishakhi (Nor’wester) thunderstorms. The storms arrived following more than a week of intense heatwave conditions across parts of the country.
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In IPL Cricket, Delhi Capitals will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in New Delhi today. The match will start at 7.30 PM.
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In shooting, Indian shooters topped the ISSF Junior World Cup 2026 standings in Cairo with 16 medals including five gold, six silver and five bronze with two of these coming on the final day. Hemant Burman won silver in the men’s 50 metre rifle 3 positions event with an impressive score of 351.7.
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Sebastian Sawe made history at the London Marathon by becoming the first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race. The 31-year-old Kenyan crossed the line to win in one hour 59 minutes 30 seconds, more than one minute faster than the late Kelvin Kiptum’s previous record of two hours and thirtyfive seconds, set in 2023.
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Benchmark domestic equity indices surged nearly one per cent in afternoon trade today supported by broad-based buying across sectors. The Sensex rose 707 points to 77 thousand 372, while the Nifty climbed 218 points to 24 thousand 116 when reports last came in.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
India and New Zealand to sign Free Trade Agreement in New Delhi in a short while; Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asserts FTA reflects growing strategic importance of India in world geopolitics.
Campaigning for second and final phase of assembly elections in West Bengal to end this evening.
Rajya Sabha chairman approves merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party MPs with BJP; Total members strength rises to 113.
IMD forecasts heat wave conditions over Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Vidarbha today.
And in IPL Cricket, Delhi Capitals to face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in New Delhi this evening.
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