THE HEADLINES:-
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates and lays foundation stones for multiple development projects worth four thousand crore rupees at Gangtok; Also takes part in closing ceremony of Sikkim’s 50th Year of Statehood Celebrations.
2. Prime Minister Modi to unveil development projects worth over six thousand three hundred crore rupees at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh this evening; To also flag-off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains.
3. Foundation stone laid for Google Cloud India AI Hub at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in presence of Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
4. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh issues stern warning against terrorism at SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Kyrgyzstan; Asserts epicentres of terror no longer immune to justifiable punishment.
5. All preparations in place for voting in second and final phase of assembly elections in West Bengal tomorrow.
6. In IPL Cricket, Hosts Punjab Kings to take on Rajasthan Royals in New Chandigarh this evening.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for multiple development projects worth four thousand crore rupees at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok today. He also announced six cricket academies for the Northeast region. He launched the projects at the closing ceremony of Sikkim’s 50th Year of Statehood celebrations.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Modi described the Northeast as India’s “Ashtalakshmi” and emphasized on government resolve of “Act East, Act Fast.”
The Prime Minister described Sikkim as the heaven of the East and highlighted the state’s vast tourism potential. He said, the government is giving top priority to improving infrastructure and connectivity in Sikkim.
Mr. Modi said efforts are underway to boost sports infrastructure in the state and nurture talent in football and archery. He said Sikkim’s success in organic and natural farming has become a model for the country.
A grand cultural programme titled “1000 Steps of Unity,” featuring over 1,500 local artists, was held to mark the occasion.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Uttar Pradesh beginning today. He will reach his parliamentary constituency Varanasi this evening and participate in Mahila Sammelan, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects worth around 6,350 crore rupees. Our correspondent reports the event will witness the presence of women in large numbers from across the region.
Every nook and corner of Kashi is decorated to welcome the Prime Minister for the event. Women from various walks of life, including doctors, social workers and homemakers, are expected to attend the Mahila Sammelan being organised at the Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) ground in Varanasi today evening, during which non-passage of the Constitution Bill related to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is likely to resonate.The event is being planned as a women-led programme, with party workers from the women’s wing handling all arrangements at the venue. Also women police personnel will take the responsibility of the security of the event. SUSHIL CHANDRA TIWARI, AKASHVANI NEWS, VARANASI.
The Prime Minister will also flag off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains linking Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra this evening. We have a report:
“The Amrit Bharat Express trains which are being launched will connect Banaras- Hadapsar in Pune and Ayodhya- Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai. These trains will provide affordable and modern travel options and enhance connectivity between Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The Banaras-Pune service will facilitate easier access to Kashi Vishwanath Dham, while the Ayodhya-Mumbai service will improve connectivity to the Shri Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra, strengthening links between key religious destinations. With the launch of these two new services, the total number of operational Amrit Bharat Express trains will rise to 66. Anand Kumar for Akashvani News, Varanasi.”
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Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone of Google Cloud India AI Hub in Visakhapatnam today. Speaking on the occcasion, the Union Minister said, the country is moving into large-scale electronics manufacturing, semiconductor production, advanced chip design, and artificial intelligence technologies.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today issued a stern warning against terrorism, asserting that the epicentres of terror are no longer immune to justifiable punishment. Mr Singh was addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. He recalled the recent anniversary of the deadly terror strike at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Singh said, during Operation Sindoor in response to the attack, India demonstrated its firm resolve that epicentres of terror are no longer immune to justifiable punishment.
The Defence Minister called for a unified front to tackle terrorism, separatism and extremism by eliminating safe havens and rejecting any political exceptions. He asserted that the sight of state-sponsored cross-border terrorism, which attacks the sovereignty of a nation, must not be lost as there is no place for double standards.
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A close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim and notorious drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola was brought to India from Turkiye early this morning. The deportation was carried out after a coordinated operation by intelligence agencies in collaboration with international agencies.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed that the Narcotics Control Bureau has achieved a major breakthrough in securing the return of Salim Dola from Turkiye. In a social media post, Mr Shah said, no matter where they attempt to hide, drug kingpins will find no safe place.
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All preparations are in place for voting in West Bengal tomorrow for the second and final phase of assembly elections. A total of 142 constituencies across seven districts will go to polls in this phase. More from our correspondent:
“Preparations are in full swing, with polling officials moving to their respective polling booths from the distribution centers. Voting begins at 7 am across seven districts, More than 3 crores 20 lakhs voters are eligible in this phase, with over 1 crore 50 lakhs women and 792 third-gender voters on the rolls. An appellate tribunal has also released an additional voter list following Supreme Court orders, allowing more citizens to cast their ballots. A total of 1,448 candidates are in the fray, including 220 women. The largest constituency is Kalyani in Nadia, while the smallest is Jorasanko in Kolkata. Chinsurah in Hooghly has the highest voter count, while Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas has the lowest. 2,321 companies of central forces are deployed, along with 142 general observers, 95 police observers, and 100 expenditure observers. Sandipon Dasgupta, Akashvani News, Kolkata.
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In Gujarat, counting of votes for the local body elections is underway. Early trends show the BJP taking a clear lead, winning over 3,750 of more than 9,200 seats so far. In municipal corporation elections, the BJP has won 410 seats, followed by the Congress with 20 and others with 4.
Voting was held on Sunday for 15 municipal corporations, 84 nagarpalikas, 34 district panchayats, and 260 taluka panchayats across the state.
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The Meghalaya Official Language Ordinance, 2026 has received the assent of Governor Chandrashekhar H. Vijayashankar, making Khasi and Garo official languages of the state alongside English. Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma announced the development in a social media post.
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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has urged exporters and industry bodies to fully leverage India’s Free Trade Agreements with developed economies to expand market access, boost exports and create employment opportunities. Mr Goyal stated this while chairing a meeting with Export Promotion Councils and industry associations in New Delhi. He noted that sectors such as engineering goods, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, gems and jewellery and agri-based products have sustained export momentum despite global disruptions.
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The Pharma sector has hailed the Free Trade Agreement signed between India and New Zealand. Talking to media, Chairman, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL), Namit Joshi said, with the deal, the sector aims to scale trade to nearly one billion dollar.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast very heavy rainfall over Assam and Meghalaya for the next two days. Heavy rainfall is also likely to prevail over Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Mahe, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, West Bengal and Sikkim tomorrow. IMD has predicted thunderstorms and hailstorms over Himachal Pradesh, Interior Karnataka and Uttarakhand tomorrow. Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, East Uttar Pradesh and Ladakh will experience thunderstorms and lightning tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has issued letters to the Chief Secretaries of 21 states and the union territory of Delhi, to take advance action and implement relief measures to protect the vulnerable population during heat waves in the country.
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Benchmark domestic equity indices were trading around half a per cent lower in afternoon trade today. The Sensex dropped 408 points to 76 thousand 896, while the Nifty shed 101 points to 23 thousand 992 when reports last came in.
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In IPL Cricket, Hosts Punjab Kings will take on Rajasthan Royals at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh this evening. The match will begin at 7:30 PM.
Last night, Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Hosts Delhi Capitals by 9 wickets in a one-sided encounter.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates and lays foundation stones for multiple development projects worth four thousand crore rupees at Gangtok; Also takes part in closing ceremony of Sikkim’s 50th Year of Statehood Celebrations.
2. Prime Minister Modi to unveil development projects worth over six thousand three hundred crore rupees at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh this evening; To also flag-off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains.
3. Foundation stone laid for Google Cloud India AI Hub at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in presence of Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
4. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh issues stern warning against terrorism at SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Kyrgyzstan; Asserts epicentres of terror no longer immune to justifiable punishment.
5. All preparations in place for voting in second and final phase of assembly elections in West Bengal tomorrow.
6. In IPL Cricket, Hosts Punjab Kings to take on Rajasthan Royals in New Chandigarh this evening.
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