THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his thoughts with people of the country and abroad in Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani at 11 this morning.
- Prime Minister calls for collective effort and national unity in the face of global challenges; Reiterates Government policy and strategy is focussed on serving the public interest.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasises need for proactive, coordinated and forward-looking approach on West Asia crisis.
- Qatar and Ukraine ink defence cooperation agreement.
- India Meteorological Department forecasts thunderstorms in most parts of the country today.
- In 19th IPL opening Cricket match, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru register six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share his thoughts with the people of the country and abroad in the Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani today at 11 AM. It will be the 132nd episode of the monthly radio programme. It will be broadcast across the entire Akashvani and Doordarshan network, the AIR News website, and the Newsonair mobile app.The programme will also be live-streamed on the YouTube channels of AIR News, DD News, the PMO, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Akashvani will broadcast the programme in regional languages immediately after the Hindi broadcast.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for collective effort and national unity in the face of global challenges. He said he had spoken at length in Parliament and held detailed discussions with the Chief Ministers about tackling the crisis arising from the ongoing West Asian conflict. Speaking after inaugurating the first phase of Noida International Airport at Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh yesterday, the Prime Minister appealed to the people to face this crisis with a calm mind and patience, calling it the greatest strength of Indians.
Mr Modi reiterated that what is in the interest of Indians and in the interest of India, that alone is the policy and strategy of the Government of India. He expressed confidence that all political parties will lend strength to the country’s united efforts.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasised the need for a proactive, coordinated and forward-looking approach, and underscored the importance of remaining vigilant in view of the evolving scenario in West Asia. Mr Singh said this while chairing the meeting of an Informal Group of Ministers constituting several Senior Ministers in New Delhi, last evening. The meeting was attended by Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Hardeep Singh Puri, J P Nadda, Jitendra Singh, and K Rammohan Naidu among others.
The Defence Minister informed that the meeting was held to review the risks to energy supplies, domestic availability of essential commodities, critical infrastructure resilience and robustness of India’s supply chains in the wake of the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
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Qatar and Ukraine have signed a defence cooperation agreement during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Doha, as both countries discussed regional tensions and ways to strengthen bilateral ties. Mr Zelensky met Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday and reviewed regional and international developments. Qatar’s Defence Ministry said the agreement includes cooperation in countering missile threats and unmanned aerial systems, as well as the exchange of expertise between the two countries. The deal comes as Ukraine draws on its experience defending against drone and missile attacks during its war with Russia.
Ukraine has also agreed to cooperate on defence with the United Arab Emirates amid escalating tensions in the region.
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The US Central Command has dismissed Iranian forces’ claims that they have struck two hideouts of the US Army, hosting more than 500 soldiers in Dubai. Additionally, the Central Command released the footage of its airstrikes on the Iranian naval vessels amid the heightened tensions in West Asia. Earlier, Iran had claimed that the US had suffered heavy casualties in the strikes.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates has said that its air defence systems successfully intercepted multiple aerial threats, including 20 ballistic missiles and 37 unmanned aerial vehicles, launched from Iran.
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Yemen’s Houthis have targeted Israel in a escalation of the ongoing West Asia conflict, using a barrage of cruise missiles and drones. In a statement, Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, claimed that the operation was successful. This comes moments after the Iranian-backed group in Yemen officially joined the conflict in the region.
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The Election Commission has released the third supplementary voter list under the SIR process in West Bengal. The announcement came late last night, though the exact number of voters included or excluded has not been disclosed. This publication marks another step in the ongoing revision of the state’s electoral rolls. Earlier, on February 28, the ECI had published a partial final voter list. Then, on 23 rd March and 28th March, two supplementary lists were released. Commission officials said they have sought the court’s permission to publish supplementary lists daily. Voters whose names are excluded will have the chance to appeal to a tribunal, which will review their cases.
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The race for Kerala assembly election is in its final sprint. Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi is set to join the campaign today and is scheduled to hold high-profile events in Palakkad and Thrissur.
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In Assam, polling is scheduled to be held in a single phase for all 126 Legislative Assembly constituencies on the 9th of next month. Jorhat Assembly seat, a mix of urban and rural areas, is one of the prominent and prestigious constituencies in the state.
“In this Assembly elections, four candidates are in fray from this constituency. Assam Pradesh Congress President and Lok Sabha Member, Gaurav Gogoi faces Hitendra Nath Goswami of BJP, Aam Aadmi Party’s Pranab Priyankush Dutta and S U C I’s Hemanta Pegu.
Following the 2023 delimitation exercise, the Jorhat LAC has undergone changes in its boundaries and population. According to the Election Commission of India, Jorhat has over 1 lakh 50 thousand voters, over 78 thousand are female and over 72 thousand are male. There is no transgender voter across the 182 polling stations.
During the 2021 election, there were 4 candidates, BJP’s Hitendra Nath Goswami, Rana Goswami of the Congress, Assam Jatiya Parishad’s Nirud Changkakoti and one independent candidate. Hitendra Nath Goswami won the election with over 48 percent of votes. Aminul Haque Jwadder, Akashvani News, Guwahati.”
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for thunderstorms accompanied with hailstorm over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and West Rajasthan for today. The Met department has also predicted thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds over Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Uttarakhand and West Madhya Pradesh today. Similar conditions will prevail over Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, South Interior Karnataka, Sub Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim today.
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The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League Cricket has begun. In the opening match yesterday, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) started their campaign with a dominant six-wicket win against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru. Chasing a target of 202, RCB finished the chase in just 15.4 overs, marking the fastest 200 plus chase in IPL history. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Virat Kohli with an unbeaten 69 was the top scorer while Devdutt Padikkal made a valuable 61. Kohli etched his name into the record books by becoming the first batter in the history of the Indian Premier League to cross 4000 runs in run chases.
In the 2nd match, Mumbai Indians will face Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, today. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 this evening.
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In Chhattisgarh, on the fifth day of the first Khelo India Tribal Games, competitions in hockey, weightlifting and football will be held today in Raipur. The Wrestling events will take place in Surguja. Karnataka continues to lead the medal tally with 15 gold medals. Odisha is in the second place with nine gold medals, while Assam holds the third position with four gold medals.
Competitions are being held in seven disciplines – archery, athletics, football, hockey, swimming, weightlifting and wrestling. Mallakhamb and kabaddi have been included as demonstration sports.
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AND NOW, FOR A LOOK AT TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS,
- The West Asia crisis continues to figure prominently on the front pages of newspapers. “A month on, truce hopes dim, war inches closer to Red Sea” headlines Hindustan Times. “Israel defies US moratorium, hits Bushehr Nuclear site; Houthis join war by targeting Tel Aviv”, writes The Sunday Tribune. Quoting Iranian media, The Economic Times reports that US-Israeli strikes hit multiple residential areas in Iran, killing more than a dozen people.
- Under the headline, “23-year Jewar journey now a reality”, Sunday Pioneer carries a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the first phase of the Noida International Airport at Jewar in Noida.
- The Sunday Times says that India has denied reports that billionaire Elon Musk participated in the March 24th call between PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.
- “Nepal’s ex-PM Oli detained over role in deadly protest crackdown”, reports The Asian Age.
- In its editorial piece titled “Iran war shows why India’s defence budget needs a 21st-century upgrade”, The Times of India writes that the model of building personnel-intensive, land-warfare-heavy armed forces worked well a few decades ago, it did help us win the 1971 war, and the 1999 Kargil war; However, it isn’t 1999 anymore. The paper adds that we must spend more on defence, and within that, allocate a larger share on research and acquiring new technologies for modern warfare, concluding that India must decide whether it wants to prepare for the wars of yesterday – or the wars of tomorrow.
- “Do we go back to begging or sex work? Trans bill sparks fear, fury”. Under that headline, The Times of India writes that transgenders across the country speak of betrayal and anxiety as hard-won recognition appears to slip away.
- And finally, as part of its efforts to improve civic sense in Delhi, residents and small-scale enterprises in the Capital may soon face higher monetary penalties for civic violations, including littering in public places and disturbing public peace by playing loudspeakers, reports Hindustan Times.
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AND NOW BEFORE WE END THE BULLETIN, THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his thoughts with people of the country and abroad in Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani at 11 this morning.
- Prime Minister calls for collective effort and national unity in the face of global challenges; Reiterates Government policy and strategy is focussed on serving the public interest.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasises need for proactive, coordinated and forward-looking approach on West Asia crisis.
- Qatar and Ukraine ink defence cooperation agreement.
- India Meteorological Department forecasts thunderstorms in most parts of the country today.
- And, in 19th IPL opening Cricket match, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru register six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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