THE HEADLINES:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, government is working on mission mode to increase natural gas consumption in India; Inaugurates India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru.
More than five hundred killed as 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Turkey and Syria early morning today.
Both Houses of Parliament adjourned till 2 PM following ruckus over Adani Group issue.
Campaigning gains momentum in Tripura; Senior BJP leader Amit Shah to hold election rallies and road show today.
Meeting of Heads of Supreme Audit Institutes of SCO Member States begins in Lucknow.
Indian music composer Ricky Kej creates history by winning third Grammy Award.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru in Karnataka today. The three-day event is aimed at showcasing India’s rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse. Speaking at the event, Prime Minister urged global investors to explore investment opportunities in India's energy sector. Mr Modi said, India is one of strongest voices in the world in energy transition. He said, the government is working on mission mode to increase natural gas consumption in India's energy mix by 2030.
The Prime Minister said, India has the fourth-largest crude refining capacity in the world. He said, India's gas pipeline network will expand to 35,000 km in the next four-five years from 22,000 km at present. The Prime Minister said, no-go area for oil and gas exploration has been reduced by 10 lakh square kilometers. Mr Modi said India is moving towards the target of 20 percent ethanol blending with petrol. The Prime Minister said, another sector in which India is taking lead in the world is that of green hydrogen.
The Prime Minister also launched the twin-cooktop model of the Indian Oil’s Indoor Solar Cooking System and flagged-off its commercial roll-out.
Mr Modi said, circular economy, in a way, is a part of the lifestyle of every Indian. Prime Minister said, crores of people have come out of poverty and entered the middle class. He said India has become the second largest producer of mobile phones.
Prime Minister Modi will also dedicate to the nation the HAL helicopter factory at Tumakuru this afternoon. Its foundation stone was also laid by the Prime Minister in 2016. This is Asia’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce the Light Utility Helicopters (LUH).
The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of Tumakuru Industrial Township.
More than 500 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the two countries early today. In Turkey, at least 284 people have died and more than 2,300 were injured. In Syria, at least 237 people were killed and 639 injured. The death toll is likely to rise further. More than 1,700 buildings were damaged across 10 Turkish cities, Turkish vice president said. Today's quake is one of the strongest to hit Turkey in more than 100 years and sent tremors across the region. Hospitals the overwhelmed after the deadly quake.
Syrian state media said, a large number of buildings collapsed in Aleppo province of Syria. The tremor was also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the loss of lives and damage of property due to the earthquake in Turkey. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has also conveyed condolences to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu over the loss of lives and damage in the earthquake. In a message, Dr Jaishankar expressed deep grief over the accident and extended support to Türkey at this difficult time.
Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned till 2 PM following opposition parties’ protests over the Adani Group issue. When the Lok Sabha met this morning, opposition parties continued with their demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the matter. Members from Congress, DMK and other parties trooped into the well, raising slogans in support of their demand. TMC, JDU, Shiv Sena (UBT) and other opposition party members were also on their feet. Amid ruckus, Speaker Om Birla said the House is for debate and discussion and stalling the proceedings in a pre-planned manner is not appropriate. Mr. Birla said, he is ready to listen to every member and the way the House is being disrupted is against its decorum. He added that sloganeering in the House is against the interests of the people of the country and repeatedly urged the members to allow the House to function. But the protesting members didn’t pay heed leading to adjournment of the House till 2 PM.
In the Rajya Sabha, similar scenes were witnessed when the House met for the day this morning.
Opposition parties also held a protest in Parliament House premises over the issue. Displaying placards, MPs from Congress, DMK, TMC, Left, BRS, RJD, AAP and other opposition parties raised slogans in support of their demand.
Talking to the media, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said they want discussion on opposition MPs' notices over the issue in Parliament. Mr Kharge added that the opposition is ready to speak on the President's Address to both the Houses of Parliament but the first priority is that the government should give a reply on the issue.
In the Rajya Sabha as the ruckus countinued after it met at 2 pm, Chairmen Jagdeep Dhankar adjounred the house till tomorrow.
In Tripura, senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the Vijay Sankalp rally at Shantirbazar area today. Addressing the election rally, Mr. Shah said Tripura has witnessed alround development under the BJP rule. He alleged that the Congress and CPI-M didnt do any development works during their regime. The Home Minister urged people to vote for the BJP for the continuous development. He said that BJP government signed peace treaties with militant outfits.
TMC Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also reach Tripura today. She will do road show tomorrow at Agartala. Yesterday, the Congress through 20 Points Declaration promised to provide 150 unit of free electricity and increase of Minimum Support Price to farmers in paddy procurement if the party comes to the power. Left and other parties are also trying to woo the voters in Tripura.
Meanwhile, with filing of nominations for 60 assembly seats of Meghalaya and Nagaland coming to close tomorrow, electioneering process is picking up momentum in two states. Both the states will go to polls on the 27th February.
In Nagaland, Chief Minister and intending NDPP candidate Neiphiu Rio filed his nomination papers from 11 Northern Angami II Assembly Constituency. Talking to Media persons, Mr Rio expressed confidence that the alliance between the NDPP and BJP will comeback to power and form the government.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Girish Chandra Murmu has called for global cooperation to combat cyber security threats to auditing. He also said that governments need to collaborate with private sector partners to improve cyber security. Mr Murmu was addressing delegates on the opening day of the 6th Meeting of the Heads of Supreme Audit Institutes (SAIs) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States in Lucknow today. He noted that the adoption of information technology in the public sector has brought concerns related to cyber security to the forefront. Therefore, it has become imperative for SAIs to develop adequate capacity to audit cyber security issues.
Mr Murmu informed that SAI India, that is, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques in the audit process. Our correspondent covering the event reports that the heads and delegations of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) from four countries - Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, are taking part in the three-day multilateral event.
The first meeting of the Youth -20 engagement group under India's G20 presidency will be held in Guwahati, Assam from today. The Summit will provide an opportunity to the students to voice their opinions for the audience worldwide. Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry said, the three day Y-20 Inception meeting will be held in IIT-Guwahati campus.
More than one hundred 50 Youth delegates from G20 countries are set to participate in the meetings. Over twelve thousand students from colleges and universities are also expected to participate in these events.
Chief Justice of India justice DY Chandrachud administered the oath of office to five Chief Justices and Judges of the High Courts as Supreme court judge. They are Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Sanjay Karol, Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Manoj Misra.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Government is set to revolutionize its fruit industry with the introduction of High-Density Plantation (HDP) systems and the production of quality planting material. Our Jammu Correspondent reports that the Department of Horticulture in collaboration with the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture (ICAR-CITH), have come together to provide technological intervention for this new project. The goal is to make J&K a self-reliant bio-economy by harnessing the economic potential of its diversified fruit crops. This project is a game changer for the horticulture industry in the Union Territory and will help to improve the lives of farmers and increase the overall income of the region.
National School of Drama (NSD) will be organising the 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) from 14th to 26th of this month. This will be the first BRM after two years of break due to covid. The programme will be held in ten different cities across the country. Talking to the media in New Delhi, NSD Director Dr. Ramesh Chandra Gaur said that over 80 plays will be performed during the event, including folk performances, seminars, master classes and meet the directors event. He said that ten international play groups will also take part in this event.
Indian Railways has started WhatsApp communication for its passengers to order food through e-catering services with an aim to make the services more customer-centric. Passengers can use Railways' Business WhatsApp number 91-8750001323 for the purpose.
WhatsApp communication has been implemented for e-catering services on selected trains and based on customer feedback and suggestions, Railways will enable the same on other trains too.
Indian music composer Ricky Kej has won his third Grammy Award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards for his globally acclaimed album, Divine Tides with Rock-legend Stewart Copeland.
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Both Houses of Parliament have been adjourned for the day.
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