THE HEADLINES:
Lok Sabha passes Demand for Grants authorising expenditure of about 45 lakh crore rupees for Financial Year 2023-24 by voice vote amid din.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address One World TB Summit at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow; Also to dedicate and lay foundation stone of various projects worth more than 1,780 crore rupees.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah to chair the Regional Conference on 'Drug Trafficking and National Security' in Bengaluru tomorrow.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launches DigiClaim for disbursal of claims by farmers through National Crop Insurance Portal.
In Sports, India clinches both men's and women's titles of Asian Kho Kho Championship at Tamulpur in Assam.
And, India win a silver and a bronze medal in International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup championship at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
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The Lok Sabha today passed Demand for Grants authorising expenditure of about 45 lakh crore rupees for Financial Year 2023-24 by voice vote amid din. When the House met at 6 in the evening, Speaker Om Birla applied for the Guillotine after which the outstanding demands for grants were put to voice vote and passed. The House passed Demand for Grants and Appropriation Bill 2023 authorizing the Government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for its working as well as implementation of programmes and schemes for the fiscal beginning the 1st of April. The Appropriation Bill was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Bill was later approved by voice vote after rejecting cut motions moved by Opposition members. After that, the House was adjourned for the day.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Indian democracy and the Adani Group issue continued to disrupt the Parliament proceedings consecutively for the eighth day today. Lok Sabha was adjourned twice before the House met this evening. Rajya Sabha after the first adjournment met at 2 PM. However, the scene was no different in the Upper House. Treasury bench and Opposition members began sloganeering on their demands which led to adjournment of the House for the day.
Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has said his Ministry, National Sports Federations (NSFs) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) are working in close coordination to train Indian sportspersons for the forthcoming Asian Games scheduled to be held in September-October this year and next year’s Paris Olympics. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today, Mr Thakur said, the Government is providing all requisite support and facilities to the athletes to enable them to do their best in the forthcoming Asian Games and 2024 Olympics.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today launched DigiClaim, under the ambit of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, for claim disbursal through National Crop Insurance Portal. With the launch of a DigiClaim Module, insurance claims of over one thousand 260 crore rupees have been disbursed today to insured farmers of Six States. The States are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Haryana.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Tomar said one lakh 32 thousand crore rupees claim amount has been disbursed till date to the insured farmers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address One World TB Summit at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow. During his one day visit to his parliamentary constituency, Mr. Modi will also dedicate and lay the foundation stone of various projects worth more than 1,780 crore rupees on the occasion.
The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of the Passenger Ropeway from Varanasi Cantt station to Godowlia. This will be a unique facility for the pilgrims. A report:
India will be the third country in the world and Varanasi the first city after Bolivia and Mexico where the ropeway is used for public transport. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs. 645 crores. The ropeway system will be 3.75 km in length. The rope way will start from Varanasi Cantt station and there will be five stations, including Cantt Railway Station, Kashi Vidyapeeth, Rath Yatra, Church and Godowlia. This will facilitate ease of movement for the tourists, pilgrims and residents of Varanasi. The total distance will be covered in 16 minutes. About 150 trolley cars will run from a height of about 50 metres. A trolley, that can carry 10 passengers, will be available to the passengers at an interval of every two minutes. About 3,000 people will be able to travel in one direction in an hour. SUSHIL CHANDRA TIWARI AIR NEWS VARANASI.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the Regional Conference on 'Drug Trafficking and National Security' in Bengaluru tomorrow. During the meeting, due emphasis will be laid on aspects like ways to curtail drug trafficking through maritime routes and stringent punitive action on drug traffickers resulting in zero tolerance. Mr Shah will also oversee the destruction of nine thousand 298 Kilogram of seized drugs valued at one thousand 235 crore rupees. Representatives from five Southern States and three Union Territories will also be attending the Conference.
Union Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 31 road projects worth thirteen thousand two hundred crore rupees during his one day visit to Jharkhand. Varanasi-Ranchi Economic Corridor, double-decker elevated Corridor road project in Jamshedpur, and Bokaro-Jaina More-Gola-Ormanjhi Expressway were the few important road links under these schemes.
The Defence Ministry today signed two separate contracts with Bharat Electronics Limited at a total cost of over 3,700 crore rupees to enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Air Force. The first contract, worth over 2,800 crore rupees, pertains to the supply of Medium Power Radars ‘Arudhra’ for the Indian Air Force. The second contract, at an overall cost of around 950 crores, relates to 129 DR-118 Radar Warning Receivers. These essentially embody the spirit of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and will help facilitate the realisation of the country’s journey to achieve self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
The Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswarean has underlined the need to counter global challenges through global cooperation. Delivering the keynote address at an event of G20 at IIT Madras this evening, he highlighted some of the issues like strengthening Multilateral Development Banks to enable them to address both new trans-boundary challenges and existing development challenges.
All India Radio is presenting a vignette of select quotes of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 'Mann Ki Baat' as the programme completes its 100th episode in April this year. Today, in the 18th episode, let’s listen to the excerpts of 'Mann ki Baat' through which the Prime Minister shared his feelings and appealed to the people to make India a much sought after tourist destination.
People, voice and direct dialogue, that’s your and our Mann Ki Baat... Yes, this is how our Prime Minister connects with millions of countrymen, with the program Mann Ki Baat aired on the last Sunday of every month on All India Radio. This series which started on October 3, 2014 will complete its 100th episode in April, 2023. Be it nature's beauty or our rich cultural legacy, our country is replete with diversities. There are places of worship and faith, ancient palaces and monuments, amazing cultural masterpieces of arts and crafts which should be thronged by the tourists from all over the world. But it is France that holds the records of attracting the highest number of tourists from the world over. Be it national or international tourists, they all contribute to the growth of our economy. And perhaps it was for this reason that the Prime Minster in the Mann ki Baat episode broadcast on 27th March 2016, in his message, stressed on the need to promote tourism in the country.
A Surat Court in Gujarat today convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his Modi surname remarks. The Court also announced a 2-year jail term as quantum of punishment to him. Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma, however, granted bail to Mr Gandhi and suspended the sentence for 30 days, to allow him to appeal in a higher court. BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had filed the case against the Congress leader for his alleged remarks. Rahul Gandhi made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As a result of the judgement, Rahul Gandhi might lose his membership as an MP and Wayanad Parliamentary constituency may witness a by-poll. Reacting to the Court order, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should take today's Surat Court judgement on a defamation case as a lesson that words hurt more than weapons. Talking to a media agency, Mr Singh said everyone should learn from this incident not to cross the line while speaking in public.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today carried out searches and raids at the residences of eight suspects in the ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ case of July 2022. The search operation, spread across three States, included four locations in Maharashtra’s Nagpur. According to an official press release, NIA has found incriminating materials, including digital devices like mobile phones and memory cards and documents, that have been seized.
Last year, the NIA arrested a Pakistani national, Marghoob Ahmad Danish, who had created ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ groups on different social media platforms. The members of this group were being radicalised with the aim to convert them into ‘Sleeper Cells’ for carrying out terrorist activities.
A chargesheet has already been filed in this case even as further investigations continue.
J&K Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said today, if more journalists are found indulging in militancy or sympathising with terrorists they will not be spared and action will be taken as per the law. He said, the border security grid is also tightened and some police posts are also raised in border areas. The DGP said, Pakistan is trying to smuggle drugs and ammunition into this side of the border. DGP Dilbagh Singh was talking to media persons on the sidelines of the Police Martyrs Memorial T-20 Cricket Championship final match held at Sports Stadium Kathua.
In Mizoram, Assam Rifles and custom personnel have recovered a huge cache of contraband drugs worth over 390 crore rupees. According to the Assam Rifles, the operation was jointly carried out by the Serchhip battalion of 23 sector Assam Rifles and the Customs Department yesterday at Ruantlang in the Champhai district. In the operation, they recovered 39 lakh tablets of illegal Triprolidine HCL and Pseudoephedrine HCL Tablets from the possession of a suspected man.
Hosts India clinched both men's and women's titles of the Asian Kho Kho Championship held at Tamulpur in Assam. In the women's category, Indian Eves defeated Nepal by an inning and 33 points. On the other hand, the men's team too continued its brilliant form and defeated Nepal by an inning and six points. India remained unbeaten in both categories throughout the tournament. A total of nine countries participated in the event.
India won a silver and a bronze while China retained its top spot by winning two gold medals on the second day of the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup championship at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. The finals of the 10-metre air rifle men's and women's categories will be held on Friday.
In Boxing, Star pugilist Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain and Nitu Ghanghas have entered the finals in the Women's World Boxing Championships being held in New Delhi, assuring India of three Silver medals at least.
Nikhat overpowered Colombia's Ingrid Valencia to reach the final of the 50kg category.
Earlier, Nitu Ghanghas also advanced to the final after beating Kazhakhstan's Alua Balkibekova after a split decision.
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