THE HEADLINES:
Discussion underway in Rajya Sabha on Women's Reservation Bill; Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar forms all-women panel of 13 Vice-Chairpersons in Upper House for today to chair the historic moment.
ISRO prepares to revive Chandrayaan 3's Lander and Rover on Moon from sleep during lunar sunrise.
Health Ministry reduces qualifying percentile for NEET PG Counselling to zero across all categories this year.
Kerala government to hold zero surveillance study on recurrence of Nipah virus in Kozhikode.
Government comes out with new set of National Awards in field of Science, Technology and Innovation to be known as Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar.
At the Asian Games, India qualify for semifinals in Women's Cricket after rain washes out quarterfinal match with Malaysia at Hangzhou in China.
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The Rajya Sabha has taken up the Women's Reservation Bill for consideration and passing. The Lok Sabha yesterday gave its nod to the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill seeking to provide one-third reservation of the total number of seats for women in Lower House and state legislative assemblies. The Bill was passed after a division of vote in which 454 MPs voted in favor of the Bill while two MPs against it. The Bill is also called Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the Bill in the Upper House today. Mr Meghwal said, 33 per cent reservation for women belonging to SCs and STs will also be provided within the existing quota and for this census and delimitation are essential.
BJP leader J P Nadda expressed confidence that the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam will pass in the Rajya Sabha unanimously.
Supporting the Bill, Congress leader Ranjeet Ranjan said that the women’s representation in the Parliament should go up.
Dola Sen of Trinamool Congress, Dr Kanimozhi Somu of DMK and Sandeep Kumar Pathak of AAP party also participated in the discussion. The discussion on the bill is underway.
Meanwhile, in a historic move, the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar constituted an all-women panel of Vice-Chairpersons in Upper House for today in view of the Women’s reservation Bill. The panel comprises 13 women Rajya Sabha Members as the Rajya Sabha is discussing the Women’s reservation Bill. The panel includes PT Usha, Jaya Bachchan, Saroj Pandey, Dola Sen, Sulata Deo and Dr. Fauzia Khan. The Chairman emphasized that their presence on the chair will send a powerful message to the world at large and it would symbolize that they held a commanding position during this epochal moment of change.
Earlier, Speaking in the Lok Sabha when House met this morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lower House will instill new energy and confidence in the women community. Mr Modi thanked all the parties for their support to ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill.
The Lok Sabha today took up a discussion on the success of Chandrayaan -3 Mission and other achievements of the nation in the Space sector. Initiating the discussion, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh said, the success of Chandrayaan-3 is a big achievement for India. He said, India has also become the first country to reach the southern pole of the Moon. Mr Singh said, most of the developed countries of the world are still continuing their efforts towards reaching the Moon.
Participating in the discussion, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor recalled the contribution of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and renowned Indian scientists Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan in the field of space science. He said, Indian space research is the only programme which primarily focussed on developmental aspects, weather forecasting, and communication. A Raja of DMK congratulated the entire scientific team involved in Chandrayaan 3 Mission. Prof. Sougata Roy of Trinamool Congress said, Chandrayaan 3 success is not the result of one individual but it the results of efforts made by several scientists during the past decades. The discussion is underway.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to revive Chandrayaan 3's Lander and Rover on the Moon from sleep during lunar sunrise. It is set to establish contact with Chandrayaan 3's Lander and Rover which were put on sleep mode after 14 days when the sun set on the Moon. When the lunar day breaks on the Moon tomorrow, the solar panels on Lander Vikram and Rover Pragyan will charge their batteries. The focus is on the Shiv Shakti point on the moon where the two payloads are asleep right now, in the South pole of the Moon. When the new dawn breaks on Moon, ISRO ground stations will try to revive the modules and on board scientific instruments after the optimum sunshine is available. This is possible if the onboard electronics withstands the extremely cold night time temperatures on Moon that drops below minus 200 degrees Celsius. In its previous stint of 14 days in August, the Lander and the Rover had transmitted crucial scientific data and observations to the ground stations. It confirmed the presence of sulphur and other minerals.
President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the first Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show in India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida today. The trade show will conclude on the 25th of this month. Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also be present on the occasion.
Over 2000 exhibitors will showcase their products across a wide spectrum of sectors, including automobiles, handicrafts, healthcare, food processing, pharmaceuticals, dairy, electronics, and e-commerce. More than five lakh visitors, including international attendees, are anticipated to attend the trade show.
The fourth G20 Infrastructure Working Group meeting under India's Presidency began at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh today. Over 50 delegates are participating in this two-day meeting. A yoga session was held this morning for the delegates of various countries. The delegates are discussing various aspects of infrastructure investments, including developing infrastructure as an asset class, promoting quality urban infrastructure, Infratech, and identifying innovative instruments for mobilising financial resources for investment towards resilient, sustainable and inclusive urban infrastructure.
The meeting is being hosted and chaired by the Ministry of Finance with Australia and Brazil as co-chairs.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has reduced the cut-off percentile for Postgraduate courses (Medical/ Dental) for NEET PG Counselling 2023. Now, the qualifying percentile has been reduced to 'zero' across all categories. This was announced in a notification issued yesterday by Medical Counselling Committee (MCC).
All candidates who appeared for the NEET PG 2023 exam will now qualify to participate in the postgraduate medical counselling rounds. Medical aspirants can check out the official notice on the official website mcc.nic.in.
MCC announced that the cut-off has been reduced to 0 from 291, out of a total of 800 marks, for the general category and 257 for the reserved category.
In Kerala, no new positive cases of Nipah virus were reported in Kozhikode district for the fourth day. State Health Minister Veena George said, the state government will hold a zero surveillance study to find out the reason for the recurrence of Nipah virus in Kozhikode. Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, the Minister said, the Indian Council for Medical Research has allowed the state to conduct Truenat tests for the diagnosis of Nipah virus. She said, the test can be held in hospitals with Level -2 biosafety facilities and positive cases can be referred to the virology labs in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode for further confirmation.
The Government has instituted a new set of National Awards in the field of Science, Technology and Innovation known as ‘Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar’ today. This award is meant to recognize the notable and inspiring contribution made by the scientists, technologists, and innovators in various fields of science, technology and technology-led innovation. The award is in four categories, which include Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, and Vigyan Team. The award shall be one of the highest recognitions in this field in India and will have the status at par with other National Awards.
The nominations for these awards will be invited every year on 14th of January till the 28th of February the National Science Day. These awards will be announced on 11th May on the National Technology Day, and the Award Ceremony will be held on 23rd August on the National Space Day every year.
In Tamil Nadu, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall over interior parts of the state today and tomorrow. The Vellore district administration declared a holiday for schools from 1st to 5th standard today due heavy rainfall.
US and Asian markets remained under pressure after Federal Reserve hinted at keeping interest rates higher for a longer time. The key domestic share indices were trading in red in the afternoon trade. The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange was down more than 600 points to trade at below 66,200. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange also fell more than 160 points to trade at below 19,800, a short while ago.
At the Asian Games, Indian athletes are in action in several disciplines at Hangzhou in China today including Football.
In Women's Cricket, India reached the semifinals after their quarterfinal match against Malaysia was called off due to rain. Smriti Mandhana-led Team India entered the Last four by virtue of better rankings over their opponent, Malaysia.
In Football, the Indian Men's team will take on Bangladesh in their second group-stage match today. India lost to Hosts China 1-5 in their first Group on Tuesday.
The Indian Women’s team will kick off their campaign at the tournament against Chinese Taipei with a group stage match. The match will start at 5 PM Indian Standard Time
Though, the 19th edition of Asian Games is set to officially kick off from Saturday, some events have already begun.
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