THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister holds a meeting with Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of BJP ruled States in New Delhi; Reviews implementation of social welfare schemes.
- Mr. Narendra Modi reaffirms India's support to Afghanistan in fighting all forms of terrorism.
- A special day-long session of the Bihar Assembly convened today to consider State Good and Services Tax Bill.
- Delhi police grills AIADMK(Amma) leader TTV Dhinakaran for the second day over his alleged attempt to bribe an Election Commission official.
- Second round of voting for French Presidential polls to be held on the 7th of next month as no candidate secures 50 percent votes in the first round.
- And In Sports: Haryana beat Kerala to win team championship at National Youth Athletics Meet in Hyderabad.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of the BJP ruled States in New Delhi yesterday. The Prime Minister and the BJP President Amit Shah briefed the meeting. Top Union Ministers including Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu and Sushma Swaraj also attended the meet. Here is more from our correspondent :
"During the meeting, the Chief Ministers of 13 BJP-ruled states gave presentations on the work done by their governments, especially in the implementation of social welfare schemes. They also gave a detailed presentation on models applied by their governments to get feedback from people on the efficacy of their schemes, including the centrally sponsored schemes. Party ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay’s concept of Antyodaya seemed to be the theme at the meeting. The Chief Ministers also spoke about their government's use of traditional and social media to inform people about its initiatives. The meeting is considered as part of the drive to ensure that the governance agenda dominates public discourse and trumps opposition parties attack on the government over a host of issues. This was the second such meeting of all BJP-ruled Chief Ministers with Prime Minister since the Government in Centre came to power in 2014. A similar exercise was held in August last year. WITH ANAND KUMAR, ANUPAM MISHRA, AIR NEWS, DELHI."
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The Prime Minister has written to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and reaffirmed India's steadfast support to Afghanistan in fighting all forms of terrorism. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay said that Mr Modi also offered all possible assistance for those injured in the Mazar-i-Sharif terrorist attack on Friday in which more than a 100 Afghan soldiers were killed and many others injured. In a series of tweets, Mr Baglay said, the Prime Minister expressed faith that Afghan people and the security forces will overcome all forces against unity, peace, security, stability and prosperity of Afghanistan. In his letter to Afghan President, Mr Modi also conveyed his condolences for those killed in the barbaric terrorist attack.
On Saturday, India condemned the terror attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan, saying it was a stark reminder of the need to immediately dismantle safe havens sustaining terrorism from outside the country's borders.
On Saturday, India condemned the terror attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan, saying it was a stark reminder of the need to immediately dismantle safe havens sustaining terrorism from outside the country's borders.
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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister in New Delhi today. She is expected to discuss with Mr Modi the prevailing situation in the state and the way forward.
The Chief Minister's meeting with the Prime Minister is also taking place against the backdrop of recent bypoll to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency which witnessed large scale violence and the lowest turnout ever.
Meanwhile, the BJP has said there were no differences between coalition partners in Jammu and Kashmir and the state government was working well. State BJP unit chief Sat Sharma told reporters in Jammu that everyone is performing his or her task in this regard. He said that the Chief Minister is engaged in daily work and so are the ministers and the Deputy Chief Minister.
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The high-stakes Delhi municipal polls yesterday saw a voter turnout of 53.58 per cent that surpassed the 2012 figure of 53.43. A senior State Election Commission official said, the final tally of votes came late last night, as a ward in south Delhi witnessed extremely brisk voting late in the evening. While the male vote share stood at 54.04 per cent, the figure for women was pegged at 53.02. Counting will take place on Wednesday. Polling was held in 270 of the 272 wards of the three municipal corporations. The election to two wards has been postponed due to the death of candidates.
Exit polls has predicted that the BJP could be headed for a landslide victory in the Delhi municipal polls. Two exit polls predicted that the party finishing way ahead of the AAP and the Congress with over 200 of the 270 wards.
Exit polls has predicted that the BJP could be headed for a landslide victory in the Delhi municipal polls. Two exit polls predicted that the party finishing way ahead of the AAP and the Congress with over 200 of the 270 wards.
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The News Services Division of All India Radio in its weekly bilingual live phone-in programme “PUBLIC SPEAK” will bring you a discussion tonight on “Chunavo mein VVPAT ka upyog” ( चुनावों में वीवीपीएटी केउपयोग). This can be heard on FM Gold Channel and additional frequencies from 9.30 p.m. Listeners can ask questions to the experts sitting in our Studio on Toll Free Telephone No: 1800-115767. You can also ask questions on telephone number: 011: 2331-4444 and post queries on our Twitter handle @airnews alerts by #tag Askair. This programme is also available on Doordarshan DTH.
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Bihar Legislature has been convened today to pass the Bihar Goods and Services Tax bill, 2017, along with the Bihar Taxation (Amendment) bill, 2017, for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax regime from the 1st the of July this year. GST, the single tax regime will replace multiple state and central taxes to create one national market.
The Bihar edition of the GST related bills are being taken up subsequent to the passage by Parliament earlier this month of four bills related to the new tax system, namely, the Central GST; the integrated GST; the GST (Compensation to States) and the Union Territory GST bill.
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In Jharkhand, eight persons, including seven children, were killed and 60 others injured as the bus they were traveling in overturned at a sharp bend on Pithoria-Patratu road near Ranchi. Ranchi SP said, the victims were all residents of Nagri in Kanke. They were on their way to attend a marriage in Patratu when the mishap occurred. The injured have been admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has announced an ex-gratia of one lakh rupees each to the bereaved families and 20,000 each to the injured.
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AIADMK (Amma) leader TTV Dhinakaran was grilled by the police for 11 hours yesterday over his alleged attempt to bribe an Election Commission official for retaining the 'two leaves' party symbol and the related money trail. Police officials said that Dhinakaran, who was quizzed for the second consecutive day, had reached the Crime Branch Inter State Cell office in Chanakyapuri around 2 PM, while the questioning came to an end only around 1 AM. On Saturday, he was quizzed for close to seven hours. He had come under scanner after the arrest of alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar. Dhinakaran, however, has maintained that he does not know Sukesh and has never met him.
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In France, voting for the second round of the Presidential election will be held on May the 7th as no candidate has secured 50 per cent votes in the first phase. Now, the two highest vote takers, far-right populist candidate Marine Le Pen and Centrist political novice Emmanuel Macron will contest the second phase poll. Here is more from our correspondent :"The French presidential election is a two-stage process. As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in round one, the contest now goes to a run-off. The winner of that contest will be the next President of France. Centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are set to face each other in a run off for the French presidency on the 7th of May. According to multiple projections, in first round of voting, Macron came first, while Le Pen was second. For the first time in the history of France two mainstream parties, the Socialists and the Republicans that dominated French politics for 60 years, failed to make it to the final round. Le Pen vowed to defend France against rampant globalisation. While Macron vowed to battle the "threat of nationalists. The final outcome on May 7 will influence France's standing in Europe and the world as a nuclear-armed, veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council. VASUNDHRA, AIR NEWS, DELHI."
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The fourth round of talks between India and Sri Lanka to finalise the proposed Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) is beginning today in New Delhi. An official delegation from Sri Lanka is in Delhi to have talks with their counterparts in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The three- day talks will take forward the negotiations held in the earlier rounds towards finalization of the agreement. ETCA seeks to expand the scope of trade to services and technology sector with a Free trade agreement already existing between the two countries.
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Britain's immigration officials have detained 38 Indians, including nine women, for overstaying their visas or working illegally after conducting raids in two clothing factories in the city of Leicester. The UK Home Office Immigration Enforcement team raided two firms in the city in the East Midlands region of England last week and held 38 Indians and one Afghan man.
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Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari begins a five day two nation tour to Armenia and Poland from this afternoon. During the visit, Mr. Ansari will hold talks with top leaders of the two countries on a wide range of issues. Here are the details:
"The aim of Vice President's visit to Eurasian country Armenia and Eastern Europe nation Poland is to develop cooperation and partnership in the region and gain their support on international forums like United Nations and Nuclear Suppliers Group. On his first leg of journey, Mr. Ansari will reach Yerevan where he will hold talks with the Armenian President, the Prime Minister and also the Foreign Minister. Vice President's visit to Armenia comes at a time when India is celebrating its Silver Jubilee of diplomatic relationship with the country. On the 2nd part of his visit, Vice President will reach Warsaw on Wednesday and will hold discussions with the Polish President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Senate. MEEQAT HASHMI FOR AIR NEWS, DELHI."
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"Haryana beat arch rivals Kerala after six years to win the team championship at the National Youth Athletics Meet, which concluded in Hyderabad yesterday. Haryana emerged champions with overall 166.5 points including girls and boys performance.
In a IPL cricket match in Kolkata last night, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 82 runs. In a dramatic finish to the game, chasing a paltry target of 132 runs, Royal Challengers Bangalore collapsed to 49, the lowest total in the history of IPL. In another IPL fixture yesterday, Kings XI Punjab defeated Gujarat Lions by 26 runs at Rajkot. Today, Mumbai Indians will take on Rising Pune Supergiants at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The match will start at 8 pm.
In Tennis, Rafael Nadal has won the Monte Carlo Masters title for a record-breaking 10th time. In the final at Monte Carlo, Monaco, yesterday, he defeated his Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Earlier, India's Rohan Bopanna and his Uruguayan partner Pablo Cuevas lifted the men's doubles crown at the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco.THIS IS V RAVI KUMAR FROM THE SPORTS DESK."
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NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES:
- The NITI Aayog meeting and MCD election dominate the front pages of almost all papers.
- "PM calls states Team India" is the Pioneer headline. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upon Chief Ministers to speed up capital expenditure, and infrastructure creation to spur economic growth.
- The Indian Express leads with the headlines " Mehbooba asks PM to reach out to Kashmiri students , PM backs appeal."
- The Times of India headlines reads "PM backs January -December Fiscal year".
- "MCD polls- half of Delhi did not care" is The DNA headline saying that senior citizens outnumbered young voters. Also, the posh areas of the capital elicited lukewarm response.
- The Business Standard reports that UK has emerged as a popular destination this summer for Indian tourists as a weak pound has made travel 15 percent cheaper over last year.
- Now, passports can be applied for online, in Hindi also, India's cleanest river Narmada facing existential crisis, 300 whats-app groups used to mobilize stone pelters in Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu farmers suspending protest at Jantar Mantar after 40 days are some of the stories covered by newspapers.
- Blood donation is a great thing but, over 2.8 million units of blood & its components, a good 6 per cent of blood collected was discarded, over the last 5 years, exposing serious loopholes in the system, reports The Times of India.
- And finally, the Hindu introduces us to a collector Devajit Bandhyopadhyay from Kolkata who has, as a private collection- 500 pieces of memorabilia, 40 musical instruments, 20,000 books and manus and 24,000 records of Indian and Western music.
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