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HEADLINES
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Government gives nod to enhance security deployment at all Central government hospitals by 25 per cent; A committee headed by DG Health Services to look into aspects of hospital security and facilities.
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviews performance of public sector banks; Asks banks to make efforts for deposit mobilization, credit growth and good customer relations.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi to embark on a three-day visit to Poland and Ukraine from Wednesday.
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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with his Nepalese counterpart; Says, Nepal will export 1,000 MW electricity to India.
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India and Japan to hold third 2+2 Dialogue in New Delhi tomorrow to advance strategic partnership.
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The Government has allowed enhancement of security deployment by 25 per cent at all Central government hospitals. Official Sources said that apart from the standard security protocol, the deployment of marshals would also be approved based on individual demands by government hospitals. The sources, however, said that bringing a central law based on the Kolkata hospital case will not make any big difference as the alleged rape and murder of the junior doctor was not a case of patient-doctor violence.
Resident doctors are protesting in different parts of the country demanding a central law after the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in a hospital in Kolkata.
26 States and Union Territories including West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana and Kerala have passed legislations to protect healthcare personnel. These offences are cognisable and non-bailable.
The Officials said that they have held meetings with some Residents Doctors’ Associations and have explained these aspects to them.
A committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of Director General Health Services to look into various aspects of security and facilities at hospitals for residents like duty room and working hours.
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West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has sent a communique to the authorities of all the medical colleges and hospitals across the state, directing them to beef up security on their premises. The Governor also directed the hospital authorities to ensure that women doctors and paramedics are provided adequate protection.
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Resident doctors and medical students staged protests in the National Capital today against the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata. Doctors from AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Maulana Azad Medical College, Northern Railway Central Hospital, and other institutions staged protests near Nirman Bhawan in Delhi and demanded justice in the matter. The protesting doctors are also calling for a security act to protect healthcare workers and institutions across the nation.
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The Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr.L.Murugan has said that the State Governments have a responsibility in protecting the doctors who are serving the society selflessly. Referring to the Kolkata incident,in an interaction with the media at Akashwani Chennai today, the Minister said that State Governments are bound to act in a responsible manner when it comes to the security of doctors as per the guidelines given by the Union Government.
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The BJP has demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the alleged rape and murder of a medical student in Kolkata. Briefing media in New Delhi, party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that the deeds of Mamata Banerjee have destroyed the dignity of women, rule of law and evidence in the heinous crime. Mr Bhatia also alleged that her acts of commission and omission have destroyed the evidence which are vital to ensure that the accused get the punishment they deserve which is death penalty.
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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today reviewed the performance of Public Sector Banks at a meeting in New Delhi. During the meeting, Ms Sitharaman reviewed deposit growth, the credit-to-deposit ratio, and asset quality. The Finance Minister also evaluated the performance of Public Sector Banks under government initiatives such as PM Awas Yojana, PM Surya Ghar and PM Vishwakarma scheme.
During deliberations on the deposit mobilisation, Ms Sitharaman stated that while the credit growth has picked up, mobilisation of deposits could further be improved to fund the credit growth sustainably. She asked banks to make concerted efforts to garner deposits by conducting special drives. The Finance Minister also advised Public Sector Banks to have better relationships with their customers for efficient customer service delivery. She also urged Banks to ensure that employees reach out to connect with their customers, especially in Rural and Semi-urban areas.
The Union Finance Minister advised that issues of cyber security should be seen from a systemic perspective and emphasised that a collaborative approach between banks, Government, regulators and security agencies is needed to put in place necessary mitigants against cyber-risks.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also chaired a review meeting of Regional Rural Banks RRBs in New Delhi today.
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In Jammu and Kashmir a Central Reserve Police Force officer was killed after terrorists attacked a CRPF patrol party in Udhampur district this afternoon. In Cheel area of Ramnagar tehsil of Udhampur district, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on the patrol party of CRPF 187 battalion in which one CRPF inspector was killed. The terrorists fired about 30 to 40 rounds on the patrolling party. The area has been cordoned off and massive searches launched to track the terrorists.
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The Central Bureau of Investigation- CBI has arrested four accused including a manager of Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh in a bribery and corruption case. It has also recovered around four crore rupees in cash during the searches from the accused manager’s residence. The agency said that the amount was allegedly amassed from several contractors and officials in lieu of favours for their operations in NCL, Singrauli.
The investigating agency said that the one of accused was running a farm in Madhya Pradesh and allegedly acting as a middleman between various contractors, businessmen and several officials of NLC, and delivering bribes to them.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a three day visit to Poland and Ukraine from Wednesday. Briefing media in New Delhi this evening, Secretary (West) in Ministry of External Affairs Tanmay Lal said, it is a landmark visit as the Prime Minister of India is visiting Poland after 45 years. He said, the visit is taking place at a time when both nations are marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Secretary said, in Warsaw, Mr Modi will hold talks with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk and will call on President Andrzej Duda.
Mr Lal said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake an official visit to Ukraine on 23rd of this month on the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said, it is also a landmark and a historic visit since this will be the first time an Indian Prime Minister will be visiting Ukraine in more than 30 years since the diplomatic relations were established. The visit will build upon the recent high-level interactions between both the leaders.
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The External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today held talks with his Nepalese counterpart Arzu Rana Deuba in New Delhi. The two leaders discussed multifaceted bilateral cooperation including in the area of energy, trade, connectivity and infrastructure development. In a social media post, Dr Jaishankar expressed happiness that Nepal will be exporting close to one thousand Mega Watt of electricity to India. The External Affairs Minister said, India’s Neighbourhood First policy and unique people-to-people and cultural connect propels the relationship forward. Nepalese Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba arrived in New Delhi yesterday on a five-day visit to India. In a statement, the External Affairs Ministry said, this visit aligns with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two neighbouring countries. The Ministry said that Nepal is a priority partner of India in its Neighbourhood First policy.
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India and Japan will hold 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi tomorrow. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms Yoko Kamikawa will take part in the meeting. On the sidelines of the 2+2 dialogue, a bilateral meeting is scheduled between the Defence Minister and his Japanese counterpart.
During the bilateral talks and 2+2 meeting, the Ministers will review the bilateral cooperation and explore new initiatives to further strengthen the engagements between the two countries. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The Defence Ministry said, India and Japan share ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ based on the shared values of democracy, freedom and rule of law. The Ministry said that defence has emerged as one of the most important pillars in this relationship. Strengthened India-Japan defence partnership is vital for ensuring a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific in the prevailing global environment.
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Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim will arrive in New Delhi tonight on a three day visit to India . This will be his first visit as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. The External Affairs Ministry said, Prime Minister of Malaysia will hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow. During his visit, he will also meet President Droupadi Murmu and the External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar.
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Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi today chaired a high-level meeting focusing on the ongoing transformational initiatives by the Indian Army and its contribution towards achieving the objective of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The Ministry of Defence in statement said that the Indian Army’s focus will be on modernization of all combat arms, combat support arms and the logistic units. Discussions were also held on enhancing joint operations and integration between the Army, Navy and Air Force to face the future challenges of warfare.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with the Indian contingent which will participate in the Paris Paralympics beginning on the 28th of this month. During the interaction which was held through video conferencing, Mr Modi said, the athletes are going to Paris as flagbearers of India.
The Prime Minister said, when an athlete reaches such a big stage in any sport, it reflects a story of courage, dedication, and sacrifice.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, this time, India is sending its biggest-ever contingent to participate in Paralympics. He said, 84 talented Indian athletes will represent India in Paris Paralympics 2024.
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Domestic Stock Indices, Sensex and Nifty ended flat in a lacklustre trading session today. The session began positive, with the Sensex opening at 80,680 and Nifty at 24,636 but trading remained range-bound throughout the day. At the close the BSE Sensex shed 12 points, or 0.02 percent to close at 80,425. However, the NSE Nifty added 32 points, or 0.13 percent to settle at 24,573.
At 7 :05 PM In the Indian Bullion Market, 24 Karat Gold was trading at 71,430 Rupees per 10 Grams, and Silver was trading at 84,190 Rupees per KG.
In the Global Crude Market, Brent Crude was trading at 79 dollars and 12 cents per barrel, when report last came in.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Blinken is on a three-day visit to Egypt and Israel to continue US diplomatic efforts to conclude the agreement for a ceasefire with Hamas. The visit is focused on the release of hostages and detainees through the bridging proposal presented by the United States, with support from Egypt and Qatar.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
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Government gives nod to enhance security deployment at all Central government hospitals by 25 per cent; A committee headed by DG Health Services to look into aspects of hospital security and facilities.
-
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviews performance of public sector banks; Asks banks to make efforts for deposit mobilization, credit growth and good customer relations.
-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to embark on a three-day visit to Poland and Ukraine from Wednesday.
-
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with his Nepalese counterpart; Says, Nepal will export 1,000 MW electricity to India.
-
India and Japan to hold third 2+2 Dialogue in New Delhi tomorrow to advance strategic partnership.