Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation for several major development projects in Delhi today, with a combined value exceeding Rs 12,200 crore. The projects are expected to significantly enhance regional connectivity, improve infrastructure, and provide a boost to the local economy. At approximately 12:15 PM, the Prime Minister will kickstart the launch by inaugurating a key stretch of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Namo Bharat Corridor. The 13 km section, linking Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar, is worth an estimated Rs 4,600 crore. This new corridor marks a historic moment for Delhi as it will offer the city its first Namo Bharat connectivity, providing high-speed and reliable travel between Delhi and Meerut. The project will undoubtedly benefit millions of commuters by easing their daily journeys and ensuring a safer, more comfortable travel experience. At around 11:15 AM, PM Modi will also ride the Namo Bharat Train from Sahibabad RRTS Station to New Ashok Nagar RRTS Station, further showcasing the capabilities of this cutting-edge transportation project. The inauguration of the 2.8 km stretch of the Delhi Metro Phase-IV, between Janakpuri and Krishna Park, is another highlight of today’s events. This Rs 1,200 crore stretch is the first section of the much-awaited Phase-IV expansion of the Delhi Metro, providing improved connectivity to West Delhi, including Krishna Park, parts of Vikaspuri, and Janakpuri. This expansion will greatly benefit the locals, offering quicker and more efficient transportation across the city. Additionally, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for the 26.5 km Rithala-Kundli stretch of Delhi Metro Phase-IV, valued at Rs 6,230 crore. This project will connect Rithala in Delhi to Nathupur (Kundli) in Haryana, thus enhancing connectivity across the north-western regions of Delhi and Haryana. Areas such as Rohini, Bawana, Narela, and Kundli will be the primary beneficiaries of this project, improving accessibility to residential, commercial, and industrial zones. The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation for a new state-of-the-art building for the Central Ayurveda Research Institute (CARI) in Rohini, New Delhi. The Rs 185 crore project will offer advanced healthcare and medical research infrastructure, enhancing the delivery of integrated healthcare services. The facility will house several key departments, including the Administrative Block, OPD Block, IPD Block, and a dedicated Treatment Block, ensuring an exceptional experience for both patients and researchers. These initiatives reflect the government's ongoing commitment to modernising the nation’s infrastructure and improving quality of life for its citizens. As per ANI reports, the inauguration and laying of foundations for these crucial projects signal a new era of development and growth for Delhi and its surrounding areas (With inputs from ANI)
05 January,2025 11:46 AM IST | MumbaiA thick blanket of fog shrouded Delhi for the third successive morning on Sunday, disrupting transportation and leading to delays in 51 trains, officials reported. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that visibility was reduced to zero at several locations, affecting daily routines across the national capital. According to the Met office, zero visibility was recorded at Palam Airport between 4 am and 7:30 am, marking another significant disruption after a nine-hour zero visibility spell at the same location on Saturday. Safdarjung Airport also reported drastically reduced visibility of just 0.50 metres around 5:30 am. By 7:30 am, general visibility at both Palam and Safdarjung airports remained virtually non-existent due to the persistent very dense fog. Delhi’s air quality continued to pose serious health risks, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) standing at 372 at 9 am, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). An AQI value in this range falls under the 'very poor' category, signifying significant adverse effects on health, particularly for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, and those with respiratory conditions. For reference, AQI values between 301 and 400 are classified as 'very poor,' while readings exceeding 400 fall into the 'severe' category. Persistent fog and low wind speeds have contributed to the high concentration of air pollutants, worsening conditions for residents. The minimum temperature in the city settled at 9.4 degrees Celsius, two degrees above the season's average, while the humidity level soared to 95% by 8:30 am. The Met department has predicted that the dense to very dense fog will likely persist throughout the day. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 18 degrees Celsius, providing little respite from the cold and hazy conditions. In addition to train delays, the reduced visibility has significantly impacted road travel, with vehicles moving cautiously to navigate the dense fog. Authorities have advised travellers to plan their journeys with delays in mind and to follow safety protocols. Delhi residents are urged to take precautions, particularly while stepping outdoors in light of the combination of very poor air quality and foggy conditions. The weather department has also highlighted that these conditions are likely to persist in the coming days, further emphasising the need for vigilance. AS PER PTI, the persistent foggy weather has disrupted normal life in Delhi, exacerbating transportation issues and raising health concerns due to declining air quality.
05 January,2025 11:21 AM IST | New DelhiQuality education cannot be achieved through privatisation and financial incentives, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Saturday, underlining the importance of governments spending more on education and strengthening public institutions. In a conversation with IIT Madras students held sometime back, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha talked on a host of issues including on the changes he would want to initiate to improve the education system. "I believe it is one of the foremost responsibilities of any government to guarantee quality education to its people. This cannot be achieved through privatisation and financial incentives. "We need to spend a lot more money on education and strengthening government institutions," he said in a post on X, while sharing an edited video of his conversation with the students. On his WhatsApp channel, he said they discussed discuss "redefining success and reimagining education in India". "Our conversation centered on empowering students to explore paths beyond traditional careers, encouraging them to embrace innovation and pursue their passions. By prioritising fairness, fostering research, nurturing creativity, and driving production, we can position India as a true global leader. Their insightful perspectives made this dialogue deeply inspiring and hopeful for the future." Asked by the students how the Congress and the BJP are different in terms of how they operate, he said the Congress and UPA generally believe that the resources should be distributed more fairly and growth should be wider and inclusive. The BJP, he said, is more aggressive on growth. "They believe in what in economic terms is 'triple-down'. On the social front, we feel that the more harmonious society is, the less people are fighting, the better it is for the country. "On the international relations front, there are probably some differences with regards to the way we relate to other countries but it will be similar," he said. On how to promote higher education, he said, a country needs to guarantee quality education to its people. "I don't think that the best way to guarantee quality education to our people is to privatise everything. Frankly, when you bring some sort of financial incentive into the game, you don't actually give quality education. "I have said this many a times that the best institutions in our country are government institutions, yours being one of them. I argue for much more money being spent in education by governments," he told the IIT Madras students. Gandhi said he has "serious problems" in the way the country's education system is set up. "I don't think our education system allows the imagination of our children to thrive". "You might not agree with me. I think it is a very restrictive, top down system... It is very narrow," he said. Gandhi said that during his Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, he talked to thousands of children and asked them what they wanted to become. They said they wanted to become a lawyer, doctor, engineer or an army soldier, he told the students. "It can't be that there are only five things to do in this country. But that's what our system is pushing," he said, noting that the country's education system measures success only if one becomes an engineer or a doctor, or join the IAS/IPS or get into the forces, "which is just one percent or two percent of our population and 90 percent of our population is never going to do this". He said the system should allow kids to do what they want and allow them to experience and do multiple things. "Our education system disregards many things, it undervalues many professions and overvalues these four or five professions. So those are the types of things that I would like to change," he said. On the international front, he said, the single most important thing going forward is how India balances China and America. "In a situation, where the two superpowers are going head to head, we have a balancing equation, a balancing ability....So India is in a space where it can get quite a lot more than its power would give it. So if India intelligently navigates through this thing, without getting stuck or without making a major mistake, then we might benefit from it," Gandhi said. Noting that the country's education system is a very hierarchical structure, he said its traditional system focusses on introspection, looking inside, and self observation. Gandhi favoured pushing children for innovation, saying it can only come if they actually start production and their skill is respected and investment is made in it. "One of the things that I want to push is moving more into the physical production space. To me, real innovation comes from that space. Put as much money you want in R&D, if you are not actually producing the thing, it will just be a budget," Gandhi said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 January,2025 09:04 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIAn ISKCON temple employee tasked with collecting money donated by devotees has fled with lakhs of rupees along with a receipt book, officials said on Saturday. "An FIR was filed by the temple's Chief Finance Officer Vishwa Nam Das late on Friday night," Superintendent of Police (City) Arvind Kumar said. He said Das had given an application to SSP Shailesh Kumar Pandey on December 27, informing about the alleged theft. A primary investigation was conducted after which the FIR was lodged. Temple PRO Ravi Lochan Das said Murlidhar Das' job was to collect the donated money and deposit it with the temple authorities time to time. "After scrutiny, it will be known exactly how much money he has deposited in the temple," he said. According to the FIR, Murlidhar Das, son of Nimai Chand Yadav, is a resident of Sriram Colony, Rauganj Vasa in MP's Indore. Police said that along with the money, he also fled with a receipt book containing 32 sheets. The PRO said earlier too a person named Saurav had fled with donation money as well as a receipt book. He died before they could be recovered. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 January,2025 09:02 AM IST | Mathura | PTIDelhi Police have arrested a 23-year-old man who allegedly scammed over 700 women after befriending them on dating applications by posing as a US-based model, officials said on Saturday. The cyber police station of West district arrested Tushar Bisht on charges of exploiting online platforms such as Bumble and Snapchat to lure his victims, blackmail them using private photos and videos, and extort money, a statement issued by Delhi Police said. “Posing as a US-based freelance model, the accused created fake identities using a virtual international mobile number and photographs of a Brazilian model,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Vichitra Veer, said in the statement. Bisht used the fake profiles to connect with women aged between 18 and 30 years on various online dating platforms. “His primary targets were users of Bumble, Snapchat and WhatsApp,” the statement said. The DCP said Bisht gained his victims' trust by engaging in conversations, and convinced them to share private and intimate images and videos. “Once he obtained the content, he resorted to blackmail, threatening to leak the sensitive material online, or sell them to dark web unless the victims paid him,” the DCP said. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused interacted with over 500 women on Bumble and 200 others on Snapchat and WhatsApp, police said. The accused's mobile phone contained incriminating evidence, including objectionable data of victims, a virtual mobile number, and details of financial transactions involving extortion. The police also seized 13 credit cards linked to various banks, the statement said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 January,2025 07:16 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesA Bengaluru Court on Saturday granted bail to the wife, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law of techie Atul Subhash, who died by suicide in December 2024. Nikita Singhania (wife), Nisha Singhania (mother-in-law) and Anurag Singhania (brother-in-law) received bail on Saturday. Subhash, 34, an Uttar Pradesh resident, reportedly faced nine cases, including the charges of murder, unnatural sex and dowry harassment, alleged that the harassment by his estranged wife Nikita Singhania and her family drove him to die by suicide in December last year. The wife was arrested from Gurugram, while her mother and brother were nabbed from Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj for abetting to the deceased’s suicide, a Bengaluru Police official had said in December 2024. Subhash got married in 2019 after meeting Singhania on a matrimonial website. The couple had a son in 2020. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 January,2025 07:16 AM IST | Bengaluru | AgenciesAfter fresh violence erupted in Manipur, the Congress on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he could not escape the constitutional culpability of not following “rajdharma”. In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the BJP had some vested interest in keeping the border state on the boil. “The BJP is the matchstick which burnt Manipur!” he said in his post. He also shared a screengrab of a news report about the latest violence. The Congress chief said in the post, “Narendra Modi ji, your last visit to Manipur was for seeking votes for the BJP, way back in January 2022. Violence erupted in the state on May 3, 2023.” “More than 600 days have passed, and media reports through satellite images have now revealed that villages after villages have been wiped off in the state,” he added. Kharge said fresh violence was witnessed recently when a mob attacked the Kangpokpi district superintendent of police, resulting in injuries. “Your incompetent and shameless chief minister has expressed regret but has conveniently brazened out your absence in the state,” he alleged. “We are repeating with utmost responsibility that the BJP has some vested interest to keep the beautiful border state on the boil, with more than 250 innocent deaths and 60,000 being displaced. People are still living in camps for 20 months,” Kharge claimed. Even the Supreme Court has said it was the primary responsibility of the Union and the state governments to ensure peace and normalcy, the Congress president noted. “On December 6, INDIA (bloc) parties in Manipur had made three specific and simple requests to you. Visit Manipur before 2024 ends, but you did NOT. Call representatives of all political parties at your office in Delhi, but you HAVEN’T. Involve yourself directly in Manipur, but it DOES NOT seem that you have,” he said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 January,2025 07:16 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesThe Digital Personal Data Protection Rules drafted by the government create a balance between regulation and innovation while protecting citizens' rights, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. The government has issued draft rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act on Friday for public consultation till February 18. “Rules have to be within four walls of the Act. It is within the ambit of the Act passed by Parliament. These rules have been framed to ensure a balance between regulation and innovation while completely safeguarding the rights of citizens,” Vaishnaw told PTI in an interview. He said extensive consultation has been held with the industry and a digital office is being put in place for registration of complaints, their handling and adjudication. The minister said the final rules will be placed before Parliament in the Monsoon Session and all entities handling data digitally will get two years to adapt their system and comply with the law. “All entities covered under the Act will have to review existing consent after the rules are in place,” Vaishnaw said. He said the rules may be improvised based on the experience of the new data regime. “As far as possible, minimum prescription has been kept in the rules to ensure simple implementation of the Act. The rules have carefully addressed the large harm that the digital world may pose to the privacy of people, especially that of children,” Vaishnaw said. The Digital Personal Data Protection draft rules specify that a parent's verifiable consent will have to be obtained by social media or online platforms before children can create an account. “We have also kept graded penalties to protect the interests of MSMEs. It is to save businesses that may be running using a single computer. However, Big Techs have higher obligations under the rules...,” Vaishnaw said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 January,2025 07:16 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesThe Jharkhand government on Saturday announced that schools will remain closed for students from kindergarten to class 8 from January 7 to 13 due to the cold wave in the state. The School Education and Literacy Department, in a notification issued on Saturday evening, announced that the suspension of classes for students till grade 8 will be for all categories of schools, including government, aided, minority and private, in view of prevailing cold wave conditions in the state. Jharkhand continues to reel under cold wave conditions with the mercury falling below 6 degrees Celsius in some parts. The department, in the notification, further said that classes for students of classes 9 to 12 would be held as usual. Dry weather prevailed in the state during the last 24 hours with the lowest minimum temperature of 5.3 degrees Celsius recorded in Khunti, it said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 11:10 PM IST | Ranchi | PTIAn encounter broke out between security personnel and Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Saturday, a senior police official said. The gunfight started at around 6 pm in the forest of south Abujhmaad along the border of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts when a joint team of security personnel was carrying out an anti-Naxalite operation, he said. Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard from four districts and a Special Task Force are involved in the operation, he said. The intermittent exchange of fire was still underway, he said, adding that further details are awaited. Considered a Maoist bastion until recently, security forces have neutralised many Naxalites in Abujhmaad in the past few months. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 11:05 PM IST | Raipur | PTIKerala Health Minister Veena George on Saturday said the state government is closely monitoring the news reports about the massive HMPV outbreak in China of viral fever and respiratory infection in China and said there is no need to panic as of now. In a Facebook post, George said there have been no reports so far about any virus found in China that could become pandemic or spread rapidly to other regions. As Malayalees are there in all parts of the world and expatriates frequently come to the state, including from China, extra caution should be exercised, she said. "We are monitoring the situation in China. If an outbreak is detected that has the potential to spread to other areas, we can check its spread very quickly," she said. The minister also urged people, especially pregnant women, children and elderly people, to take extra vigil and asked them to wear masks. An official source said on Friday that the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is closely monitoring respiratory and seasonal influenza cases in the country, and is in touch with international agencies in the wake of the recent reports of an outbreak of the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely and validate information and developments accordingly," a senior official said. Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Dr Atul Goel, said the Human Metapneumovirus is like any other respiratory virus which causes common cold, and it could cause flu-like symptoms in the young and the very old. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 06:57 PM IST | Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) | PTIADVERTISEMENT
