Breaking News, December 29 | HIGHLIGHTS

Fire broke out at a plastic factory godown in Bara village of Gwalior.

"Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has declined the request put forth by Delhi CM and AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal, seeking the appointment of Raghav Chadha as the interim party leader in the Rajya Sabha, in place of party MP Sanjay Singh," sources said.

Over 4.4 crore Ayushman cards -- which enable free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh per anum per family at empanelled hospitals -- have been generated during the ongoing Ayushman Bhava campaign. More than five crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) were also created during the campaign, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

These samples were collected between 21 November and 18th December 2023.

Lalan Singh resigned as the JDU president during the national executive meeting of the party. Nitish Kumar is likely to take over the mantle.

After two days of dense to very dense fog, visibility improved in many parts of Delhi on Friday as most fog transformed into low clouds, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Dense to moderate fog conditions were witnessed in isolated pockets of the capital in the early hours of the day.

Jharkhand police on Friday said 397 Maoists were arrested, nine killed, and 26 surrendered before security forces across the state this year. A special area committee member, a regional committee member, five zonal commanders, and 11 sub-zonal commanders were among those arrested. These individuals had a combined bounty of Rs 1. 01 crore on their heads, a statement said.

Ramachandran Kadannappally of Congress (S) and K B Ganesh Kumar of Kerala Congress (B) are set to take the oath as ministers in Kerala's CPI(M)-led LDF government on Friday afternoon, officials said. The swearing-in ceremony for the minister-designates will take place at 4 pm at Raj Bhavan, with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administering the oath of office to the new ministers, officials said.

Four members of a family allegedly died by suicide and one is battling for life in a hospital here, police said on Friday. The incident happened in Anakapalle district in suburban Visakhapatnam.

India has logged 797 new cases of COVID-19, the highest in 225 days, while the number of active cases of the infection have been recorded at 4,091, the health ministry said on Friday. Five new fatalities due to Covid-- two from Kerala and one each from Maharashtra, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu -- have been reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

Gujarat has received foreign direct investment worth Rs 2.39 lakh crore or $31 billion between October 2019 and March 2023 and is among the top Indian states in attracting FDI, according to an official release.

A massive fire broke out at a fruits market in Visakhapatnam.

JDU's national executive meeting began in Delhi.

JD(U) is holding a two-day national executive meeting in Delhi.

Centre appointed Vivek Srivastava as Director General, Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards up to June 30, 2025, the date of his superannuation, or till further orders whichever takes place earlier.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma tweeted "The Government of Mizoram grants consent for a CBI investigation of offences in the state of Mizoram. Our government is resolute in eliminating corruption for the welfare of our citizens."

"Several trains are getting delayed. 8 trains that were supposed to reach last night have not yet arrived. The trains that were supposed to reach this morning are running late by almost 3-4 hours and there is no confirmation when these trains will arrive..." a passenger said.