Breaking News December 28 | Highlights

The Karnataka cabinet on Monday decided to fix January 18 as the tentative date for the joint session of the state legislature.

The Gujarat government on Monday formed a four-member task force to oversee the mass vaccination drive in the state once a vaccine against COVID-19 is made available for inoculation.

The task force, set up by the Health and Family Welfare Department, consists of renowned pediatricians Dr Naveen Thacker and Dr Nishchal Bhatt, immunology expert Dr Sapan Pandya and Dr Bhadresh Vyas of Jamnagar Medical College and Hospital, said a government release.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today inaugurated India’s first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. The vaccine “Pneumosil” has been developed by the Serum Institute of India: Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Maintaining 4 per cent inflation is appropriate for India as targeting a lower rate could impart deflationary bias to the monetary policy, said a Reserve Bank paper. Under the current dispensation, the RBI has been mandated by the government to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.

The paper, authored by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra and another official Harendra Kumar Behera, has found a steady decline in trend inflation to 4.1-4.3 per cent since 2014.

The government on Monday allowed the export of onions with effect from January 1, 2021. 

Delhi reports 564 new COVID-19 cases, 959 recoveries and 21 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per Delhi Health Department.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extends the earlier guidelines for COVID19 surveillance to remain in force up to 31st January 2021. 

• "I congratulate crores of farmers of the country. Despite COVID-19 challenge Kisan Rail network has expanded in the last four months and got its 100th rail now"

• "Kisan Rail has hugely strengthened small and marginal farmers who account for 80 per cent of the peasantry in country"

• "Kisan Rail is like a moving cold storage facility. Perishable items like fruits, vegetables, milk, fish etc can be safely transported from one place to another in time"

• Kisan Rail is a big step towards empowering the farmers and increasing their income.

• Under PM Krishi Sampada Yojana, around 6500 projects like mega food parks, cold chain infrastructure, agro-processing clusters have been approved. Rs 10,000 crores have been approved for micro food processing industries under government's 'Atmanirbhar' package.

PM Narendra Modi flags off 100th Kisan Rail from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal, via video conferencing. Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Piyush Goyal also present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate 100th Kisan Rail shortly. 

Classes for standard 10th and 12th will start from January 1: Karnataka Minister for Primary & Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar

I'm targeted politically. Be it Abhijit Banerjee or Amartya Sen, they've a different place in society. Our educationists are being targeted. Now they're feeling isolated. In all these years, they (BJP) didn’t say anything on Netaji. Now they are talking about him. They (BJP) want to torch Bengal through riots. BJP is trying to break universities and educational institutions like JNU. Bengal is being maligned. Gandhiji had come to Beliaghata to bring peace during the riots then: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tables Bill in the state Assembly for repeal of the provincial station of Madrassa in the state. 

We've introduced a Bill whereby all Madrassas will be converted into institutes of general education and no madrassa will be established by govt in the future. We're happy to introduce this Bill to bring a truly secular curriculum into the education system, said Sarma.

Congress and AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) have opposed this Bill. But we are determined that this Bill needs to be passed and it will be passed, he added.

Leaders of around 25 farmer organisations today met & handed over to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar a letter in support of the new agriculture laws.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh who addressed IIM Ranchi convocation via video conference, said, "We're generating graduates every year but not employable ones. Because the focus of our education system had been on getting jobs. We were making youth job seekers but now we want to make them job creators."

Union Minister Smriti Irani addressed media over BJP's victory in recent local bodies elections.

• In Arunachal Pradesh, BJP has won 187 Zilla panchayats out of 242 Zilla panchayat seats. The party also registered victory in over 6,450-gram panchayats, and in Pasighat Municipal Council elections where Congress won only two seats.
• In Goa Zilla panchayat elections, BJP created history by winning 33 out of 48 seats. BJP, which won only one seat in 2015 polls of Bodoland Territorial Council, emerged has come to power with the blessing of the people in alliance with UPPL and GSP.
• Congress spread misinformation as part of its political strategy that citizens in rural India don't now extend to the Centre. What better response can citizens of India give than that has been received in rural local body election in Rajasthan.

Kanpur Post Office releases stamps of criminals Chhota Rajan and Munna Bajrangi. "Postal dept provides the facility to get 'My Stamp' made, by submitting a form along with ID. Our employees should've been careful in verifying pics," said Himanshu Mishra, Chief Post Master, Kanpur.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan gives assent for convening a special Assembly session on December 31.

Three persons including a Chinese woman were arrested in a case registered in Cyberabad pertaining to instant loan apps fraud, Telangana police said yesterday.

Cold wave conditions will start in Delhi tomorrow and will continue till December 31. In the morning of December 31, Delhi could witness a minimum of 3℃ temperature. From January 1, the temperature will rise in the national capital, said Regional Head, IMD Delhi Kuldeep Shrivastava. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancels her visit to Nandigram where she was to address a public gathering on January 7.

A total of 205 new COVID-19 cases, 551 discharges, and 2 deaths were reported in Telangana yesterday, says State Health Department.

• Total positive cases: 2,85,068
• Total recoveries: 2,77,304
• Active cases: 6,231
• Death toll: 1,533

India reported 20,021 new COVID-19 cases, 21,131 recoveries, and 279 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry. 

• Total cases: 1,02,07,871
• Active cases: 2,77,301
• Total recoveries: 97,82,669
• Death toll: 1,47,901

PM Narendra Modi and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal attend the inauguration programme of India’s first driverless train on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line and the launch of a fully operational National Common Mobility Card on the Airport Express Line, via video conferencing. Here are the highlights from his address;

• 'Make In India' is very important for the expansion of metro services. It reduces cost, savings foreign currency, and provides more employment to Indian people.
• The first metro in the country was started with the efforts of Atal Ji. When our govt was formed in 2014, only 5 cities had metro services and today 18 cities have metro rail services. By 2025, we will take this service to more than 25 cities.
• The inauguration of the first driverless metro train shows how fast India is moving towards smart systems.

Five people, who returned from the UK to Uttarakhand on December 15, have tested positive for COVID-19. One of their contacts has also been found positive. They have been placed under isolation. 

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is being shifted to AIIMS, Delhi from Doon Hospital in Dehradun. As per his physician Dr. NS Bisht, infection has been detected in his chest. Rawat tested positive for COVID-19 on December 18.

Students appearing for Bihar Public Service Commission examination protest in Aurangabad over alleged paper leak

"There're 18 centers here. In one center students alleged that seal of the question paper was broken. We're probing the matter," said Aurangabad DM Saurabh Jorawal. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to flag off 100th Kisan Rail from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal, via video conferencing today.

Three persons have been arrested in the loan apps case. The involvement of two Chinese nationals has been found. They will be arrested soon. The matter pertains to the apps providing loans at exorbitant rates and later using threat/force for recovery.