MHA panel to probe into security lapses in PM's Punjab visit

The Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted a committee to enquire into the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab. The three-member committee will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat and also comprising Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB and S. Suresh, IG, SPG. The committee has been advised to submit the report at the earliest.

-Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that government will do everything to ensure that the income of the farmers of the Northeast Region is doubled.  A meeting to review the progress of various schemes of the central government in the Agriculture sector in states of the Northeastern Region was held in New Delhi on Thursday. He said that the Northeastern region has a diverse climate with rich resources and great potential which can contribute to the nation and the world. Mr Tomar said, there is huge scope for employment generation in Agriculture and tourism industries. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy said that the Prime Minister has underscored the vision to develop the North East as the hub of organic farming. He said, there is tremendous potential for development of horticulture as a major contributor to the region’s economic prosperity.

-The  National Investigation Agency (NIA) has declared ten terrorists of PLA and MNPF in wanted list in connection with attack on the convoy of Commanding Officer of 46th Assam Rifles on November 13 last year in Churachandpur district of Manipur. The attack resulted in the death of the Commanding Officer, his wife, his minor son and five jawans. Six Assam Rifles jawans were also injured in the attack. The insurgent groups People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front (MNPF) claimed the responsibility of the attack which occured on the Indo-Myanmar border. The NIA also declared cash reward against these ten cadres of PLA and MNPF.

-J&K will witness the highest ever capacity addition in the power transmission sector this year. 400 crore rupees are being spent in the sector under the UT Capex in the ongoing financial year which would result in major additions in the power sector. Of the 30 projects in the transmission sector which were taken up under the Prime minister’s Development Package (PMDP) at a cost of 834.85 crore rupees, 11 have been completed while 17 are slated to be completed in the current fiscal. A total of 1690 MVA capacity at 220 KV level and 1280 MVA at 132 levels is targeted to be added. Under the UT Sector, 9514 projects were completed during the financial year 2020-21. Around 1100 projects which were earlier languishing for several years due to various hurdles, were revived and completed by the Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation.  Under the District Capex Budget, 1676 completed projects were completed. A spokesperson of the J&K government said that the Government is committed to complete the developmental projects within stipulated timelines while maintaining the highest level of transparency and accountability.

-Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday paid condolences to General Bipin Rawat and the others killed in the helicopter accident in Nilgiris, Actor Punith Rajkumar, Human Rights Activist Desmond Tutu and former MLAs who passed away recently. The Question hour session was broadcast live for the first time in the history of the State. Chief Minister MK.Stalin has called  an all party meet on the 8th of this month to discuss the issue of NEET. In a suo moto statement in the Assembly today , he told that the resolution of the Assembly on NEET has not been forwarded by the State Governor R.N.Ravi to  President Ramnath Kovind for further action . The Chief Minister said that the Government said that the Union Government should consider students' admission to the medical education on the basis of higher secondary marks and not through entrance exams which are unreachable for the poor but bright students. 

-The Gujarat government has postponed the Vibrant Gujarat global investor summit-2022 due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. The summit was scheduled to be held from January 10 to 12 . Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate this Summit on 10th January. According to an official release, the Summit was postponed as of now in the larger interest of the people by preventing the spread of Covid19 infections. The decision to postpone the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2022 was taken by the Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel after reviewing the overall situation of Covid19 infections in the state.Press release said that the state government is taking all the steps including vaccination, tracing and tracking of cases and the situation of Covid19 pandemic in the state is well under control. The Vibrant Gujarat Summit was slated to be a mega-event as 26 countries, business tycoons and investors from India and abroad scheduled to participate in this event.