INS Imphal equipped with the capability to fire the extended-range supersonic BrahMos missile is commissioned today. It was included in the Indian Navy in the presence of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in Mumbai. Above all INS Imphal will act as a sentinel around the sea for India. Today became a memorable day for India in the defence sector when the INS Imphal warship was inducted into the Indian Navy. INS Imphal warship has become part of the Western Naval Command.
The Speciality of INS Imphal
The most special thing about this warship is that it is equipped with new stealth-guided missiles. Moreover, the INS Imphal warship is equipped with 8 Barak surface-to-surface missiles, 16 BrahMos anti-ship missiles, surveillance radar, 76 mm rapid mount gun and anti-submarine torpedoes.
INS Imphal is capable of dealing with every adverse situation. This warship can also deal with nuclear attack, biological attack and chemical attack.
Combined gas and gas propulsion technology has been used in making it. Due to this, it is capable of running at a speed of 30 knots.
The Navy says that it is the best warship built in our country so far. Indeed in the coming days, this warship will become a symbol of India’s capabilities.
Its length is 535 feet, height is 57 feet and weight is 7400 tons. 300 naval personnel can be deployed on it at one time. Moreover, this warship can serve at sea for 42 days at a time. Even more, there is enough space to deploy Dhruv and Sea King helicopters.
75% is indigenous
It has been prepared by Mazgaon Dockship Builders Limited, the Mumbai-based shipyard of the Defence Ministry. Moreover, Indigenous steel DMR 249A has been used to build this warship. According to the government, 75% of it is indigenous.
INS Imphal is the third of the four destroyers of the Visakhapatnam category. This warship has been designed by the in-house organization Warship Design Bureau. Moreover, it has been prepared in a very short time. Furthermore, the foundation stone of this warship was laid on the 19th of May 2017. Later within two years, it was launched on 20th April 2019.
The step taken by the Indian government is considered important because in recent times the infiltration of neighboring country China in the Indian Ocean has increased.
Indian passengers stuck in France reach India, flight with 303 passengers lands in Mumbai. Finally, a plane carrying hundreds of Indian passengers, which was stopped in France for four days after being investigated for possible human trafficking, has arrived in India. Flight tracking data showed that the Airbus A340 carrying 303 passengers landed in Mumbai on Tuesday morning.
The plane took off from Vatry Airport in France at around 2.30 am. Furthermore, according to reports, 10 passengers, including 6 minors, had expressed their desire to apply for asylum. They are currently in France. Asylum applications will be processed at Roissy-Charles de Gau Airport.
An incident occurred to Indian passengers
On December 21st, an Air India flight (operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines) carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indian passengers, made a technical stopover at Vatry Airport near Paris on its way from Dubai to Nicaragua.
French authorities received an anonymous tip-off suggesting potential human trafficking among the passengers. Following the incident, the plane was grounded, and a specialized unit investigating organized crime was called in to examine the purpose and conditions of the trip. Furthermore, the grounding of the Air India flight in France was a complex and evolving story that made headlines for several days.
The Indian passengers blocked at a rural French airport for four days were going to Nicaragua. They found themselves trapped in a rural French airport, facing a holiday nightmare.
Four Judges Questioned Indian Passengers
French authorities stopped the plane at Vitry airport, 150 km east of Paris, on suspicion of ‘human trafficking’. After that, four French judges questioned detained passengers on Sunday. The hearing is being reported as part of an investigation launched by the Paris prosecutor’s office on suspicion of human trafficking. Moreover, Judges had two days to complete this interrogation and had the right to extend the custody if necessary. During the investigation, the passengers were accommodated at the airport, where the local prefecture installed beds, toilets, and showers.
Active Indian Embassy
Indian officials and the consulate actively engaged with the French authorities and passengers. The Indian Embassy in France said that its staff was present at the spot and efforts were being made to find a solution. Finally, the result is that Indian passengers reached India stuck in France.
MP cabinet expansion took place today on Monday at Bhopal. Finally, CM Mohan Yadav’s cabinet has been expanded in Madhya Pradesh. After much brainstorming and speculation, the Mohan cabinet has now been expanded. However, many big names who were ministers in the Shivraj government have not been able to get a place in Mohan Yadav’s cabinet. The ministers included in the Mohan cabinet have taken the oath of ministerial office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan. Above all Governor Mangubhai Patel administered the oath to all the ministers.
The swearing-in program started with the national anthem, after which Chief Secretary Veera Rana sought permission from the Governor from the stage to start the program and then with the permission of the Governor, the swearing-in program of the ministers started.
The Governor administered the oath of office to the ministers in different sequences. All in all a total of 18 cabinet ministers, 6 ministers of state with independent charge and 4 ministers of state have been made in the Mohan cabinet.
Regional balance is maintained in MP cabinet expansion
The new cabinet of Madhya Pradesh has a maximum of 10 ministers from Malwa-Nimar. Among them, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Deora are also from this area. Moreover, there are three ministers from Vindhya including Deputy CM Rajendra Shukla. Additionally, there are six ministers from Central MP, five from Mahakaushal, four from Gwalior-Chambal and three from Budelkhand.
Moreover, if seen caste-wise, the Mohan government has five ministers each from SC and ST, 13 from OBC and eight from the upper caste community.
MP Cabinet Minster List 2023
In the MP cabinet expansion, a total of 18 cabinet ministers are added. The following are in the MP cabinet minister list.
Cabinet Ministers
1 Prahlad Singh patel
2 Kailash Vijayvargia
3 Tulsi Silavat
4 Uday Pratap Singh
5 Vijay Shah
6 Rakesh Singh
7 Pradumna Singh Tomar
8 Edel Singh Kasana
9 Narayan Singh Kushwaha
10 Sampatia Uike
11 Karan Singh Verma
12 Nirmala Bhuria
13 Vishwas Sarang
14 Govind Singh Rajput
15 Inder Singh Parmar
16 Nagar Singh Chauhan
17 Chaitanya Kashyap
18 Rakesh Shukla
Ministers of State (Independent Charge)
A total of 6 ministers of state with independent charge were added during the MP cabinet expansion.
1 Krishna Gaur
2 Dharmendra Lodhi
3 Dilip Jaiswal
4 Gautam Tetwal
5 Lakhan Patel
6 Narayan Pawar
State Minister
In the MP cabinet expansion program, 4 state ministers have taken oath.
Radha Singh
Pratima Bagri
Dilip Ahirwar
Narendra Shivaji Patel
Thus by this MP cabinet expansion, Mohan Team 28 is ready for the development of Madhya Pradesh.
Kharge on Saturday made the first major reshuffle in the organization during his tenure. Before the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the team of Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge has been announced. Kharge did not experiment like the BJP in forming his new team. He gave preference to mostly experienced leaders instead of new faces. Through this reshuffle, Kharge is attempting to win the Lok Sabha Election in 2024 and holding tight to his position in the Congress.
Reshuffles done by Kharge
While Priyanka Gandhi has been relieved of UP and made the General Secretary without charge, Sachin Pilot has been made the General Secretary and appointed in-charge of Chhattisgarh. Once again making changes in Madhya Pradesh, General Secretary Jitendra Singh has been given additional charge of Assam along with it. Due to the reshuffle, five leaders including Tariq Anwar and Harish Chaudhary have been removed from posts in the organization.
The party which is preparing for the Lok Sabha elections is strengthening its organization. During the reshuffle, the party seems to be setting aside things like the Udaipur resolution to avoid new experiments. However, the party has made three women general secretaries out of 12 general secretaries. Apart from this, to remove the ongoing discrepancy between North and South, 7 General Secretaries have been taken from the Hindi belt states of North India.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadara: General Secretary without charge, a hidden message given by Kharge
The party intends to utilize Priyanka Gandhi for organizational decisions and publicity across the country rather than limiting her to one state by keeping her as General Secretary with no responsibility. The party can also make her contest the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. These may be the hidden messages.
One more hidden message some political experts may understand. Everyone in politics is ambitious, Kharge may not be an exemption. A proposal by Mamta Banerjee may have given a boost.
Sachin Pilot: Finally stepped into national politics
Differences between Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan are well known. After Gehlot refused to accept the presidential post and join national politics it was a confusing state for the congress party. The party doesn’t want to lose anyone of them. Sachin Pilot’s political career growth in Rajasthan state was restricted. Probably this may be the reason for giving responsibility to Sachin in national politics. Finally, Pilot has stepped into national politics.
Although Pilot has campaigned in many states as a star campaigner, he has now formally got the responsibility of Chhattisgarh state. The challenge before him is to end the factionalism of Chhattisgarh. Moreover, he has to ensure victory in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Jitendra Singh: Trust remains intact
The party’s trust in Rajasthan’s Jitendra Singh remains intact. He has been made the General Secretary in charge of Assam. Along with this, an additional charge of Madhya Pradesh has been given to him by Kharge.
Avinash Pandey’s stature increased again
Avinash Pandey of Maharashtra is among the experienced leaders of the organization. While he was in charge, Congress returned to power in Rajasthan in 2019. Instead of being in charge of Jharkhand, he has now been sent to Uttar Pradesh in place of Priyanka as general secretary.
Deepa Dasmunshi-Female face
Deepa Dasmunshi has been made the additional general secretary in charge of Telangana along with Kerala-Lakshadweep. Dasmunshi can emerge as the new female face of the party.
Ghulam Mir and Nasir Hussain: New Muslim Faces
Ghulam Ahmed Mir of Jammu and Kashmir has been made the General Secretary and given the additional charge of West Bengal along with Jharkhand. Karnataka’s Rajya Sabha MP Nasir Hussain has been made in charge of the Congress President’s office. These two leaders can be big Muslim faces of the party in the coming days.
Venugopal, Jairam, and Wasnik are retained by Kharge
KC Venugopal has been retained as the organization’s general secretary. Similarly, Jairam Ramesh is in charge of communication and Mukul Wasnik is in charge of Gujarat. Whereas Deepak Babaria has been retained with the additional charge of Haryana along with Delhi.
Surjewala returned from MP and Selja’s state changed.
After the crushing defeat in Madhya Pradesh, the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh has been withdrawn from Randeep Surjewala. Now he has been kept as General Secretary in charge of Karnataka only. Similarly, after losing Chhattisgarh, Kumari Selja is been sent to Uttarakhand.
Two joint treasurers are appointed along with Treasurer Maken.
Ajay Maken will remain the treasurer. Whereas Milind Deora and Vijay Inder Singla have been appointed to the post of Joint Treasurer.
Those who are been removed may be accommodated elsewhere.
Tariq Anwar and Bhakta Charan Das, are been removed from the post of party general secretary. They have been asked to start preparing to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, Harish Chaudhary can be given important responsibility in Rajasthan. Apart from these, Rajni Patil and Manish Chatrath have been removed from the in-charge of the states.
Through all these reshuffles Kharge has made his team for winning the Lok Sabha Election going to be held in 2024. Moreover, if he succeeds may be thinking of gaining the prime minister post.
Kota Railway Division created a history on Friday. Two records were created simultaneously in the Kota Railway Division.
1 A Train ran at 180 speed in the Kota division. An ordinary train ran at 180 kilometres per hour for the first time.
2 Three goods trains were linked and run together.
Officials of the Kota Railway Division said that the pantry car of the LHB coach was tested by running it at a maximum speed of 180 kilometres per hour in the Kota-Nagda railway section. This test was conducted several times by RDSO. This is the first case in the Kota division of an LHB coach train running at a speed of 180 kilometres per hour. Pantycar of LHB coach has been tested earlier also in the Kota division. But then it was driven at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour. It is noteworthy that earlier in 2018, the Vande Bharat train had also been run at a maximum speed of 180 kilometres per hour. But it was a semi-high-speed train.
Drove three goods trains together in the Kota Railway Division
Similarly, for the first time in the history of the West-Central Railway. Three goods trains were combined and run as a long haul.
These goods trains were connected at Bhulon station on the Kota-Baran railway section. Of these, two had reached Bhulon from Kota and one goods train from the thermal power plant. After this, this long haul was transported to the Bhopal division. Due to this, the path of two goods trains was saved.
Running long-haul trains can reduce congestion in busy sections and increase overall throughput. This approach also has the added benefit of speeding up rolling stocks. Moreover, it is reducing the number of trains on the track.
This cleared the way for running more goods trains. Assistant Operations Manager Upendra CP Singh was present at Bhulon station during the construction of the long haul. Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Rohit Malviya said that in times of emergencies and excessive accumulation of vehicles, the operation of this long haul will prove to be very useful in the transportation of vehicles. Moreover, he said that under the leadership of Divisional Railway Manager Manish Tiwari, this trial was conducted after the hard work of Senior Divisional Operations Manager Saurabh Jain, Divisional Operating Manager Ravi Prakash Verma and the team of the Operations Department.
The Kota Railway Division General Manager has congratulated the team for this achievement.
The top stories of the day in India on December 24, 2023, include:
Political News:
Congress reshuffle: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been relieved of her charge as the party general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh. Avinash Pande will take over as the new General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh. Sachin Pilot has been given a key role in the party, but the details are still not clear.
Putin signals openness to the ceasefire: Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly signalled that he is open to a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, there are no concrete details about the terms of any potential agreement.
No order issued yet to lift hijab ban: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has clarified that no order has been issued yet to lift the ban on wearing hijabs in educational institutions.
National Security
Drone attack on ship: A suspected drone attack has hit a merchant ship carrying 21 Indians off the coast of Gujarat. The Navy and Coast Guard have rushed to assist the ship.
Jammu and Kashmir: Three civilians were killed in an encounter between security forces and terrorists near Poonch. Mobile internet has been suspended in Poonch and Rajouri following the incident.
Health:
COVID-19: India has reported 640 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the active caseload to 2,997. One death was also reported. However, Niti Aayog member VK Paul has advised people not to panic as the symptoms are mild.
AIIMS opens post-mortem facility: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has opened a new post-mortem facility. Hence, it will bring relief to relatives of deceased patients.
Other news:
Air quality worsens: The air quality in Delhi and other parts of North India has worsened due to fog. This has led to the cancellation of some flights.
Another big layoff at Google? There are rumours that Google is planning another round of layoffs. However, the company has not confirmed this.
US Engine Maker Faces Penalty: Cummins Inc., a US engine maker, is facing the largest Clean Air Act penalty ever issued for allegedly cheating on emissions tests.
Salaar box office collection: The Prabhas-starrer Salaar has collected over ₹148 crore in India on its second day of release.
Mike Williams Dies: Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams has died at the age of 36 from dental-related sepsis.
Air India’s first Airbus A350 aircraft arrives: Air India’s first Airbus A350 aircraft has arrived in India. Moreover, it will enter commercial service in January 2024.
These are just some of the top stories of the day. For more information, you can check out the Information Site or other news websites. Subscribe to our newsletter for top stories directly in your email box.
India’s defence exports have registered an increase of 23 times according to the information given by the Defense Ministry. India’s defence exports have reached an all-time high of approximately 16,000 Crore in the financial year 2022-2023. Moreover, defence production crossed the figure of Rs one lakh crore for the first time. BrahMos, Akash missiles and Tejas manufactured in India are in highest demand. Moreover, Indian design and development capabilities in defence equipment now reach more than 85 countries.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power at the Center in 2014 and promoted Make in India, India is not only becoming self-reliant in the field of defence but is also emerging as a major player in the world in terms of defence exports.
Major exported weapons
Currently, 100 Indian firms are exporting defence products, showcasing the country’s design and development capabilities to the world.
According to the Ministery of Defence, the major exported weapons are:-
Dornier-228
155 mm Advanced Towed Artillery Guns
Brahmos Missiles
Akash Missile System
Radars
Simulators
Mine Protected Vehicles
Armoured Vehicles
PINAKA Rockets & Launchers
Ammunitions
Thermal Imagers
Body Armours
Line Replaceable Units
Parts and components of Avionics
Small Arms.
Furthermore, there is a rising demand worldwide for LCA-Tejas, light combat helicopters, aircraft carriers, MRO activities, and more.
India’s Defence Exports to Countries
The information given by the ministry states that the demand for Indian arms is increasing in various regions, especially in Latin American countries, African countries, and South-East Asian countries. This is being seen not only in the field of arms supply but also as a sign of increasing demand for Indian defence products.
Apart from this, Light Combat Helicopters and Aircraft Carriers are also being introduced in foreign markets and their demand is increasing. At the same time, Tejas is an important and high-performance light combat aircraft, which has been designed and developed for the use of the Indian Air Force. It has one seat and one jet engine and its development is playing an important role in India’s defence plans. Due to this quality, it is also in great demand.
Two strange incidents happened on Thursday, the second day of Rajasthan Assembly session. In one case, the auto driver left after throwing his shoes inside the assembly premises, while in another case, a person reached the gate outside the assembly to protest differently. Even the police were shocked by this security lapse. Both incidents remained a topic of discussion.
Ist Incident
At 2.20 pm an auto driver stopped the auto outside the assembly gate. While talking, he took off his shoes and moved towards the gate. From there the shoe was thrown inside, which fell on the roof of the vehicle going inside.
During this, he kept saying that he had made Bhajan Lal the Chief Minister. If he is arrested then CM will get his bail.
The serious thing is that despite all this being said, the security personnel and the police were not even aware of the incident. They only kept asking him to remove the auto from there. When the auto driver left, the police and media persons were shocked when they came to know about the real situation.
After that, the Police got the number of the auto from the media persons and then started searching for the driver. A large crowd gathered there during the incident.
2nd Incident in Rajasthan Assembly
A young man reached outside the assembly. The young man had tied a slipper on his head, had a pot hanging around his neck and had a broom tied at his back. This person was moving towards the gate.
Meanwhile, MLA Balmukundacharya stopped his car there after seeing the youth in this condition. Then he got down from the car and removed the slippers from the person’s head and untied the rope of the pot. He listened to the young man’s story and said don’t worry, everything will be fine. Then Balmukundacharya put Dupatta on the man’s shoulder and asked him to go. The police took the young man from there.
Vasudev Devnani is elected unopposed as Speaker of the Rajasthan State Assembly today. Thus the Rajasthan Assembly has got a new speaker. After the election, the leaders of the opposition parties as well as BJP leaders of the House congratulated Vasudev Devnani.
CM Bhajanlal Sharma put the proposal for the election of Rajasthan Assembly Speaker in the House. Veteran Congress leader Sachin Pilot approved the proposal. Moreover, Vasundhara Raje also proposed, which was approved by MLA Rajkumar. Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari also proposed to elect Vasudev Devnani as Speaker, her proposal was supported by independent MLA Chandrabhan. Moreover, after this, RLP MLA Hanuman Beniwal proposed to make Vasudev Devnani the Speaker of the Assembly, which was approved by MLA Subhash Garg.
Finally, Vasudev Devnani was unanimously elected Speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly. After his election, Vasudev Devnani took charge today itself. MLAs from all parties and opposition greeted Vasudev Devnani.
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Leader’s reaction after Vasudev was elected as Speaker.
CM Bhajanlal Sharma congratulated Vasudev Devnani after being elected Assembly Speaker. He said the election of the Speaker of the Assembly has always been unanimous. Moreover, this has been the tradition of our Assembly. Your election will bring great joy to this Assembly.
Sachin Pilot also congratulated Vasudev Devnani on being elected Speaker of the Assembly. He said this has been the tradition of the House. When Devnani ji’s name was proposed, we all decided that Devnani ji should be made the Speaker of the Assembly unanimously.
Govind Dotasara said that we all together have elected you as the speaker. The ruling party and the opposition remain under the control of the speaker. The Speaker is always more liberal towards the opposition than the ruling party. You have a nature of getting along with everyone. My only request is that no matter how much pressure comes on you, whether it is from Delhi or anyone else, you will remain impartial. This is what the opposition expects from you.
Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said I send my best wishes to you. We have been sitting together in this house for many days. An honest and dedicated public representative like you is sitting on this chair. This gives us confidence that you will take definite action. You will give all of us a chance to present our views in the House.
Brief About Vasudev Devnani
Vasudev Devnani is the MLA from Ajmer North. His political career started by joining RSS at a very young age. Later he was the Rajasthan State President of ABVP for nine years. After that, he joined the BJP. He was elected from Ajmer North in the year 2003, 2008 and 2013. Moreover, he remained as a minister of state for Technical Education during Vasundhara Raje Governance from 2003-2008. Later in the Vasundhara Raje Government between 2013 and 2018 he was minister of state for primary and secondary education. He was holding the chair with an independent charge.
He was born on 11th January 1950 in Ajmer in a family that suffered the pain of partition. Mostly Sindhi and Punjabi families migrated from Pakistan to India during the partition. He is the first Sindhi who become the speaker of the Rajasthan State Assembly.
He has a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) Degree from MBM Engineering College which is one of the finest and oldest colleges. After that, he pursued an academic career and eventually became the Dean of Vidhya Bhawan Polytechnic College in Udaipur. He is married to Indira Devnani, a retired school teacher. The couple have one son and two daughters.
Surprisingly, the Japan Central Bank Interest Rate is -0.1%. Know the facts and reasons for the negative interest rates.
As of December 19, 2023, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) unanimously voted to keep interest rates at -0.1%. The BOJ also maintained its yield curve policy, which references a 1% upper bound for 10-year Japanese government bonds.
Reasons for negative interest rates
The benchmark interest rate in the Japan Central Bank Interest rate is -0.10%. The BOJ’s negative interest rate is intended to encourage banks to lend more. Moreover, It encourages businesses and consumers to borrow more to stimulate the economy.
The Bank of Japan’s policy rate remained unchanged at -0.10% at the end of 2022, the same as the end of 2021. This represents a decrease from the policy rate of 0.10% as recorded a decade earlier.
The Bank of Japan has maintained this negative interest rate policy since 2016, to combat deflation and boost economic growth. However, the policy has also had some negative side effects, such as eroding banks’ profitability and discouraging savings.
Japan Central Bank’s next scheduled meeting for interest rate
The next meeting of the Bank of Japan’s policy board is scheduled for January 22-23, 2024. At that meeting, the Bank of Japan is expected to decide whether to maintain its current negative interest rate policy or to begin raising rates.
The Bank of Japan has recently signalled that it may be considering raising interest rates if inflation continues to rise above its 2% target. However, the central bank has also said that it will be cautious about raising rates too quickly, as this could damage the fragile economic recovery.
Here are some additional details about the Bank of Japan’s interest rate policy:
The Bank of Japan’s Policy Board sets the policy rate, which meets eight times a year.
The policy rate is applied to the current account balances that commercial banks hold at the Bank of Japan.
The Bank of Japan also uses other tools to implement its monetary policy, such as quantitative easing and yield curve control.
