Ngs News

North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Monday declared all of its 104 wards open defecation free after providing public toilets under the guidelines of Swachh Bharat Mission. The body said it has provided access to individual or community toilets within 500 metres of every settlement. "We have installed 22 mobile toilets, constructed 14 community toilet complexes in various areas," officials said.

Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday urged the youth to join the Army and said people must rise above their "microscopic identities" to embrace themselves as Indians. The youth must work hard to contribute towards nation-building by becoming engineers, doctors, and teachers, he added. He was interacting with a group of students visiting Delhi under the Army's outreach programme.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari ruled out exemptions from toll collection at national highways, saying that if people want good services, they will have to pay for it. Agreeing that collection of toll tax has to be stopped, Gadkari added that he can't promise exemption from toll collection at this juncture.

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday said the people who are not named in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be entitled to any constitutional rights. Such people will be allowed to live in the state on humanitarian grounds until the Centre takes a decision on their expulsion, he added. The first NRC draft was released this week.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre has said there will be no immediate review of the ₹10,000 cap placed on educational assistance provided to children of jawans who died or suffered disabilities in action. This comes after Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba urged the government to remove the monthly cap, which was introduced in July 2017.

Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Babul Supriyo has said that currently there are no plans to make all vehicles electricity-powered by 2030 in India. It reportedly came in response to a question raised in Lok Sabha. Earlier, Union Minister Piyush Goyal had stated that no petrol or diesel cars should be sold by 2030.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said the government is even ready to pay ₹400 crore to make Hindi one of the official languages of the United Nations. The UN's rules for making a language official are preventing India from doing so, Swaraj added. The rules state that it requires the support of two-third member countries.

During the Lok Sabha session on Wednesday, MoS for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir said there was no evidence of any suicide being committed while playing the Blue Whale Challenge. Pointing out that various instances of children committing suicide due to the game were reported, he said upon investigation, links to the challenge in any of the cases couldn't be established.

Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain has said that Aadhaar is not compulsory for booking tickets for a rail journey, but added that its use is encouraged. Adding that there was no proposal to make it compulsory, he said, "A reward scheme has also been introduced by IRCTC to incentivise linking of Aadhaar with user ID of IRCTC."

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said that India has signed 187 defence deals to procure military platforms and equipment from domestic and foreign firms in the last four years. The total value of the defence deals signed amounts to ₹2.8 lakh crore. Around 63% deals were signed with Indian vendors, Bhamre added.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has said that North Korea has successfully defended the pressure imposed by the US, adding that the country has been following tough anti-US agenda. In December, the CPI(M) workers had also put up a poster of a party function with photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the state is changing because he dreams with open eyes and puts in all his efforts to transform those dreams into reality. "Madhya Pradesh is foremost in the world in terms of Agriculture. We are consistently maintaining a double-digit growth rate," the CM added while addressing a conclave in Indore.

Calling the latest video of Kulbhushan Jadhav released by Pakistan as 'propaganda', the External Affairs Ministry has said that it cannot be considered credible. Pakistan is simply continuing its practice of putting out coerced statements, it added. It further said a video of a captive being forced to certify his own welfare is absurd and does not deserve a comment.

Stating that no biometric Aadhaar data has been breached, the UIDAI has admitted that some persons have misused a search facility which provides limited access to names and other details of Aadhaar holders. This comes after a report by The Tribune claimed that "unrestricted access to details" for any Aadhaar number could be purchased from anonymous sellers for ₹500.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture slammed private airlines for mistreatment of passengers. The committee advised that training should be given to airline staff for extending courteous behaviour. The panel also noted that some airlines create long queues at check-in counters so that passengers miss flights and buy tickets for the next flight at high prices.

Thane residents can now lodge a complaint with the Thane Municipal Corporation and the fire department if they find hotels and restaurants operating in the area without adhering to safety norms. Action will be taken within 2-3 days of filing a complaint, officials said. This comes after a fire at a restaurant in Mumbai which claimed 14 lives.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike said it has started issuing closure notices to all rooftop restaurants and bars in the city as they are operating without trade licences. "They obtain licence for one floor and extend...to...rooftop," it said. The civic body has issued closure notices to at least 61 rooftop restaurants in the city so far.

The Human Resource Development Ministry has identified around 80,000 'ghost' teachers in various colleges and universities after the introduction of Aadhaar. The ghost teachers have been identified in some state and private universities and not central universities, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said. They use proxy methods and are apparently teaching at multiple places full-time, he added.