- February 2, 2024
Morning Digest | Champai Soren to take oath as Jharkhand CM today; Nirmala Sitharaman announces panel to examine challenges of ‘fast population growth’ to development, and more
Newly-elected Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren along with 43 legislators after their meeting with State Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan staking a claim to form the Government in the State, at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Jharkhand Governor nominates Champai Soren as Chief Minister
Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan invited Champai Soren to form the government late on February 1. Mr. Champai will take oath as the Chief Minister on Friday.
Nirmala Sitharaman announces panel to examine challenges of ‘fast population growth’ to development
A high powered committee will be constituted to consider the challenges arising from “fast population growth and demographic changes”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Interim Budget speech on Friday. She added that the committee would be mandated to make recommendations to comprehensively address these challenges in relation to the goal of Viksit Bharat, or a developed India.
Puffed-up and poll-ready: Nirmala Sitharaman’s first Interim Budget
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting her sixth Union Budget and her first Interim Budget, resisted the temptation to hand out dramatic pre-poll sops like the ones unveiled ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election, opting instead to bank on the government’s track record and the promise of “unprecedented development” in the next five years.
Budget 2024 | Government to withdraw certain long-pending, un-reconciled direct tax demands
Whilst maintaining the status quo with respect to direct and indirect taxes, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden interim budget presentation proposed to withdraw small, non-reconciled and disputed direct tax demands.
Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is about to make a surprise switch to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula One season, according to reports on February 1. Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton will make a surprise switch to Ferrari next year, after Mercedes announced he would leave the team at the end of the 2024 season.
U.S. approves sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones to India
The United States of America on February 1 approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones to India at an estimated cost of $3.99 billion, an American defence agency announced.
Budget 2024 | New scheme for affordable middle class housing
Giving a boost to affordable housing, the government on Thursday announced a new scheme to help “deserving” sections of the middle class buy or build their own houses.
Mani Shankar Aiyar asked to move out over daughter’s post on Ayodhya
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and his daughter Suranya Aiyar have received a notice to vacate their house in southeast Delhi’s Jungpura area over a social media post condemning the Pran Pratishtha at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya that took place on January 22.
Taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance following the Ayodhya temple consecration that one crore households will be electrified via rooftop solar installations, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Interim Budget 2024-25, reiterated that commitment.
New cancer cases to soar 77% by 2050: WHO
The number of new cancer cases will rise to more than 35 million in 2050 — 77% higher than the figure in 2022, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency warned on Thursday.
U.S. approves strikes against Iranian targets in Iraq, Syria: report
The United States has approved plans for multi-day strikes in Iraq and Syria against multiple targets, including Iranian personnel and facilities, CBS News reported on February 1, citing U.S. officials.
CPI(M) joins Congress’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in West Bengal
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leadership, including party’s West Bengal State Secretary Mohamed Salim, on Thursday joined the Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Murshidabad district. The development assumes significance as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has maintained that her party will go it alone in the Lok Sabha polls.
General elections in Pakistan to take place on February 8
Despite increasing poll-related violence and security challenges, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikanadar Sultan Raja and Pakistan’s acting interior minister Gohar Ejaz on February 1 dispelled all doubts about holding the general elections on the already announced date of February 8.
Biden sanctions four Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinians in the West Bank
President Joe Biden on February 1 issued an executive order that targets Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been attacking Palestinians in the occupied territory, imposing financial sanctions and visa bans in an initial round against four individuals.
