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Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested former DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq in Delhi on Saturday, in connection with a ₹2,000 crore international drugs trafficking case. The central agency has termed Sadiq the «mastermind and kingpin» of the illicit network spread across India, Australia and New Zealand. Sadiq, a producer of Tamil films, was recently expelled by the DMK from the party after the NCB stated that he was linked to the drugs network. He was the Chennai West deputy organiser of the DMK's NRI wing. The opposition BJP and AIADMK in the state have been targeting the DMK over the matter. Last month, the NCB said it had arrested three people, all hailing from Tamil Nadu, and seized 50 kg of narcotics-making chemical pseudoephedrine during a raid at a godown in Delhi. The searches by the NCB, along with the special cell of the Delhi Police, came about following a tip-off received towards the end of 2023 from the Australian and New Zealand authorities about «large quantities» of pseudoephedrine concealed in desiccated coconut powder and mix food powder being smuggled into their countries from India.

farmers' protest, Uniform Civil Code and a policy on checking the rise in population are some of the topics likely to come up for discussion in the three-day meeting of the Rashtriya Swayanmsewak Sangh's (RSS) top decision-making body starting from March 15 in Nagpur, sources said. The Gyanvyapi mosque and Mathura Eidgah issues are the two topics which the Sangh might refrain from taking up at the meeting. Resolving the disputes between two communities (Meitei-Kuki) in Manipur and addressing the issues of protesting farmers over their demand of a Minimum Support Price for their produce from the government are the two areas on which the Sangh affiliates will make a presentation at the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) meeting.

Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked the Congress saying the opposition was busy with corruption and that the party jeopardised the security of the country by neglecting the development of border villages. Addressing public meetings in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the PM said he considered the entire northeast his family and that is why his government is focussing on the projects that have been lying pending for years. Modi was on a two-day visit to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier today, he inaugurated the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, and said the Congress would have taken 20 years to do the kind of development work which was executed by his government in the last five years. Modi addressed the 'Viksit Bharat Viksit Northeast' Programme in Itanagar and said, «When the Congress government was supposed to build modern infrastructure near the borders, they were busy with corruption and kept our borders and villages underdeveloped, thereby jeopardising the security of the country. To keep our armed forces weak and deprive people of the necessities is the way of functioning of the Congress.» He added, «Entire northeast can witness the meaning of 'Modi ki guarantee' with the development works being done here.»

Krystyna Pyszkova clinched the prestigious Miss World 2024 crown at the glittering event held in Mumbai's Jio World Convention Centre. The occasion, graced by luminaries and renowned personalities, marked a celebration of femininity and global diversity. This year's Miss World competition garnered immense anticipation, particularly due to India's rich history of producing exceptional beauty queens. The event, far beyond a mere pageant, resonated as a tribute to womanhood in its entirety. Renowned Indian designer Archana Kochhar curated the stunning ensembles donned by the contestants, adding a touch of Bollywood flair to the spectacle.

Sini Shetty was bested by Miss Lebanon who made it till top 4. Sini Shetty, a 22 year old Bharatnatyam dancer represented India in the beauty pageant. She was born and raised in Mumbai.

Sharad Pawar, who heads the NCP (SP), on Saturday declared MP Supriya Sule as their candidate from Maharashtra's Baramati Lok Sabha seat, amid speculation that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar could be fielded from there. The octogenarian leader made the announcement during a rally organised by the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi in Bhor tehsil of Pune district. Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT), an MVA constituent, was also present at the event. The Election Commission will announce the Lok Sabha poll schedule on March 14 or March 15, said Sharad Pawar. The EC has allotted «man blowing turha (a traditional trumpet)» symbol to his outfit. «The elections will decide the future of our country. Nobody was so anxious about the future of the country so far, but now a change is needed. Today, PM Modi is not paying any attention towards farmer suicides. Instead, he is focussing all his attention only on Gujarat,» he said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday that the state is the engine of the country's economy and it has garnered more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) than Gujarat, Karnataka or Uttar Pradesh. He was addressing a 'Viksit Bharat' (developed India) event at Pune's Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Though late president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam envisaged the 'Viksit Bharat' concept, no work was done on it between 2000 and 2014, alleged Fadnavis. «The actual work started in 2014 and last year we made our mark in the world's top five economies. In the past many years, we witnessed corrupt practices and many scandals. Earlier, FDI inflow was low due to policy paralysis.

India and Bangladesh Saturday agreed to undertake joint efforts to «bring down to absolute minimum» the incidents of attack on BSF personnel by criminals from the neighbouring country along the 4,096-km-long International Border (IB) shared by them, an official statement said. The bi-annual Director General (DG) level talks between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) ended in Dhaka with the signing of a joint record of discussions. The Indian delegation led by BSF DG Nitin Agrawal travelled to Bangladesh for the 54th edition of these talks held between March 5-9 at the BGB headquarters at Pilkhana in Dhaka. BGB DG Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui headed the Bangladeshi delegation.

Centre not to run away from its responsibility of giving legal guarantee for MSP on all crops, even as farmers prepare to participate in the proposed 'rail roko' protest on March 10 to press for their demands. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have called for a 'rail roko' protest on Sunday in support of their various demands. Citing reports, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Dallewal rejected the Centre's plan to undertake guaranteed procurement of pulses (tur, urad and masoor), maize and cotton at a Minimum Support Price (MSP). Speaking to reporters, Dallewal asserted that farmers must be given MSP on all crops for their survival under the «C2 plus 50 per cent» formula recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.

Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday hailed Nivetti Systems for the indigenously developed 2.4 tbps router. He termed it a momentous achievement for the country. «I came to Bengaluru for a very special purpose. First indigenously developed 2.4 tbps router. It's not a very small thing. It's really a momentous achievement for our country,» Vaishnaw, who holds the Electronics, Communication, Information Technology and Railways portfolios, said at the launch here. «This is indeed a very big milestone that we have achieved,» he noted.

Andhra Pradesh and its people, and the seat-sharing modalities would be deliberated in a day or two, the three parties said in a joint statement on Saturday. «We hope that the alliance will come up to the expectation of the people of Andhra Pradesh with their wholehearted support,» BJP president J P Nadda, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party's (JSP) Pawan Kalyan said in the joint statement. They said that under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the three parties have decided to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly elections together as they are committed to the progress of the country and the upliftment of the state and its people. The statement said that Prime Minister Modi has been working tirelessly for the development and progress of the nation for the last 10 years and the coming together of the BJP with the TDP and the JSP will help achieve the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh.

BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the state." On the poll prospects of the TDP-BJP-JSP tie-up in the Lok Sabha elections and Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls, Chandrababu Naidu said “it will be a sweep". While the TDP, BJP and the Jana Sena have already been deliberating on the seat-sharing formula to be shared between them, the official number has not been announced yet. Even though Lok Sabha looks sorted, the BJP reportedly wants to contest Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections on more seats than ally Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena.

Miss world 2024: Mumbai is all set to host the 71st Miss World 2024 pageant, which will witness participation from beautiful contestants from 112 countries of the world. India, which is hosting the grand event after 28 years will be represented by 22-year-old Sini Shetty. Ahead of the 71st Miss World 2024 pageant, Sini Shetty expressed her excitement for the event and said representing 1.4 billion people is a huge responsibility.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday termed the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as the one meant to save the Constitution and the democracy. «This is the election to save the Constitution and the democracy. This is the election to save reservation and save one's own honour. At one point of time, 'Samudra Manthan' (churning of the sea) had taken place. This is the time for 'Samvidhaan Manthan',» Yadav told reporters at his party office here. «On one hand, there are people who want to defend the Constitution, and on the other hand, there are people who want to end the Constitution,» he added. The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief said the people of Uttar Pradesh give a grand welcome and also bid a great farewell.

Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the country's growth cannot be imagined without the development of farmers and villages, and asserted that the Modi government was standing shoulder to shoulder with the cultivators. Addressing a mega farmers' rally at Government Science College ground in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur, he also targeted the previous Congress dispensation in the state, accusing it of indulging in corruption and derailing its development. "...I am the son of a farmer and hail from a village. Farmers can yield gold from the soil with their efforts and hard work. My government is standing shoulder to shoulder with farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre has been taking several steps for the welfare of farmers," the minister said.

Deve Gowda said on Saturday that the INDIA bloc is a bundle of groups who have made secularism a joke. In a veiled attack on the INDIA bloc, he reminded them that TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was a Railway Minister during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government. Similarly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's father and former CM M Karunanidhi was with BJP for six years. His son-in-law was minister in then union government. TMC and DMK are part of the INDIA bloc.

The Final Action Date for the F2A visa, a Family Based Green Card designed for spouses and unmarried children of US permanent residents/Green card holders, has advanced from June, 2020 to September, 2020. For the F4 family-based green card, the date for filing has moved up to April, 2006 from February. The visa grants lawful permanent residence to specific family members of US citizens, and applies to the siblings of US citizens. It also applies to the sibling's spouses and unmarried children under 21.

BJP target for ensuing general elections and abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said his party winning 370 seats will be a fitting tribute to the historic decision of the Modi government that has helped integrate J&K with the rest of the country. In an interview with PTI, Commerce Minister Goyal asserted that the target of 370 seats for the BJP and 400 seats for the NDA comes from the conviction of good governance in the last 10 years by the Modi government and not over-confidence and arrogance. He said the general election might throw a surprise and the final tally of BJP and NDA might be higher. Goyal did not comment on whether BJD will be part of the NDA, but welcomed all well-meaning good parties to be part of the journey to make India a developed nation by 2047.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, addressed the media in Delhi on Saturday, shedding light on matters pertaining to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. During the press conference, Minister Puri highlighted the recent decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reduce the prices of LPG cylinders by Rs 100, announced on International Women's Day. Minister Puri said, «On International Women's Day PM Narendra Modi conveyed this significant decision of reducing LPG cylinders price by Rs 100. During the cabinet meeting on Thursday, PM Modi had announced that the LPG cylinder subsidy, which was to end on March 31, will be extended to 2024-25.»

India's policy was 'Nation First' and the consumer was 'paramount', Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the Centre was able to keep oil prices from shooting up despite global turbulence amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict and drone attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea. The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas said 85 per cent of India's crude requirements are met by imports, with the price of crude in the international market being the benchmark. Addressing a press conference in the national capital on Saturday, Puri said, «If you accept that (global issues), you have to deal with the price of crude in the international market and the price at which it is made available. What happened in the last few years?»

Chidambaram said on Saturday that he welcomed the Centre's announcement to reduce the LPG cylinder price by Rs 100 but said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should assure that the price will not be increased if his party comes to power again. Also, he sought to know if there was any budgetary provision for over Rs 5.90 lakh crore projects including Rs 17,300 crore projects for Tamil Nadu announced by the prime minister in a fortnight's time from February 22. Speaking to reporters at Satyamurthy Bhavan, the Congress state headquarters here, Chidambaram said his party leader Rahul Gandhi has given five guarantees to the nation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, and that these will translate into poll assurances in the party's election manifesto. The guarantees include: An assurance on recruitment to eliminate the unemployment problem in the country by filling up nearly 30 lakh vacancies in the Central government, Right to Apprenticeship Law for the benefit of diploma holders and graduates, a new legislation to stop question paper leak for government jobs, social security for «Gig economy» workers involved in informal jobs, and capital support for the youth to start ventures on their own.