February 2023 - Page 33 of 50 - Lokmarg

Kiara Dances On Her Bridal Entry, Sidharth Gives Cute Reaction

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

OMG! Newlyweds Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani dropped some memorable moments of their wedding that was solemnised earlier this week, and since then everyone has been in awe of how the two are head over heels in love with each other.

Taking to Instagram, Kiara and Sidharth shared a video from the varmala ceremony.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoePqigAHTC/embed

The mesmerising clip begins with Kiara walking towards her groom. She made her bridal entry romantic and filmy as she danced her heart out while walking to the stage where Sidharth was standing. Sidharth jokingly looked at his watch, as if he was asking her to hurry up.

As Kiara finally walked upto him, the couple hugged each other and exchanged garlands. The couple sealed the varmala ceremony with a perfect kiss.

That moment when Sidharth saw Kiara in her bridal avatar, with their song ‘Ranjha’ playing in the background, is all things magical and emotional.

The couple captioned the post with their wedding date – 7.02.2023 and folded hands, infinity and heart emojis.

Reacting to the clip, Neha Dhupia commented, “Uff! beautiful ki n Sid.”

“Toooooo sweet,” actress Ananya Panday commented.

Karan Johar described the video as “awww of all awwws.”

Sidharth and Kiara got hitched on February 7 at Suryagarh Palace in Jaisalmer. After tying the knot, the couple flew to Delhi for their ‘griha pravesh’ at Sidharth’s residence.

The duo even hosted a wedding reception for their close friends and family members in Delhi on February 9 and now will host another reception for the members of the film industry on December 12 in Mumbai. (ANI)

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Budget 2023 Balances Requirement Of India’s Development Imperatives: Sitharaman In LS

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday participated in a general discussion on Budget 2023-24 in Lok Sabha and said that the budget astutely balances the requirement for India’s development imperatives within the limit of fiscal prudence.

“In simple words, budget 2023-24, astutely balances the requirement for India’s development imperatives within the limit of fiscal prudence. That is a very difficult balance, it is a very delicately balanced tact,” Sitharaman said.
“Since the pandemic when the economy dipped by minus 23, our efforts to recover the economy have been through the capex route (capital expenditure route) from the government’s side. This is because it has a great multiplier effect,” she added. (ANI)

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Modi Flags Off Two Vande Bharat Trains From Mumbai

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off two new Vande Bharat trains from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were present on the occasion.
The new and upgraded version of Vande Bharat Express will run between Mumbai and Solapur and Mumbai and Sainagar Shirdi.

Mumbai-Solapur train, the ninth Vande Bharat train will connect the country’s commercial capital to the City of Textiles and Hutatmas in Maharashtra and ensure faster connectivity to pilgrimage centres such as Siddheshwar in Solapur, Akkalkot, Tuljapur, Pandharpur near Solapur and Alandi near Pune.

Speaking at the at flagging off ceremony of an inaugural run of Mumbai-Solapur and Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said work has begun to make it an international-level terminus.

“We are introducing 2 Vande Bharat together, that too from the historic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Work has begun to make this an international level terminus,” said Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said it is for the first time that an amount of Rs 13,500 cr has been allocated for railway projects in the state.

“A few people questioned what Maharashtra got in the budget. They clearly didn’t read the Budget document properly. As the Railway Minister and Deputy CM (Devendra Fadnavis) said, Maharashtra had never received Rs 13,500 cr for the railway. For the first time, this amount has been allocated for railway in the state,” said Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde.

According to Railways, the existing superfast train takes 7 hours 55 minutes while Vande Bharat will complete the same journey in 6 hours 30 minutes, thus saving 1 hour 30 minutes of travel time. It will also connect pilgrimage centres, textile hub, tourist sites and the education hub of Pune.

The 10th Vande Bharat Train in the country, the Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express, will boost connectivity to important pilgrimage centres in Maharashtra’s Nashik, Trimbakeshwar, Sainagar Shirdi, and Shani Singapur.

The Vande Bharat Train is an indigenously manufactured, Semi-High Speed and self-propelled train set. The train is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities, providing a much faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience for railway passengers.

According to Indian Railways, Vande Bharat 2.0 is equipped with advanced and improved features enabling it to reach 0 to 100 kmph in just 52 seconds, a further 129 seconds to reach 160 kmph, and a maximum speed of up to 180 kilometres per hour. The improved Vande Bharat will weigh 392 tonnes as compared to the previous version, which weighed 430 tonnes.

It also comes with Wi-Fi connection on-demand facility. Every coach has 32-inch screens providing passengers with information and infotainment, compared to the 24-inch screens in the previous version. The Vande Bharat Express 2.0 is also environmentally friendly as the ACs are 15 per cent more energy efficient.

With dust-free clean air cooling of the traction motor, travel will become more comfortable. The side recliner seats, which were provided only to Executive Class passengers earlier, have now been made available for all the classes. Executive coaches have the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats.

In its new design, the Vande Bharat Express comes with a photo-catalytic ultraviolet air purification system in the Roof-Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) for air purification. Further, as recommended by Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, this system is designed and installed on both ends of RMPU to filter and clean the air, keeping it free from germs, bacteria, and viruses.

The Vande Bharat Express 2.0 offers various superior and aircraft-like travelling experiences. It is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System – KAVACH. (ANI)

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Akshay, Mohanlal’s Bhangra At Baraat

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

When you are around Akshay Kumar, entertainment is guaranteed, and that’s what happened at the wedding of Gautam Madhavan, son of K Madhavan (President, The Walt Disney Company India and Star India) in Jaipur on Thursday.

Akshay made Gautam’s baraat super fun by unleashing his Punjabi avatar and performing bhangra. And guess what who joined the Khiladi Kumar in bhangra? It was none other than Malayalam superstar Mohanlal. Yes, you read it right.

On Friday, Akshay took to Instagram and dropped a video which shows him performing bhangra with Mohan Lal.

Dressed in a cream kurta and white pyjamas, Akshay grooved to dhol beats with Mohanlal. Mohanlal looked handsome in a blush blue sherwani, white pants and a cream pagdi.

They tangled feet with each other and did some bhangra. After completing a full twirl, they hugged each other.

“I’ll forever remember this dance with you @mohanlal Sir. Absolutely memorable moment,” Akshay captioned the post.

Akshay and Mohanlal’s bhangra left their fans extremely happy.

“Haye…best video on the internet today,” a social media user commented.

“Watched this video on loop…you both are superstars,” another one wrote.

Celebrities like Karan Johar, Kamal Haasan, Aamir Khan, Mohanlal, and Prithviraj Sukumaran were also a part of the wedding festivities.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Akshay will be seen sharing screen space with Emraan Hashmi in ‘Selfiee’, which will release on February 24. On the other hand, Mohanlal is currently busy working on ‘Jailer’, which stars Rajinikanth in the lead role. (ANI)

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Russia Strikes Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia 17 Times An Hour

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

Russian missile strikes targeted the energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia on Friday morning, The Kyiv Independent reported citing Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Anatolii Kurtiev.

The Russian forces reportedly strike the city 17 times an hour, making it the most amount of times Moscow has launched attacks on Kyiv since the war started.
According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, Russian forces also targeted crucial infrastructure in Kharkiv before 4:00 am (local time) today, The Kyiv Independent reported.

The attack’s details are being clarified further, officials said. No information is available as of yet regarding casualties in Kharkiv or Zaporizhzhia.

Located on the left bank of the Dnipro River, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant by the number of units and output.

After the start of the Ukraine conflict in February last year, the station and surrounding area went under the control of the Russian forces and have since been shelled multiple times.

Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the attacks. (ANI)

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Pakistan: Pumps Run Out Of Petrol

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

Amid a severe economic crisis, most of the petrol pumps in the Punjab region of Pakistan ran out of petrol disrupting the routine life of people. In distant places where there have been no supplies for the pumps for more than a month, the situation is terrible, Dawn reported.

The lack of gasoline in Punjab remains despite assurances that there are an adequate supply and government threats to take harsh action against hoarders.
On the other side, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) has blamed all Oil marketing companies (OMCs) for failing to ensure appropriate supplies in response to demand, leaving the pumps empty and forcing drivers to go for gas in urban areas, according to Dawn.

The OMC Association of Pakistan (OMAP), which rejected the claim, stated that some gas stations were participating in stockpiling gasoline and creating fake shortages in order to increase earnings in light of the anticipated hike in gasoline prices.

Amid severe fuel shortages due to the poor economy, several petrol pumps in major and small cities of Punjab have been closed, Dawn reported.

The situation appears to be worst in certain large towns, such as Lahore, Gujranwala, and Faisalabad, where numerous petrol pumps have reportedly been running on a poor or nonexistent supply of petrol for many days as a result of pressure from the oil marketing companies (OMCs).

“In Lahore, around 70 of the total 450 pumps are dry. The areas where the pumps are closed due to shortage of petrol include Shahdra, Wagah, Litton Road and Jain Mandar,” Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association’s secretary of information Khawaja Atif told Dawn.

According to local media, petrol is severely in limited supply in several cities of Pakistan. The majority of the gas stations are shut. Few are open, and those that only offer a little quantity of gasoline. At these gas stations, there are long lines of cars and bikes.

Notably, the oil companies of Pakistan are on the verge of ‘collapse’ due to a reeling economic crisis and devaluation of the currency. (ANI)

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Rajasthan: BJP Protests After Gehlot Mistakenly Reads Previous Year’s Budget

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

Opposition BJP members protested in the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday alleging that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was reading from the old budget.

Following the alleged blunder made by the Congress leader, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators protested and the assembly proceedings got disrupted.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria questioned, “Rajasthan State Assembly proceedings disrupted as the Opposition alleges that CM Ashok Gehlot presented old budget today. This budget cannot be presented. Was it leaked?”

Meanwhile, Gehlot clarified by saying, “You (Opposition) can point out only if there’s a difference b/w what’s written in the budget in my hand and its copies given to the House members. If a page was added to my budget copy by mistake, then how does the matter of leaking of budget arise?”

Taking to Twitter, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh said, “Gehlot ji remains very careless, campaigned for this year’s budget and started reading the old budget! The public was thinking of a light of relief in the darkness spread by misrule, here the Chief Minister’s light went off. Don’t know, laugh or cry!” (ANI)

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Centre Drops ‘Air Suvidha’ For 6 Countries

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

The Government of India drops COVID-19 testing and uploading of the ‘Air Suvidha’ form for international arrivals from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand and Japan.

However, 2 per cent random testing will continue for international travellers at airports.
The Union Health Secretary has written a letter to the Secretary of Aviation in this regard for updating guidelines for International arrivals.

“Ministry of Health & Family Welfare as a part of its proactive yet graded public health response to COVID-19 management has been updating ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’ from time to time. In the last update, based on the increasing trajectory of COVID-19 and circulation of mutant variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in some countries, the Ministry had mandated requirements of pre-departure COVID-19 testing and uploading of Self-Health Declaration on the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s ‘Air Suvidha’ Portal,” the letter reads.

“However, as has been witnessed in the last 4 weeks, these Countries are witnessing a sustained and significant decline in the trajectory of COVID-19 cases. Further, as per World Health Organization’s latest situational update on COVID-19, a decline of 89% in the number of newly confirmed cases in the past 28 days has been noted globally as compared to 28 days prior to that. Meanwhile, India has continued to witness a declining trajectory, with less than 100 new cases/day being reported,” the letter said.

‘In view of the above, this Ministry is updating its ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’, and dropping the existing requirements of pre-departure COVID-19 testing and uploading of Self-Health Declaration on the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s ‘Air Suvidha’ portal applicable for international travellers coming from/via China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.”

However, 2 per cent random testing will continue, “In order to monitor infections due to mutated variants of SARS-CoV-2 among international travellers to India, the present exercise of random testing of 2 per cent travellers to India (irrespective of Country of origin) upon arrival India shall continue.”

The updated guidelines will come into the practice with effect from 11:00 AM on Monday, February 13, 2023. (ANI)

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Divide Between Urban India, Rural Bharat Closing: Mukesh

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries said that regional imbalances are fast disappearing in India while the divide between urban and rural India is also closing.

“Thanks to your (prime minister’s) far-sightedness, regional imbalances are fast disappearing. Uttar Pradesh is a shining example of this. The divide between urban India and rural Bharat is also closing,” Ambani said, speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the ongoing three-day UP Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow, where prime minister Narendra Modi is the chief guest.
It is the flagship investment summit of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The mega event is aimed to bring together policymakers, industry leaders, academia, think tanks and leaders from across the world to collectively explore business opportunities and forge partnerships.

“I am confident that India is on a very strong growth path,” Ambani said, citing four major reasons for his conviction.

They are technology adoption, largest youth population, disappearing regional imbalances and unprecedented hope among people.

“Indians are embracing technology at a rate unseen even in the developed world,” he said, giving reference to the rollout of high-speed 5G services in India.

Talking about India’s youth, he said they are brimming with entrepreneurial energy and passion and there innovations and ideas will the take the world by storm.

“Nobody in the world can question the fundamentals of Indian economy. They are robust. And now is the time for all our enterprises to step up on the accelerator,” he added.

He also mentioned about the recently presented Union Budget.

“This year’s budget has indeed led the foundation for India’s emergence as a developed nation. It stands out for its highest ever resource allocation for building the foundation for country’s growth in terms of capital expenditure. This is bound to not only boost economic growth, but also achieve greater social welfare,” he said.

For the record, the Budget document proposed to increase capital expenditure spending by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, focusing on augmenting core infrastructure assets, including roads, railways, airports and logistics. The Budgeted spending would be 3.3 per cent of GDP.

In conclusion, he announced Reliance plans to invest an additional Rs 75,000 crores in the next four years across Jio, retail and renewable businesses in UP, creating an additional over 1 lakh jobs in the state.

In the past few years, the group, he said, invested about Rs 50,000 in Uttar Pradesh.

Also, Jio will complete its roll-out of 5G to cover every town and village in Uttar Pradesh by December of 2023. (ANI)

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5.9MN Tonnes Lithium Deposits Found In J-K

By LokMarg 10th February 2023

The Union Government on Thursday said that 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves have been found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in EV batteries.
“Geological Survey of India for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Ministry of Mines said on Thursday.

It further that 51 mineral blocks including Lithium and Gold were handed over to respective state governments.

“Out of these 51 mineral blocks, 5 blocks pertain to gold and other blocks pertain to commodities like potash, molybdenum, base metals etc. spread across 11 states of Jammu and Kashmir (UT), Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana,” the ministry added.

The blocks were prepared based on the work carried out by GSI from field seasons 2018-19 to till date.

Apart from these, 17 reports of Coal and Lignite with a total resource of 7897 million tonnes were also handed over to the Ministry of Coal.

Seven Publications on different themes and intervention areas in which GSI operates were also released during the meeting.

“The proposed Annual Programme for the ensuing Field Season 2023-24 was presented and discussed during the meeting. During the ensuing year 2023-24, GSI is taking up 966 programmes comprising 318 mineral exploration projects including 12 marine mineral investigation projects,” the ministry further said.

The Geological Survey of India has formulated 115 projects on strategic and critical minerals and 16 projects on fertiliser minerals.

“55 programmes on geoinformatics, 140 programmes on fundamental and multidisciplinary geosciences, and 155 programs for training and institutional capacity building have also been taken up,” the Mines ministry stated.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was established in 1851 to find coal deposits for the Railways. Over the years, GSI has not only grown into a repository of geo-science information required in various fields in the country but has also attained the status of a geo-scientific organisation of international repute.

Its main functions relate to creating and updating of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment. These objectives are achieved through ground surveys, air-borne and marine surveys, mineral prospecting and investigations, multi-disciplinary geoscientific, geo-technical, geo-environmental and natural hazards studies, glaciology, seismo-tectonic study and carrying out fundamental research.

GSI’s chief role includes providing objective, impartial and up-to-date geological expertise and geoscientific information of all kinds, with a focus on policy-making decisions, and commercial and socio-economic needs. (ANI)

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