Election Commission ordered the removal of West Bengal Director-General of Police, Virendra yesterday. It has appointed P Nirajnayan as  DG and IGP in his place with immediate effect. EC said the decision has been taken after reviewing the poll preparedness in the state.

The Election Commission of India has transferred the Director General of Police Sh Virendra in poll bound West Bengal. After a review meeting on the poll preparedness yesterday evening, the ECI has ordered the Chief Secretary of the state to transfer Virendra, 1985 batch IPS OFFICER and appoint Nirajnayan Pandey , 1987 Batch IPS OFFICER as the DGP of the state. The ECI also ordered not to give any posting to Virendra which is directly or indirectly related to conduct of elections.

Election Commission ordered the removal of West Bengal Director-General of Police, Virendra yesterday. It has appointed P Nirajnayan as  DG and IGP in his place with immediate effect. EC said the decision has been taken after reviewing the poll preparedness in the state.

The Election Commission of India has transferred the Director General of Police Sh Virendra in poll bound West Bengal. After a review meeting on the poll preparedness yesterday evening, the ECI has ordered the Chief Secretary of the state to transfer Virendra, 1985 batch IPS OFFICER and appoint Nirajnayan Pandey , 1987 Batch IPS OFFICER as the DGP of the state. The ECI also ordered not to give any posting to Virendra which is directly or indirectly related to conduct of elections.

Chief Minister Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat submitted his resignation to Governor Smt. Baby Rani Maurya yesterday. The Governor accepted his resignation and asked him to remain the acting Chief Minister till the appointment of a new Chief Minister in the State.

Our correspondent reports that the meeting of BJP  legislative party will be held today in Dehradun to elect a new leader of   legislative party in the presence of  Central observers.

According to sources the names of Union Minister and former Chief Minister of the state  Dr. Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni and Minister of state Independent charge Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat are considered for the post of new chief Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release 11 Volumes of Manu with commentaries by 21 scholars on slokas of Srimad Bhagavadgita today at Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Dr. Karan Singh will also be present on the occasion.

In general the practice with Srimad Bhagavadgita is to present the text with a single commentary. For the first time, many of the key commentaries by celebrated Indian scholars are being brought together for achieving a comprehensive and comparative appreciation of Srimad Bhagavadgita. The Manu, published by Dharmarth Trust, is written with extraordinary variety and nuance of Indian calligraphy ranging from Shankar Bhashya to Bhasanuvada. Dr Karan Singh is the Chairman Trustee of Dharmarth Trust, Jammu and Kashmir.

The Budget session of Delhi Assembly began yesterday with the address of Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who also holds the Finance portfolio presented the Economic Survey of Delhi and the status report of outcome Budget in the Assembly yesterday.

Today Mr Sisodia will present the Budget in the Assembly. The Budget Session of Delhi Assembly will be held till 16th of this month.

Both the Houses of Parliament adjourned till 12 Noon following opposition uproar over the issue of price rise of petrol, diesel and LPG. In the Lok Sabha, when the House met for the day, members from Congress, Left, DMK, NCP, Shiv Sena and others trooped into the well raising slogans against the government. Speaker Om Birla repeatedly urged the agitating members to go back to their seats and allow the House to take up question hour. He said, question hour is very important as members raise problems in their respective areas. Amid noisy scenes, he tried to run the question hour but in vain. As the pandemonium continued, he adjourned the House till 12 Noon.

In the Rajya Sabha also, opposition parties had given the adjournment notices over the issue which was rejected by the Chair. Following this, Congress members came into the well and raised slogans against the government. Deputy Chairman Harivansh said that the members can raise this issue during discussion on listed business. Amid uproar, Mr. Harivansh tried to run the Zero Hour. As the noisy scene continued, the House was adjourned till 12 Noon.

In poll bound Assam, today is the last day of filing nomination papers in the first phase.  So far 52 candidates have submitted nomination papers. Polling will be held in 47 seats in this phase on 27th of this month. Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sarbananda Sonowal will submit his nomination today at Majuli.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will fight from Majuli seat again. Senior party leader and Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, Asom Gana Parishad President Atul Bora are to accompany him in nomination filing. Several senior  leaders are vying for the first phase in Assam. State Congress President Ripun Bora has submitted nomination at Gohpur . Asom Gana Parishad President Atul Bora and Executive President Keshab Mahanta submitted nomination papers. Jailed  leader  of Raijor Dal Akhil Gogoi also filed nomination at Gauhati  medical college and hospital. Senior BJP leader and Speaker of the state Assembly Hitendra Nath Goswami at Jorhat , senior Minister Ranjit Dutta at Behali and Naba Kumar Doley filed nomination at Dhakuakhana.  President of Assam Jatiya Parishad Lurinjyoti Gogoi and senior leader of the party Jagdish Bhuyan too  filed nomination. 

President Ramnath Kovind will be on a three day visit to Tamilnadu. Security has been tightened at the airport and the surrounding areas on account of the visit. The President will be arriving at Chennai this evening and will stay at RajBhavan. Tomorrow he will depart to Vellore by helicopter to attend the 16th Annual Convocation at Thiruvalluvar University.Later the President will visit the Sri Mahalakshmi Golden Temple at Sripuram. On Thursday he will attend the 41st Annual Convocation at Anna University Guindy. President will leave for Delhi on the same day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Maitri Setu between India and Bangladesh today through video conferencing. Mr Modi will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple infrastructure projects in Tripura during the event.

The bridge Maitri Setu has been built over Feni river which flows between Indian boundary in Tripura State and Bangladesh. The name Maitri Setu symbolizes growing bilateral relations and friendly ties between India and Bangladesh. The construction was taken up by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited at a project cost of  133 Crore rupees. The 1.9 Kilometres long bridge joins Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh. It is poised to herald a new chapter for trade and people to people movement between India and Bangladesh. With this inauguration, Tripura is set to become the Gateway of North East with access to Chittagong Port of Bangladesh, which is just 80 Kilometres from Sabroom.

The Prime Minister will also lay foundation stone for setting up an Integrated Check Post at Sabroom. It will help ease the movement of goods and passengers between the two countries, provide new market opportunities for products of North East states and assist seamless movement of passengers to and from India and Bangladesh. The project is being taken up by the Land Ports Authority of India at an estimated cost of about 232 Crore rupees.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of NH 208 connecting the Unakoti district headquarters at Kailashahar with the Khowai district headquarters. It will provide an alternative route to the NH 44. The 80 Kilometres NH 208 project has been taken up by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited with a project cost of one thousand 78 Crore rupees.

The Prime Minister will also inaugurate State Highways and other district roads, developed by the State government with a financial outlay of 63.75 Crore rupees. They will provide all weather connectivity to the people of Tripura.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate 40 thousand 9 hundred 78 houses constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), completed with the financial outlay of 813 Crore rupees. He will also inaugurate the Integrated Command and Control Centre built under Agartala Smart City Mission.

The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the development of Multi Level Car Parking and Commercial Complex at Old Motor Stand. It will be developed at a cost of about 200 crore rupees. He will also lay foundation stone for widening of the existing road from Lichubagan to the airport from two lanes to four lanes. The work is being implemented by Agartala Smart City Mission at a project cost of about 96 crore rupees.

Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli received his first dose of India-made Covid-19 vaccine – Covishield yesterday. Prime Minister Oli got vaccinated at the Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu. After receiving the vaccine, PM Oli urged the eligible group to take the vaccine without any fear in order to defeat Covid-19. The vaccine was also administered on PM Oli’s wife Radhika Shakya. 69-year Oli has a history of comorbidities and underwent a kidney transplant in 2020.
 
The second phase of the inoculation drive officially began in Nepal yesterday. In the second phase, people over 65 years all across the country will get inoculated against the coronavirus. Nepal earlier this year received one million doses of Covishield vaccine from India in grant assistance and procured another two million, out of which one million is awaited.
 
Covishield, made by Serum Institute of India (SII), is the only vaccine being administered in Nepal. India, under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, has been providing coronavirus vaccines to its neighbouring countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted the indomitable spirit of women on the International Women’s Day. In his message, Mr Modi says India takes pride in the many accomplishments of the women of the nation.

He said it is his government’s honour to be getting the opportunity to work towards furthering women empowerment across a wide range of sectors.

A top American scientist has said that the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines by India in collaboration with leading global institutions has rescued the world from the deadly coronavirus and New Delhi’s contributions must not be underestimated. Dr Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told a webinar that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is India’s gift to the world in combating the virus.

Dr Hotez is an internationally-recognised physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development. Dr Hotez said that he felt compelled to make this statement because India’s huge efforts in combating global pandemic is a story that’s not really getting out in the world. The webinar was organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH).

India’s drugs regulator gave emergency use authorisation to Covishield, produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin, indigenously developed jointly by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and Indian Council of Medical Research scientists. Dr Hotez, who is considered the authority on vaccinations, is working on an affordable coronavirus vaccine in collaboration with Indian pharmaceutical companies.

India is called the pharmacy of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic with its vast experience and deep knowledge in medicine. The country is one of the world’s biggest drug-makers and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring coronavirus vaccines.

International Women’s Day is being observed today. The day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year to help forge a gender equal world, celebrate women’s achievements and their increasing visibility in every sphere of life. This day celebrates the cultural, political, economic and social achievements of women. It also highlights the extraordinary roles played by women in almost every walk of life and celebrates acts of courage and determination by ordinary women. The theme this year is – Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.
 
AIR correspondent reports that at every occasion, women have brought glory and laurels to the country and proved their abilities in various fields be it land, air and water. The Central Government has accorded high priority to the empowerment of women and undertaken many initiatives including access to education, better healthcare and improving gender sensitivity.
 
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has prevented gender biased sex selective elimination and ensured survival and protection of the girl child. Government also enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act to abolish the practice of instant Triple Talaq. The law has contributed towards women empowerment and dignity.
 
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has provided free of cost cooking gas to women. Now there is no need for women to venture into forests to get firewood for cooking.
 
Over 700 one stop centres have become operational in 35 States and Union Territories, providing a range of integrated service under one roof to the women affected by violence and in distress. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday dedicated to the nation, the seventy five hundredth Janaushadhi Kendra at Neigrihms in Shillong through video conferencing. Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister called upon the people to use medicines from JanAushadhi Kendra saying that people have saved more than 9,000 crore rupees through these centres. He said, the scheme has relieved the poor of their high medical expenses. He said, Jan Aushadhi centres are helping people from poor and middle-class families to save around 3,600 crore rupees every year.

The Prime Minister pointed out that more than 1,000 JanAushadhi Kendras are being run by women. He also interacted with the beneficiaries of the Janaushadhi scheme.

The National Committee set up to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence will hold its first meeting today to discuss modalities relating to preparatory activities. The 259 member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet virtually. The committee includes Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Governors as well as leaders of different political parties including BJP President JP Nadda and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi.
 
Former President Pratibha Patil, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, former Prime Ministers HD Deve Gowda and Dr Manmohan Singh and Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen and Kailash Satyarthi are also part of the committee. AIR correspondent reports the Government has decided to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence in a befitting manner at National and International level in the form of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
 
The National Committee includes dignitaries and eminent citizens from all walks of life including Artists, Sportspersons, Business leaders, Gandhians and media persons. The committee will provide policy direction and guidelines for formulation of programs for the commemoration. The 75 years of India’s Independence falls on 15th August next year. The celebrations are proposed to be launched 75 weeks prior to this date on 12th of this month. 12th March is the 91st anniversary of the historic Salt Satyagraha led by Mahatma Gandhi.