NATIONAL 
EXPRESS

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has rescued five fishermen from a sinking Indian fishing boat at mid-sea, approximately 50 km from Porbandar. The ICG’s action came in response to an SOS call. ICG Ship C-16 quickly arrived in the vicinity of the fishing boat in a short time and launched the rescue and support mission. As the fishing boat was already 75 per cent flooded, it sank 12 km off Porbandar. The ICG ship rescued all five crew members and medical support was provided to them. Earlier on March 20, the Indian Coast Guard carried out a rescue operation of eight crew members from a flooded boat after receiving a distress call off the coast of Kundapura in Karnataka.

Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi today criticized the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal for trying their best to protect the accused in the Sandeshkhali incidents that rocked the state. Addressing a public rally in Cooch Behar to boost BJP prospects in the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Modi asserted that only BJP can stop atrocities against women. Prime Minister Modi also criticized TMC for not allowing the implementation of  Central schemes in West Bengal. He said, many projects have not been completed on time despite the Centre giving record amounts of money. The Prime Minister also targeted Congress and said that for decades it kept giving the ‘Garibi Hatao’slogan but it is the BJP that has worked hard to alleviate 25 crore people from poverty. This happened because his Party is working sincerely and its  ‘niyat’ is right. Cooch Behar in north Bengal along with Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri will go to the polls on April 19 in the first of the seven phases of the Lok Sabha polls.

The External Affairs Ministry today said the first batch of people under the G2G agreement have gone to Israel. Briefing media in New Delhi this afternoon, Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stressed that India is conscious of their safety and has urged the Israeli authorities to ensure their safety and wellbeing. The workers have gone to Israel as part of a Mobility Agreement that India signed with Israel. The agreement predates the ongoing conflict in the region. Replying to another query, the spokesperson said India has noted with concern the Israeli attack on Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria on the first of April. He said India is distressed at the escalating tensions in West Asia and their potential to fuel further violence and instability. India has urged all parties to avoid actions that go against commonly accepted principles and norms of international law. Replying to a question on China claiming Arunachal Pradesh, the spokesperson said that Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India and will remain so. On India-Bangladesh ties, Mr Jaiswal said bilateral relations are very strong. He said both nations have a very comprehensive partnership that spans across sectors. On the two Indians who were reported missing after the Taiwan earthquake, Mr Jaiswal said they are now safe and contact has been established with them.

Senior BJP leader Smriti Irani visited Kasaragod in Kerala yesterday, April 4. Addressing a public meeting in support of NDA candidate ML Ashwini at Kanhangad, she challenged the Congress leadership to face the general elections, without the support extended by the SDPI, the political wing of the banned outfit, Popular Front of India. The BJP leader also referred to the Cooperative Bank scams in which several crores of public money were siphoned off by local leaders of the Congress, CPI-M and CPI in the state. She charged that the I.N.D.I.A bock was formed to loot the people, while the Narendra Modi’s government aims to ensure the country’s development and to make it the third largest economic power in the world.

Young Indian badminton player Anmol Kharb advanced to the women’s singles quarterfinals along with four other Indian players at the Kazakhstan International Challenge in Astana today. She defeated Nurani Rattu Azzahra of UAE in straight games 21-11, 21-7. Besides Anmol, shuttlers Devika Sihag, former national champion Anupama Upadhaya, seventh seed Tanya Hemanth and Isharani Baruah also entered into quarters. In mixed doubles, the pairs of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvija Shivani Gadde, Abhyuday Choudhary and Vaishnavi Khadkekar, Sanjai Srivatsa Dhanraj and Maneesha K and Zhakuo Seyie and Alisha Khan also progressed to the quarterfinals.

In IPL Cricket, Chennai Super Kings have set a target of 166 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Chennai Super Kings scored 165 runs for five wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and opted to field.

Tax on the super-rich, the law on general wealth tax and inheritance tax as well as reservation in the private sector, state funding for elections and banning corporate donation to political parties are parts of the CPI(M) manifesto released today for Lok Sabha Polls. In the manifesto, CPI(M) also said it is committed to including the Right to Work as a constitutional right. The Party also promised scraping of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and  Politburo members Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Nilotpal Basu and Tapan Sen released the manifesto in New Delhi today. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Yechury said, the Party will further strengthen the democracy and secularism in the country. He urged people to defeat the ruling BJP and its allies in the Lok Sabha polls to ensure that an alternative government is formed at the Centre

Oil prices were stable today, as investors mulled supply risks stemming from ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and the potential for a widening of the West Asia conflict. The Brent crude oil futures was up to trade at 89 dollar and 67 cents whereas Western Texas Intermediate was higher at 85 dollar and 89 cents when reports last came in.

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar interacted with the students of Rashtriya Military School, Dholpur at Parliament House, New Delhi today. The students are participating in a three-day Study Visit Programme organised by Rajya Sabha.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Assam Anurag Goel has said that the state is fully equipped to conduct the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in a transparent and fair manner. The CEO participating at the Dristipat programme of Akashvni News Guwahati said that 60 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have already been deployed across the state and additional forces will arrive on time. He informed that GPS will be installed in the vehicles that will carry the EVMs apart from GPS equipped 20 thousand vehicles to be engaged for election purposes. Mr Goel informed that to conduct the election smoothly, the Election Commission has arranged for webcasting of all the sensitive polling stations and using modern technology. ERONET software used to prepare voters lists in the state and the ECI has launched cVIGIL App to report any Model Code Conduct  (MCC) complaint and Election Commission will resolve the issue within 100 minutes of receiving the complaint, added the CEO. The CEO further informed that individuals of third phase voters can still change their polling station, rectify any errors if any 10 days before the nomination deadline. The visually-impaired voters in the state can now cast their votes through the Braille signage features in the EVMs, persons above 85, and those with 45 percent disability can vote from home. Senior citizens and pregnant women will be given priority in voting at polling stations. Those engaged in the election duty in the state to be covered by insurance and will get free treatment under Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya Yojona apart from food and lodging facilities. The total electorate in Assam was over 2.43 crore as on 8the February, 2024 and of these, 1,21,79,538 were male and 1,21,22,602 female. There are 414 transgender voters and 4854 voters over 100 years. Total 4 lakh 35 thousand young voters in 18-29 age groups have been added to the electoral roll in the state out of the 7,26,783 new voters. There are 28,650 polling stations in the state and there will be 1,409 women-managed polling stations and 262 model polling stations. Webcasting will be held at 15,777 polling stations. Elections to all 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held in three phases on 19 and 26 April, and 7 May. The counting of votes will be on 4 June.

Equity benchmark indices ended lower for the second straight session today due to profit-booking in select banking and auto stocks amid mixed trends from the global markets and outflow of foreign funds. BSE Sensex declined 27 points, or 0.04 percent, to finish at 73,877. The NSE Nifty fell 19 points, or 0.08 percent, to settle at 22,435. Among the Sensex constituents, Nestle India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Titan and JSW Steel were among the laggards. On the other hand, NTPC, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank ended the day in green. BSE MidCap rose 0.60 percent, while smallcap index gained 1.18 percent. In sectoral indices at the BSE, Utilities sector rose 1.45 percent, Power index jumped 1.20 percent, and Information Technology sector soared 0.80 percent. In contrast, Realty index declined 2.45 percent and Auto sector fell 0.40 percent.

In the forex market, the rupee closed at 83 rupees and 43 paise against the US dollar today. The dollar index, which indicates the US dollar’s strength against a basket of six other leading currencies was trading lower at 104.81 in intra-day trade.