NATIONAL 
EXPRESS

In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has finally announced its seat-sharing deal. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and State Congress president Nana Patole announced the seat-sharing arrangement for the 48 parliamentary seats in the State. The Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest 21 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress 17 and the NCP (SP) 10 seats in Maharashtra. Shivsena(UBT) will contest from Jalgaon, Parbhani, Nashik, Palghar, Kalyan, Thane, Raigad, Mawal, Dharashiv, Ratnagiri, Buldhana, Hatkanagale, Sambhaji Nagar, Shirdi, Sangli, Hingoli, Yawatmal-Washim and four seats in Mumbai. Congress will contest in Nandurbar, Dhule, Akola, Amravati, Nagpur, Bhandara-Gondia, Gadchiroli-Chimur, Chandrapur, Nanded, Jalna, Mumbai North-Central, Pune, Latur, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ramtek and Mumbai North. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar-led NCP will contest in the Baramati, Shirur, Satara, Bhiwandi, Dindori, Madha, Raver, Wardha, Ahmednagar South and Beed constituencies.

Telangana state senior IPS officer and Director General of the state Vigilance and Enforcement Rajeev Ratan passed away this morning of heart attack. According to his family members, they rushed him to a private hospital complaining of chest pain this morning. The senior officer passed away while undergoing treatment. A 1991 batch IPS officer, he served as IG Operation, MD, Police Housing Corporation and held many other posts.

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has extended the judicial custody of BRS leader K Kavitha till April 23 in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy scam. She is in judicial custody after her arrest in the Delhi Excise policy money laundering case. A Delhi court had yesterday denied interim bail to Kavitha. Kavitha is allegedly a key member of the “South Group”, which has been accused of paying the ruling AAP in Delhi kickbacks of 100 crore rupees in return for a big share of liquor licences in the national capital. Kavitha was arrested from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15 by the Enforcement Directorate.

India has termed the UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the month of Ramadan a positive step. It has asserted that the humanitarian crisis resulting from the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict is unacceptable. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj told in a UN General Assembly meeting that India was deeply troubled by the ongoing conflict in Gaza. She said that the humanitarian crisis had deepened and instability had been increasing in the region and beyond. Ms Kamboj said that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas had led to a large-scale loss of civilian lives, especially women and children. The UNSC resolution, adopted on March 25 by the UN Security Council demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as the humanitarian access to address their medical and other humanitarian needs. The 15-nation Council adopted the resolution, put forth by the 10 non-permanent elected members of the Council, with 14 nations voting in favour, none against, and an abstention by the US, a permanent member.

Benchmark equity indices continued their record-breaking rally as the BSE Sensex breached the 75,000 mark this morning for the first time and Nifty climbed to its fresh new record peak. Buying in IT stocks contributed the most to the market’s rally in early trade. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed over 381 points to reach its all-time peak of 75,124. The NSE Nifty advanced 99 points to hit its record peak of 22,765 From the Sensex basket, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Tata Motors, Wipro, ICICI Bank and Nestle were the major gainers. The BSE benchmark jumped 494 points to settle at a new closing peak of 74,742 yesterday. The NSE Nifty climbed 152 points to 22,666.

In Assam, star campaigners have started arriving in the state to woo the voters. Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah will hold a public meeting at North Lakhimpur this afternoon. Later in the evening, he will do a roadshow at Tinsukia where polls will be held on the 19th of this month. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state BJP president Bhabesh Kalita are doing campaigning. Other parties are also holding meetings for their party candidates. State Congress President Bhupen Bora, MP Gaurav Gogoi and Pradyut Bordoloi are making all out efforts to garner public support. AAP leader Atishi held a roadshow at Duliajan for party candidate yesterday. 35 candidates are in the fray for five seats in the first phase of polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted people on Nav Samvatsar. In a social media post, Mr Modi wished people the new year be filled with happiness, prosperity and good health. The Prime Minister also wished everyone on the occasion of Gudhi Padwa, Cheti Chand, Navreh, Ugaadi, Sajibu Cheiraoba Wishing people on Navratri, Mr Modi hoped that the great festival of worshipping Shakti would bring everyone happiness, prosperity, good fortune and good health

In Nepal, the foundation stone for the construction of the Shree Diding Basic School Building was laid at Chichila Rural Municipality-3, Sankhuwasabha District, being built with the Government of India’s financial assistance at the tendered cost of NRs.40.29 million under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’. Political representatives, government officials, social workers, representatives of school management, teachers, parents and students were also present on this occasion. The Government of India grant under ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’, will be utilized for the construction of a double-storied academic and administrative block with other facilities for this school. The project is taken up as a High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP), under an Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Nepal being implemented through Chichila Rural Municipality, Sankhuwasabha. The project is an important example of the robust development partnership between India and Nepal. Pasang Nurbu Sherpa, Chairman of Chichila Rural Municipality in his remarks appreciated the continued developmental support of the Government of India in the upliftment of the people of Nepal in priority sectors. The new school building would be useful in providing better education facilities to students of Shree Diding Basic School in Chichila Rural Municipality, Sankhuwasabha and would create an improved environment for learning as well as contribute to the development of education in this area. Since 2003, the Government of India has taken up over 550 HICDPs in Nepal in various sectors and has completed 488 projects. Amongst these, 85 projects are in Koshi Province in various sectors, which include 2 projects in Sankhuwasabha.  As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation. The implementation of HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal in the upliftment of its people and augmenting infrastructure in the priority sector, especially in the education sector in Nepal.

In IPL Cricket, Chennai Super Kings defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai last night. Chasing a target of 138, Chennai reached 141 for the loss of three wickets, with 14 balls to spare. Skipper Rithuraj Gaikwad scored an unbeaten 67 runs from 58 balls. Earlier, put in to bat first, Kolkata scored 137 for the loss of nine wickets. Shreyas Iyer was the top scorer for Kolkata, scoring 34 off 32. For Chennai, Tushar Deshpande and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets each, while Mustafizur Rahman scalped two wickets. Today, Punjab Kings will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh. The match will start at 7.30 PM, IST.

The 2024 edition of the Badminton Asia Championship will begin today in Ningbo, China. Star shuttlers, including H S Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu and others will represent the Indian contingent. In Men’s singles, H S Prannoy will take on Lu Guangzhou of China whereas Kidambi Srikanth will lock horns with Anthony Ginting of Indonesia in the opening round. Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen will face the top-seeded Shi Yu Qi in the first round. Another Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat will also mark the Indian presence in the tournament. He will meet Malaysia’s Lee Zii in the first round. In women’s singles, P V Sindhu will take on the Malaysian Goh Jin Wei in the first round. Sindhu will be accompanied by Aakarshi Kashyap, who will be facing Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, in the main draw. Meanwhile, Ashmita Chaliha and Malvika Bansod will start from the qualifiers. In Men’s doubles, the pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will face the seventh-seeded Chinese Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi. Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K are also in the fray. In women’s doubles, the duo of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will face the Indonesian pair of Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will take on the fourth-seeded Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning of China. The competition will provide an opportunity for players to boost their rankings ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics which will take place in July this year.

People across Maharashtra are celebrating Gudi Padwa or the Maharashtrian New Year today. It is that time of the year when grand rallies are taken across the state out to herald the New Year. Since early morning, men in traditional feta and women dressed in Navaris can be seen riding bikes while participating in these rallies. Rangolis and a traditional Gudi, which is a combination of a Kalash, a piece of cloth, and flowers along with mango and neem leaves are also adorning each household. AIR correspondent said that the festival of Gudi Padwa was being celebrated with much fanfare across Mumbai and Maharashtra. Among the most awaited Shobha Yatras, the Girgaon-based cultural committee, Swami Vivekananda Yuva Prathisthan have planned the yatra to commemorate 350 years of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s coronation. Also keeping in mind the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya earlier this year, the committee aims to express how Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s rajya was Ram Rajya. Meanwhile, Mumbai Suburban District Collector Rajendra Kshirsagar has urged citizens to unfurl the Gudi of democracy this year and participate in the upcoming general elections by voting.

The 9-day long festival of Navratra, which marks the worship of Goddess Durga, began today with religious fervor and gaiety. Devotees thronged temples from early this morning to offer their prayers to the Goddess. On the first day of Navaratri, Devi Durga is worshipped as Shailaputri. In the national capital, devotees visited Kalkaji, Jhandewalan and other temples to offer prayers.