The Election Commission on March 10 imposed ‘model code of conduct' with immediate effect for the Lok Sabha elections and announced that ‘voter verifiable paper audit trail' will be used in all polling stations this time. Among other things, the model code of conduct bars the government from announcing any policy move that may impact voters' decision.

Announcing the seven-phase schedule for 2019 Lok Sabha polls beginning April 11, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora also said 10 lakhs polling stations would be set up this time as against about nine lakhs in 2014.

He said model code of conduct for polls has come into immediate effect from March 10 and all political advertisements on social media will need pre-certification.

The EC said 91 constituencies will go for polls in first phase on April 11, followed by 97 constituencies in second phase on April 18.

The total contestants in fray were 8,251, with an average of 15 candidates in each constituency. However, deposit was forfeited in case of 7,000 contestants.

A total of over 55 crore voters (66.3 per cent) exercised their vote, while there were 9.27 lakh polling stations. There were nearly 60 lakh ‘NOTA' votes.

Out of total 543 elected candidates, only 62 were women from 668 who had contested.

As a mark of respect for the CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the Pulwama terrorist attack, the Indian cricketers Friday sported special Army caps during the third ODI against Australia in Ranchi and donated their match fee to the National Defence Fund.

Captain Virat Kohli came out for the toss wearing the camouflage military cap, which had the BCCI's logo on it. He also urged everyone to contribute towards the National Defence Fund so that the money could be used for the welfare of the families of the slain CRPF Personnel. 

The inaugural India-Japan Space Dialogue was held in New Delhi yesterday. The dialogue brought together Ministries and agencies related to outer space in the two countries and provided an opportunity for information exchange on the respective space policies. Discussions were also held on bilateral cooperation between JAXA-ISRO, their space industries, global navigation satellite system, space situational awareness, space security and space-related norms.

The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary for Disarmament and International Security Affairs in Ministry of External Affairs, Indra Mani Pandey. The Japanese delegation was co-led by Deputy Assistant Minister in Foreign Policy Bureau of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Policy Planning and International Security Policy, Kansuke Nagaoka and Director General of National Space Policy Secretariat in Cabinet Office Shuzo Takada.

The Centre and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a 26 million dollar loan agreement to provide additional financing for improving drainage infrastructure in Dibrugarh town of Assam.

The ongoing loan of 51 million dollars under the Assam Urban Infrastructure Investment Program is helping to improve water supply infrastructure in Guwahati and solid waste management and drainage infrastructure in Guwahati and Dibrugarh. 

Additional Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs Sameer Kumar Khare and India Resident Mission of ADB, Hoe Yun Jeong signed the agreement in New Delhi yesterday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh today. He will launch various development projects at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology. Mr Modi will unveil a plaque to mark the inauguration of the institute and unveil the statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya at the campus. The Institute is under Archaeological Survey of India. 

The Prime Minister will also inaugurate Noida City Centre - Noida Electronic City Section of the Delhi Metro. The new section will provide a convenient and faster mode of transport for the residents of Noida. It will also decongest the roads and provide an environment-friendly mode of transport. The 6.6 kilometre long section is an extension of Delhi Metro’s Blue Line. 

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of two thermal Power Plants. One is 1,320 Mega Watt Super Thermal Power Project at Khurja, in Bulandshahar District of Uttar Pradesh and other is 1320 Mega Watt Thermal Power Plant at Buxar in Bihar. Both projects are based on Supercritical Technology with two units of capacity 660 Mega Watt each, equipped with latest emission control technology to protect the environment and has high efficiency and uses less fuel to generate power. 

The Cabinet on Thursday approved the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) for the entire country, and river management activities and works related to border areas for the 2017-18 to 2019-20 years.

A total outlay of Rs 3,342 crore has been earmarked for the scheme that will be implemented throughout the country for effective flood management, erosion control and anti-sea erosion, a statement said.

It will benefit towns, villages and industrial establishments, strengthen communication links and infrastructure for flood management, and control erosion in the country, the statement added.

Supporting the decisions on electric vehicles approved during the last cabinet meeting, the government, on March 7, further approved creation of Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) to support and promote “clean, connected, shared and sustainable” mobility solutions.

The cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved setting up of National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage along with creation of the PMP for five years to “support setting up of few-large scale, export-competitive integrated batteries and cell manufacturing Giga plants”.

The government aims to promote indigenous manufacturing of all components utilised in the “supply chain for manufacturing of electric vehicles” through the PMP scheme, which will be executed between 2019-20 and 2023-24 and will be approved by the NMTMBS.

Indian-American television personality and food expert Padma Lakshmi has been appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as its newest Goodwill Ambassador, supporting the agency's fight against inequality and discrimination around the world.

The announcement was made by UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, on the eve of International Women's Day yesterday. 

THE INDIAN Air Force on Thursday said it was in a “high state of preparedness” to pro-actively engage any perceived threat from Pakistan, in an indication that tension remained between the two countries.

Citing a document of Pakistan’s civil aviation authority, the IAF said the neighbouring country has opened its airspace with Oman, Iran, Afghanistan and China only and the 11 entry and exit points located along the India-Pakistan airspace were still closed.

“The Indian Air Force is in a high state of preparedness, to pro-actively engage any perceived threat in the present security scenario,” the IAF said in a statement. It said a strict vigil in the skies is being maintained to detect and thwart any act of aggression by the Pakistan Air Force .

Officials said all the frontline IAF bases along India’s western border have been kept on maximum alert.

Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, presently High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Seychelles, has been appointed as the next ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia. 

An External Affairs Ministry release said, the Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1989 batch, Sayeed will succeed Ahmad Javed, who had been serving as envoy to Saudi Arabia since December 2015. 

Mr Sayeed has handled different areas including political, economic, consular and cultural work, besides Haj management and served as Ambassador to Yemen and Consul General of India in Chicago and Jeddah.