President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to an ordinance that allows voluntary use of Aadhaar as ID proof for obtaining mobile SIM cards and opening bank accounts.

The ordinance — necessitated because the Rajya Sabha could not approve a Bill after its passage by the Lok Sabha — was promulgated on Saturday.

Last week, the Cabinet approved the promulgation of an ordinance to give effect to changes proposed in Aadhaar and two others legislations. The amendments provide for stiff penalties for violation of norms set for the use of Aadhaar and violation of privacy.

It bans storing of core biometric information as well as Aadhaar number by service providers in cases of individuals who have voluntarily offered the national ID as a means of authentication. The ordinance gives effect to the changes in the Aadhaar Act such as giving a child an option to exit from the biometric ID programme on attaining 18 years of age.

The amendments make it clear that anyone not offering Aadhaar cannot be denied any service, be it opening of a bank account or obtaining a mobile phone SIM card.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Gujarat from today. During the visit, the Prime Minister will dedicate, inaugurate and lay foundation stones of series of development projects. Mr. Modi will inaugurate the first phase of the Metro Rail Project in Ahmedabad. He will also lay the foundation stone of Phase-2 of the Metro. 

An official release said, the Metro Projects will not only add to connectivity, but also reduce travel time, and enhance the ease of living substantially in the urban areas. 

The Prime Minister will also dedicate to nation various hospitals built in Ahmedabad region. They are Women Children & Super Specialty Hospital, Cancer Hospital, Eye Hospital and Dental Hospital. These hospitals will be a tremendous boost to the health care sector in Ahmedabad. Mr. Modi will distribute Golden Cards to select beneficiaries of PM-JAY- Ayushman Bharat scheme.

The Prime Minister will also will also flag off Bandra- Jamnagar Humsafar Express through video link. He will also lay the foundation stone of Rajkot-Kanalus Railway Line doubling project. The Prime Minister will also hand over keys of 448 houses and 1008 flats to the beneficiaries constructed by Jamnagar Area Development Authority. Prime Minister will address the gathering at the venue.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will release a book titled ‘Mann Ki Baat - A Social Revolution on Radio’ in New Delhi today. The Book is a compendium encompassing 50 editions of the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over All India Radio.

Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, who played a prominent role in the Kargil Operations has taken over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force. The Air Marshal  is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the Flying Branch of the Air Force as a Fighter Pilot in June 1981. 

The Air Marshal reviewed a ceremonial Guard of Honour yesterday and outlined his vision for the Western Air Command. He exhorted all personnel to work with zeal and enthusiasm so as to enable Western Air Command to fulfil the objectives of the IAF and the nation at large.

The Air Marshal is an Experimental Test Pilot and has flown about 42 types of aircraft. He has the distinction of having the highest number of flying hours to his credit on Mirage-2000 in the Air Force. 
 

Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, laid foundation stone for the six lane, access controlled National Highway that will act as interchange for Delhi-Mumbai expressway.

"Work on the highway will begin within two months and the entire project will be completed in two years' time" Gadkari said, adding that projects worth Rs 5,000 crore are being implemented to decongest the national capital, including 3 km signal free corridor from Dhaula – Kuan to Airport (Rs 280 crore), 22 km elevated corridor on Gurugram-Sohna Road (Rs 2,000 crore), 8-lane Delhi-Panipat highway on NH-1 (Rs 2300 crore), 29 km long Dwarka Expressway (Rs 9,500 crore) and remaining part of Delhi-Meerut Expressway (Rs 5,900 Crore) among other projects.

The project will be 59 kilometers long and will start at ring road-DND junction in Delhi and will pass through Kalindi bypass and Faridabad-Ballabhgarh bypass to finish at the interchange of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at KMP.

The Rs 3,580 crore project is expected to reduce vehicular pollution by "decongesting Delhi with at Ashram-Badarpur-Faridabad-Ballabhgarh region".

President Ram Nath Kovind issued an order extending the benefits of reservation to economically backward sections in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday night.

A notification in this regard was issued after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took a decision on Thursday to issue the order, a Home Ministry official said.

With this, the 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections has been made applicable in Jammu and Kashmir also.

This would pave the way for reserving state government jobs to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir who are from economically weaker sections belonging to any religion or caste, the official said.

Ten per cent reservation to economically weaker sections was introduced in the rest of the country through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment in January 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-Conference in New Delhi this morning. Our correspondent reports that technology providers, researchers, start-ups, developers, academia, public sector agencies and other domain experts will participate in the two-day event. 

The Construction Technology India Conference will provide avenues for stakeholders to open up new areas for collaboration and facilitate conversion of ideas into market-ready products. Proven technologies which are identified during CTI - 2019 will be further invited to design and build lighthouse projects of nearly one thousand housing units each in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.The conference will also identify innovative and globally established technologies for use in the Indian context.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the government is committed for welfare of farmers and fishermen. A separate department is being set up with 7,500 crore rupees for fulfilling the various needs of fishermen. 

Speaking at a public meeting in Visakhapatnam last evening, Mr Modi said assistance for buying fishing related tools and other infrastructure will be provided to the fishing community. Explaining other welfare measures taken up by his government, the Prime Minister said that health insurance up to five lacs is provided under the Ayushman Bharath, zero percentage tax to those who have five lakhs annual income and affordable houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Expressing the NDA government’s commitment for the welfare of the Andhra Pradesh, Mr Modi said long pending demand for separate South Coast Railway Zone has been fulfilled, which will facilitate people and trade of the region.

In Jammu and Kashmir, three members of a family were killed due to heavy shelling by Pakistan troops in Solatri village of border district of Poonch. People residing in Jhulas, Solatri Bhera have started migrating to safer places. Due to prevailing situation, all the educational institutions falling within five km area along the Line of Control in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch will remain closed today.

It may be mentioned here that Pakistan Army on the 8th consecutive day continued violating the ceasefire in border districts of Poonch and Rajouri by targeting Indian posts and civilian areas. Indian troops are giving effective and befitting reply to Pakistan's indiscriminate firing and heavy shelling.

Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman arrived in New Delhi last night after he was handed over to Indian authorities by Pakistan at Attari-Wagah border. Air Vice Marshal R G Kapoor said Abhinandan was handed over as per standard operating procedure and Indian Air Force is happy to have him back.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed Wing Commander Abhinandan back to the country, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. In a tweet, Mr Modi said that the country's armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians. 

Several leaders have also welcomed and lauded Abhinandan for his poise and courage. In a tweet, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, the entire nation appreciates the Wing Commander's valour and grit and he is an inspiration to youth. 
 
Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Smriti Irani too lauded the pilot for his bravery. BJP president Amit Shah wished him continue to serve the nation and the IAF with unparalleled passion and dedication.