President Ramnath Kovind today said Yoga exemplifies India's soft power to the world. Addressing the commemoration event of the Mumbai-based Yoga Institute, Kovind said togetherness is another name of Yoga, adding that it interconnects cultures from across the world. 

Stressing on the need to strengthen the yoga institutes in the country, President Kovind said that there is a need to train teachers to take forward the yoga. 

Saying that yoga has earned huge respect from various countries in the world, he said the Central government to has been contributing a lot to spread and promote yoga in the country. 

President Kovind also applauded Maharashtra and other states for incorporating a subject on yoga in their syllabus. 

Narrating an anecdote of his interaction with the President and first lady of Cuba, Kovind said the first lady told him that they were practising Yoga daily.  Mr. Kovind further quoted the Cuban president as saying Yoga is the "valuable gift" which India has given to mankind. 

Sharing another anecdote about Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian who travelled in space, President Kovind said that Sharma had shared his experience on how he dealt with space sickness by practising yoga in the spacecraft. He added that not on the land but also in space the yoga has proven to be beneficial. 

Maharashtra governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, union Ayush minister Shripad Naik and other yoga gurus were present on the occasion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch several of infrastructure projects in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Sunday. He will reach Port Blair Saturday evening and will visit the Tsunami Memorial at Car Nicobar the following day.

 The prime minister will lay a wreath at the memorial and light a candle at the Wall of Lost Souls, a statement from his office said.

He will then inaugurate an industrial training institute at Arong and lay the foundation stone for some infrastructure projects. The prime minister will also address a public meeting, it said.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Modi will lay a wreath at the Martyrs Column at Port Blair and will visit the Cellular Jail in the city. Modi will hoist the high mast flag at South Point, Port Blair.

Public sector banks have approved more than 1.12 lakh loan applications of MSMEs worth of 37,412 crore rupees under the '59 minutes' loan scheme launched by the government last month.

GST-registered Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can take loan up to one crore in just 59 minutes through 'psbloansin59minutes.com' portal.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said that as on 25th of this month, out of over 1.31 lakh applications, the state-owned banks have accorded in-principal approval to 1.12 lakh applicants.

He also said that sanctions have been made in respect of 40,669 cases totalling over 14 thousand crore rupees.

Mr Shukla said the government and the Reserve Bank have taken several steps to ensure access of credit to MSME sector.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi and Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh and Varanasi today (December 29) where he is expected to inaugurate developmental projects. PM's second visit to his Lok Sabha constituency in the last two months comes at a time when the BJP faces pressure from its allies demanding a better share of the pie ahead of the General Elections 2019.   

During the visit, Modi will inaugurate the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) in Varanasi and attend the 'One District, One Product Regional Summit' at Deendayal Hastakala Sankul in the holy city. He will also launch developmental projects worth Rs 508 crore. Later, he will also launch a commemorative postal stamp on the Maharaja Suheldeo in Ghazipur where he will also address a public rally.

IRRI and ISARC at campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi will serve as hub for rice research and training in South Asia and SAARC region. 

‘One District One Product’ is government scheme aimed at enhancing the skills of local people and increasing the reach of the  indigenous trades, crafts and products from small towns and small districts in the state.

The Union cabinet has approved amendments in the POCSO Act which would now have death penalty for aggravated penetrative sexual assault against children.

“Stringent punishment, including death penalty for aggravated penetrative sexual abuse of children is among the amendments to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced at a press briefing.

To curb child pornography, the amendment levies heavy fine for not deleting, destroying child pornographic material. Not reporting child pornography will also invite a hefty fine, the Law Minister said.

Brought in 2012, the POCSO has been modified earlier too to make it as foolproof as possible.

The amendment comes after a 40-year-old man was accused of raping his three-year-old neighbor in New Delhi on the sixth anniversary Nirbhaya gang rape that became a worldwide symbol of the dangers faced by women and girls.

It was reported that locals found the girl lying face down and unconscious near a school in Bindapur

Union Cabinet has approved the Gaganyaan Programme with a demonstration of Indian Human Spaceflight capability to low earth orbit for a mission duration ranging from one orbital period to a maximum of seven days.

A human-rated GSLV Mk-lll will be used to carry the orbital module which will have necessary provisions for sustaining a 3-member crew for the duration of the mission.

The total fund requirement for the Gaganyaan Programme is within 10,000 crore rupees and includes the cost of technology development, flight hardware realization and essential infrastructure elements.

Two unmanned flights and one manned flight will be undertaken as part of Gaganyaan Programme.

In a boost to India’s aerospace missions, the Cabinet Friday approved the indigenous spacecraft project called Gaganyaan under which a three-member crew will be sent to space for at least seven days, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. The testing phase is expected to begin from December 2020 and the mission will be undertaken from 2022, he added.

The historic mission is expected to have a crew capacity of three astronauts and is supposed to operate for at least a week. The total cost of the project is reported to be a total of Rs. 10,000 crores and the mission, if successful, will ensure India’s addition to the club of three countries that have sent a manned mission to the outer space.

“The astronauts will be inside a crew module which will be attached to a services module to maintain services for them, and then onto an orbital module. The orbital module will be placed on the launch vehicle for the launch,” ISRO chairman K Sivan had earlier said. “The launch will take place within 16 minutes, the crew will be transported from Sriharikota to a low earth orbit of 400 km. They will stay in orbit for 5-7 days.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a Rs 4,500 crore financial assistance to Bhutan for its 12th five-year plan after holding wide-ranging talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Dr. Lotay Tshering. 

The new five-year plan of Bhutan began this year and will continue till 2022. In his media statement after the talks in New Delhi, Mr. Modi said hydropower cooperation with Bhutan is a key aspect of bilateral ties and that work on the Mangdechhu project will soon be completed. 

Dr. Tshering arrived in New Delhi yesterday on his first foreign visit after taking charge as Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation last month following his party's victory in the general elections. His visit takes place during the Golden Jubilee year of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries. 

He was accorded ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning. 

Mr Modi said he has assured the Bhutanese Prime Minister that India, as a trusted friend, will continue to play an important role in Bhutan's development. 

Prime Minister Modi said, collaboration in space science is a new dimension in India-Bhutan relations. He said, the ground station being built by ISRO in Bhutan will soon be ready. The station will help Bhutan get benefits from South Asian satellite. 

The railways has decided to grant 40% concession in passenger fares to transgender senior citizens, the transporter said Thursday.The concession for a person of the third gender, aged 60 years or above, will be available from New Year’s Day, said Central Railway spokesperson Sunil Udasi.

Till now, such a concession was admissible for men who are 60 years and above, and for women aged 58 years and above. The rate of concession is 40% for men and 50 per cent for women. Though a column for transgender (T) was introduced in the reservation form, the concession was not admissible to them.

The railways offers concessions on ticket prices to 53 different categories, ranging from 10-100%. While students going to their hometown or educational tours can avail a concession of 50% in second and sleeper class, students hailing from Scheduled Tribes can avail a concession of 75%.

Similarly, government school students in rural areas are eligible to get a concession of 75% in second class for a study tour or an entrance examination once a year.

Those appearing for UPSC and Central Staff Selection Commission can also avail a concession of 50 per cent on the fare. Industrial labours and farmers, who wish to visit agricultural exhibitions, can also avail a 25-per-cent concession on second-class and sleeper-class tickets.

In addition, foreign students studying in India are also eligible for a 50-per-cent concession in second and sleeper class. Apart from these, senior citizens, who book their railway tickets online, now have the option to choose between 100-per-cent concession, 50%concession and no concession.