There is good news for small and medium-sized newspapers. Ahead of the 2019 elections, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday announced a 25% hike for advertisement in print media, over and above the existing rate structure by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (erstwhile Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity).

The new rate structure will be valid for a period of three years.

The last revision in advertisement rates took place in 2013, when an increase of 19% was announced over and above the rates of 2010. The move is likely to benefit small and medium-sized newspapers greatly, especially those in regional and vernacular languages.

“Every newspaper has a substantial advertising revenue coming in from the DAVP,” said Sanjay Gupta, chief executive officer at Jagran Prakashan Ltd, the company that owns newspapers, including Dainik Jagran and Mid-Day. “Any increase in rates is most welcome and we are grateful given that this was a long-standing demand from the industry.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Solapur in Maharashtra and Agra in Uttar Pradesh today to launch several development projects. Mr Modi will first head to Solapur where he will dedicate to the nation, the four-laned Solapur-Tuljapur-Osmanabad section of NH-211. 

This will help improve connectivity of Solapur with the Marathwada region. An official release said, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation Stone of 30,000 houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

These will primarily benefit poor homeless people like rag pickers, rickshaw drivers, textile workers and beedi workers. 

Mr Modi will also dedicate to the nation underground Sewerage System and three Sewage Treatment Plants in Solapur. He will also lay the foundation stone of the combined project of improvement in water supply and sewerage system. 

The project is expected to bring significant improvement in service delivery and improve public health enabled by technology as a means to create smart outcome for citizens. The Prime Minister will wind up his visit by addressing a public gathering in the city.

Later in the day, Mr Modi will launch Gangajal project and other developmental projects in Agra. The Gangajal programme will improve water supply in the city. The cost of the project is 2,880 crore rupees and will benefit both residents and tourists. 

The Lok Sabha has passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. 

Under the 1955 Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years. The bill relaxes this 11-year requirement to six years for persons belonging to the all the six religions from the three countries.

Replying to a debate on the Bill, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, the bill is not just for Assam but for other states too. He said it is also for migrants who have come from the Western borders and have settled down in Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi. 

The Minister added that Assam is dealing with illegal migration for a long time now and the state's burden is India's burden. He said, it is the central government's responsibility to protect the identity, culture of the people of Assam.

Earlier, moving the bill, Mr Singh said, the government is committed for National Register of Citizens (NRC). He asserted that there will be no discrimination in NRC. He also said, the Centre has taken several measures to implement the Assam Accord.

The government has extended the Winter session of the Rajya Sabha by a day till Wednesday The session of Parliament, begun on December 11 and was to end on Tuesday. (file/Express photo by Ravi Kanojia)

The constitutional amendment bill to provide 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions for economically weaker sections in the general category has been passed in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha will take up the bill on Wednesday.

Amid a bandh in the north-east states, Home Minister Rajnath Singh moved the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Lok Sabha Tuesday and was subsequently passed after a discussion. The bill proposes to make minority (non-Muslim) immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who have entered India before December 31, 2014 eligible for Indian citizenship. Amid a discussion over the bill, Congress and TMC MPs walked out of the Lok Sabha.

The fourth edition of the Raisina Dialogue will begin in New Delhi today evening.

Norway Prime Minister Ms Erna Solberg will deliver inaugural address in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with Observer Research Foundation is organizing the flagship annual geopolitical and geostrategic conference. The theme of the Dialogue this year is "A World Reorder: New Geometries; Fluid Partnerships; Uncertain Outcomes”.

The discussions will seek to address issues arising from ongoing global transitions and changes to the world order, triggered by unique leaders, innovative partnerships and new technologies.

The Dialogue will bring together over 600 delegates from 93 countries, including influential political leaders, strategic thinkers, policy practitioners, technology innovators, business representatives and academics.

Private FM channels will be able to broadcast All India Radio News from today. Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore will launch the sharing of news at a function in New Delhi this afternoon.

Talking to AIR, Colonel Rathore said, it is positive and welcome step as radio is the biggest mass medium for citizens.

The Minister said, the radio has gained popularity again due to 'Mann Ki Baat' Programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Colonel Rathore said, AIR FM covers 50 per cent of population in the country and private FM channels are being given opportunities in different cities and towns.

Colonel Rathore took on the opposition saying that from 2009 to 2014, the then UPA Government took 56 crore square centimeters of space in Newspapers for advertisements and spent a huge amount on publicity.

He said, they even displayed the photographs of UPA chairperson, who was not even a constitutional authority.

The Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2018-19, a tad higher from 6.7 per cent in the previous fiscal, mainly due to improvement in the performance of agriculture and manufacturing sectors, the Central Statistics Office said Monday.

Releasing the first advance estimates of National Income for 2018-19, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said, "The growth in GDP during 2018-19 is estimated at 7.2 per cent as compared to the growth rate of 6.7 per cent in 2017-18."

"Real GVA (Gross Value Added) is anticipated to grow at 7 per cent in the current fiscal as against 6.5 per cent in 2017-18," it said.

According to the CSO data, the expansion in activities in 'agriculture, forestry and fishing' is likely to increase to 3.8 per cent in the current fiscal from 3.4 per cent in the preceding year.

The growth of manufacturing sector is expected to accelerate to 8.3 per cent this fiscal, up from 5.7 per cent in 2017-18.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had expanded by 7.1 per cent in 2016-17 and 8.2 per cent in 2015-16.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday imposed a ban on single-use plastic items at its 129 airports across the country.

Single-use plastic items are used only once and then thrown in the trash.

"Various steps have been undertaken to eliminate single-use plastic items at passenger terminals and city side. These steps include banning of single-use plastic items like straws, plastic cutlery, plastic plates etc," the AAI said in a statement.

"The AAI has decided to make its airports plastic-free by banning the use of single-use plastic items at its airports across the country," the statement read.

It said that on the basis of a third-party assessment carried out by Quality Council of India (QCI), 16 of its airports have been declared as "Single-Use Plastic Free".

The QCI will complete its assessment of total 34 airports -- which are managed by the AAI -- by January 31.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with his Norwegian counterpart Ms Erna Solberg in New Delhi today. Ms Solberg arrived in New Delhi yesterday on a three-day visit to India. She is accompanied by senior officials from her government and a large business delegation.

Ms Solberg will be accorded ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning. She will pay homage to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

During the talks in the afternoon, both sides will review the progress in bilateral cooperation and will discuss ways to further expand the multifaceted partnership in areas of common interest.

Several agreements will be signed after the talks including one on facilitating dialogue to boost bilateral trade which currently stands at 1.2 billion dollars. India and Norway enjoy close and multifaceted ties and economic and technical cooperation are important facets of the bilateral relation.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to call on the visiting dignitary. Ms Solberg will call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Personal Laws (Amendment Bill), 2018, which seeks removal of leprosy as a ground for divorce.

To this end, it seeks to amend five Acts: (i) the Divorce Act, 1869, (ii) the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939, (iii) the Special Marriage Act, 1954, (iv) the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and (v) the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.

The Amendment Bill proposes to amend the provisions in these Acts which prescribe leprosy as a ground for divorce or separation from the spouse.

The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill acknowledges the medical advances made in the field, thereby making leprosy curable. Calling for elimination of discrimination against leprosy patients in various statutes in view of such advancements, it states,

"Leprosy patients were isolated and segregated from society as the leprosy was not curable and the society was hostile to them. However, as a result of intensive healthcare and availability of modern medicine to cure the disease, the attitude of the society towards them began to change. The discriminatory provisions contained in various statutes against the persons affected with leprosy were made prior to the medical advancements rendering leprosy a curable disease.