The Supreme Court today ruled that appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Elections Commissioners will be done by the President on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice K.M. Joseph said, this panel will be enforced until a law in this regard is made by Parliament. The bench was hearing a batch of petitions seeking reform in the process for the appointment of members of the Election Commission of India. The top court emphasized that the Election Commission has to remain aloof from all forms of subjugation by the executive. The top court emphasised that the Election Commission is duty bound to act in a fair and legal manner and to abide by the provisions of the Constitution.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Rajan Singh said, India’s GDP is currently ranking fifth on the world economy index, which will go up to fourth by this year’s end and overtake the position of Germany.

He said this after the inauguration of the G-20 Business Conference (B20) at Aizawl in Mizoram today. The theme of the conference was India Initiatives in the North East - Conference on opportunities for multilateral business partnerships.

Addressing the event, Minister Rajkumar Rajan said that India’s G20 presidency is benefiting people to a larger extent, including expanding employment opportunities, it will also open doors to South East Asian nations.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), States and Union Territories are celebrating the 5th Jan Aushadhi Diwas 2023 across the country.

It is being celebrated under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

The Ministry said that more than thirty-four Pratigya Yatras were conducted yesterday across the country. Out of which, eight Yatras have been led by Members of Parliament.

Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has received the Porter Prize 2023. It recognized the government's strategy in managing COVID-19, also the approach, and involvement of various stakeholders especially involvement of ASHA workers in the industry to create PPE Kits.

The prize was announced during The India Dialog at Stanford University. The country's contribution in developing and manufacturing vaccines was also lauded.

Porter Prize is named after award-winning economist Michael E. Porter.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will address the participants of the National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) 2023 in Parliament Central Hall on Thursday.

As many as 85 participants from several States and Union Territories, who have been selected on the basis of district and State level competitions, are participating in the programme.

The NYPF will be organised with the objective to hear the voice of youth aged between 18 and 25 years, who are allowed to vote but do not qualify as a candidate for election.

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will inaugurate the  Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela in New Delhi on Thursday. The three-day fair is being organised with the theme Nutrition, Food and Environmental Protection with Shree Anna.

The event will hold Technical Sessions on important and contemporary issues in Agriculture including development of Shree Anna-based value chain, Smart Farming Model, Sustainable Agriculture and Farmer Producer Organisations.

The Government has approved the signing of a contract with Larsen and Toubro Limited for the acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships, at an overall cost of 3,108 crore rupees.

The delivery of these indigenously designed, developed and constructed ships is scheduled to commence in the year 2026.

These ships will cater to the training of officer cadets at sea, including women, and can be deployed for the evacuation of people.

The government has approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force at a cost of over six thousand 828 crore rupees. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.

The Ministry of Defence said, the aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of IAF for the training of newly inducted pilots. The Ministry said, the HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft and is designed to have good low-speed handling qualities and provide better training effectiveness.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar inaugurated the new Management Development Centre of IIM(B) in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The new campus in Jigani near Bengaluru is constructed at a cost of 55 crore rupees.

Speaking on the occasion, the Vice President said that India is today the fifth biggest Economy surpassing our erstwhile colonial ruler the UK.

He said that by the turn of this decade, India will be the third biggest economy. He called upon the younger generation to take pride in our achievements. He asked them to be aware of parasites, sleeper cells and vested interests with sinister designs, set on tarnishing the image of the country, its leaders and its institutions.

Ex DUSTLIK-2023, a Joint Exercise between India & Uzbekistan is progressing with full steam covering the vast canvas of multi-domain operation in a sub-conventional environment in Uttarakhand. The exercise being conducted at Foreign Training Node, Pithoragarh from 20 Feb 2023 and will conclude on the 5th of March 2023.

The Commanding Officer of the Indian contingent said that the varied terrain of Pithoragarh does provide an opportunity for both armies to rehearse and execute operational tasks as per the scope of the exercise. He said that both nations share a common goal to exterminate terrorism and bring peace to the world. He said, this 15 days exercise was primarily aimed at exchanging operational knowledge while enhancing interoperability between the armies of the two nations.