Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off World’s Longest River Cruise-MV Ganga Vilas and will inaugurate Tent City at Varanasi on Friday at 10.30 AM via video conferencing. He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth more than 1000 crore rupees during the event. AIR correspondent reports, MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi today and travel around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, sailing across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh.

Former Union Minister and RJD leader Sharad Yadav passed away on Thursday.  His daughter confirmed the news through a social media post. The 75-year-old veteran politician was ailing for sometime and breathed his last at a private hospital in Gurugram.

President Droupadi Murmu expressed sadness at his passing away. In her message, President said Sharad Yadav was a student leader of the seventies who fought for democratic values.

The festival of Lohri is being celebrated with traditional fervour and gaiety on Friday. It is celebrated in North India especially in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Chandigarh. The festival is mostly associated with crop harvesting and happiness.

President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar have greeted citizens for Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Magha Bihu, Pongal and other festivals. Ms. Murmu said these festivals are symbols of India’s unity in diversity and are the carriers of culture.

The Union Cabinet today gave its nod to the incentive scheme for the promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions. The scheme has a financial outlay of two thousand six hundred crore rupees. The decision will help in building a robust digital payment system.

Besides, the Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval of renaming the National Centre for Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Quality at Joka, Kolkata as Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institution of Water and Sanitation.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today officially launched the book titled Braving A Viral Storm: India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Story in New Delhi.

The book is co-authored by Aashish Chandorkar and Suraj Sudhir. The book launch comes ahead of India's second anniversary of starting its COVID-19 vaccination drive in January 2021. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Mandaviya said that the book is a transcription of the country's success story and will be New India's history.

The Centre has named the new Integrated Food Security Scheme as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, PMGKAY. Earlier, the Union Cabinet had approved new integrated food security scheme for providing free foodgrains to Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) and Primary Household (PHH)   beneficiaries. Implementation of the new scheme has started from 1st of January this year, benefiting more than 80 crore poor and poorest of poor people.

Home Minister Amit Shah today released a book titled Revolutionaries- The Other Story of How India Won Its Freedom at a function in New Delhi.

The Author of the book is  Economist Sanjeev Sanyal who is also a member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shah said that the country is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and the Prime Minister has given a call of Panch Pran of which the two important resolves are - to remove any trace of colonial mindset and take pride in our roots.

Mr Shah said that the present and new generation youth who do not take pride in the rich cultural heritage of the country can not make their country great.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary. The Prime Minister said, Swami Vivekananda's life always inspires for patriotism, spirituality, and hard work. He said, Swami ji's great thoughts and ideals will continue to guide the countrymen.

President Droupadi Murmu has also paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary. She said, an iconic personality who combined spirituality and patriotism, Swami Vivekananda has propagated Indian values globally. 

The Ministry of Defence said that Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO, successfully carried out a training launch of a Short-Range Ballistic Missile, Prithvi-II from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha coast. It said that the Prithvi-II missile is a well-established system and has been an integral part of India’s nuclear deterrence.

The Ministry said that the missile struck its target with high accuracy. The user training launch successfully validated all operational and technical parameters of the missile. 

Indian film RRR's super hit song Natu Natu has won the prestigious Golden Globe award for Best Original Song. The history creating track from the director SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster movie is composed by MM Keeravani. The singers are Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj. “Naatu Naatu,” which became an anthem of sorts for the Rajamouli fans is a dance number featuring Jr NTR and Ram Charan. It created ripples for its elaborate choreography and musical storytelling.

Natu Natu left behind Taylor Swift’s “Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing, “Ciao Papa” from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, and “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, performed by Rihanna.