President Ram Nath Kovind arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal airport in Dhaka today on his three-day state visit to take part in the victory day celebrations in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi President Md. Abdul Hamid received him at the airport. President Kovind was given a 21 gun salute at the airport followed by the guard of honour on his arrival in Dhaka.

He proceeded directly to the National Martyrs' Memorial at Savar to place a wreath for the martyrs of the liberation war of 1971.

Later in the day, he will visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi to pay respect to the Bangladesh Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen will call on the President in the afternoon.

In the evening a reception will be organised by Bangladesh President Md. Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban in honour of the visiting dignitary.

The Supreme Court today allowed an application filed by the Ministry of Defence for the double-lane widening of roads that are part of the 899-kilometer Char Dham project in Uttarakhand.  

A bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Vikram Nath pronounced orders in the application filed by the Ministry of Defence seeking modification of the order dated September 8, 2020, which was passed by a three-Judge Bench headed by Justice Rohinton Nariman, in order to permit the Union of India to make roads with 10 Meters tarred surface as opposed to the 5.5 meters as ordered by the Court.

The Court today modified the order dated September 8, 2020, and allowed the Defence Ministry to widen the road as sought. At the same time, the Court took note of the environmental concerns raised by the High Powered Committee and directed the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway to implement the recommendations made by the Committee.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today said technology has always been a double-edged sword. Addressing the opening of the Global Technology Summit 2021 via video conference, Dr Jaishankar said technology has opened up new vistas of progress just as it has helped create greater vulnerabilities and threats.

He added that technology has also been a great differentiator and has determined the fate of countries. The Minister said, mastery of key domains has become an expression of power and influence. He stressed that technology is today a metric to measure national standing like never before.

Delivering the inaugural address at the  Summit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said India and UK will help shape a new technology age based on principles of freedom and openness and peace. He said Britain and India are working together on 5G,  telecom and green technology. 

National Energy Conservation Day is observed on December 14, every year. The day focuses on making people aware of global warming and climate change and promotes efforts towards saving energy resources. Energy conservation is the decision and practice of using less energy.

Energy conservation means reducing the consumption of energy by producing or using less of it.  

Energy conservation is an effort made to reduce the consumption of fuel and use the least energy resources to save for the future.

The Government of India has set up Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) on 1st March 2002 under the provision of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

The BEE is a constitutional body that works under the Indian Government and helps in the development of policies and strategies to reduce the use of energy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the valedictory session of the National Summit on Agro and Food Processing on Thursday.

This summit is being organised as a part of the Pre-event Vibrant Gujarat Summit to be held in Anand, Gujarat from today.

This conference will be attended by five thousand farmers who will be present in the Summit. Apart from this 80 Central institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Krishi Vigyan Kendras will also be connecting farmers to witness the event live to know and learn about the practice and benefits of Natural Farming. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, the Maa Umiya Dham Development Project in Gujarat is a perfect example of the notion of ‘Sabka Prayas’ as this auspicious project will be fulfilled with the efforts of all. He was speaking at the foundation stone laying of Maa Umiya Dham Development Project involving Umiya Mata Dham temple and temple premises in Gujarat via video conferencing yesterday.

He emphasized that the devotees should participate in the enterprise with a sense of spiritual purpose as well as a purpose of social service as serving the people is the biggest worship.

The Prime Minister asked the gathering to include element of skill development in all the aspects of the organization. He recalled his visit to Unjha during the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign.

During that visit, he had stressed that steep fall in the female birth rate is a stigma. He thanked the people for accepting the challenge and said gradually the number of girls has almost become equivalent to the boys.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday paid homage to the brave security personnel who laid down their lives on this day in 2001, defending the Parliament of the world’s largest democracy against a dastardly terrorist attack. In a tweet, Mr. Kovind said, the nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tributes to all those security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack in 2001. In a tweet, Mr. Naidu said, the nation is eternally indebted to them for their supreme sacrifice. He said, terrorism is a threat to humanity and world peace. The Vice President said, all countries must always remain united to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Modi said, their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen.

India's Harnaaz Sandhu has been crowned Miss Universe 2021, two decades after Lara Dutta won the title in 2000. 21-year-old Harnaaz has won the Miss Universe crown at the contest held in Eilat, Israel on Monday morning. Harnaaz edged out contestants from Paraguay and South Africa to bag the crown. The moment her name was declared as the winner, Harnaaz broke down with tears of joy. She could also be seen joining her hands in gratitude. Mexico's Andrea Meza, the reigning queen, passed on her crown to the new successor. India had earlier won the coveted crown twice with Sushmita Sen bagging the title in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000. The 21-year-old Harnaaz, hailing from Chandigarh, has now joined the league of these incredible women. 

A National Helpline against Atrocities on Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes to be launched on Monday. Social Justice and Empowerment will launch the helpline with an aim to ensure proper implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which was enacted with a view to preventing atrocities on members of SCs and STs. The Helpline will be available round the clock on toll-free number - 14566. The Service will be available in Hindi, English and Regional Language of the States and Union Territories. The objective of the helpline is to build informed awareness about the provisions of the Law that are aimed at ending discrimination and provide protection to all. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from today where he will inaugurate the rejuvenated and transformed Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. Mr. Modi will visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple at around 1 PM and offer prayers, after which he will inaugurate phase 1 of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The entire event will be streamed live across the country. Over 3000 saints and dignitaries will participate in the event. In a tweet, Prime Minister has called this day a landmark day and urged everyone to join the programme.

Mr. Modi will also visit Kaal Bhairav Temple at around 12 noon today and witness Ganga Aarti while on board a Ro-Ro Vessel at around 6 PM. The phase 1 of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham has been constructed at a cost of around 339 crore rupees. The project is spread over a massive area of 5 lakh square feet whereas the earlier premises was limited to just around 3000 square feet. 
The Kashi Vishwanath Dham has been developed under the supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in March 2019. The project is designed to provide direct connect of Ganga Ghats to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The project is spread over an area of about 5 lakh square feet. A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in the phase 1 of the project. A variety of facilities including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court etc will be available for the pilgrims visiting Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The project is designed to provide easy access for the disabled and old age people with provision of ramps, escalators and other facilities.