Ukraine conflict taught us to be self-reliant: Singh

TMC MP s TO PROTEST AGAINST GOVERNMENT IN PARLIAMENT

New Delhi (ANI): Trinamool Congress MPs will stage a protest at Ambedkar Statue in the Parliament at 10 am on Wednesday which coincides with a two-day dharna by the party’s supremo Mamata Banerjee who will protest against the Centre in Kolkata. The TMC MPs will hold the protest over the issue of ‘Save Democracy, Federalism and Parliament’ while Mamata will protest for allegedly not disbursing funds for West Bengal and the Centre’s “anti-people policies”. She will protest at the Ambedkar Statue in the capital city of Kolkata at 12 pm. In a major development, the TMC backed Rahul Gandhi and Congress over his disqualification and joined the Congress meeting on March 27 in the Parliament building.

In The Courtyard

SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS ROCK UTTARAKHAND CRICKET, COACH BOOKED

New Delhi: A former office bearer of the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) and coach of an national-level women cricketer has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after a purported audio recording of him having an obscene phone call with a minor girl student at the academy went viral. The coach, Narendra Shah, was posted as the co-convenor of the women’s cricket in Uttarakhand until Saturday. He also runs a cricket academy in Dehradun, and is the secretary of the Chamoli district cricket association.

SEBI-SAHARA FUND: SC ALLOWS PLEA SC SEEKS ANDHRA GOVT’S RESPONSE

New Delhi: The SC issued notice to the Andhra Pradesh government and Sakshi Media Group on an appeal by the publishers of Eenadu daily, questioning a government order to provide allowance to village and ward volunteers to purchase the newspaper, which the appellants say is owned by CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court allowed a plea by the Central government seeking Rs 5,000 crore allocation out of Rs 24,000 crore, which was deposited by Sahara group with the SEBI, to pay back to the depositors. A bench, passed the direction on the application filed by the government in a PIL by Pinak Mani Mohanty.

GENDER-NEUTRAL LAWS ON MARRIAGE: SC REFUSES TO ENTERTAIN PLEA

New Delhi: The Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking direction to the Centre to make gender and religion-neutral laws on uniform marriage age, divorce, maintenance and alimony. A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud noted the Centre’s submission saying that they are not inclined to entertain this plea. The Centre has submitted that the government does support uniform laws but such an intervention can only be through legislation.

RAHUL

New Delhi: Soon after the proceedings started at 11 am, the Upper House resumed following the first break earlier in the day. The House had already been suspended till 2 PM. In the midst of opposition protests in the Lower House during the current Budget Session of the Parliament, the Lok Sabha was called to adjourn earlier today. It will reconvene on April 3 at 11 am. Within the Parliament, the opposition Lawmakers shouted for a JPC investigation into the Adani-Hindunberg situation. Earlier in the day, just after convening at 11 am, LS was adjourned till its next session.

New Delhi: The energy crisis faced during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has drawn the world's attention towards the importance of becoming self-reliant in energy needs, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday. He said no matter how big and developed a nation is, if it is not selfreliant for energy needs, then there will be hurdles to its development.

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony and launch of the 7th round of commercial coal mine auction in New Delhi, Singh said India is among the world's fastest-growing economies and has become the fifth largest economy in the world.

In the future, due to urbanisation and industrialisation, Singh said more houses, schools, colleges, hospitals etc will be needed for the people. "Due to the government's farsighted policies, the

ESSENTIAL STEPS

Hcountry has also attracted the attention of foreign companies, and we have emerged as a favourite investment destination of foreign companies," he said. And it going to lead to an unprecedented consumption of energy in the country in future. In view of these needs, the government has placed the energy sector at its highest position, Singh said.