“Let Your Thoughts Be Heard”: PM Invites Suggestions For August 15 Speech

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited suggestions from people across the country for his Independence Day speech on the Narendra Modi or “NaMo” app.
  • “I am delighted to invite you all to share your valuable inputs for my speech on 15th August. Let your thoughts be heard by 130 crore Indians from the ramparts of the Red Fort,” PM Modi tweeted this morning.
  • This will be PM Modi’s first Independence Day speech after winning a huge mandate for a second term in the national elections.

“India Can’t Be Refugee Capital”: Centre To Top Court On Assam NRC List

  • Lakhs of people have been wrongly included in the draft National Register of Citizens being prepared in Assam to weed out illegal immigrants, centre told the Supreme Court today, asking for more time to finalise the list.
  • “India can’t be world’s refugee capital,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the top court, appearing on behalf of the central government.
  • Centre and Assam government have sought an extension of the July 31 deadline for finalisation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) from the Supreme Court.

World Bank pulling out of Amaravati capital project

  • Based on representations from the Working Group on International Financial Institutions (WGonIFIs) and the affected communities, the World Bank is pulling out of the Amaravati capital city project in Andhra Pradesh (AP).
  • A press release from the WGonIFIs on Thursday said that the World Bank has decided to pull out of the $300 million lending to the upcoming capital of AP.

Finish Babri case in 9 months, orders Supreme Court

  • The trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case, in which prominent BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders such as L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti are accused of criminal conspiracy, should be completed in nine months, the Supreme Court ordered on July 19.
  • A Bench led by Justice Rohinton Nariman extended the tenure of the Special Judge conducting the joint trial of two cases.
  • The judge, who was scheduled to retire on September 30, had sought more time to complete the trial.