Pranab Mukherjee will be forever remembered in annals of Indian history: US

US State Department on Monday condoled the death of former President Pranab Mukherjee, saying that he will be forever remembered in the annals of Indian history.

US State Department on Monday condoled the death of former President Pranab Mukherjee, saying that he will be forever remembered in the annals of Indian history. “Our heartfelt condolences on the passing of former President Pranab Mukherjee. We stand with the people of India as they grieve the loss of a great leader who will be forever remembered in the annals of Indian history,” US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) tweeted.

Scores of foreign countries and leaders from across the world have paid tribute to the former President, who passed away at the age of 84. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing grief over the death of Pranab Mukherjee. Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent his condolences saying that Mukherjee “made a significant personal contribution to strengthening the relations of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between our countries.”

Mukherjee passed away on Monday at the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) Hospital where he was admitted earlier this month and had undergone surgery for the removal of a clot in his brain. He was admitted to the Army Hospital in Delhi on August 10 and had tested positive for COVID-19..

Ram Nath Kovind leads, 'Not upset', says Meira Kumar : Presidential Election 2017 Results LIVE

Incumbent Pranab Mukherjee's term as President ends on July 25

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 11 am on Thursday, July 20, but it is believed that Kovind has an edge over Kumar. However, should he win, the margin of his victory will be interesting to note, given that there were reports of many instances where voters from Opposition parties also voting for Kovind in the election.

“The voting was close to 99 per cent. I think this would perhaps be the highest-ever percentage,” Anoop Mishra, Lok Sabha, secretary general and returning officer for the election, had said on Monday.

Mishra had said while the sanctioned strength of the Lok Sabha (LS) and the Rajya Sabha (RS) is 776 (543 and 233), 771 MPs were eligible to cast their votes. There are two vacancies each in the LS and the RS, while one BJP MP, Chhedi Paswan, did not have voting rights following a judicial pronouncement.

Of the total 771 MPs who are entitled to vote, 768, or 99.61 per cent, cast their votes. Likewise, of the 4,109 MLAs entitled to vote, 4,083 or 99.37 per cent cast their votes, officials said.

 

CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES: Presidential Election 2017 Results

03:08 PM
The states where the counting has finished include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
03:06 PM
Do you know why the ballot boxes are known as ‘Mr Ballot Box’?
This is because the boxes, which reached the parliament two days ago, are sent to Delhi via plane through a senior security official. The official, who is trusted to maintain the secrecy travels in Business class compartment along with the box, reorted ABP Live.

Here comes the catch: The ballot box has a seat reserved for itself next to the official carrying it. Therefore, as it is not transported as a cargo, it is known as ‘Mr Ballot Box.’
02:51 PM
Number of invalid votes: 21
02:51 PM
Total votes polled in favour of Ram Nath Kovind is 522 in value of 3,69,576
02:45 PM
In Bihar, it was a close fight with Kovind getting 22,490 and Meira Kumar 18,867.
02:44 PM
According to Lok Sabha Secretary General Anoop Mishra, the Returning Officer for the July 20 election, Kovind secured 60,683 value of votes after ballots from four states - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bihar - were counted.
02:28 PM
I am not upset, why should I be upset? I am a fighter, I fought for the belief and faith of majority of my countrymen and women, says Meira Kumar who has not flared better than Kovind.
02:26 PM
In Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim, the Opposition's nominee receieved 0 votes, meanwhile, the NDA's canditate got 27,666 and 210 votes in the respective states.
02:23 PM
States where Ram Nath Kovind trumped over Meira Kumar: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim
02:23 PM
States where Meira Kumar bagged more votes than Kovind: West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Puducherry
02:09 PM
Counting began at 11 am with the ballot box of Parliament House being opened first, followed by ballot boxes received from states in alphabetical order. (READ MORE)

Central Bank of India customer wins Rs 1 cr under Modi's cashless scheme

6 winners under the two promotion schemes were given their prizes by President Pranab Mukherjee

#LATEST: A transaction of Rs 1,590 has bagged a Central Bank of India customer a lucky bounty of Rs 1 crore under the Modi government's promotional scheme to popularise digital payments.

President Pranab Mukherjee picked up the lucky winners from the 100th draw of lots under digital payments promotion schemes at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

He congratulated the six winners — three consumers and three merchants — under the Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana.

In the consumer section, the first mega prize of Rs 1 crore went to a customer of Central Bank of India, while the second prize of Rs 50 lakh went to a Bank of Baroda customer. A customer of Punjab National Bank is the winner of third prize of Rs 25 lakh.

All the three customers had conducted transactions using their RuPay debit cards. The names of three winners were not yet known as the draw only displayed their transaction numbers. These will be matched with card details to identify the winners.

Three merchants also won prizes of Rs 50 lakh, Rs 25 lakh and Rs 12 lakh, respectively.

The winners will be felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 at Nagpur on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti.

Following demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 9 last year, the government took a slew of measures to promote digital payments in the country.

The government launched the Lucky Grahak Yojana for consumers and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana for merchants on December 25, 2016, to promote digital transactions. These schemes are being implemented by the National Payment Corporation of India.

In his address, Mukherjee asked citizens to extend their unstinted support to the mission of a less-cash India.

"India has a long way to go to become a cash less society. The initiatives of the government are a good beginning and we need to sustain and nurture these with active participation from all segments of the society. It is necessary to reduce cash in circulation and impart greater urgency to promoting secure digital payment methods to ensure greater transparency," the President said.

Presently, India remains a primarily cash-based economy with about 95 per cent of the personal consumption and 86 per cent of all transactions being conducted via cash.

(READ MORE)