NEWS

After the demise of India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, it's back to the old system for the time-being with the senior-most among the three service chiefs taking the mantle as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee to ensure synergy among the three forces.

Indian Army chief General MM Naravane, being the senior-most, has taken over as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as was the practice before the office of the CDS came into being.

Sources say this is only a stopgap arrangement till the new CDS is appointed. "It is a procedural step that in the absence of a CDS, the senior-most chief takes over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee," said an official.

The Modi government will be starting an elaborate exercise next year to monitor the progress of nearly 1,700 big central infrastructure projects in order to help flag those, which may not be completed in time and have cost overruns, media has learnt.

This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been raising concern in various internal meetings over project delays and cost overruns. At the inauguration of the Saryu River Pariyojna in Uttar Pradesh last week, the PM had pointed out how the cost of the project had risen to Rs 10,000 crore from Rs 100 crore in the last 40 years.

A day after issuing the statement that “Banaras is the best place to spend one’s final days” while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Varanasi, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday clarified that he “never wished the PM ill”.

Akhilesh, who was in Jaunpur to begin the fresh round of Vijay Yatra on Tuesday, tweeted: “I wish the PM a long life. Never wished him ill. When I said people go to Kashi in their final days, I meant the end of the BJP government. I am a proud Hindu but I don’t sell my religion for votes.”

Replying to a query on the PM's visit to Varanasi, Akhilesh had on Monday said, “It is a good thing. He can stay there not for just one month, but for two or three months. It is a place to stay and people spend their last days in Banaras.” The remark drew sharp reaction from BJP leaders.

World Health Organisation said on Tuesday that Omicron strain of coronavirus is 'spreading at an unprecedented rate' and its presence is possible 'probably in all countries, news agency AFP reported.

"77 countries have now reported cases of Omicron and the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn’t been detected yet. Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant," Dr Tedros A Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO said on Tuesday.