HIGHLIGHTS

These are the top stories at 5.15 pm: Nation DEL100 LDALL PM PM delivers veiled warning to China, Pak in I-day speech; pushes for self-reliant India with 'Make for World' call, announces digital health mission New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday issued a veiled warning to China and Pakistan saying whoever challenged the country's sovereignty got a befitting reply as he made a push for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' with a ‘Make for World’ call and announced a National Digital Health Mission.

These are the top stories at 5.15 pm: Nation DEL100 LDALL PM PM delivers veiled warning to China, Pak in I-day speech; pushes for self-reliant India with 'Make for World' call, announces digital health mission New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday issued a veiled warning to China and Pakistan saying whoever challenged the country's sovereignty got a befitting reply as he made a push for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' with a ‘Make for World’ call and announced a National Digital Health Mission. DEL92 DAY-PM-LD HEALTH PM announces health IDs for all under new mission; roadmap ready to ensure COVID vaccine reaches everyone New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday unveiled an ambitious National Digital Health Mission under which every Indian will get a health ID that will ease access to medical services and also announced that the country has made plans for mass-producing COVID-19 vaccine once scientists give a green signal.

DEL61 VIRUS-LD CASES India's COVID-19 tally crosses 25 lakh with 65,002 cases New Delhi: A spike of 65,002 cases took India’s COVID-19 tally past 25 lakh on Saturday, just a day after it crossed the 24 lakh mark, while the number of fatalities neared 50,000 with 996 deaths, Union Health Ministry data showed. DEL68 DAY-PM-LD SOVEREIGNTY From LoC to LAC, armed forces given befitting replies to those challenging India's sovereignty: PM New Delhi: In his Independence Day address from the ramparts of Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday delivered a strong message to China and Pakistan as he said the armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty "from LoC to LAC".

DEL67 DAY-PM-CONG Why are people sitting in power scared of naming China, asks Congress New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday asked why those sitting in power are scared of naming China which has entered Indian territory, and said every Congress worker and every Indian is proud of the armed forces. DEL82 DAY-PM-JK Elections in Jammu and Kashmir after delimitation exercise is completed: PM New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that elections would be held in Jammu and Kashmir as soon as the delimitation process in the union territory gets over.

DEL75 DAY-PM-WOMEN Committee set up to deliberate on minimum marriage age of women: Modi New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government is deliberating on what should be the minimum age of marriage for women and has set up a committee to look into the matter. DEL94 DAY-PM-LD ENVIRONMENT On I-Day, PM announces govt's plans for environmental protection New Delhi: From launching projects to conserve Gangetic dolphins and Asiatic lions to making Ladakh carbon neutral, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his government's plans in the kitty for the protection of the environment on Saturday.

DEL91 DAY-PM-LD INTERNET All villages to be connected with optical fibre in next 1,000 days: PM New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that the project to connect India's over six lakh villages with optical fibre network will be completed in the next 1,000 days. DEL87 MUKHERJEE-HEALTH Pranab Mukherjee continues to be on ventilator support: Hospital New Delhi: The condition of former president Pranab Mukherjee remained unchanged on Saturday and he continued to be on ventilator support, doctors attending on him said.

MDS9 TN-VIRUS-ENT-SPB-BULLETIN SPB continues to be on life support: Hospital Chennai: Renowned playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam continues to be on life support and stable, a private hospital treating him said here on Saturday. Foreign FGN28 DAY-WORLD Indians abroad celebrate Independence Day amidst COVID-19 pandemic Melbourne/Beijing/London: Indians across the world on Saturday celebrated India’s 74th Independence Day by hoisting the tricolour and singing the national anthem and patriotic songs while wearing masks and adhering to the social distancing norms amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

FGN13 DAY-LD POMPEO US wishes 'good' friend India on Independence Day Washington: Wishing India on its 74th Independence Day, the US has said the two countries share "close bonds of friendship and democratic traditions," which over the time has flourished into a comprehensive global strategic partnership. By Lalit K Jha FGN23 DAY-CHINA India faces 'twin challenges' of COVID-19, aggression at borders: Indian envoy to China Beijing: Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri on Saturday said that 2020 has been a very unusual year for India as it had to face the "twin challenges" of COVID-19 as well as aggression on the country's borders. Sports SPD9 SPO-CHAUHAN-HEALTH Former India opener Chetan Chauhan critical, on life support New Delhi: The health condition of former India opener Chetan Chauhan, who tested positive for COVID-19 last month, has worsened after he developed multi-organ failure and he is now on ventilator support at a medical facility in Gurugram. PTI HDA HDA