HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 PM: NATION DEL81 ARMY-SIKKIM-3RDLD ACCIDENT 16 Army personnel killed after their truck falls into gorge in North Sikkim New Delhi: Sixteen Indian Army personnel including three Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) were killed in a road accident when the vehicle they were travelling in fell into a gorge while negotiating a sharp turn at Zema in North Sikkim, the Army said.

DEL74 COVID-LD MOCK DRILL-STATES Covid preparedness: States to undertake mock drill to ensure operational readiness of health facilities New Delhi: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday advised states and union territories to undertake a mock drill across all health facilities on December 27 to ensure readiness of infrastructure with a specific focus on oxygen plants, ventilators, logistics and human resources. DEL86 CONG-LD-DHANKHAR Jairam Ramesh writes to RS chairman Dhankhar protesting his remarks on Sonia Gandhi's statement New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh Friday wrote to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar protesting his critical remarks on party leader Sonia Gandhi's statement that the government is seeking to ''deligitimise the judiciary''. DEL94 CAB-FREE RATION Govt to provide free ration to poor people for one year under food law New Delhi: In a major decision, the government on Friday decided to provide free ration to 81.35 crore poor people under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year.

DEL33 COVID-3RDLD NASAL VACCINE Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid vaccine as a booster approved by govt, to be available on CO-WIN New Delhi: Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid vaccine has been approved by the Union Health Ministry as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and above and is likely to be introduced on the Co-WIN platform Friday evening, official sources said.

DEL96 HR-CONG YATRA-LD RAHUL For BJP, Covid is where Bharat Jodo Yatra is: Rahul Gandhi Faridabad (Haryana): Mounting his attack on the BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the ruling party can hold as many public meetings as it wants in the rest of India but sees Covid only where his Bharat Jodo Yatra is passing through.

CAL16 OD-PHYSICIAN-NEHRU Physician who treated Nehru dead Kendrapara (Odisha): Gobinda Chandra Dash, a noted physician of Kendrapara town, who treated Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 during his visit to Bhubaneswar, died at his residence here on Friday. DEL88 SECRETARIES-LD GAUBA Don't merely treat symptoms, treat the disease: Cab Secy Rajiv Gauba to secretaries New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Friday told secretaries to get to the root cause of public grievances and address them, saying ''not merely treat the symptoms but treat the disease'' and not get overwhelmed by the volume of files. DEL65 RJ-STUDENT-SUICIDE Another student dies by suicide in Kota, toll reaches to 15 in 2022 Kota (Raj): In yet another case of suicide, a 16-year-old student ended his life by hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room, police said. DEL42 DL-CONG-YATRA Kamal Haasan, freedom fighter families likely to join 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Delhi on Saturday New Delhi: Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, family members of freedom fighters and top Congress leaders are expected to join Rahul Gandhi in the Delhi leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra on Saturday, party sources said.

BUSINESS DEL84 BIZ-LD NDTV-ADANI NDTV founders Roys to sell stake in company to Adani Group New Delhi: NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy on Friday said they will sell all but 5 per cent of their remaining shareholding in the news broadcaster to Adani Group for up to Rs 647.6 crore.

DEL87 BIZ-FOREX RESERVES India's forex reserves decline USD 571 mln to USD 563.5 bln Mumbai: After rising for five consecutive weeks, India's forex kitty dropped USD 571 million to USD 563.499 billion for the week ended December 16, according to RBI data released on Friday.

LEGAL LGD21 UP-HC-KAPPAN HC grants bail to Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court granted bail to Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan on Friday in a money laundering case.

LGD19 DL-COURT-LD MEHRAULI KILLING Mehrauli killing: Court orders Poonawala’s voice sample test on Dec 26, trashes his opposition New Delhi: A Delhi court directed Aaftab Amin Poonawala, accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, to give his voice sample for taking forward the probe in the “sensitive case”, rejecting vehement claims by his counsel that a copy of the application and the time to consult the accused be given before ordering such a test. FOREIGN FGN51 NEPAL-2NDLDALL SOBHRAJ French serial killer Charles Sobhraj deported to France after being released from Nepal jail Kathmandu, Dec 23 (PTI) Charles Sobhraj, the notorious French serial killer of Indian and Vietnamese parentage, was deported to France on Friday, hours after being released from a prison here where he served most of his sentence for a string of murders across Asia in the 1970s. By Shirish B Pradhan FGN48 IMF-INDIA-GROWTH IMF projects 6.8 % growth in current fiscal for India, says country navigating 'very difficult' external environment Washington: Projecting a growth rate of 6.8 per cent and 6.1 per cent in the current and the next fiscal respectively, the International Monetary Fund on Friday said that India is navigating a ''very difficult'' external environment. By Lalit K Jha NB NB