News Breakfast @6

01. Rashtrapati Bhawan To Reopen For Public From February 6

Rashtrapati Bhavan will reopen from February 6 for the general public. It will be open on Saturdays and Sundays except on government holidays, the statement said. Visitors can book their slots online by making a payment of ₹ 50 per visitor. Three pre-booked time slots at 10:30 hours, 12:30 hours, and 1430 hours have been fixed with a maximum limit of 25 visitors per slot.

02. India Sends COVID-19 Vaccines To Algeria, South Africa

Consignments of made-in-India vaccines have reached Algeria and South Africa. "Arrival in Algeria. A trusted partnership stands renewed," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted today, using the hashtag "Vaccine Maitri". "In it together. Made in India vaccines land in Johannesburg, South Africa," he said in another tweet.

03. Budget Is Transparent, Nothing Pushed Under Carpet: Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government has come out with an open and transparent Budget and has not made any attempt to hide anything under the carpet. She said that the focus of the Budget 2021-22 has been on spending big on infrastructure and attending to the needs of the healthcare sector for reviving the Indian economy which is expected to contract by 7.7 per cent in the current fiscal ending March.

04. Don't Believe Rumours About Illegal Detention Of Farmers: Delhi Police

The Delhi Police on Monday appealed to people not to believe in rumours about illegal detention of farmers protesting against three new agriculture laws and asserted that the investigation is being carried out in a fair and transparent manner. Delhi Police PRO Eish Singhal said 44 FIRs have been registered and 122 people arrested till now.

05. Farmer Leaders Say Will Block Roads Across The Country On Saturday

Farmers protesting against the Centre's three farm laws have called for a countrywide "chakka jam" protest on Saturday. The duration of the protest will be three hours — from noon to 3 pm — during which they plan to block transport on highways. The announcement was made this evening — the day the aborted march to parliament was planned – the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer groups.

06. 250 Accounts Blocked For Hateful Tweets On Farmers' Protest

As many as 250 Twitter accounts were blocked by the social media giant on request by the Home Ministry and law enforcement agencies of India, for tweeting, or retweeting with the hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide, and for making "fake, intimidatory and provocative tweets".

07. Union Budget: Assam, Bengal To Get ₹1000 Cr For Tea Workers

In a major relief to the tea garden industries in Assam and West Bengal Rupees 1000 crore has been allocated as a budgetary provision for the welfare of the tea workers in both states. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced it on Monday during the presentation of the first paperless Union Budget for the year 2021-22.

08. Assam Polls: Palash Changmai To Contest From AJP

Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYP) General Secretary, Palash Changmai, informed that he will contest for the upcoming State Assembly Election from the newly formed regional political party Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). Changmai reiterated that he will not be joining the Bhartaiya Janta Party (BJP) or any national political party.

09. ₹4.78 Lakh Cr Allocated To Defence Budget, Highest In 15 Years

In the Union Budget presented for 2021-22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced an allocation of rupees 4.78 lakh crores for the ministry of defence. As per reports, the budget allocation for the ministry to buy weapons and artillery is 19 per cent, the highest in the last fifteen years. The amount includes a capital expenditure worth rupees 1.35 lakh crore.

10. Mandeep Punia's Bail Plea Rejected, Sent To 14-Day Judicial Custody

The bail plea of freelance journalist Mandeep Punia, who had 'exposed' the role of BJP in the violence that broke out at Delhi borders on Friday, was rejected by a Delhi court on Monday and was sent to 14-day judicial custody. Punia was detained by Delhi Police from Singhu border on Saturday evening.

11. Mumbai Court Summons Kangana Ranaut In Defamation Case

Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has been summoned by a Mumbai court after the city police informed it that an offence of defamation was made out by lyricist Javed Akhtar against the actor and further probe into it was required.

12. Military Seizes Control Of Myanmar, Issues Statement

Myanmar military has taken control of the country for one year with many of its senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyu being detained. A state of emergency has been declared and power had been handed to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. According to an official statement, the reason for the takeover was in part due to the government's failure to act on the military's claims of voter fraud in last November's election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.

13. Union Budget 2021: FM Announces 34K Crore Highway Project in Assam

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced 1300 kilometers of highway construction at the cost of Rs. 34000 crore in Assam in the next 3 years. The Finance Minister while presenting the Union Budget today said that the highway project of 9000 crores is undergoing in the state of Assam.

14. Prasar Bharati CEO's Twitter Handle Among Accounts Suspended

The Twitter account of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati's chief executive was among those blocked by the social networking company on Monday amid a broad sweep of users found using a hashtag deemed inappropriate by the government. The account was restored later in the evening.

15. Pakistan Receives First Batch Of China's Sinopharm Covid Vaccines

A Pakistan military aircraft brought back the country's first consignment of COVID-19 vaccines from China on Monday, the country's health adviser, Faisal Sultan, said. China's envoy in Islamabad would formally handover the 500,000 doses of vaccine produced by Sinopharm later on Monday, enabling Pakistan to begin its vaccination drive this week, officials said.