Author: AsiaOne

French President Emmanuel Macron will attend India’s Republic Day as a chief guest on Friday. This visit is seen as a significant milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries ahead of a multi-billion-dollar deal to buy French fighter jets and submarines for the Indian military.

On January 25, he will first visit Jaipur to see the Amber Fort and later meet PM Modi to take a tour of the pink city together.

According to reports, Macron’s visit will be more ceremonial than substantial, and he will meet many business leaders from the pharmaceutical, auto, space, energy, and hydrogen industries. India-France ties have been one of the oldest among European nations. Additionally, it has been India’s second-largest arms supplier, and India has been relying on French fighter jets for more than 40 years now.

PM Modi’s last visit to France was for the Bastille Day celebration in July. During his visit, the Indian government first authorised the acquisition of 26 Rafale aircraft, and the two countries collaborated to build three 800 billion rupee Scorpene-class submarines.

However, the deal was not finalised then. France further looks forward to enhancing cooperation in the space and nuclear sectors.

A prominent socialist leader and former Bihar chief minister, Karpoori Thakur, will be awarded the highest civilian award in the country, ‘Bharat Ratna.’ Along with him, 49 other people have been granted the Bharat Ratna award, including 17 posthumously.

Thakur was dubbed the Jan Nayak despite serving for a short while. He served as the Bihar CM from December 1970 to June 1971 and from December 1977 to April 1979. The award was presented 35 years after he passed away on February 17, 1988.

Bihar’s chief minister, Nitish Kumar, and his party, JDU, have long demanded the award from the Centre for the state’s first non-Congress Chief Minister. Kumar stated, “This highest honour to the late Karpoori Thakur ji on his 100th birth anniversary will create positive sentiments among the Dalit, deprived, and neglected sections.”

Upon the award being given posthumously, it is seen as a BJP masterstroke ahead of the general election as Thakur belonged to OBC and BJP aims to gain allegiance of this group as they are still loyal to Nitish Kumar. Bihar has forty parliamentary seats and it is yet to be seen how this move will impact the upcoming elections.

The silvery-white element is set to put Thailand on the global stage as one of the key sources of lithium mines, as it has discovered nearly 15 million tonnes of lithium deposits. The latest discovery has positioned Thailand as the third-largest lithium resource in the world. However, it is unclear about the amount to be commercially exploited.

Meanwhile, Thailand aims to start producing lithium mines in its southwest in about two years. Government deputy spokeswoman Rudklao Intawong Suwankiri said, “We are trying to find out how much we can use from the resources we found. It will take time.”

According to government officials and companies involved in lithium production, it will boost Thailand’s ambition to become a regional electric vehicle production hub. Along with lithium mines, it will develop an EV production industry, which will include $1.44 billion in investment commitments from Chinese carmakers.

The 14.8 million tonnes of lithium are distributed between two separate sites in the southern province of Phang Nga. Miner Pan Asia Metals is gearing up to file mining permits in March. It will be filed for the Phang-Nga, which includes the prospective Reung Kiet and Bang I Tum sites.

PM Narendra Modi will hold an extravagant inauguration ceremony at Ramjanmbhoomi to welcome Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya after a wait of more than 500 years.

Following centuries of oppression by a particular community and colonial powers, Ayodhya is finally ready to move Ram Lalla from a broken tent to a temple. The original temple was razed by the Mughals in 1528, and the Babri Masjid was built on it.

PM Modi is scheduled to arrive in Ayodhya on Monday at 10:25 am and will reach Shri Ram Janmabhoomi at 10:55 am. He will perform the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at 12:05 pm with a team of priests led by Lakshmikant Dixit.

The specific time and date are chosen as per Hindu mythological history. It is believed that Lord Vishu took one of his incarnations on this particular Karma Dwadashi, Mrigashira Nakshatra, and Indra Yog Day. Shri Ram is also one of Shri Vishu’s incarnations. Thus, this date plays a significant role in the inaugural ceremony.

The consecration ceremony will be performed in the Abhijit Muhurat, which is considered one of the most auspicious muhurats in Hindu traditions. The muhurat will last 84 seconds between 12:29:08 p.m. and 12:30:32 p.m.