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The Supreme Court backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2016 notes ban today in a landmark 4-1 majority judgment and said it was "not relevant" whether the objective of the overnight ban was achieved. One judge disagreed, calling the move "unlawful".

A constitution bench said the central government's November 8, 2016 order to ban ₹ 1,000 and ₹ 500 currency notes is valid and the decision-making process could not be faulted just because the Centre initiated the move.

The Centre, said the court, is required to act in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and there is an "inbuilt safeguard". This consultation did take place for six months, four of the five judges said.

Three women have died in a stampede at a rally of Telugu Desam president and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district. This is the second incident in a span of four days that people lost their lives at a public event of Naidu's Telugu Desam Party, which has been holding a series of political meetings across the state in preparation for the 2024 assembly elections in the state.

A top police officer from Andhra Pradesh told to a national daily the public meeting had been completed and Mr Naidu had left the venue for his residence when the tragedy took place.

After the public meeting, there was a programme by local Telugu Desam Party leaders to distribute sarees as gifts from Chandrababu Naidu to the women for Sankranti, the harvest festival coming up in two weeks.

At the year's conclusion, Corona has once more begun to extend its wings. Everyone is concerned about Corona's deteriorating condition in China. In such a circumstance, the government in India has also raised awareness of this. If the rumour is to be believed, a deterioration of the condition could occur as a result of Corona in India in the middle of January. 

It is crucial in this scenario to take the essential precautions in order to prevent the severe consequences of this virus. India is one of the nations where the new Corona Omicron BF.7 model has been introduced. There have been 4 examples of this rapidly proliferating variation recorded in the nation so far.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi passed away early Friday morning, aged 99. She was admitted to the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, on Wednesday after her health deteriorated. On this unfortunate event, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut took to social media to offer condolences.

Sharing a photo of PM Modi with his late mother, the actress wrote in Hindi, “May God give PM patience and peace in this difficult time. Om Shanti.”

The Prime Minister has left for Ahmedabad on Friday, as per sources.

Covid-19 cases in India may witness a sharp uptick in January but are unlikely to cause severe symptoms or death, government sources said on Wednesday, citing past trends.

China’s U-turn on travel restrictions at a time when it is grappling with a massive surge in infections is a concern as it could add to the caseload in India.

During the previous spikes, the sources said, a new wave of Covid-19 hit India 30-35 days after it infected individuals in East Asia. China has already witnessed a peak in Covid-19 cases about 10 days ago and there is now a rising trend in the US and some of the pacific island nation, the sources said.