🐕‍🦺@Noon: India's Brave Canine Soldier No More After Fighting Terrorists In Kashmir

Dear Reader,

Here are 8 stories from Swarajya today.

1. Army's assault dog succumbs to injuries after encounter with terrorists in J&K

Zoom, who was active in service for eight months, was critically injured after facing off against terrorists in south Kashmir. Despite sustaining injuries, the brave canine soldier kept on with the attack, which led to the killing of two LeT terrorists. He passed away on Thursday.

2. Withdraw blanket ban on firecrackers in Delhi: Stalin to Kejriwal

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister made this request to his Delhi counterpart in a letter. Lakhs of people in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi, especially rural women, work in the fireworks industry. A lot of the business happens during Diwali.

3. Germany walks back on Kashmir comment after India rebuke

The German foreign minister's reference to Kashmir in Berlin during a press conference alongside her Pakistani counterpart had drawn an unusually strong statement from India. Germany has now issued a clarification on their comment.

4. A decade of Xi Jinping as China's president

Tushar Gupta has kicked off his four-part series ahead of the Twentieth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party where President Xi will secure a third-term. Who'd have thought back in the day that this Chinese leader would be challenging the legacy of Chairman Mao?

5. Close to 650 central infra projects delayed, some by up to 23 years

The status of 1,526 central-sector infrastructure projects costing Rs 150 crore and above was checked. Seven projects were found to be ahead of schedule and 265 on schedule, while as many as 647 are delayed! The road transport and highways sector has accounted for most project delays.

6. Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project work is making quick progress

This line is part of the ambitious Char Dham railway project in Uttarakhand, which will connect the pilgrimage sites of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. The Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project is critical to national security.

7. Indian Railways to launch superfast Vande Bharat freight train soon

The Railways is looking to roll out a freight version of the semi-high-speed train. The Vande Bharat freight train, cutting down on transport time with its high speed, is expected to make an impact on e-commerce. Which is why it's slated to operate between Delhi-NCR and Mumbai regions.

8. Infra status accorded to data centres with over 5 MW capacity

That this would be done was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2022-23 budget speech. The move helps data centre companies to get easier access to institutional credit at lower rates and attract foreign investments, among other things.