External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Tajikistan Speaker Zokirzoda Mahmadtohir Zoir and appreciated the strong parliamentary support for Indo-Tajik cooperation.
Jaishankar, who is in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, attended the 9th Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan.
Earlier in the day, the minister paid his respects at the monument of the founder of the first Tajik state.
S. Jaishankar also met Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon and discussed expanding bilateral economic and development cooperation.
India Slips 28 Places in Gender Gap Index
India has slipped 28 places to rank 140 among 156 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2021, becoming the third-worst performer in South Asia.
According to the report, India has closed 62.5 per cent of its gender gap till date.
The country had ranked 112th among 153 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2020. Noting that the decline also took place on the economic participation and opportunity sub-index, albeit to a lesser extent, the report said India's gender gap on this dimension widened by 3 per cent this year, leading to a 32.6 per cent gap closed till date.
Mar 31, 2021
Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad Inaugurates 104-feet Tall Flag Mast
A 104 feet tall flag mast hoisting the National Flag was inaugurated by Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad.
The governor unveiled the plaque and hoisted the national flag in the presence of Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, other ministers and senior officials.
The flag mast will be a permanent structure here and the national flag will remain hoisted throughout.
The flast mast has been set up by the state Roads and Bridges Department and is located in front of the Tourist Information Centre at the entrance of MG Marg.
UK Invites India to G7 Meeting as Guest Nation
India has been invited as a guest to the G7 meeting by the United Kingdom this year. The meeting will also witness involvement of other countries including Australia, South Korea and South Africa, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
Suresh Prabhu, India's Sherpa to G-20 and G7, attended the second virtual meeting of Sherpas of Group of Seven (G7) and guest countries. G7, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, is an intergovernmental organisation.
COP26 Summit and global health cooperation were the key issues which were discussed during the meeting, under the UK's G7 Presidency.
Mar 30, 2021
Heavy Turnout in Phase 1 of Assam and Bengal Polls
People in West Bengal and Assam voted in the first phase of state assembly elections, turning out in impressive numbers, 79.79% and 76.89%, respectively, in polls that will determine if the Trinamool Congress can stand up to the challenge by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is also trying to retain power in the Assam.
While the BJP has emerged as the primary challenger in West Bengal, where it won 18 of the 42 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in Assam, a coalition of the Congress and Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) is fighting against the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government.
India and South Korea Agree on Joint Production, Export of Military Hardware
In a significant move, India and South Korea have agreed to go for joint production and export of military hardware, enhance intelligence sharing and boost cooperation in cyber and space domains as part overall expansion of defence and security ties.
The decisions were taken during delegation-level talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his South Korean counterpart Suh Wook with both sides resolving to give a major push to ramp up ties in strategically key areas.
CJI Inaugurates New Bombay High Court Building
Chief Justice of India Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde inaugurated the new building of the High Court of Bombay at Goa in the presence of Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, at Porvorim.Speaking on the occasion, Justice Bobde said that the new building will give the State an opportunity for better administrational justice and some of the best arguments.
New Passenger Train between India and Bangladesh
A new passenger train connecting Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri on the Indian side was inaugurated jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina via a video conference.
This is the third passenger train after Maitree Express (Dhaka-Kolkata) and Bandhan Express (Khulna-Kolkata) running between the two neighbouring countries.
The new passenger train, 'Mitali Express', was jointly inaugurated by Modi and Hasina from the Prime Minister's Office in Tejgaon via a video conference.
The new inter-country passenger train was launched on the occasion of 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary and golden jubilee of Bangladesh's Independence.
India, Bangladesh Ink five MoUs
India and Bangladesh signed 5 MoUs in the fields of trade, IT and setting up of sports facilities on the concluding day of the 2-day long official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Wrapping up the visit, the delegation level talks were held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Both the leaders discussed the progress achieved in areas of health, trade, connectivity, energy, developmental cooperation and many more.
Prime Minister Modi and Sheikh Hasina discussed bilateral issues covering areas of commerce and trade, water resources, security and defence, power and energy among others.
Prominent leaders from Kashmir joined Peoples Conference (PC) in presence of party Chairman Sajjad Gani Lone and other top leaders of the party.
Former Minister Syed Basharat Bukhari, former legislators Peer Mansoor Hussain and Khursheed Alam were the leaders who joined the PC.
Welcoming Basharat Bukhari, Peerzada Mansoor Hussain and Khursheed Alam into the party fold, PC Chairman Sajjad Gani Lone said that the party will immensely benefit from their experience in politics and public life.
Mar 29, 2021
J&K LG Inaugurates 73 AYUSH Health & Wellness Centres
Jammu and Kashmir, LG Manoj Sinha has e-inaugurated 73 AYUSH Health & Wellness Centres under Ayushman Bharat across the UT. These centres aim to promote good health and expanding the outreach of comprehensive primary healthcare services to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Lt Governor observed that AYUSH Health & Wellness Centres would be a game-changer in the UT of J&K, especially in promoting the AYUSH sector, so that comprehensive primary health care through AYUSH principles and practices is provided to the community for achieving the basic objective of holistic wellness model by advocating self-care and home remedies amongst the community.
Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Election
The Uttar Pradesh Election Commission announced the schedule for panchayat elections in the state.
Coming just a few months ahead of the Assembly elections next year, the panchayat elections are being seen as a test of the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government amid the ongoing farmers' agitation, especially in Jat-dominated regions of western UP.
The election to the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly are due around February-March next year. The polling for gram panchayats, kshetra' panchayats and zila panchayats will be held in four phases on April 15, 19, 26 and 29. The results will be announced on May 2 along with results of Assembly elections in four states (West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu) and UT Puducherry.
Mar 28, 2021
PM Modi Invites Bangladesh Entrepreneurs to Join Start Ups in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended an invitation to 50 entrepreneurs from Bangladesh to visit India to join the country's start-up and innovation ecosystem and meet India's venture capitalists.
"On completion of 50 years of relationship between India and Bangladesh, I would like to invite 50 entrepreneurs of Bangladesh to visit India and join our start-up and innovation ecosystem and meet our venture capitalists. We will also be able to learn something from them and they will also get an opportunity to learn something from us," the Prime Minister said during an event celebrating 50 years of Bangladesh's liberation.
Modi who is on a two-day visit to the neighbouring country also announced the Swarna Jayanti scholarship for youths of Bangladesh.
The Swarna Jayanti Fellowship is a research fellowship awarded annually by the Department of Science and Technology of India. It is given for the notable and outstanding research by young scientists, applied or fundamental, in biology, chemistry, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, medicine and physics.
UIDAI, FCI Get New Heads in Govt. Reshuffle
The Modi government appointed Saurabh Garg as the CEO of Unique Identification of Authority of India (UIDAI), Sanjeev Kumar as Chairman of Airports Authority of India and Atish Chandra as CMD of Food Corporation of India (FCI) in a large-scale reshuffle.
Mukhmeet Singh Bhatia was appointed Director-General of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Prashant Kumar Singh as CEO of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) special purpose vehicle for procurement in the Ministry of Commerce and Talleen Kumar as Member (Finance) in the Space Commission.
The reshuffle involves over 20 senior officials from IAS except one Chandrashekhar Mohapatra, who is from the Indian Economic Service (IES) and made Additional Secretary, GST Council Secretariat.