Day: September 19, 2023

Putin and Xi to meet in Beijing in October, Russia says

Manish Kumar

President Vladimir Putin will meet China’s Xi Jinping for talks in Beijing in October, Russia said.  Nikolai Patrushev, a close Putin ally and the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said Russia and China should deepen cooperation in the face of the West’s attempt to contain them both.  Putin will attend the third Belt and Road Forum after an invitation by Xi during a high-profile visit to Moscow in March.  Days before that visit, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest on suspicion of illegally deporting hundreds…

Russia increases output of various military hardware by more than tenfold, says state company

Manish Kumar

Russia has more than tenfold increased production of various military gear to equip its troops in Ukraine.  Putin has ordered an increase in production to guarantee Moscow meets the goals of its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.  The West supplying Kyiv with billions of dollars in weaponry and putting unprecedented Western sanctions on the Russian economy.  Industrial director of the arms complex at Rostec, the Russian state business that handles a large portion of the weapons sector, claimed manufacturing volumes for various types of weapons had jumped by two to…

Women’s Quota Bill to Come into Effect After Delimitation

Manish Kumar

 The Women Reservation Bill seeking to guarantee a 33% quota for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was introduced in Lok Sabha of the new Parliament building amid the ongoing special session on Tuesday. The bill was introduced as the 128th Constitutional Amendment Bill by the Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. the features of the bill are: The bill mandates the reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament. As per the amendment, one-third of the total number of seats in…

US is grateful to India, PM Modi for G20 presidency: White House on ‘productive’ summit

Manish Kumar

Senior White House official John Kirby on Monday said that the United States was “grateful” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a successful G20 presidency.  Kirby said that there was a great deal of work done in the recent G20 Summit in India and said that Biden left Delhi feeling “very positive and optimistic”.  Kirby mentioned that a lot of challenges for the countries of the Global South have been exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  PM Modi, Biden, and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman among other…

Infra firm, former CMD booked by CBI in ₹3,847.58 crore bank fraud case; conducted searches at four locations in Mumbai

Manish Kumar

The CBI booked infra firm, former CMD in over ₹3,800 crore bank fraud case; searches at 4 locations.  CBI searches Mumbai locations after FIR against Unity Infra projects for allegedly defrauding banks of ₹3,847.58 crore.  CBI came into action after a complaint was filed by the State Bank of India, one of the consortium members which alleged that the fraud took place at its commercial branch in Mumbai.  The bank fraud came into force when a forensic audit conducted by BDO India LLP reported irregularities in its audit report.  The…

The growing tensions between Canada and India: India expels Canadian diplomat

Manish Kumar

Canada’s prime minister, announced that there was “credible” information linking Indian government agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia in June.  Canada expelled India’s top intelligence agent in the country on Monday, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said, without providing details.  Earlier, India dismissed the Canadian accusation as “absurd and motivated”  India had expelled a Canadian diplomat with five days’ notice to leave the country, just hours after this action.  On 18 June this year Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in…

Vodafone India makes ‘requisite payment’ of Rs 1,701 crore to DoT

Manish Kumar

Vodafone Idea pays first instalment for 5G spectrum  The telco confirmed that it has paid ₹1,701 crore to the Department of Telecommunications including interest, towards the 2022 Spectrum Auction instalment.  It appears that Vi was able to collect funds to pay the dues without the promoters’ help.  The promoter group entity of Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) had assured assistance of Rs 2,000 crore to the company in case it needed financial support to meet the impending payment obligations.  VIL had cleared about 10 percent of its dues for the April-June…

India’s Sun Mission Aditya-L1 Starts Collecting Scientific Data: ISRO

Manish Kumar

ISRO’s Aditya-L1 begins collecting scientific data on Solar exploration efforts.  The Indian Space Research Organization on Monday announced that Aditya-L1 has commenced collecting scientific data, marking a milestone in India’s solar exploration efforts.  The sensors of the STEPS instrument have begun measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons at distances greater than 50,000 km from Earth,”  STEPS, equipped with six sensors observing in various directions, is responsible for measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions ranging from 20 (kiloelectronvolt) keV/nucleon to 5 (mega electron volt) MeV/nucleon, as well as electrons exceeding 1…

China’s top diplomat & Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits Russia ahead of the possible Xi-Putin meeting

Manish Kumar

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will start his four-day official visit to Russia on September 18 where he will hold security talks, the country’s foreign ministry confirmed.  Russia and China have been strategic allies as both countries frequently continue to reiterate their “no limits” partnership and military and economic cooperation.  The ties between the two countries grew closer after Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February last year which was not criticized by China.  In an initial briefing, the Russian foreign ministry stated that Wang will be meeting with his…

Gita Mehta, eminent author, journalist, and Odisha CM’s elder sister, breathed her last

Manish Kumar

Gita Mehta, renowned writer-filmmaker passed away on Saturday in New Delhi. Mehta, who died at 80, was the sister of Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and daughter of Biju Patnaik.  Gita Mehta will be remembered for her coverage of Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war for NBC and her acclaimed documentary “Dateline Bangladesh”.  Born in 1943 to Biju Patnaik and Gyan Patnaik in Delhi, she pursued her higher studies in India as well as at the prestigious Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.  Gita Mehta was the elder sister of Naveen Patnaik…