The government is not yet ready to sign the Hague treaty on inter-country abduction of children by parents fleeing a bad marriage, said a senior official of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD).

There has been immense pressure from the U.S. on the government to sign the treaty though the government has long held the view that the decision could lead to harassment of women escaping marital discord or domestic violence.

“The government is not yet ready to sign the Hague treaty. If at all we do, we will follow the Japan example and put safeguards in place before acceding to the Hague treaty,” said the official on condition of anonymity.

According to K Manohar Raja, Executive Director, Enterprise Business, RailTel, the project, which was to be rolled out in 400-odd stations across the country by the end of 2018, is complete well ahead of schedule.

“Under this partnership with Google we have covered 400 stations under A and A1 categories. We would now be looking to roll out similar service in B and C category stations as well. We will initiate discussions soon,” he said while rolling out the service at Dibrugarh — the 400th station thereby completing the mandate.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday gave additional charge of governor of Tripura to West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi for the period that Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy is on leave.

“The President of India is pleased to appoint Keshari Nath Tripathi, Governor of West Bengal to discharge the functions of the Governor of Tripura, in addition to his own duties, during the absence on leave of Tathagata Roy, Governor of Tripura,” Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement.

Guwahati : President Ram Nath Kovind said that the Centre is making sincere efforts to develop the state as well as the entire northeastern region during his Tripura visit. Speaking at an event organised by the Tripura government in Agartala on Thursday evening, Kovind said, no region can develop without peace. During the event, he also declared the ‘Queen’ variety of pineapple as the state food of Tripura.

The President appreciated the youth of the state and cited many names of famous sportspersons in this context. Talking about women empowerment, Kovind said, Tripura is ahead in empowering them. He also emphasised that Tripura can play an important role in boosting the trade with the ASEAN countries.

• Jakhar set a junior national record en route to winning a gold in the men's hammer throw event

• Indian athletes clinched four medals, including a gold, on the opening day of the Asian Junior Championships

• Suresh and Sonune won bronze medals in women's triple jump and women's 5000m race respectively

World Oceans Day was officially established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008 to be celebrated worldwide on 8th of June annually to resolve the ocean issues and save ocean water.

They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe. The purpose of the Day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world's oceans.

World Oceans Day is celebrated annually aiming to save the oceans and honour the ocean's creatures for maintaining the balance of life on the earth.

Day to day increasing human populations and modern advanced technologies with various lots of byproducts are the main reasons spoiling the precious ocean.

Action focus for 2018 is preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean.

An Olympic medallist is now entitled to a pension of Rs 20,000 per month with the Sports Ministry doubling the amount following a revision in is pension policy. A medal winner at Paralympics will also be entitled to the same amount as an Olympic medallist. A gold medallist in a World Cup or at the Asian Games will get Rs 16,000, a silver medallist Rs 14000 and a bronze medal winner will get Rs 12,000.

“The rate of pension of medal winners in the Para-Olympics Games and Para Asian Games will be at par with the medal winners in the Olympic Games and Asian Games respectively and only a World Championships held once in four years will be considered for pension,” a press release said.

• India cricketer Mithali Raj has become the first batter from the country to score 2000 runs in T20Is

• Mithali is the seventh woman batter to score 2,000 runs in T20Is

• Mithali recently broke the record for the most ODI appearances by a woman cricketer

Industries Minister Sunder Sham Arora said Thursday that the state government was committed to ensuring 100% refund of long-pending VAT to industrialists by the end of this year. The minister was speaking at a meeting with industrialists here to launch “Business First Portal”, which is aimed at facilitating speedy regulatory approvals.

At the meeting, some of the industrialists were vocal in raising their grievances. Gursharan Singh, Convener of Traders Union, said that government was not looking after the interests of the industry, as was promised before the elections.

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made changes in the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to make it more attractive.

The revamping of the scheme is aimed at enabling people to open a hassle-free gold deposit account.

The short-term deposits should be treated as bank's on-balance sheet liability, the RBI said in a notification.

"These deposits will be made with the designated banks for a short period of 1-3 years (with a facility of roll over). Deposits can also be allowed for broken periods (e.g. 1 year 3 months; 2 years 4 months 5 days; etc.)," it said.