Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Mastercard India have signed MoU for collaboration in cyber security to enhance India’s cyber-resilience in the financial sector. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said, two entities will leverage their shared expertise to strengthen the financial sector’s cybersecurity incident response.

Mastercard and CERT-In will hold training programs and workshops for cyber capacity building, latest market trends and best practices to enhance cyber security of financial sector organizations. The two entities will also share relevant cyber threat trends, technical information, threat intelligence, and vulnerability reports to strengthen the financial sector information security of India.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has announced its partnership with Ria Money Transfer (Ria), global leader in the cross-border money transfer industry and business segment of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. The ease of access brought by this collaboration will provide customers in remote areas across India with convenient and affordable doorstep financial services.

Sixty-five per cent of India’s population lives in rural areas with limited financial infrastructure. These families need to travel long distances to withdraw their international inward remittance money, leading to loss of wage, incur travel expense & they also get exposed to risk associated with cash in transit or storage at home as they have to withdraw entire amount altogether. The IPPB & Ria’s partnership will increase people’s access to banking services at their doorstep & help them withdraw only to the extent they need immediately, ensuring they get saved from the earlier hassles and risks, thereby experiencing financial inclusion in true sense, leading to their long-term economic growth.

Through this partnership, the Internationals Inward Money Transfer service will become available at more than 25,000 Post Office locations immediately with an expected reach to over 100,000 locations through the Post Offices. By combining IPPB’s reach through world’s largest postal network and esteemed reputation with Ria’s global network and extensive product offering, customers across India will be able to benefit from a fast, convenient and safe doorstep service no matter where they are.

The Central Council For Research In Yoga And Naturopathy, in collaboration with Svyasa, Deemed to be University, orchestrated a Conference on “Yoga for Space” at S-Vyasa University, Bengaluru, in observance of International Day of Yoga 2024 with the theme “Yoga for Self & Society.”

The conference’s focus was on the convergence of experts from various fields to enhance society, including astronauts. The conference outlined the activities and challenges of IDY 2024, orchestrated by the Ministry of AYUSH for society, such as the “Yoga with Family” global video contest, YogaTech Challenges for innovative yoga ideas by Indian Start-ups, Yoga Quiz, Yoga Jingles, among others. These initiatives aim to raise awareness in society and promote vigorous yoga practice, recognizing that a healthy individual fosters a healthy society, as proclaimed by the theme of IDY 2024, said a release.

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal for a new passenger terminal at Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, along with works related to the runway and apron extension.

The new passenger terminal will be built at an estimated cost of ₹2,869 crore, which will increase the airport’s passenger handling capacity from 39 lakh passengers per annum to 99 lakh passengers per annum and will be spread over 75,000 sq. m. The design will reflect the cultural heritage of the city.

The proposal also includes runway extension and an expanded apron to park 20 aircraft. A press statement from the government said that the Varanasi airport will be a green facility. This will be implemented through energy optimisation, waste recycling, solar energy utilisation, and other measures.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the development of a Rs 76,200-crore all-weather greenfield deep draft major port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, according to an official statement.

The statement said the project will be constructed by Vadhavan Port Project Limited (VPPL), an SPV formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), with a shareholding of 74 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively.

The port will be one of the top 10 ports in the world, it added.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved an increase in the minimum support prices (MSP) for all 14 kharif crops for the 2024-25 crop season that runs from July to June.

The increase means farmers will get around ₹2 trillion as MSP – ₹35,000 crore more than what they got in the previous season, Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while briefing the media on the cabinet decisions.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for offshore wind energy projects at a total outlay of Rs 7,453 crore.

This includes an outlay of Rs 6,853 crore for the installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects (500 MW each off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu), and a grant of Rs 600 crore for the upgradation of two ports to meet logistics requirements for offshore wind energy projects.

An official release said that the VGF scheme is a major step towards implementation of the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy notified in 2015 with an aim to exploit the vast offshore wind energy potential that exists within the exclusive economic zone of India.

In a bid to have more scientific investigations across the country to achieve better conviction rates in criminal cases, the Union Cabinet Wednesday approved the National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme (NFIES).

The scheme, with a financial outlay of Rs 2,254.43 crore during the period from 2024-25 to 2028-29, aims to establish campuses of National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) across the country apart from setting up more central forensic science laboratories enhancing existing infrastructure of NFSU, Delhi.

The development assumes significance in the wake of the new criminal laws coming into effect from July 1.

Private sector Dhanlaxmi Bank on Tuesday said it has appointed Ajith Kumar KK as Managing Director (MD) of the bank.

He will take charge on June 20, Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank said in a regulatory filing.

The board at its meeting held on Tuesday approved the appointment of Ajith Kumar KK as Managing Director & CEO of the bank for a period of three years with effect from June 20, 2024, and on such remuneration as approved by RBI vide letter dated April 18, it said.
The bank will seek approval of the shareholders for the said appointment within the prescribed time period in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI regulations, it said.

Mark Rutte, who looks set to be NATO’s next secretary-general, is a staunch ally of Ukraine and a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who honed his skills as a political dealmaker during nearly 14 years as Dutch prime minister.

Rutte, 57, has been one of the driving forces behind Europe’s military support for Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, and says defeat on the battlefield for Moscow is vital to secure peace in Europe.

His view is heavily influenced by the downing of an airliner over Ukraine in 2014, which the Netherlands blames on Russia, and in which 196 of the 298 victims were Dutch. NATO must be powerful to counter Moscow, and other European Union leaders must not be naive about Putin’s Russia, he says.

“He won’t stop at Ukraine, if we don’t stop him now. This war is bigger than Ukraine itself. It’s about upholding the international rule of law,” Rutte told the United Nations in September 2022, seven months after Russia’s full-scale invasion.