Indian Navy’s frontline frigate, INS Tabar during the return leg from St Petersburg, Russia conducted a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the German Navy off Kiel Canal on August 5, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

Prior to this, INS Tabar had visited Hamburg, Germany, from July 17 to 20, furthering the maritime relations between India and Germany. These engagements aim to strengthen the maritime partnership between the two nations.

“The conduct of the MPX between the Indian Navy and the German Navy off the Kiel Canal signifies the Indian Navy’s outreach and sustainability efforts, marking a significant milestone in maritime cooperation between the two countries,” the press release stated.

Reliance Industries secures the 86th spot on the 2024 Fortune Global 500 list, marking its highest rank among Indian firms. The list features nine Indian companies, with LIC at 95th and SBI at 178th. Globally, Walmart remains first, Amazon rises to second, and Saudi Aramco is the most profitable.

Reliance Industries Ltd, the oil-to-telecom-to-retail conglomerate, has ascended two spots to secure the 86th position on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2024, maintaining its status as the highest-ranked Indian firm. The company, which held the 88th position last year, has impressively advanced 69 places over the past three years, rising from 155th in 2021.

According to Fortune, Reliance has consistently featured on the 500 list for 21 years, reporting revenues of $108.8 billion and a profit of $8.4 billion last year. The 2024 ranking includes nine Indian firms, with five hailing from the public sector.

The government introduced on Monday the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024, aimed at providing reservation to STs in Legislative Assembly of Goa and to provide for the readjustment of Assembly constituencies.

The Bill was introduced by MoS (Independent Charge) Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal in Lok Sabha. At present, the Goa Assembly has 40 seats, of which one is reserved for SCs, while no seat is reserved for STs.

“The government has received multiple representations from various sources, with a request to direct the initiation of the process to identify and determine the seats to provide for reservation to the ST community in Legislative Assembly of the State of Goa,” state the Statement of Objects and Reasons.

The 5th AITIGA Joint Committee and related meetings for review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) were held in ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia from 29th July to 1st August 2024, marking a significant milestone in enhancing economic cooperation between ASEAN and India. The meeting was co-chaired by Shri Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, India and Ms. Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade), Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry, Malaysia. Delegates from all 10 ASEAN Countries and India participated in the meeting.

AITIGA Joint Committee had initiated discussions for review of AITIGA in May 2023 and after finalising its Terms of Reference and Negotiating Structure, AITIGA JC and its Sub-Committees started negotiations in February 2024. The first 2 rounds of negotiations were held in February 2024 in New Delhi and in May 2024 in Putrajaya, Malaysia. During the 3rd round of negotiations in Jakarta, Indonesia, all 8 Sub-Committees dealing with ‘National Treatment and Market Access’, ‘Rules of Origin’, ‘Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures’, ‘Sanitary and Phytosanitary’, ‘Legal and Institutional Issues’, ‘Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation’, ‘Trade Remedies’ and ‘Economic and Technical Cooperation’ met alongside 5th AITIGA JC and held substantive discussions making significant progress during this round. All the Sub-Committees reported the outcomes of their discussions to the 5th AITIGA JC which provided them further guidance to steer their future work.

Air forces from the US, Germany, France, and other nations will participate in 'Tarang Shakti,' India's largest multilateral air exercise, showcasing defence capabilities. The first phase will occur in Sulur, Tamil Nadu, from August 6 to 14, and the second in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, from August 29 to September 14.

Officials informed that Russia and Israel will not participate in the exercise. As many as 51 countries were invited to participate in Tarang Shakti, of which around 30 will take part in it. Indian Air Force's LCA Tejas, Mirage 2000, and Rafale will also participate in the mega exercise.

India will host the first BIMSTEC Business Summit in New Delhi from August 6-8. The Ministry of External Affairs, in association with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), will host the three-day event.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will inaugurate the Business Summit. Union Minister of Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal and other leaders will deliver key note addresses, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release.

Several Ministers of the BIMSTEC Member States from the ambit of Trade, Commerce and Industry, as well as Energy, along with high-ranking Government officials, policy makers, entrepreneurs and industry associations, will participate in the event.

President Droupadi Murmu was conferred with ‘The Order of Fiji’, the country’s highest civilian award, by Fijian President Ratu Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere on Tuesday.

The award was presented during President Murmu’s three-day state visit to Fiji, marking the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to the South Pacific nation.

In a special briefing, Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, highlighted the significance of the award and other key events of the visit. “President Murmu deeply appreciated the honor,” Mazumdar stated. He also noted that the President addressed the Fijian Parliament and held a brief interaction with the local Indian community in Suva.

Upon her arrival in Suva, President Murmu was accorded a Guard of Honor by the Fiji Military Police, followed by a traditional welcome attended by Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. The warm reception extended to the streets, where hundreds of schoolchildren lined up to greet the visiting dignitary.

The government has informed that, in the last 10 years, an additional 106 waterways have been declared as National Waterways. In a reply to supplementary questions in Rajya Sabha Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said, Cargo shipping through waterways has increased by 6 times in the last 10 years. In 2013-14 more than 18 million metric tonnes of cargo was shipped through waterways. In 2023-24 this capacity was increased to 133 million metric tonnes, he added. Mr. Sonowal said,  waterways reduce the logistic cost and it is most feasible for cargo shipping.  

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has given clearance to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to produce 200 Astra air-to-air missiles for its Su-3O and LCA Tejas fighter aircraft.

The clearance was given to the DRDO and public sector firm BDL, during a recent visit by Indian Air Force Deputy Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit to Hyderabad.

While DRDO is the development agency for the project, BDL is the production agency for it, senior defence officials told India Today TV.

India has begun the groundwork for the Business-Ready or B-Ready index, the World Bank‘s new flagship report benchmarking the business environment and investment climate in economies worldwide. B-Ready is replacing the World Bank’s Doing Business index that ranked countries based on their business enabling environment.

As part of the exercise, the commerce and industry ministry has asked traders, clearing agents and freight forwarders for details such as total time and cost involved in social trade, especially when exporting digitally ordered goods.

The B-Ready report focuses on 10 topics in the life cycle of businesses such as business entry, labour, financial services, international trade and taxation.

The topic on international trade seeks to assess the efficiency of importing and exporting goods, services, customs clearances and engaging in digital trade. Digital trade refers to transactions that promote access to cross-border digital markets and increase the participation of end consumers.