India and Tanzania on Monday elevated their ties to the level of strategic partnership, inked six pacts to boost cooperation in several key areas and agreed on a five-year roadmap to significantly expand defence engagement at talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

In his media statement after the talks, Modi said both sides are also working on an agreement to increase trade in local currencies, and described Tanzania as a “valued partner” in the Indo-Pacific.

The prime minister said steps are being taken to adopt the success story of UPI in Tanzania and that both sides will continue to explore new opportunities to realise the full potential of the economic cooperation.

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has embarked on an official visit to Marrakech, Morocco, beginning today. She will attend the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, along with G20 FMCBG meetings. The annual meetings will be attended by Finance Ministers and Central Bankers from across the world. Finance Minister Mrs Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will co-chair the fourth G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting.

The Finance Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with Indonesia, Morocco, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany and France, besides other meetings, scheduled to take place from 11th to 15th October in Marrakech. 

Over 18 lakh accounts to the tune of over 11 thousand crore rupees have been opened under Mahila Samman Savings Certificate 2023 across the country.

Communication Ministry said, the new scheme Mahila Samman Savings Certificate was launched on 1st April this year. The two year tenure scheme offers an attractive and fixed interest of 7.5 percent interest compounded quarterly. The scheme is valid for a two-year period upto 31st March 2025. The Ministry said, more than 33 thousand accounts to tune of 405 crore riupees have been opened in Delhi. 

Union Minister for AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal said that the 8th Ayurveda Day will be celebrated on 10th of November.

Briefing media in New Delhi on Tuesday, Mr Sonowal said, the main event will be held at Panchkula in Haryana. He said, the theme for this year is Ayurveda for One Health.

The theme is in alignment with the theme of India’s G20 Presidency ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, and the focal theme for Ayurveda day-2023 has been decided as ‘Ayurveda for One Health’ with Tag line ‘Ayurveda for everyone on every focusing on human-animal-plant-environment interface.

Secretary in Ministry of AYUSH Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said, a total of 12,500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centers have been approved under NAM, out of which 8095 are already operational.

Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India Ajay Kumar Sood today inaugurated the ‘Bharat NCX 2023. Addressing the event, Mr. Sood laid out the importance of Digital Public Infrastructure protection, hardware security needs and Post Quantum Cryptography.

The second edition of the National Cyber Security Exercise 2023 ‘Bharat NCX 2023’ will be conducted as a hybrid exercise over a period of twelve days till 20th of this month. The exercise aims to train senior management and technical personnel of Government and Critical Sector organizations and Public and Private agencies on contemporary cyber threats and handling cyber incidents and response. The programme is being conducted by the National Security Council Secretariat in strategic partnership with Rashtriya Raksha University. The participants will be trained on various key cyber security areas such as Intrusion Detection Techniques, Malware Information Sharing Platform, Vulnerability Handling and Penetration Testing, Network Protocols and Data Flows, Digital Forensics. 

The Jawaharlal Nehru University conferred an honourary doctorate to Samia Suluhu Hassan, the first woman President of Tanzania, here on Tuesday. Dr. Hassan is on an official visit to India. The recognition is in appreciation for her pivotal role in fostering stronger India-Tanzania relations, promoting economic diplomacy, and achieving success in regional integration and multilateralism, the Union Education Ministry said.

Dr. Hassan, remembering the training she received from National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad said she is product of Indian education. She said it is not just the beauty of its landscape, but also the generosity, and the kindness of its people, makes India, “Incredible India”. “India is an extended family member simply separated by a coastline, a strategic ally, a dependable partner and a friend for all seasons,” she added. “India has remained truthful and loyal to the cause of the Global South and the developing countries,” she said adding that India has continued to uphold the importance of multilateralism, and valuing society over market.

Bareilly has become the first district in Uttar Pradesh to introduce smart classrooms in all government schools, the state government announced. The Uttar Pradesh government, in a post on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), stated, "Bareilly has achieved a remarkable milestone by becoming not only the first district in Uttar Pradesh but potentially in the entire country to grant access to smart classrooms in all government schools."

In total, the district has 2,546 government schools, comprising 2,483 basic department schools and 63 government inter colleges, all of which have now been equipped with smart class facilities, according to the government. Of the 15,000 smart schools across Uttar Pradesh, 2,500 are in the Bareilly district itself, underscoring a significant accomplishment for the region.

NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL), a Navaratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), under the Ministry of Coal, has secured the 810 MW solar photovoltaic power project from Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL).

According to a press release, the tender for the 810 MW project was floated by RRVUNL on December 21, 2022. The project is located in Bikaner district of Rajasthan and NLCIL had successfully secured the entire capacity. The Letter of Intent for this project has been issued by RRVUNL representing a significant step forward in NLCIL’s commitment to clean and sustainable energy solutions.

 The Ministry of Culture has identified 449 sites for cleanliness under special Swachhata Campaign 3.0, officials said on Monday.

The ministry in a statement said it is undertaking the campaign within the ministry and its attached, subordinate and autonomous organisations located across the country.

The drive started with a preparatory phase from September 15-30 during which the targets for disposing and cleaning during the campaign period have been earmarked. Implementation phase of the campaign has started from October 2 and will continue up to October 31, the officials said.

During the campaign, special focus is being given on reducing pendency, space management and enhancing workplace experience in offices, they said.

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has embarked on a four day visit to Italy and France. During the first leg of his two-nation visit, the Raksha Mantri is scheduled to meet Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto in Rome. The relationship between India and Italy were elevated to Strategic Partnership in March 2023 during the visit of the Italian Prime Minister to India.

During the second and final leg, Mr. Rajnath Singh will conduct the 5th Annual Defence Dialogue with his counterpart, French Minister of Armed Forces Mr Sebastien Lecornu in Paris. India and France recently celebrated 25 years of Strategic Partnership. Both countries enjoy a deep and wide-ranging bilateral defence relationship, including significant industrial cooperation.