The first Round Table Joint Meeting between India and New Zealand with the industry and industry associations of both countries took place on Thursday in New Delhi. The meeting was co-chaired by the Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India Rajesh Agarwal and the High Commissioner of New Zealand in India, David Pine.

Looking at the present quantum of bilateral trade between the two countries, both sides acknowledged the huge potential in the India and New Zealand partnership and the need for bringing in synergy for enhanced economic relations in areas of mutual interest. It was a common understanding that there is a need to work beyond any free trade agreement and explore other areas where both can complement each other. The discussions also focused on taking forward the objectives of the Joint Trade Committee (JTC), formed under the Bilateral Trade Agreement of 1986.

The establishment of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Jammu is a celebration of Idea of One India and a festival of India’s Unity in Diversity: Dr. Jitendra Singh

PM Modi has integrated India from East to West, from North to South, ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ & ‘Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Jammu are the best examples of it, says Dr. Jitendra Singh

The temple is first in J&K & 6th in the country paving way for Jammu to become the top religious tourism destination in India: Dr. Jitendra Singh

With the establishment of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Jammu, it’s again proved to the world that Kashmir to Kanyakumari is one: G K Reddy

The two-day maritime exercise will involve a wide range of naval operations, including surface warfare and helicopter cross-deck landing operations

The first India-France-UAE Maritime Partnership Exercise began on Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman, the Ministry of Defence said today. The exercise involves the Indian Navy frigate INS Tarkash, the French Navy ship Surcouf along with Rafale fighter jets, and UAE Navy maritime patrol aircraft.
The two-day exercise will involve a wide range of naval operations, including surface warfare, helicopter cross-deck landing operations, advanced air defense exercises, and boarding operations, the ministry said. The exercise will also include cross-embarkation of personnel to exchange best practices.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal will launch integrated Water Resources Action Plan-2023-25 under Amrit Jal Kranti tomorrow at Chandigarh, which will be a bold step towards conserving water resources.
       
An official spokesperson said that on the initiative of the Chief Minister, a two-day water conservation seminar was organized in Panchkula on 26-27th April, this year under Amrit Jal Kranti, in which many departments of Haryana, including experts from India and abroad doing research on water conservation participated.

He said that based on the various suggestions received in the seminar, an action plan has been prepared by all the departments for water conservation.

Nearly after three decades, the coveted international beauty pageant Miss World will be hosted in India this year.

The 71st edition of Miss World is expected to take place in November this year, the final dates are yet to be ascertained.

India had last hosted the Miss World pageant in 1996. 

The RBI has allowed banks to issue RuPay Prepaid Forex cards for use at ATMs, PoS (point-of-sale) machines and online merchants overseas, and enabled the issuance of RuPay Debit, Credit, and Prepaid Cards in foreign jurisdictions for international use, including India.

These measures will expand the reach and acceptance of RuPay cards globally and expand payment options for Indians travelling abroad, the central bank said.

”This opens up new avenues for seamless and flexible cross-border transactions. This development brings forth enhanced convenience and efficiency for individuals and businesses engaged in international trade,” said Rajsri Rengan, India Head of Development, Banking and Payments at FIS.

Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal has said that international benchmarking, deliberations with the industry, and demand assessment are critical to identifying high-value and high-volume potential products to catalyze research and innovation in Technical Textiles in India. He said this while chairing the 6th Mission Steering Group meeting of the National Technical Textiles Mission in New Delhi today.

Ministry of Textiles approved 20 Research and Development projects worth over 61 crores rupees across key strategic areas of Geotech, Protech, Indutech, Sustainable Textiles, Sportech, Buildtech segments, and Carbon Fibre and Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene during the MSG meeting.

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport said in a statement on Thursday that it has introduced a new facility called 'DigiYatra' that allows passengers to enjoy its benefits without having to download the mobile application. The initiative, launched at Terminal-3 of the airport, simplifies the registration process into three simple steps.

Passengers can utilize the facility by scanning their boarding pass and their face, and presenting an identification proof to the security personnel near the registration desk. Once successfully registered, passengers can experience seamless travel within the terminal, including the security check area and boarding gates.

Ritu Kalra, an Indian-American investment banking and financial management expert, has been named vice president for finance and chief financial officer of Harvard University. She currently serves as assistant vice president of finance and treasury and special projects adviser in the university.

The university in The Harvard Gazette said Kalra will oversee all aspects of financial management, including long-range planning, annual budgeting, endowment fund spending policy, treasury, and financial accounting and reporting. 

The RBI on Thursday issued first loss default guarantee (FLDG) guidelines for digital lenders. The central bank has allowed a 5% default loss cover for bank-fintech deals. The RBI had earlier specified that banks and NBFCs must abide by securitisation norms before entering into any guarantee arrangement.

Subject to certain guidelines, the RBI has decided to permit arrangements between regulated entities and lending service providers or between two regulated entities involving default loss guarantee. The limits are aimed at reining in the risk of large slippages in tie-ups between lenders and fintechs.