Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will attend the 56th Annual General Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in South Korea today, May 2. The Indian delegation, comprising officials from the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance departed last evening. 

The meetings will be attended by official delegations of ADB members, observers, non-governmental and civil society organisations, financial institutions and banks, and other private sector companies. During the four day visit, Ms Sitharaman will also participate in annual meeting focal events like the Governors’ Business, and also as a panelist in the ADB Governors’ Seminar on Policies to Support Asia’s Rebound.

President of Iran Ebrahim Raeisi met with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval in Tehran yesterday, May 1. He reiterated his commitment to expanding bilateral economic and trade relations between Iran and India. Mr. Raeisi added that regional and international organizations like Shanghai and BRICS can play a more effective role given their significant power and resources.

President Raeisi noted that strengthening bilateral cooperation between Iran and India could have a constructive impact on resolving regional issues, including the Afghanistan issue. Earlier in the day, Mr. Doval held talks with Iranian officials, including Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
 

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh reached Maldives on his maiden visit yesterday, May 1. He was received by Maldives’ Defence Minister Mariya Didi and other officials from Maldives National Defence forces. 

AIR correspondent reports, the Raksha Mantri’s visit will be an important landmark in building the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries. He is scheduled to meet President Ibrahim Solih. In tune with India’s commitment to capacity building of friendly countries & partners in the region, Mr. Rajnath Singh will gift one Fast Patrol Vessel ship and a Landing Craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces. He will also visit the ongoing project sites in the country and interact with the Indian diaspora. He held a meeting with his Maldives counterpart Mariya Didi. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's iconic monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat on All India Radio completed one hundred episodes today.

In today's programme, the Prime Minister said, like Vijayadashmi, Mann Ki Baat has also become an occasion to celebrate the goodness of Indians, their optimism, positivity and people’s participation. The Prime Minister said, the programme has become a spiritual journey for him.

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh today visited the 175 year old London Science Museum and shared the experience of the initiative of setting up similar science museums undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the idea of setting up these museums is to help enable the common citizens particularly the youngsters to realise their hidden potential and sometimes even discover their inherent aptitude which they themselves may not be aware of. He said, it also ignites curiosity in them which then may help sharpen their scientific temper and inspire creative innovation.

The government has decided that all the states shall celebrate not only their own statehood day but also the statehood days of other states in order to promote Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Therefore, from now onwards, Raj Bhavans across the nation will commemorate statehood days of all the states.
 
Gujarat and Maharashtra are celebrating their statehood days today. Twenty states and all Eight Union territories have given their confirmation to celebrate statehood day of Gujarat and Maharashtra in their respective Raj Bhawans. 
 
The Residents of Gujarat and Maharashtra have also been invited to Raj Bhawans to celebrate the day together with the other states. Cultural programmes and speeches from the participants of both the states have also been planned during the event. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will reach Maldives on 1^st May 2023 as part of his 3 day visit to the archipelago nation. He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Maldivian counterpart to review the entire gamut of defence relations between the two countries. During his stay, Mr. Singh will gift a Fast Patrol Vessel ship and a Landing Craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces, highlighting India's commitment to capacity building of friendly countries and partners in the region.
 
The visit is also an important landmark in building strong bonds of friendship between the two countries. India and the Maldives are working closely to effectively address shared challenges, including maritime security, terrorism, radicalisation, piracy, trafficking, organised crime and natural disasters. India's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) along with its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy as well as Maldives’ ‘India First’ policy seek to work together to jointly develop the capabilities within the Indian Ocean Region. The minister will also visit ongoing project sites and interact with the Indian diaspora during his visit to the Maldives.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the first of its kind ‘Millets Experience Centre (MEC)’ at Dilli Haat in New Delhi today. National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) has established the Millets Experience Centre in collaboration with the Agriculture Ministry. It aims to raise awareness of Millets and encourage its adoption among the general public.

 In his inaugural address, Mr Tomar praised India’s dynamic role in celebration of International Year of Millets 2023 led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said India is gearing towards becoming a ‘Global Hub’ for Millets and added that the setting up of the MEC is a step in that direction.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today commissioned FM Transmitters of 100 Watt capacity at 91 locations across the country. These transmitters have been installed in 85 districts of 18 states and two Union Territories. With this, the network of transmitters with All India Radio has increased from 524 to 615. The addition will further boost the coverage of AIR to 73.5 percent of the population of the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today inaugurate 91 FM transmitters to boost radio connectivity across the country through video conferencing. These transmitters have been installed in 84 districts across 18 States and two Union Territories.

As the government is committed to enhance FM connectivity in the country, a special focus has been given through this initiative to enhance the coverage in the aspirational Districts and in border areas particularly. With this expansion of All India Radio’s FM service, an additional two  crore people, who did-not have access to the medium, will now be covered.  It will result in expansion of coverage in about 35 thousand sq km area.