Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singapore counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong will witness the launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore through video conferencing today. The launch will be done by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

Prime Minister Modi’s visionary leadership has been instrumental in driving globalisation of India’s best-in-class digital payment infrastructure. Our Correspondent reports that a key emphasis of the Prime Minister has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only, but other countries too benefit from it.

Indian Railways has launched a month-long Intensive Safety Drive from Sunday to prevent derailments, Signal Passing at Danger and other types of accidents. Senior officers from Railway Board, Zonal Railways and Divisions have been asked to go to various sections, maintenance centers and work sites to carry out thorough review of working practices to check and enforce safe operational and maintenance practices.

During the drive, emphasis has been given on observance of signalling aspects and braking practices by Loco Pilots. Officers have also been instructed to interact with staff on the right and wrong practices to understand the problems being faced by field staff and provide solutions.

In a boost to India’s lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 has successfully underwent EMI-EMC (Electro-Magnetic Interference/ Electro-Magnetic Compatibility). The EMI-EMC test is conducted for satellite missions to ensure functionality of the satellite subsystems in the space environment and their compatibility with the expected electromagnetic levels.

In a statement, the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, said it is a major milestone in the realization of the satellites.

As part of a military-to-military exchange program between the Indian Army and Uzbekistan Army, the fourth edition of biennial training Exercise DUSTLIK (2023) will be conducted from tomorrow till  5th March, 2023 in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

The Indian contingent will be represented by the 14th Battalion, The GARHWAL RIFLES, part of Western Command in this bilateral exercise. The Uzbekistan Army will be represented by troops of the North Western Military District of Uzbekistan Army.

Indian Railways today launched Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train - Shri Ram-Janaki Yatra: Ayodhya to Janakpur from Safdarjung Railway Station, Delhi. The train will cover two most significant pilgrimage sites Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and Janakpur in Nepal. The train will go through Ayodhya, Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj during its seven-day journey.

The train consists of four first-AC coaches, two second-AC Coaches, two rail restaurants and a library. It can accommodate 156 tourists onboard. The fare will start from over 39 thousand rupees per person. The tour package also includes a night stay at AC hotels and veg meals.

Asia’s biggest Aero India show concluded in Bengaluru this evening with a scintillating air display. The show which was open to the public yesterday and today received an overwhelming response from Bangaloreans.

They were entertained by a grand air display by indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, HTT-40 training aircraft, Advanced light helicopter Dhruv, Light Combat helicopter Prachand, Light Utility helicopter, India-made drones and Kiran aerobatic team. There were 811 exhibitors who showcased their products during the event. Among them, 701 were from India and 110 were from abroad.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will arrive in Pune today, February 18, from Nagpur. He will have a courtesy call on Pune MP Girish Bapat who is currently undergoing treatment in a local hospital. In the evening, he will publish the Marathi translation of the book Modi at 20 by Madhav Bhandari. 

The inauguration of the first phase of Shiv Srishti, which was built from the concept of Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare at Narhe Ambegaon near Pune, will be done by Mr. Shah tomorrow on the occasion of Shiv Jayanti. Later he will leave for Kolhapur. After the darshan of Goddess Ambabai, a program has been organized in Padmaraje Education Institute in his presence.

To advance India’s cyber-preparedness, KAVACH-2023, a national level hackathon was launched today in New delhi to identify innovative ideas and technological solutions for addressing the cyber security and cybercrime challenges of the 21st century.

While addressing media, Dr. T G Sitharam, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said that KAVACH-2023 is a unique kind of national hackathon jointly conducted by Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, AICTE; Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D, MHA) and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C, MHA) to identify innovative ideas and technological solutions for addressing the cyber security and cybercrime challenges of the 21st century faced by our Law Enforcement Agencies and common citizens.

Indian Railways has launched Rail Post Gati Shakti Express Cargo Service to provide seamless logistics for the services sector in the country. The cargo Service is an initiative of partnership between Indian Railways and India Posts. It will provide total logistic Service - Pick-Up and Delivery at customer premises. India Post will pick up the consignment at the doorstep of the customer and transport to the Railway Station. Thereafter, at the destination railway station, India Post will transport the consignment at the doorstep of the destination address.

The Railways Ministry said, it has been started, on the four sectors -Delhi to Kolkata, Bangalore to Guwahati, Surat to Muzaffarpur and Hyderabad to Hazrat Nizamuddin. The Ministry said, a total of 15 sectors have been planned to be covered in the first phase. This is in compliance with the Budget Announcement of financial year 2022-23.

The 4th edition of joint military exercise, “EX DHARMA GUARDIAN”, between India and Japan will begin today at Camp Imazu in Shiga province of Japan. It will continue till 2nd of next month. The annual training event with Japan is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both nations in the backdrop of the current global situation. The scope of this exercise covers platoon-level joint training on operations in jungle and semi-urban or urban terrain.

Troops of the Garhwal Rifles Regiment of the Indian Army and an Infantry Regiment from the Middle Army of the Japan Ground Self Defence Force are participating in the exercise this year to share experiences gained during various operations in order to enhance inter-operability in planning and execution.