Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief on the passing away of noted scholar and Odia Writer Rajat Kumar Kar. 

In a tweet, Mr Modi said, Dr. Rajat Kumar Kar was a doyen of the cultural world and his multifaceted persona was seen in the manner in which he chronicled the Rath Yatra, wrote on diverse topics and worked to revive Pala art. The Prime Minister expressed condolences to his family and admirers.

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMSBY), and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) today complete seven years of providing social security net. The schemes were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9th May 2015 in Kolkata, West Bengal. These schemes have been successful in providing affordable insurance and security to people.  

AIR correspondent reports that these three social security schemes are dedicated to the welfare of the citizens, recognizing the need for securing human life from unforeseen risks or losses and financial uncertainties. In order to ensure that the people from the unorganized section of the country are financially secure, the Government launched two insurance schemes - Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and introduced Atal Pension Yojana to cover the exigencies in the old age.

Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar virtually inaugurated five NIELIT Centres in North East Region from NEILIT Dimapur today. These Centres are located at Dibrugarh & Jorhat in Assam, Passighat in Arunachal Pradesh, Dimapur in Nagaland and Senapati in Manipur.  

Emphasising Prime Minister Modi's three objectives of Digital India, Mr. Chandrasekhar said, there is significant progress in the use of technology that has transformed the lives of the people and good governance in the country.

Mr. Chandrasekhar said India’s response through technology during the Pandemic has enabled the country’s economy to perform as the fastest growing economy and startup innovation ecosystem in the world.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has attended the 69th Convocation at Panjab University in Chandigarh as the Chief Guest.  He was accompanied by Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Union Minister Som Parkash, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.  

Greeting people in Punjabi, Chancellor of Punjab University Venkaiah Naidu said that graduation ceremony should be a stepping stone for the students to continuous learning and the faculty to improve the educational process.

Border Roads Organisation or BRO is celebrating its Raising Day today. BRO, a leader in the arena of infrastructural development in the border areas of the country is celebrating its 63 years of glorious service to the nation.

In an interview to AIR News, Director General Border Roads Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry has conveyed his greetings to all veterans and BRO personnel.

Food Processing Industries Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Thursday launched three 'One District, One Product' brands under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro-Food Processing Enterprises Scheme in New Delhi. The scheme aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and to promote formalization of the sector and provide support to Farmer Producer Organizations and Self-Help Groups.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has signed an agreement with National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, NAFED for developing ten brands of selected 20 'One District, One Product' under the branding and marketing component of the scheme. Out of these, seven 'One District, One Product' brands and nine products have been successfully launched in collaboration with NAFED. All the products are available on E-commerce platforms, and prominent retail stores across India.

The Portals of the world-famous Kedarnath Dham will be opened on Friday morning at 6.25 a.m. The Dham is decorated with marigold flowers. Meanwhile, the Panchmukhi Doli of Kedar Baba has reached the Dham. All the preparations have been completed before the opening of the portals.

A number of devotees have been reached to perform Puja Archana on the opening of the Kedarnath temple after the winter season. However, the portals of Badrinath Shrine will be opened on Sunday at 6.15 a.m. Meanwhile, Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham Yatra is going on smoothly. A large number of devotees are reaching there after the Corona pandemic which had disrupted the Chardham Yatra for the last two years.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has exhorted the Indian Air Force to become an Aerospace Force and be prepared to protect the country from the challenges of the future. He was delivering the keynote address for the 37th Air Chief Marshal P. C. Lal Memorial Lecture in New Delhi today. Mr. Singh called for technology evolution, gaining expertise and human resource management to defend the country against space-guided attacks and protect the space assets.

The Minister added that the nature of future wars can be assessed through a closer look at the situation in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and the recent Ukrainian conflict. Mr. Singh said, the government will provide specialised skills training to the Armed Forces personnel, especially Indian Aair Force, in the latest technology to make them future-ready.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the inaugural session of Jain International Trade Organisation’s - JITO Connect 2022 at 10.30 AM today through video conferencing.

Jain International Trade Organisation is a global organisation connecting Jains worldwide. JITO Connect is an endeavour to help business and industry by providing an avenue for mutual networking and personal interactions.

JITO Connect-2022 is a three-day event being organized at Gangadham Annex, Pune from today and will encompass multiple sessions on diverse issues relating to business and the economy.

The Initial Public Offering, IPO of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has opened for public subscription from today. It will remain open for subscription till 9th of May. LIC IPO is the biggest public offering in the country.

AIR correspondent reports that the allotment of shares to the Demat account of bidders will take place by 16th May and the IPO will list for trading on 17th May.

The country's largest life insurer, LIC opens its IPO today. An initial public offering, IPO refers to the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance. LIC has fixed the price band of 902 to 949 rupees per Equity Share for its maiden public offer. Investors can bid for a minimum of 15 Equity Shares and in multiples of 15 shares thereafter. The LIC has offered a discount of 45 rupees per share to Retail and Eligible Employee Category and 60 rupees per share to Policyholder Category. With this IPO, the government is looking to divest its 3.5 percent stake in the insurer by selling 22 crore 13  lakh shares. The Government aims to raise around 21 thousand crore rupees through IPO.