Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba held delegation-level talks in New Delhi yesterday.

During the talks, the two leaders reviewed the progress in India-Nepal partnership and discussed ways to further their cooperation agenda. Prime Minister Modi and Nepalese Prime Minister Deuba jointly launched several projects on the occasion. They flagged off the 35-kilometer long cross-border passenger train services between Jaynagar of Bihar in India and Kurtha in Nepal. Both the leaders also jointly inaugurated Solu Corridor 132 KV Power Transmission Line and Substation in Nepal built under the Government of India's Line of Credit. The two Prime Ministers launched RuPay Card in Nepal. Following the talks, four MoUs were signed in the presence of both Prime Ministers.

The government has said that it is in the process of setting up  Anytime-Anywhere Post Office Savings scheme, which will allow online transfer of funds between postal and bank accounts. Around 96 percent of post offices across the country have been brought under the core banking system (CBS), in order to implement the "Anytime-Anywhere Post Office Savings" service. There are a total of 1,58,526 post offices in India, out of which 1, 52,514 post offices, or 96 percent of them have already been brought under the CBS, official sources informed. This will not only help the existing post office savings account holders but also encourage new individuals to open up a savings account with ease, sources said.

The government is also working towards providing national electronic funds transfer (NEFT) and real-time gross settlement (RTGS) facilities for online transfer of funds from post office accounts to bank accounts and vice versa, official sources said.

Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur launched six new and rare Reference Materials (RMs) developed by the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL). Speaking at an event, Mr. Thakur said that this development will make India self-reliant in anti-doping science.

He said the availability of these RMs would help the entire anti-doping community to strengthen their testing capabilities. Mr. Thakur said that this would also help in mutual cooperation among countries for promoting fair play in sports policy the world over.

The Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, has said that the country’s goods exports have now crossed the 418 billion US dollar mark. Addressing the media in New Delhi on India's historic export figures for the financial year 2021-22, Mr Goyal said, that it is an important milestone in the journey towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. 

He said, that every sector of the economy, be it Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; farmers, entrepreneurs, or state governments, all have worked together to achieve this lucrative goal. Mr Goyal said that India has truly gone from local to global in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call. The Minister said, that the export of wheat in 2019-20 which was only two lakh tonnes, has increased to 21.55 lakh tonnes in 2020-21.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur will launch the Broadcast Seva Portal this afternoon in New Delhi. Keeping in view, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative for Ease of Doing Business, Digital India and Make in India, the Broadcast Seva portal will provide a single point facility to the stakeholders to request for required permission, registrations, licences, etc. issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

This portal will provide easy communication between the applicant and different stakeholders for faster processing of applications.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated four National Highway Projects worth 1466 Crore rupees in Raigad district of Maharashtra yesterday. While addressing the ceremony, Mr Gadkari said that the Mumbai-Goa National Highway is a heartline project and his ministry has been giving special emphasis for the timely completion of the project.

However, Mr. Gadkari said that Mumbai- Goa National Highway work got delayed because of multiple factors; one of the main reason being land acquisition.

Stating that the problems will remain, the Union Minister promised to complete much-awaited Mumbai- Goa National highway within a year. He also assured to build advanced technology rope ways for all the forts in Maharashtra. He stated that the Raigad district is one of the major junction points from Mumbai to Goa and other southern states and in view of this consistent development work is being undertaken here.

Indo Tibetan Border Police, ITBP, North West Frontier, NWF, has celebrated 16th Raising Day in Leh on Friday. Himveers of the frontier are guarding the forward posts on India - China border in inhospitable weather and terrain of eastern Ladakh.

In a raising day ceremony organized in 24th Battalion parade grounds in Leh, the NWF Inspector General Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo greeted himveers for their incomparable contribution for the duties being performed with zeal and vigilance.

The Karaikal base of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) got the Interceptor Boat ICGS C-436 yesterday. A release from the Defence Ministry said that the vessel is set to give a major fillip to its operations in the vast coastline of Tamil Nadu and  Puducherry. The indigenously built ship C-436 is the 36th interceptor boat of its series. It is fitted with modern navigation and communication equipment capable of operating in tropical sea conditions and for close coast surveillance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people on the auspicious occasion of Navratri, Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Navreh, Cheti Chand, and Sajibu Cheiraoba. In a series of tweets today, Mr. Modi said, Navratri, festival of worship of Shakti, may infuse new energy in everyone's life. He also wished Happy New Year to citizens wishing that Vikram Samvat 2079 may bring new enthusiasm and new zeal in everyone's life.

Giving best wishes on the special occasion of Ugadi, the Prime Minister wished that the coming year is marked with lots of joy, prosperity and all scale a new height of success in the new year. On Navreh, Mr. Modi said, our society may touch a new height of progress.

Wishing people on the occasion of Cheti Chand, the Prime Minister said, people remember the pious teaching of Lord Jhulelal and seek his blessings for the happiness and well being our planet. Mr. Modi greeted the people, especially the people of Manipur on the special occasion of Sajibu Cheiraoba. He prayed for a happy and healthy year ahead.

India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement was signed today. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister of Australia Dan Tehan signed this agreement. The agreement was signed in a virtual ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison. Speaking virtually on this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the agreement was finalised in a short span of time which showed that India and Australia share mutual trust.

Terming this agreement a watershed moment for the bilateral ties, he said, huge potential lies in the economic cooperation between both the nations and this agreement will provide a platform to utilise those economic opportunities. He said, this agreement would also strengthen the stability of Indo-pacific region and supply chain resilience. He said, this agreement will facilitate the movement of students, professionals and tourists between the two countries. He thanked the teams involved in finalising this agreement.