The 5th India-Bahrain Foreign Office Consultation held in New Delhi yesterday. It was co-chaired by Secretary (Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs) in Ministry of External Affairs Dr Ausaf Sayeed and Under Secretary for Political Affairs in Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

Both sides appreciated the momentum in the multifaceted ties between the two countries. They also discussed regional and multilateral issues.

President Ram Nath Kovind will felicitate the winners of the 3rd National Water Awards at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi today. During the event, the President will also launch the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign 2022 which will continue to be implemented this year till 30th of November.

Ministry of Jal Shakti is giving 57 awards to States, Organizations and Individuals in 11 different categories including  Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat and Best Urban Local Body. The award winners in different categories will be given a citation, trophy and cash prize. AIR correspondent reports, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu will get the first, second and third prize in the Best State category.  

Some of the winners have done exemplary work in the field of water management. The Awards are expected to usher in a water consciousness in the minds of people of India and will help in bringing a behavioral change.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed for the betterment of Indian Agriculture. Mr Tomar said, Prime Minister has always encouraged the farmers and scientists of the country to compete at the global level.

The Agriculture Minister said, this has led to the steady increase in the export of agricultural products from India. He was addressing the 93rd Annual General Meeting of the ICAR Society in New Delhi yesterday.

Mr Tomar said that the Prime Minister holds regular dialogues with the people associated with the agriculture sector of the country including farmers and scientists and ensuring the better quality of the agricultural products has always been the main concern of the Prime Minister.

Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan today said that 21st century is going to be an era of knowledge and exhorted IIT Bombay to play a major role in it. Addressing the gathering after inaugurating a newly constructed hostel in the IIT Bombay campus, he said, knowledge-based economy and service sector-based economy is a reality now. He said, students who have passed out from IIT Bombay should strive to become employers and entrepreneurs rather than employees.

He said, it will be heartening for him to read that IIT Bombay has created job opportunities for 25 million employees which in real sense would bore the fruit.

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has urged People to Join hands to clean Yamuna. NMCG is providing 2300 crore rupees funding for construction of sewerage infrastructure for cleaning Yamuna.

As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, the NMCG today organized Yamunotsav in association with a group of NGOs at ITO Bridge to celebrate the glory of Yamuna. All took a pledge to keep it clean.

NMCG Director General G. Asok Kumar urged people to join hands to clean Yamuna and reiterated commitment to complete three big Sewage Treatment Plants, STPs on Yamuna by end of this year.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) today conducted two successful flight tests of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) at Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. The flight tests were carried out as part of the live firing trials against high-speed aerial targets. The missiles intercepted the aerial targets and destroyed them completely, registering direct hits at both the ranges. 

The first launch was to intercept a medium altitude long range target and second launch was for proving the capability of a low altitude short range target.

This MRSAM version is a Surface-to-Air Missile developed jointly by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel for use by the Indian Army. The MRSAM Army weapon system comprises multi-function radar, mobile launcher system and other vehicles.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with students,  parents, and teachers in a programme 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' on 1st of April at Talkatora Stadium in New  Delhi. He will talk about stress-free exams. In a tweet, Mr. Modi has called upon the dynamic Exam warriors, their parents, and teachers to join this year’s Pariksha Pe Charcha on the 1st of April.

Pariksha Pe Charcha is an interactive program wherein students, parents, and teachers from India and overseas interact with the Prime Minister to discuss and overcome the stress emerging out of examinations in order to celebrate life as an Utsav.

The annual Amarnath yatra will begin on June 30 this year with all covid protocols in place. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Chairman and Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said that the online registration for the yatra will begin on April 11. He said, the 43-day long yatra will conclude on August 11, when the festival of Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated. The decision to commence the pilgrimage from June 30 was taken at a meeting of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board at Raj Bhavan in Jammu yesterday. 
Talking to AIR News, Nitishwar Kumar, chief executive of the shrine board, said that the board has decided to start yatra from both Pahalgam and Baltal routes simultaneously.

He said, Only 10,000 pilgrims will be allowed in a day on each route, excluding those traveling by helicopter. Nitishwar Kumar said the government will introduce an RFID system for pilgrims to track their movement. 

The free trade agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates is expected to come into force from 1st May this year. India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, CEPA was signed on 18 February, 2022 in New Delhi during the India-UAE Virtual Summit held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The agreement aimed at boosting the merchandise trade between the two countries to 100 billion US dollar over the next five years. The India-UAE CEPA is the first deep and full free trade Agreement to be signed by India with any country in the past decade.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that historic India - UAE CEPA, is a joint roadmap to transform the lives of our people and strengthen the partnership on the global stage. In a tweet, Mr. Goyal said, India-UAE embark on a brighter future together. 

Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav today informed that October 5th has been designated as National Dolphin Day to be celebrated every year to create awareness for conservation of Dolphins. In a tweet, Mr Yadav stated that generating awareness and community participation is integral for conservation of the indicator species. 

He chaired the 67th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life in New Delhi today. Considering that generating awareness amongst the people on the benefits of conservation of Dolphins is important, the Standing Committee recommended that every year 5th of October should be celebrated as National Dolphin Day.