State Bank of India opened its Melbourne office on Monday, becoming the first Indian bank to have a branch in the Australian state of Victoria.

The Melbourne office will assist the growing trade and investment relations between Victoria and India and is the outcome of the state’s 10-year India Strategy — our shared future, according to a press release.

Speaking at the inauguration here, Victoria’s parliamentary secretary to the treasurer, Steve Dimopoulos, said, “We are delighted to welcome SBI to Victoria — the first Indian bank to set up operations in our State.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today launched the website of 11th edition of DefEXpo, to be held in Lucknow from 5th to 8th February next year. The website, www.defexpo.gov.in provides online services to exhibitors, besides hosting informative content about the product profile of Defence Public Sector Undertakings and Ordnance Factories.

The website enables exhibitors to register and book space online as per their requirements on first-come-first-serve basis, make online payments, book conference halls and venues for Business-to-Business meetings. Exhibitors can avail early bird discounts by booking space on the website before 31st of next month.

Suresh Chitturi, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Srinivasa Farms is the first Indian and Asian to be elected Chairman of the International Egg Commission (IEC).

An avid promoter of the nutritional benefits of the egg, Suresh’s tenure at the helm will be for the next two years. The elevation to lead the international body is in a way recognition of his work in advocacy for the poultry industry.

Suresh Chitturi took over as the Chairman at the IEC Global Leadership Conference in Copenhagen. The global network for the egg industry, with members in over 80 countries, the IEC was established at the second International Egg Conference in Bologna, Italy, in 1964, according to a statement.

In Tennis, Sumit Nagal has won the men's singles title of ATP Challenger Tournament at Buenos Aires in Argentina. He defeated local favourite Facundo Bognis in straight-sets 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 37 minute match to claim the 54,160 US dollars prize money.

The 22-year-old from Haryana, seeded seventh, outclassed 8th seed Bognis of Argentina to become first Indian to win on South American clay court. 

Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju congratulated Sumit calling it a Brilliant performance. Rijiju says, in a tweet Sumit Nagal will enter Top 135 in Rankings. The talented youngster jumped 26 spots to achieve a career-best ranking of 135 today.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named an asteroid, discovered in 2006, after Indian classical singer Pandit Jasraj.

The asteroid, or more formally known as a minor planet, is located between Mars and Jupiter, and was discovered on November 11, 2006, by the Catalina Sky Survey, whose telescopes are based in Arizona in the United States. The privilege of naming a planet is first given to discoverers, who have 10 years to propose a name.

The discoverer or team is expected to write a short citation, explaining the reasons for assigning the name, according to the IAU’s guidelines.

Physicist Thanu Padmanabhan on Sunday received the M P Birla Memorial Award 2019 for his contributions to the world of cosmology.

Padmanabhan, a professor of Inter-university Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, received the award at a programme held at M P Birla Planetarium here, a statement said.

In his memorial lecture, ‘Gravity and the Cosmos’, the Padma Shri-recipient scientist spoke about the role gravity in shaping the Universe, it said.

Veteran Bollywood actor Viju Khote has died. The actor best is remembered for his role as Kalia in the cult classic Sholay.

The actor, who worked in a number of Hindi and Marathi films, has been working in film since 1964. Apart from Sholay, he is remembered for his roles in films like Andaz Apna Apna, in which he starred as Robert. The actor is related to veteran actors Shubha Khote and Durga Khote. 

Even as Viju immortalised Kalia as one on the most memorable characters of Indian cinema, he actually had just two scenes in Ramesh Sippy’s film. Talking about the popularity of his character, Viju told The Times of India in 2015 that he enjoys the love he has got. “It signifies the tremendous popularity of the movie. And that people liked Kaalia as a character,” he said.

Airport Council International (ACI) has recognised Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) as the best airport in terms of services it offered to passengers.

CIAL was ranked amongst the best airports in the 5-15 million category in the Asia Pacific region for the year 2018 based on annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey conducted by the ACI.

The award was presented to the authorities of Cochin International Airport at the second Annual ACI Customer Experience Global Summit held at Bali, Indonesia.

"The Airport Service Quality Awards celebrate the achievements of airports in delivering the best customer experience and they represent the highest possible accolade for airport operators around the world," ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said.

Air Marshal HS Arora has been appointed the Vice Chief of Indian Air Force. He will succeed Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria who will take over as the Chief of Air Staff on September 30. The Cente on September 19 appointed Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria the next chief of the India Air Force (IAF). Bhadauria, who is currently Vice Chief of Air Staff, will take over the charge as the Chief of Air Staff after his predecessor and the incumbent IAF Chief BS Dhanoa retires on September 30.

Meanwhile, Air Marshal B Suresh has been appointed as Western Air Commander of the Air Force. He will succeed Kargil war hero Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar on October 31.

Centre has approved construction of 1.23 lakh more houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The 47th Central Sanctioning And Monitoring Committee approved 630 proposals from participating states for construction of 1.23 lakh houses with an overall investment of 4,988 crore rupees.

An official release said the commitment from government as central assistance will be 1,805 crore rupees.