Observing that trade has been an area of frustration in bilateral ties, the US has said that the door is open if India is prepared to bring a serious proposal to the table to address the issues related to trade and market access.

The US in November last year revoked duty-free concessions on import of at least 50 Indian products, mostly from handloom and agriculture sectors, reflecting the Trump administration's tough stand on trade-related issues with New Delhi.

A senior State Department official said Friday that the US is proud to be India's largest export market and most important economic partner.

"But we have struggled with regulatory issues that get in the way of the ease of doing business and market access for American companies and products," said the official.

"Trade has frankly been an area of frustration in the relationship, but the door is open if India is prepared to bring a serious proposal to the table," he said.

Daily supply of milk, upto four large glasses a day, from a gaushala run to provide for the nutritional needs of trainees at a sports gurukul and the sacrifice of a father, who converted farmland into a sports field to train his daughter, helped 15-year-old hammer thrower Harshita Sherawat win silver at the Asian Youth Championships underway in Hong Kong.

Harshita’s best of 61.93 metres on Friday morning was the third time the teenager has broken the national record in the hammer throw (3kg) in a span of one year. Just 12 months ago, at the first edition of the Khelo India Games, Harshita had first written her name in the record books with a throw of 58.53 metres. Her progression chart gives hope that she could have a bright future in the women’s hammer throw, an event which has not been India’s strength. Chinese Taipei’s Chi-Hsien Hung won gold (62.80m) and Jaiyi Ye of China took the bronze (59.90m) at the Tseung Kwan-o stadium.

Harshita knows she will have to keep the celebrations in check because in less than a week she has to appear for her Class X examinations. The day before she left for the Asian Youth Championships she had given another paper.

President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the remaining Padma awards on prominent personalities at a civil investiture ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan today. 

This year, 112 personalities were selected for the Padma awards, which was announced on the eve of Republic Day. The first set of padma award was given on 11th of this month in which Mr Kovind had presented one Padma Vibhushan, eight Padma Bhushan and forty-six Padma Shri Awards.

President Ramnath Kovind on Friday awarded National Grassroots Innovators at Grambharti near Gandhinagar in Gujarat. 

Prakash Singh Raghuvanshi from Uttar Pradesh has been awarded lifetime achievement award for his innovations in new varieties of agriculture crops.

The first prize in Veterinary, Herbal medication for coccidiosis was presented to Periyasami Ramasami of Salem, Tamil Nadu.

The President also inaugurated the exhibition of the Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Our correspondent reports that Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship - FINE is an initiative to recognise, respect, showcase, and reward innovations and foster supportive ecosystem for innovators. This festival is being organised by the National Innovation Foundation in association with the department of science and technology - Government of India. 

The Supreme Court has set aside the life ban on cricketer S Sreesanth, imposed by the BCCI. 

A bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and K M Joseph said the disciplinary committee of the BCCI may reconsider within three months the quantum of punishment to be given to Sreesanth. 

The disciplinary committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI imposed the ban on Sreesanth for his alleged involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.

The bench made it clear that Sreesanth will get the opportunity of being heard by the committee on the quantum of the punishment.

The apex court also said that its verdict shall have no effect on the criminal proceedings pending against the former cricketer in the Delhi High Court. 

The bench passed this order on Sreesanth's plea challenging the decision of a division bench of the Kerala High Court which had restored the life ban imposed on him by the BCCI.

World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated every year on 15 March as part of an initiative by Consumer International, a membership organisation for consumer groups around the world. The day is celebrated every year, to celebrate consumer rights and build a world where everyone has access to safe and sustainable products and services.

World Consumer Rights Day was inspired by President John F Kennedy,who was the first leader in the world to address the issue of consumer rights in a special message sent to the US Congress on 15 March 1962.

The group brings together over 200 member organisations in more than 100 countries to "empower and champion the rights of consumers everywhere."

The theme for World Consumers day 2019 is "Trusted Smart Products" chosen in view of the increased popularity of smart gadgets like smart phones to wearable fitness trackers, to voice-activated assistants and smart TVs. These devices as we are aware, make our lives simpler, but at the same time establish a sort of interdependency. 

The government appointed MR Kumar as the Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Vipin Anand and TC Suseel Kumar as the managing directors (MDs) on March 13.

MD Hemant Bhargava had been named interim chairman after VK Sharma's retirement on December 31, 2018. Of the two MD positions, one has been vacant since the superannuation of Usha Sangwan in September last year. The other is set to open up from the scheduled retirement of Sunita Sharma in March 2019.

LIC's executive board comprises of one chairman and four managing directors.

MR Kumar is currently the Zonal Manager, Delhi at LIC while TC Suseel Kumar is Zonal Manager, Hyderabad. Vipin Anand is Zonal Manager of the Western zone.

Since the three remaining MDs are scheduled to retire this year, the chairman was expected to be appointed from the shortlisted executive directors.

MD B Venugopal is expected to retire in May this year while Hemant Bhargava was to retire in July.

This is the first time an interview for the top position of LIC was conducted by the Banks Board Bureau (BBB), which so far selected top management for public sector banks. Top executives for LIC were earlier appointed by a panel of the finance ministry.

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday categorised IDBI Bank as a private sector lender following the acquisition of majority stake by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

“IDBI Bank has been categorised as a ‘private sector bank’ for regulatory purposes by Reserve Bank of India with effect from January 21, 2019 consequent upon LIC acquiring 51 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital of the bank,” the RBI said in a statement.

IDBI Bank was earlier categorised under a new sub-group “Other Public Sector Banks” by the RBI.

IDBI Bank has been under the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework of the RBI which bans it from corporate lending and branch expansions, salary hikes and other regular activities.

However, the lender has charted out a revival strategy to bring banking and insurance under one roof, along with its new owner LIC.

India and Pakistan have agreed to work expeditiously on operationalizing the Kartapur corridor. 

The corridor will facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit the holy shrine of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan.

The agreement was reached during the first meeting between the representatives of the two countries held at Attari in Punjab on Thursday.

The External Affairs Ministry, in a release, said, the two sides agreed to hold the next meeting at Wagah on 2nd of next month. 

The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, S C L Das while Pakistan delegation was led by Director General for South Asia and SAARC Dr. Mohammad Faisal. 

India’s bid to get Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist" by the UN Security Council was once again blocked by China as it placed a “technical” hold on the resolution on Wednesday. This is the fourth time that China has blocked the resolution against Azhar since 2009.

The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was moved by France, the UK and the US on February 27, days after the Pulwama terror attack carried out by a suicide bomber belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that led to a flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan.

In a statement, the ministry of external affairs said it was disappointed by the outcome. 

“This (technical hold) has prevented action by the international community to designate the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a proscribed and active terrorist organisation which has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February 2019,” it said.