The Defence Ministry has signed three contracts at a total cost of nearly 5400 crore rupees with domestic producers to bolster the defence capabilities of the country. The first contract has been signed with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and pertains to the procurement of Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System Project Akashteer worth 1982 crore rupees for the Indian Army.
 
The second contract with BEL relates to the acquisition of Sarang Electronic Support Measure systems at an overall cost of 412 crore rupees for the Indian Navy. Sarang is an advanced Electronic Support Measure system for helicopters of the Indian Navy. Both will empower the Air Defence units of the Indian Army to effectively operate in an integrated manner.

Ram Navami is being celebrated with religious fervor and enthusiasm in several parts of the country today. The festival marks the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Ram Navami is celebrated on the ninth day of the Chaitra month.
 
President Droupadi Murmu has extended her greetings to the fellow citizens on the occasion of Ram Navami. In a message, the President said that celebrated as the birth anniversary Lord Ram, the festival teaches the message of selfless service.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid tributes to freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his death anniversary. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, a devout nationalist and courageous personality, Shyamji Krishna Varma was at the forefront of India’s struggle against injustice and colonial rule. Prime Minister said, inspired by his ideals, we will keep working for the people of the nation.

The first batch of Agniveers from INS Chilika in Odisha is all set to be inducted into the Indian Navy. About 2600 freshly recruited Agniveers took part in the passing out parade in Chilika in Odisha.

The first batch of the Agniveers which include 273 women, underwent 16 weeks of rigorous training at INS Chilika. The Passing out Parade was attended as chief guest by the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Harikumar. The function was graced by renowned athlete and presently the President of the Indian Olympics Association P T Usha and the former captain of the Indian Women Cricket Team Mithali Raj. A large number of defence personnel, special invitees and the parents and guardians of the Agniveers were present on the occasion.

Centre has sanctioned eight hundred crore rupees under FAME Scheme Phase -2 for setting up seven thousand 432 public fast charging stations across the country.

The government has formulated Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) India Scheme in 2015 to improve the infrastructure required for the large-scale use of electric vehicles. Heavy Industries Minister, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey said, a wide network of electric vehicle charging stations will be soon deployed across the country by Oil Marketing Companies.

The last date for linking PAN and Aadhaar has been extended to 30th June this year to provide some more time to the taxpayers. In a statement, Central Board of Direct Taxes, CBDT said, from 1st July, the PAN of taxpayers who have failed to intimate their Aadhaar will become inoperative. The CBDT said, if Aadhaar and PAN are not linked before last date, no refund shall be made against such PANs and interest shall not be payable on such refund for the period during which PAN remains inoperative. The PAN can be made operative again in 30 days, upon intimation of Aadhaar to the prescribed authority after payment of fee of one thousand rupees.

The Education Ministry has shortlisted around nine thousand schools across the country for its flagship Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme.

The Ministry informed that the institutions were selected from over two lakh fifty thousand government schools including Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalaya. It stated that a total of six broad parameters including curriculum, access and infrastructure, human resources and gender equity were assessed for the selection process.

On Day Two of the G-20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting in Vishakhapatnam today, March 29, the Presidency has planned a ‘health retreat’ for the delegates on the beachfront. During the retreat, the delegates will be introduced to Yoga, meditation, and sattvic food. Thereafter, the IWG will continue discussing the rest of the agenda, and the official IWG meeting will conclude.

Yesterday, IWG held discussions focused on the flagship priority, “Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable”, along with other priorities outlined in the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda. The flagship theme of “Financing Cities of Tomorrow- Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable” discussed various facets of making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, and building future-ready urban infrastructure. The meeting also discussed other important themes, such as innovative financing models to scale up private sector investment to address the infrastructure financing gap for creating future cities and discussing the potential application of the Quality Infrastructure Investment indicators across the infrastructure projects.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia today virtually inaugurated a direct international flight between Amritsar and Gatwick in England. The non-stop flight between Amritsar and Gatwick will be operated by Air India.
 
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Scindia said that this new international connectivity will work as a catalyst for the development of the region. He said, lakhs of people of Punjab live in the UK and this new service will connect families living in two different countries.
 

The G20 member countries on 27th March 2023, Monday made presentations on their best practices about Water Resources Management on the first day of the second Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group meeting which is being held under India's G20 presidency. The three-day meeting has been organised at Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
 
 Around 130 delegates from G20 member countries along with 11 invitee countries and 14 international organisations are participating in the three-day event.