The seventh edition of the Asia Economic Dialogue will be held from Feb 23 till the 25th of February in Pune. It is the External Affairs Ministry’s annual flagship event on Geoeconomics, co-hosted in collaboration with Pune International Centre.

The principal theme for the Dialogue is ‘Asia and the Emerging World Order’. The Dialogue will also discuss themes such as Global Growth Prospects, How the Global South Will Shape the G20 Agenda and the Metaverse.

The Government has emphasised on launching an Over-the-Top (OTT) platform for Prasar Bharati this year to increase its footprint in the rapidly changing broadcasting industry.

It also aims to take FM radio to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities with more auctions for new FM radio stations this year. Speaking at the Broadcast Engineering Society (BES) Expo 2023 in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Apurva Chandra informed that the FM radio stations only cover 60 per cent of the country.

Indian Railways is set to launch Guru Kripa Yatra from 5th April this year from Lucknow with its exclusive Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train. During the eleven day holy tour, the pilgrims will visit the most prominent revered sites of Sikhism which includes the five Holy Takhts.

The tour will include visit to Sri Kesgarh Sahib Gurudwara and Virasat-e-khalsa at Anandpur Sahib, Gurudwara Sri Patalpuri Sahib at Kiratpur Sahib, Gurudwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib at Sirhind, Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Sri Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar, Sri Damdama Sahib at Bathinda, Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib at Nanded, Gurudwara Sri Guru Nanak Jhira Sahib at Bidar and Gurudwara Sri Harmandarji Sahib at Patna.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched a Learning-Teaching Material called 'Jaadui Pitara' for Foundational Stages in New Delhi on Monday. Under the National Curriculum Framework for foundational stage - 2022, this unique initiative of the government will help students of foundational stages learn in a play-way method with ease. The Jaadui Pitara' comprises of playbooks, activity books, flash cards, posters depicting various stories, games, puzzles, puppets and many more items.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr Pradhan described this day as historic for the National Education Policy. He informed that initially this initiative will be kicked off in a pilot project manner in only 50 Central schools, but later, for next academic session, 1200 central schools across the country will receive this box for students in foundational stage.

To mark the World Day of Social Justice celebration on Monday, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment held a conclave in New Delhi. It emphasized on the unique qualities of divyangjan instead of judging the disabled by what they cannot do. It further focused on recognizing the unique perspectives and contributions of divyangjan.

The conclave also intended to bring the stakeholders together to work towards this vision for the inclusion of women, the marginalized and the differently-abled. It expressed hope that the platform will remind each person about their role to play in the development process, regardless of ability- unless divyangjan intentionally included in economic life to realise the vision of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas.

BVR Subrahmanyam has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog. The appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment for a period of two years from the date of assumption of the charge of the post. He will replace Parameswaran Iyer who has been appointed as Executive Director, World Bank headquarters, Washington DC, USA.

The 4th edition of joint military exercise ‘DUSTLIK’ between the Indian Army and Uzbekistan Army commenced on Monday in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. Defence Ministry said, 45 Soldiers each from Uzbekistan and Indian Army are participating in this exercise. The exercise is aimed at promoting positive relations between both the armies. The Indian Army contingent comprises of troops from an Infantry Battalion from the Garhwal Rifles Regiment.

The 14 days long joint exercise will focus on joint counter-terrorist operations in mountainous and semi-urban scenario under UN mandate. This will include field training exercises, combat discussions, lectures, demonstrations and culminate with a validation exercise. Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats.

Indian Naval Ship Sumedha on Monday reached Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to participate in Naval Defence Exhibition - NAVDEX 23 and International Defence Exhibition - IDEX 23. Defence Ministry said, the exhibition will continue till Friday. The ship's participation in two leading regional naval and defence exhibitions will showcase the strengths of India's indigenous ship building and underscore the vision of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

INS Sumedha is the third ship of the indigenously built Saryu class Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels and was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2014. The ship is fitted with an impressive array of weapons and sensors, can carry an integral helicopter and boasts of long endurance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singapore counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong will witness the launch of cross-border connectivity between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore through video conferencing today. The launch will be done by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

Prime Minister Modi’s visionary leadership has been instrumental in driving globalisation of India’s best-in-class digital payment infrastructure. Our Correspondent reports that a key emphasis of the Prime Minister has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only, but other countries too benefit from it.

Indian Railways has launched a month-long Intensive Safety Drive from Sunday to prevent derailments, Signal Passing at Danger and other types of accidents. Senior officers from Railway Board, Zonal Railways and Divisions have been asked to go to various sections, maintenance centers and work sites to carry out thorough review of working practices to check and enforce safe operational and maintenance practices.

During the drive, emphasis has been given on observance of signalling aspects and braking practices by Loco Pilots. Officers have also been instructed to interact with staff on the right and wrong practices to understand the problems being faced by field staff and provide solutions.