SOURCE: PTI

India on Saturday said it was deeply concerned over the “evolving escalation” in West Asia and urged all sides to exercise restraint and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. “Our Missions in the region are in contact with the Indian community,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

This comes after Israel carried out strikes on military sites in Iran on Saturday, further fuelling fears of a full-blown war between the two heavily armed countries.

SOURCE: PTI

The United States hired a chartered flight to send back Indian nationals who stayed in the US illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday, noting that this has been done in cooperation with the Indian government.

“Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States are subject to swift removal, and intending migrants should not fall for the lies of smugglers who proclaim otherwise,” said a senior official performing the duties of Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie A. Canegallo.

SOURCE: GRSE

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) achieved a major milestone on 25 Oct 24, when the 7th ship in a series of 8 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts being built by the shipyard for the Indian Navy on Friday, was launched by Smt Sandhya Pendharkar, President, Navy Welfare and Wellness Association (Eastern Region).

The Chief Guest at the occasion was Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command. Among the others present were Cmde P R Hari IN (Retd), Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE, Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta, ACWP&A, India Navy, Cdr Shantanu Bose, IN(Retd), Director (Shipbuilding), GRSE & other Senior officials of the Indian Navy, GRSE & L&T were present at the occasion.

SOURCE: ANI

The National Investigation Agency hasn’t yet received the death certificate of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, NIA sources said. According to NIA sources, the Canadian government asked for the reason for NIA behind its request to seek the death certificate of Nijjar. Nijjar was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.

Nijjar, who held Canadian citizenship, was designated a terrorist by the National Investigation Agency in 2020. The ties between India and Canada soured after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he had “credible allegations” of India’s hand in the killing of Nijjar. India has denied all the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.

SOURCE: IANS

The US expects India’s inquiry into the foiled plot to kill a Khalistani activist to nail those “responsible” for it and not merely, by implication, those who tried to carry it out. Nikhil Gupta, an Indian businessman accused by the US of implementing the plot by trying to hire a killer, is already in US custody after extradition from Poland, where authorities had stopped him.

We have indicted Vikas Yadav, a former RAW operative in the same case and the FBI has put up “Wanted” posters for information leading to his arrest.

SOURCE: ANI

Recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, on Friday shared a terrifying moment when Khalistani ‘goons’ came very close to bodily harm him and attacked him with a ‘sharp object’ most likely a ‘kirpan’ in Alberta that could potentially harm him.

In a podcast with ANI, Sanjay Verma shared his experience of threats and intimidation from the Khalistanis. Sanjay Verma said, “All these attempts to harm me bodily, that was in the presence of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the local police and the local police on the ground took immediate action, pushed him away because there was a sharp weapon and the RCMP then whisked me from the side door to the venue.”

SOURCE: ANI

Former Chief Minister of Punjab and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amarinder Singh on Friday slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for damaging India-Canada relations accusing him of not letting normalcy return until the elections are over.

“He (Trudeau) will not let normalcy return until the elections are over. He cannot win unless he gets the support of the Khalistanis. The common people don’t want any trouble; they want peace,” Singh said.
PM Trudeau has been facing a political rift in Canada, with MPs demanding his resignation before the elections. The elections in Canada are expected to be held next year.

SOURCE: ANI

Recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma on Friday in an exclusive conversation with ANI clearly said that only a small percentage of Canadian Sikhs supported the Khalistani cause and if Canada cared about that then they should “give a place to them and call it Khalistan”. Sanjay Verma asserted Khalistani extremists and terrorists are challenging Indian territorial integrity and sovereignty. “These are Canadian citizens challenging Indian territorial integrity and sovereignty. As long as these people, these Khalistani extremists and terrorists keep talking about Canada, I have no issues.

That’s their domestic issue. They can do whatever they want. As soon as they look at dividing India, then it is my problem. And that problem, I will certainly take to the Canadian authorities to say that listen, you have to resolve this,” Verma said “They want a country for themselves. I would say if Canada wants them to be there and they are so kind to them, Canada is a huge country. Give a space to them, call it Khalistan,” Verma said.

SOURCE: ANI

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is currently investigating six cases involving designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. In its investigation against Pannu, the agency has so far attached three properties owned by Pannu in Chandigarh. Additionally, several land parcels in Amritsar linked to him have also been seized.

The ongoing investigation underscores the NIA’s commitment to dismantling networks associated with terrorism. Further details on the nature of the cases and the properties involved have yet to be disclosed. The agency continues to pursue leads in an effort to curb activities related to Pannu and his associates.

SOURCE: PTI

The DG-level border talks between India and Bangladesh, scheduled to be held in Delhi next month, have been postponed following a change in plan by the neighbouring country, official sources said on Friday.

The bi-annual talks led by the heads of the Border Security Force (BSF) and its Bangladeshi counterpart the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were to be tentatively held between November 18 and 22 in the national capital, the first such meeting after the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5.

SOURCE: PTI

India and Maldives are discussing tourism again starting with exploring the prospects for investment and development in the sector at an Atoll south of the capital Male, a media report said on Friday.

The development comes days after Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, during his first bilateral visit to New Delhi, termed India as “one of the largest tourism source markets” for his country and hoped that more Indian tourists would visit the archipelagic nation.

SOURCE: IANS

Advancements in satellite technology, space-based surveillance, and communication systems are critical for enhancing the country’s defence capabilities and growth in the sector, ISRO Chairman Dr S Somanath said.

ISRO’s Chairman was addressing the second edition of the Indian Army’s flagship international seminar, the Chanakya Defence Dialogue, which culminated on Friday in Delhi. The two-day event brought together policymakers, strategic thinkers, academia, defence personnel, veterans, scientists, and subject matter experts from India and abroad to examine India’s strategic directions and developmental priorities.

SOURCE: PTI

Indians hoping to study in Canada should think twice because many students have ended up in substandard colleges with no job prospects despite spending lakhs of rupees, resulting in depression and suicide, India’s top envoy there says.

“At one point of time in my tenure, at least two bodies of students were being sent to India in body bags per week,” Sanjay Verma, who served as India’s high commissioner to Canada from 2022, told PTI in an interview this week. Rather than face their parents after failure, “they were committing suicide”.

SOURCE: ANI

Recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma on Friday shared his insight on the Canadian government’s hesitance to act against Khalistani elements and suggested that the reason for Canada’s reluctance might be because of some kind of ‘benefit,’ such as electoral support, financial backing, or community protection. In a podcast with ANI, Sanjay Verma said that Canada may be weighing political considerations in its approach to Khalistani elements and termed it as a ‘domestic vote bank.’ “So to my mind, I can only guess because I’m not sitting there in their cabinet.

So I can only guess that they must be getting some benefit out of it. The regime of the day would be getting some benefit, the benefit of support, the benefit of money, the benefit of protection, the benefit of getting elected. So there must be some benefit. So what we have termed it as. It is for the domestic vote bank,” he said.

SOURCE: L&T

 India’s leading technology-powered conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has won a new order (significant*) from the France-headquartered intergovernmental body – the ITER organisation for deployment of critical advanced technologies for assembly of ports & complex parts with the Vacuum Vessel at the world’s largest nuclear fusion project at Cadarache in Southern France. 

The Company also inked an MoU with the ITER Organization – for technical collaboration on the project. Under the MoU, L&T will help the ITER Organization with the development of ‘state of the art’ technology for the ‘first of a kind’ hardware and assembly of all such fusion relevant systems inside the vacuum vessel of ITER Tokamak to control the plasma operation. Majority of these activities will be in the Tokomak pit at the ITER site.