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. 

SOURCE: ANI

India slammed Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issue at a United Nations Security Council debate calling it a “mischievous provocation” based on their “tested tactic of spreading misinformation.” Exercising its right to reply during the UN Security Council Debate on Women building peace in a changing environment, India called out Islamabad over the “deplorable” condition of women from minority communities in Pakistan.

Addressing the UN Security Council debate, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, Parvathaneni Harish, said, “It is despicable, yet entirely predictable, that one delegation has chosen to indulge in mischievous provocation based on their pride and tested tactic of spreading misinformation and disinformation. It’s completely misplaced to indulge in such political propaganda at this important annual debate.

SOURCE: ANI

The frontier troops of both India and China are engaged in “relevant work” in accordance with the agreement reached between the two nations on issues concerning the border, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Addressing a press briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that the work is underway “smoothly”.

Being asked whether India and China have started pulling back their troops from friction points, Li Jian said, “In accordance with the resolutions that China and India reached recently on issues concerning the border area, the Chinese and Indian frontier troops are engaged in relevant work, which is going smoothly at the moment.”

SOURCE: IANS

Army said on Friday that the Botpathri attack has proved that Pakistan is abetting terrorism in Kashmir. “Pakistani terrorists, with a view to disrupting peace and stability in Kashmir, cowardly targeted an Army column in general area Butapathri, Baramulla on 24 October 2024, which was carrying soldiers and local porters,” a defence ministry statement said.

It added that on being fired upon, the alert troops swiftly and resolutely retaliated the fire, forcing the terrorists to retreat leaving behind a weapon and rucksack and escape into dense foliage, exploiting a nala and fading light.